General Conference is coming up in 6 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

General Conference for Kids

by Lynn Wilson

       The art of motivating children to glean something out of General Conference requires preparation too. I teach them a song to help memorize the twelve apostles by name. I put up pictures so they can identify them more easily when they are speaking. The more I teach them about our leaders, the closer they feel toward them. Sometimes before Conference we talk about themes that might come up in talks. Twelve themes are taped to in a cupcake tin. Then during conference I fill each cup with a healthy snack which they get to eat when they identify a theme. This helps the kids (and parents) listen. The church’s website for General Conference “Bingo,” fill in the blank, word puzzles, and other handouts have been a great help for young ones.

           By the time my kids are eight, I encourage them to join in listening to the Saturday sessions too. I have notebooks and pencils for each child. The younger ones draw pictures of what they hear while the older ones take notes. I find dressing them in Sunday clothes helps them to appreciate the sacredness of the experience even if we are staying home. We talk about the Conference talks afterwards at well—during meals, family home evening, and before bedtime prayers. As difficult as it is, the more I sincerely love the messages, the more my children’s interest is piqued.

 

Lynne Hilton Wilson earned her Ph.D. in Theology and American Religious History from Marquette University.  Her doctoral dissertation compared Joseph Smith’s understanding of the Spirit with his contemporaries. Her master’s degree focused on New Testament studies. She attended BYU as an undergraduate and studied nursing and music. She returned to BYU has as an adjunct professor of Religion, and to teach at Education Week. She is presents regularly at the Mormon History Association, Society of Biblical Literature, and the like. She has served in the Church Education System for the past 35 years.  Currently she teaches Institute.  Previous Publications include: Christ’s Emancipation of New Testament Women, Nativity Narratives, Learning the Language of the Lord: A Guidebook to Personal Revelation, To Witness Easter, and articles in BYU Studies, the Interpreter, Religious Educator, and the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is co-founder of BookofMormonCentral.org. She and her husband, Elder Dow R. Wilson live in Palo Alto, California. They have seven children (all with red hair), and eight grandchildren (blond, ginger, and brown).

 

General Conference is coming up in 7 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

How I prepare for General Conference

by Lynn Wilson

         General Conference is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Often my enjoyment of is directly related to my preparation. When I take the time to reread or relisten to previous conference talks, prepare questions I need help with, and prepare my life to take time off for a full-two-day-religious-holiday, I am more apt to feel empowered by the messages. Perhaps the most important preparation is praying for a meek or teachable heart and the Spirit’s witness that the words are inspired from God

       During Conference, I often take notes to help me focus while listening, This way I can also record spiritual promptings. To help me focus I try to find a core message and give each talk a “title” (my titles are rarely correct, but it’s still helpful). When I am in-tune with the Spirit I feel that I am learning not just from our General Authorities, but directly from our Lord. I try to listen with both the micro and macro view. On a micro level I listen for answers to my questions. On a macro view I listen trying to put myself in the river of God’s revelation.

        To solidify my resolve after General Conference, I talk with friends and family about it. I reread my notes, and impressions. I often see things I forgot. I always appreciate the chance to slowly go over the written record when they become available.

 

Lynne Hilton Wilson earned her Ph.D. in Theology and American Religious History from Marquette University.  Her doctoral dissertation compared Joseph Smith’s understanding of the Spirit with his contemporaries. Her master’s degree focused on New Testament studies. She attended BYU as an undergraduate and studied nursing and music. She returned to BYU has as an adjunct professor of Religion, and to teach at Education Week. She is presents regularly at the Mormon History Association, Society of Biblical Literature, and the like. She has served in the Church Education System for the past 35 years.  Currently she teaches Institute.  Previous Publications include: Christ’s Emancipation of New Testament Women, Nativity Narratives, Learning the Language of the Lord: A Guidebook to Personal Revelation, To Witness Easter, and articles in BYU Studies, the Interpreter, Religious Educator, and the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is co-founder of BookofMormonCentral.org. She and her husband, Elder Dow R. Wilson live in Palo Alto, California. They have seven children (all with red hair), and eight grandchildren (blond, ginger, and brown).

General Conference is coming up in 9 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

About Those Conference Predictions

by Benjamin Pacini

Anyone who is making conference predictions is probably just trafficking in conference-mania.

Ask me how I know. [Read more…] about FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 9 Days!

General Conference is coming up in 11 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

Yesterday’s post is here. I was apparently so excited to get started that I embedded the wrong video! That has now been corrected, so you can go back and watch it.

Today (in the video that was originally posted yesterday) Jennifer Roach talks about what you can do to help others that are upset about something they hear in General Conference.

Jennifer Roach earned a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and a Master of Counseling from Argosy University. Before her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she was an ordained minister in the Anglican church. Her own experience of sexual abuse from a pastor during her teen years led her to care deeply about issues of abuse in faith communities.

General Conference is coming up in 12 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we will be doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

Today we will start things off with a video from Jennifer Roach: “What should you do if you hear something in Conference that you really don’t agree with?”

Jennifer Roach earned a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and a Master of Counseling from Argosy University. Before her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she was an ordained minister in the Anglican church. Her own experience of sexual abuse from a pastor during her teen years led her to care deeply about issues of abuse in faith communities.