Thoughts on Conference

Conference was FABULOUS! I especially loved Elder Bednar's talk. Sister Call and I had had a rough lesson the night before. And everything Elder Bednar mentioned, went on in the disheartening lesson we had. (Seriously. It was PERFECT! If only our investigator had come....) The man told us a lot of........not really nice things. He told us we weren't being sincere, that we really had to know the product before we tried to promote it and sell it, and a bunch of other non-important thing. We shared scriptures, testified and used our own experiences all to teach him about how God loves him. And it wasn't enough! He doesn't feel God's love. And says that he never has. I couldn't help but cry. Sister Call did, too, and the thing is, is that he thought we were crying because we felt beat. He told us a number of times that "he was sorry if we were disappointed, he was just being sincere..." We just told him we weren't disappointed, we were just saying what we knew was to be true. We were crying because we could feel God’s love for him, even if he couldn’t.

I feel so much overwhelming love for the people here. Even those who I meet the very first time. And it literally breaks my heart when they do not recognize that they are a child of God--a special one at that--and claim they cannot and have never felt the love of Him. Each and every day my love for Him grows as I continue to recognize His hand in my life. Yes, life is hard. Yes, sometimes I feel alone, but I am not. Just as it says in John 14, Christ "will not leave [us] comfortless." He has already walked alone, so that we, would never have to do as He did. He is always there. Doctrine & Covenants 24:8 says that God is with us to the end. I know this to be true. Even if it's harder to feel at some times more than others. God DOES love us. And wants us to be happy. That kind of happiness can come from fully living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My invitation this week for you all, is that if you ever feel alone or unloved, study the scriptures. My minds reflects back to last General Conference when Henry B Eyring mentioned that as a young man, he drowned his troubles as he poured over the Book of Mormon. For me, when I seek comfort, I turn to the Doctrine & Covenants. That is something that my wonderful professor at BYU, Karen Hepworth, taught me. There are themes in that sacred book of scripture. Two of my favorite being, “Be of good cheer” and “Thine adversity will be but a small moment.”

I know that this Gospel is true. I know that only by keeping God’s commandments will we be able to feel that everlasting (not just temporary) happiness and joy that God desires each one of us to have in our lives. I know that Thomas S. Monson is His living prophet in these last days. Iknow that Jesus is the Christ and that with His help, we can overcome any earthly sorrow. And Iknow that God is our Heavenly Father. And that He loves us—more than we can imagine. If you cannot or think you have never felt His love, I invite you all to pray for that specific knowledge tonight. If there is any prayer that God wants to answer, it is that one. I know it’s true, because He has answered mine.

I love and pray for you all. Susume! ;) (Has anyone read the September Liahona?)

Love Always,

Hermana McCulloch