This is a great day, conference day.

For those of you who don't know, my church holds a semiannual general conference the first weekend of April and the first weekend in October. Those are basically my most-looked-forward-to weekends of the entire year, so I wanted to share my thoughts about the first day of conference. 

October is the better of the two conferences (haha, not really), if only for the fact that that is when they announce new temples! I think it's very telling of the importance of temples in our church by the way that it's the first thing they talk about at conference. So President Monson (the prophet) gets up and talks about the three new temples that were dedicated this past year (Kansas City, MO; Manaus, Brazil; and Brigham City, UT) and one that was rededicated (Laie, HI), and then he announces two new temples: Tucson, AZ, and Arequipa, Peru (whoever knows where that is...). I thought it was funny because this didn't seem like big news (unlike last year's temple announcements, which were huge!--second temple in Provo and a second in South Africa, one in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, of course, Paris!)... I wondered why. 

Then he launches in to a little speech about how in some countries, they've been allowing boys to start their missions at 18, and I knew what was coming. Boys can now start their missions at 18 instead of 19! Crazy. Not a really big difference there, though. One year is nothing (I think my high-school-senior little brother is still reeling about it, though). 

But the big shock, at least for me, came when they said that they were lowering the minimum age for sister missionaries! Before they could leave at 21, and now they can leave at 19. I just can't get over it!! It's crazy. 

What's funny is that I ran into my friend's mom at the grocery store in between sessions, and she was like, "are you mad that you weren't able to go sooner?" And I just thought to myself, considering the fact that I was engaged when I was 19, I don't think I would have been any more interested in going at that time. I responded to her, though, "No, I'm glad I went when I did." And I truly am. 

Last night we had a mission reunion and I was reminded for the umpteenth time how special my mission was, and is. I gained some of my very very best friends on my mission, which is funny at reunions because we all see each other fairly regularly anyway, so reunions are really just a chance to see our mission president again. There were four of us who left the reunion around 9:30, and then stayed outside talking and laughing for another hour and a half. We seriously just had the best mission ever. I can't say enough about how much I love the missionaries I served with and the people I served in New Caledonia. 

Anyway, back to conference. So, sisters can go at 19. Craziness. I just hope that they're going to focus more on that whole "lock-your-heart" thing now, what with the elders and the sisters being much closer in age now than before. 

So why this change? I thought that Elder Holland said it perfectly (what a surprise there) at the press conference afterward when he said, "God is hastening His work." Plain and simple. This is the last harvest that has been prophesied of. As Jacob tells us in Jacob 6:2-3, "the day that He shall set His hand again the second time to recover His people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in His power, to nourish and prune His vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh. And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in His vineyard . . ."

There you go. We are in the last days here. Really, it almost made me want to start on my papers... again. Haha. 

Some of my favorite talks so far:

Elder Russell M. Nelson gave a great talk that he pretty much just stole from the first missionary lesson (that was me being sarcastic. The doctrine is just the doctrine, no matter what). I loved his problem/answer-type talk: "Ask the missionaries!" The best quote, besides that one: "You may have already encountered, or even ignored, our missionaries." Haha. So true.

President Deiter F. Uchtdorf's talk was seriously meant for me. I loved it so much. He talked about devoting ourselves to the pursuit of holiness (becoming the person that God intended us to be) and happiness (not letting external circumstances determine our happiness). Favorite quotes:

"As sons and daughter of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more."

"It's not a race; it's a journey. Enjoy the moment."

"Let us resolve to be happy, regardless of our circumstances." (quoting Psalms 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.")

 I also loved Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk about bees. I never knew so much about bees and how they have to work so hard, each one doing so little and yet together accomplishing so much. Loved that analogy.

Elder Robert C. Gay's talk was powerful. "Is [insert whatever you're doing that's wrong here] worth more than all the Father hath?" (D&C 84:38) You know, it's really not. My favorite person in the Book of Mormon has got to be King Lamoni's father. I LOVED the comparison he made between King Lamoni's father and the young rich ruler who asked the Savior what he should do to inherit eternal life. When he received the Savior's answer: "sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me," the rich young ruler "went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions" (Matt 19:16-24, Mark 10:17-25, Luke 18:18-25).

 King Lamoni's father, on the other hand, also asked the question, "what shall I do that I may have this eternal life?" And his response? "I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy. . . I will give up all my sins to know thee" (Alma 22:15, 18). Which is in essence what we all need to do. 

"Satan would have us sell our lives for the candy bars and championships of this world. The Savior, however, calls us without price to exchange our sins, take upon His countenance . . . for this, we may receive all that God has, which we are told is greater than all the combined treasures of this earth. 

Can you even imagine?"

And then, of course, Elder Neil L. Andersen. Story of my life. Trials of faith. (Yes, I thought, "A crisis of faith can be delivered, but one must believe to be delivered." One of the more blasphemous episodes of Gilmore Girls, unfortunately.)

"The gift of faith is a priceless spiritual endowment" (John 17:3).

"Did we not come to the earth to confront challenges, and to show God our love and respect by keeping His commandments?" (Abraham 3:24-25).
"Trials will be trying."

He quoted Helaman 5:12 and emphasized the fact that if men build upon the rock of our salvation, which is Christ, they cannot fall. 

"With faith come trials of faith, bringing increased faith."

"Hold on . . . fear not . . . for God shall be with you forever and ever" (D&C 122:9).

Wow. I wasn't expecting this post to be the longest one ever. Conference was just SO great, and it was only the first day! What was your favorite part of conference?