I started writing this post prior to conference weekend, but after a week with a sick baby and then a birthday and other “normal” life things, I was never quite able to finish this post. So here it is, after the fact. Maybe it will help you prepare for the next semi-annual conference.
General Conference is this weekend! I am really looking forward to the opportunity to hear the word of the Lord through his authorized servants. To remind our family of the importance of General Conference, I hung up a poster with this quote from Elder Bednar from last conference:
“May we hear and heed the eternal truths taught by the Lord’s authorized representatives.”
Most of my children are at an age now where they are able to occupy themselves better during and between sessions (age 11, 8, and 6). Except for the almost one year old baby. We just try to keep him happy and take him outside and for walks. I quickly realized that I would not be taking any notes this time around, but I will have plenty of opportunities to study the messages on my own in the days and months to come. This time around I am just focused on making sure we have a peaceful spirit in our home.
That being said, here are a few resources I am using this General Conference weekend.
Conference Journals: Each child has their own notebook for taking notes. My oldest daughter decorated a notebook at Activity Girls specifically for this purpose, while I just found some nicer journals for Zach and Lily that we already had at home. We encouraged them to write the name of the apostle, and any key words that they heard.
7-Up Lifting Ways to Get the Most out of Conference: I snagged this cute printable, attached to a can of 7-Up, and shared with the sisters I visit teach.
Getting to know the apostles: I printed and laminated these Special Witness cards to help my children learn and recognize the faces of the apostles.
On Sunday the children used the General Conference binder, full of activities like word searches, mazes, apostle facts and trivia. I keep all of the pages in sheet protectors, so they can be re-used with dry-erase markers. You can read more about it here.
These religious doodles are kind of fun to color!
Counting Down to Conference: I forgot to do this time around, but I am holding on to this idea for future sessions!
Check out this post from last fall which details all of our General Conference traditions.
The Monday before General Conference we traditionally have an FHE lesson focused on the importance of following the prophet and preparing for General Conference. This time around we focused on the following teachings about prophets from the October 2015 General Conference.
Elder David A. Bednar
The Savior declared, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38). May we hear and heed the eternal truths taught by the Lord’s authorized representatives. As we do so, I promise our faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be fortified, and we will receive spiritual guidance and protection for our specific circumstances and needs.
Elder M. Russell Ballard
And make no mistake about it: the Lord directs His Church through living prophets and apostles. This is the way He has always done His work.
It has always been a challenge for the world to accept living prophets and apostles, but it is so essential to do so in order to fully understand the Atonement and the teachings of Jesus Christ and to receive a fulness of the blessings of the priesthood that are given to those He has called.
Sister Carole M. Stephens
Our Father has provided a way for us to hear His word and know His law through His prophets. The Lord declared, “My word shall … all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
There is safety in following the word of the Lord through His prophets. God called President Thomas S. Monson, the counselors in the First Presidency, and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. In this world of increasing fear, distraction, adversity, and anger, we can look to them to see how disciples of Jesus Christ—filled with charity—look, sound, and react to issues that could be divisive. They testify of Jesus Christ and respond with charity, the pure love of Jesus Christ, whose witnesses they are.