I taught an enrichment class in Metfield Branch on Thursday night. My topic was "Making the Most of General Conference for families and children.
One new thing I just started is a binder for each child to save their conference notes in. When they're older, they'll get their own conference issue of the ensign to keep in there, each conference is separated by dividers labeled "spring 2015, fall 2015, spring 2016, etc." I hope the collection of conference notes will become a journal to treasure.
I loved speaking in Metfield Branch and I loved their enrichment meeting. It was so fun and casual. Lots of time to visit, no fancy dinner or decor. Just beautiful women, gathering in friendship and love to listen. It was simple, relaxed, welcoming, and lovely, and caused me to really rethink how my time and energy in my enrichment planning calling could be better spent to help the sisters in my ward have opportunities to strengthen friendships and bonds. Not just friendly, but actual friends.
I focused on 3 basic questions:
1) What can I do the week before conference to prepare?
Sunday preparation happens on Saturday, and general Conference preparation happens before conference. I like to write down questions the week before so I have a little time to ponder before conference begins. We fast and pray as a family the week before to be receptive to answers to those questions.
I also like the house tidied before the weekend so we are ready to welcome the spirit, and also so I am not tempted to be picking up it instead of listening.
Next, these are prophets to the world, not just the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. General Conference is for everyone. Who will I invite to hear the message? We have a promise that if we listen, we will feel the Spirit, we will receive answers to questions about our lives, we will be promoted with actions to take to guide us and assist us through trials we're enduring. Who are we inviting to experience the blessings of this awesome promise with us? Pray about who to invite to hear the words of Hod through a living prophet.
2) What am I doing to make general Conference a special event for my family?
This goes up to some of the examples I brought along. I also know some families prepare fun traditional meals, or serve cinnamon rolls or other special treats. Some families have a tradition of dressing up to watch conference at home, or watching a session at the church meeting house. Learn about king Benjamin and build a super fort in the living room go watch conference in. (Adults get in, too!) Do something to make it a special, because General Conference IS special.
3) What are my distractions?
We have our agency and cannot be forced or force others in our family to tune in to conference. As mothers and women, we CAN help set the tone in our home and create an inviting and comfortable environment. We can look for, identify, DVD remove/reduce distractions. Tell friends/neighbors ahead of time when you'll be unavailable to go out to play (and invite them to listen with you!), put up laptops and smartphones so you aren't tempted to scroll social media during the meetings, have snacks ready, so that you can fully partake in the choir singing, instead of using that as a "break"...instead, listen and let the spirit testify of the truth of the words that were just spoken. Have activities prepared to keep small children engagd.
I am trying to remember that conference is more about how you feel than what you hear. Easier said than done, but it will help to not get frustrated with my children for behaving like children. They do make it less possible to hear every word, but they are not a distraction from the Spirit. That attitude is solely up to me.
There are plenty of unimportant things that I let scream much louder for my attention that i would be wise to tune out until conference is over. Those are the real distractions. Consider what yours are, and find ways to remove them this weekend. Which leads to:
4) What am I willing to sacrifice to receive all that General Conference has to offer me?
I often make the mistake of trying to cram to much into conference Saturday. It's a Saturday and conference is only 6 hours of that day. I should knock out some projects in between sessions right?
But I always bite off more than I can chew. Always. Particularly in the springtime when I decide conference weekend is the perfect day to get the garden planted. It's a Saturday. And it's OK to do something wonderful between sessions. But if it stretches into the afternoon session, im not really checking back in when I could be. Am I willing to sacrifice planning big projects for conference Saturday so I can be better prepared to partake in the messages? Maybe we don't try to attend that birthday party crammed inbetween, or "make a quick trip" to walmart. Maybe we don't play soccer of the game is smack in the middle of the morning session. What am I willing to sacrifice to make it a learning weekend, and not a "let's landscape the yard!" weekend?
What about those distractions? Am I willing to give up social media during conference? The cute memes that the youth make and post with general authority quotes are wonderful and uplifting, and a great way to share the goodness of the gospel. Can they wait until after the meeting to post or read? After we read that beautiful quote, we scroll down to the next post and our attention is robbed by something totally unrelated to conference. How can I expect my children to put away distracting toys and listen if I don't put away mine?
Can I sacrifice getting up to do the dishes or prepare sunday dinner during the intermediate hymn? If I want my children to know that this is more important than dishes, then I need to teach them by example. Which is the last question
5) What kind of example do I set for my family about the importance of General Conference?
May we be more mindful with our preparation, our attention, and our actions that follow General Conference, so we can make the most of al it has to offer us.
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