Making it Up As I Go

I got to have lunch with my very loved friend Hilary today, and she brought my attention to a great blog called Diapers and Divinity. What I’ve read of it so far is great, but the part I really liked, and which I am absconding with for my own purposes (well, I guess it’s not really absconding as I’m not really taking it- she still has it- I’m just using the idea, I just like the word absconding) is the idea of a General Conference talk book club. She posts a talk each week and then people read the talk and comment on it. So I’m totally using that idea. I suppose I could just post comments on her blog instead, but I’m going to go in my own order, so I’ll just do my own over here.

So if you want to play along, this week I’m reading/ studying/ pondering Elder Bednar’s talk, More Diligent and Concerned at Home, one of my absolute favorite talks from this conference. Go to that link, read it, and post thoughts, comments, favorite quotes, whatever in your comments.  I’ll be back later to amend this post with my own comments (I haven’t read it yet today) so stay tuned. Or don’t. Whatever. 🙂

OK, back now.

I LOVE the structure of this talk. I love the repetition, the subtle variations within the repetition, it just worked so well. Really brilliantly structured.

I love this statement: “As disciples of the Savior, we are not merely striving to know more; rather we need to consistently do more of what we know is right and become better.”  YES! And I love that he gives us such straightforward ways to do that.

I really like the counsel that “our love for spouse, parents, and children is reflected most powerfully in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds”  – do my words and deeds, or rather, the tone of my voice, reflect my love?

I love the counsel to bear testimony in our homes. Brandy posed the question the other day of how we can make our homes a place God’s spirit can be, and I think this is a big answer. “The power of pure testimony… is the result of revelation conveyed by the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost.”  As we bear testimony (even in short, small ways), of the things we know to be true, the Spirit will bear witness of the truthfulness of what we’re saying.  The Spirit will be present in our homes, and is there a better way for our families to learn to recognize that presence?

I also love his direction to be consistent. One of the things that Hilary and I talked about today was that our intent and our efforts matter more to Heavenly Father than the outcomes of those efforts. If all He was concerned about was outcome, then His judgment of us would be based on the actions and agency of other people, and that’s hardly fair.  So as long as we’re making an effort at family prayer, family scripture study, etc, He will bless us for those efforts. And thank goodness for that. 🙂

And finally, “As we seek the Lord’s help, and in His strength, we can gradually reduce the disparity between what we say and what we do.”  Goodness knows I need all the help I can get with that.

What stood out to you?