During the last General Conference in April, I wrote down quotes and thoughts from every single talk in the four main sessions. Little did you know, I was pregnant at the time and during one particular talk in the Sunday morning session, I was hit with morning sickness... hard. For that talk, I stole quotes from Twitter, because I had been too occupied in the bathroom to listen.
Look where I am now. Home with my twin girls.
During that conference, I didn't know I was having twins yet and didn't fully comprehend why my morning sickness was so bad. I was frustrated and upset and didn't know how to cope.
And now I'm watching conference with my girls, an official mother, tired and worn out, and not fully knowing how to cope.
It is impossible to write out notes for every single talk. It's turning out impossible for me to listen to every talk. However, I was able to fully listen to one. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk during the Saturday morning session. And one quote stood out to me more than any other.
"Here in mortality, perfection is still pending."
Many times as a member of the church we are put under a pressure to be perfect. I remember first being married and going to a married student ward and watching my ward members competing to show they were the most perfect and holy. But knowing those people now, it was all an act. They were pretending to be perfect.
Nobody is asking us to be perfect now.
Yes, it's the scriptures a million times that we need to be like Christ, who is perfect. But every general authority has said at one point that they know we are not perfect. It is impossible to be truly perfect. But that doesn't mean we should ever stop trying.
I have said on this blog many times that I am far from a perfect Mormon. I've made millions of mistakes. I have a tattoo. I don't read my scriptures every day and sometimes take a break for months before trying again. I often struggle to pay my tithing. I haven't had a temple recommend in two years... until recently.
Recently I was able to get a temple recommend after two years in order to be there for my sister's sealing. And when I went into the temple, I felt such joy and peace. I was very much pregnant and every motion was a struggle, but not while I was in the temple.
As a new mother, I want more than anything to raise my children in a gospel filled home. While pregnant, I often felt pressure to be perfect so I can be an example for my girls. But I am not expected to be perfect. No one is perfect and I will never be the exception.
I will never be perfect. My perfection is still pending. But as long as I'm trying my hardest to be my best self, then I will never fail.
Hello friends! I'm feeling really emotional today. Maybe it's my cold that's already making my eyes (and nose) water or that it's October or that my birthday is coming up or that it's General Conference or that I cannot tell you the last time I cried (that's a literal achievement). There's a lot going on. So this post is basically pouring out my heart.
This weekend is General Conference. I remember last October conference very well. I went on a trip with my family to St. George. We listened to the sessions while driving and went to a musical at Tuacahn. Oh. And I was pregnant.
My mom took me shopping in St. George and bought me some maternity clothes. We had talked a lot about my future child and how excited we all were for it. My baby was the first grandchild in the family and all of us were so excited to welcome them into the family.
But... as fate would have it, a few weeks later my baby stopped growing. It took a couple weeks for me to realize and on my birthday on November 4th, I had a surgical procedure to remove the fetus from my body.
I was no longer pregnant. I no longer had a child. My parents were no longer going to be grandparents. And I was no longer going to be a mother.
It sucked. And that's putting it extremely lightly.
My whole plan for my life had collapsed. I was lost and I didn't know what to do. The next year of my life had been planned around being a mother and now...
When April General Conference rolled around I barely registered it. I'm pretty sure I had it playing in the background of my apartment but I didn't pay attention. April Conference had landed the week before my baby was supposed to be due.
I was angry and bitter. I was horribly depressed. I was in pieces. I was confused. I was lost. I didn't have friends or anyone to talk to. I felt so alone and helpless.
I had prayed every day of my pregnancy that my baby would be safe. And I prayed for a few weeks after my miscarriage that I would be comforted. And then I just stopped.
I don't remember what triggered it, my return to the gospel. I think all it took was one more prayer. One prayer asking my Father in Heaven for help.
I started going to church again. I started (occasionally) praying again. I started making an effort to take control of my life.
This weekend, listening to General Conference I'm reminded how blessed we are to hear the words of God through modern day prophets. I believe, with all my heart, that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called of God. The messages that he shares with us each conference are the words of God, the words we need to hear most.
I'm not perfect. I still make so many mistakes. I have things to repent for and changes to make. I don't consistently pray or read my scriptures. I still have work to do to get my testimony stronger. I still struggle now and again, those feelings of anger coming back to me. But God has never once given up on me and I would be crazy to ever give up on Him.
I'm not a perfect member of the church, nor do I think anyone really is. But I know that this church is true and as long as I center my life around God, then I know I'm in a better place.
I love General Conference and I urge each of you, members or not, to watch the Sunday sessions and see what you can take from it. There's so much information, but as long as you take one small thing from it, then its done it's job.
Never give up on God. Because he will never give up on you.
If you would like information on General Conference or the LDS church in general, you can visit www.mormon.org. You can also send me an email at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com and I would be happy to send you a Book of Mormon.
This weekend is General Conference!! So as this is being posted on my blog, my husband and I are probably lazily lying around the house watching it. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormon. Twice a year the leaders of our church give talks to help us as members. There are a variety of two-hour sessions for General Conference. I'm not good at giving all the details so you can learn more HERE.
If you aren't already watching it, you can see how you can view or listen to General Conference HERE. I'm planning on doing a "What I Learned From General Conference" post sometime later, but for now, here are my top ten reasons why I love General Conference!!
1. German Pancakes
We're starting with the lowest. It is an Ostrowski family tradition that we get German pancakes every Sunday morning of General Conference. I don't know how the tradition started but it's a delicious one that I plan on continuing with my future family and currently with my husband. Last October my sister was up in Logan and helped me make them but this time it's all me, and I'm not always the best baker. Wish me luck tomorrow!!
2. Lying around in pajamas.
Yep. It's just fun. And super lazy.
3. General Conference Bingo!
Last year on my blog I created a General Conference Bingo! I got the idea from a friend of mine who does it every year, but he's an awesome artist who draws out his Bingo board and it always looks super cool! Mine wasn't nearly as cool, but it's still a fun thing to do, especially if you have little kids who have a hard time sitting through conference.
Last year I spent a lot of the conference sessions on Twitter tweeting out short quotes that I heard and liked. I also looked at the hashtag #ldsconf and read what other people were saying about conference. I really liked it because it helped me read some quotes that I missed and it was just kind of amazing to see how many people were tweeting about this and I just felt like I was a part of this wonderful community of wonderful people. I also got a couple new followers that weekend. This weekend check out my Twitter page and see what quotes I like best!
5. The laughs.
I think people hearing about General Conference would think it's just super boring. Listening to old men speak for hours doesn't sound like a great weekend activity. But surprisingly, these incredible prophets of God know how to make us laugh. There aren't a ton of laughs comparatively, but when they happen they are always the best. I love hearing the congregation in the background laughing, it's just fun.
6. The talks are immortal.
As I'm getting ready for the day I go to my Gospel Library app and play back the old General Conference talks. Listening to them as I get ready honestly makes my day so much better, and if I ever forget a day my attitude is completely different. I absolutely love that anytime I want I can go back and listen or read any of the past conference talks, going back through all General Conference sessions, and we're at the 184th session so that's a whole lot of talks to go through and learn from!
7. The incredible speakers.
The majority of the speakers at General Conference are old men, but they are the greatest old men in the world! They are cute and funny and just the kindest people. Honestly if the men of General Conference taught my college classes, I'd be much more inclined to go and listen.
8. Questions answered
I try to think of a question as I'm going into General Conference. Something I want to learn more about or something I'm struggling with and need help with. And it's incredible because every session my question gets answered. General Conference is about lessons from God to us. He listens to the questions that we want answered and through his prophets we are able to receive an answer. It's truly an incredible thing.
9. There is always so much to learn!
It's amazing that after 184 sessions of conference they can still take a topic we know and put a new spin on it. It's truly incredible! I learn something new every single time and even as I'm listening back on the talks later I catch new things that I didn't notice before. It may seem hard to be a member of a church where you're never done learning, but in my opinion that the greatest part of it! Learning more every conference and every new week at church helps me grow and helps me to become a better person. Learning new things is what makes General Conference so great!
10. There are living prophets today!
You guys, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is to know that there are living prophets right now! And sitting through General Conference and listening to these prophets of God is the most wonderful blessing in the entire world. When you listen to what these prophets say you know that it came straight from God. God is speaking to us through them and we need to listen. I know that they are real prophets of God and that fact alone helps me get through all the hard times, because the things they say help me with my own personal trials and I know that those words came from God. Read THIS WEBPAGE to learn more about these living prophets.
I love General Conference and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend watching and hearing from the prophets of God.
THANKS FOR READING!!!
If you are not LDS and have any questions about General Conference or just my religion in general, please leave a comment below or email me your questions at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer your questions or direct you to someone who can.
A few days ago I heard this song on the radio and remembered just how happy it makes me. I've been struggling a lot lately and my life just feels like it's falling apart but I'm trying to forget about all the trials and focus on what God wants from me. In high school I did my senior solo to this song because I went through hell and back and it was only through my Father in Heaven that I was able to make it through. I absolutely love this song and it truly speaks to me in a very special way.
This weekend is General Conference!! I am super excited to hear the words of the prophets of God and to learn more and hopefully get some of my questions answered. Later today I am posting the top ten reasons why I love General Conference, so don't forget to come by later and check it out! You can learn all about the LDS General Conference HERE and learn how to view or listen to General Conference HERE and if you have any further questions feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com. THANKS!!
It's conference time again!!! My friend always makes homemade Bingo cards for conference, except he is a fantastic artist and draws these amazing little pictures for each thing, he's incredible. But I decided to make something similar for all my readers!!
I made two different Bingo cards. The first is topics usually heard during conference talks, when you hear them, you mark them off! The second is fun little things that I personally see or hear during conference! Both will be something simple to be on the lookout for while watching conference.
All my white pictures turn gray on my blog, like my blog header, it's supposed to be white.
Just click on the image and save it to your computer. If this doesn't work for you, send me an email at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com and I'll happily email it to you. I hope you all enjoy conference weekend!!
For my non-LDS readers, you can learn all about General Conference HERE and if you have any further questions, please leave a comment or send me an email and I'll do my best to answer!
and play back the old General Conference talks. Listening to them as I get ready honestly makes my day so much better, and if I ever forget a day my attitude is completely different. I absolutely love that anytime I want I can go back and listen or read any of the past conference talks, going back through all General Conference sessions, and we're at the 184th session so that's a whole lot of talks to go through and learn from!
