General Conference

This past weekend was general conference!!! In the past few years I have become more and more shocked with how quickly conference starts and then ends. I remember as a little girl going to the stake center for what felt like days. Now conference starts, and before I know it the amazingness is ending. I kind of dread the man who gives the closing prayer on Sunday afternoon sessions. 
On Sunday Jeff and I had the blessing of going to temple square. We didn't have tickets and we did not even try to get into the conference center. Instead we watched the speakers on the big movie screen in the Joseph Smith building. I wanted to go just to see temple square.

 There is some kind of beauty and peace that is there all the time, but especially during conference time. At one point Jeff and I were walking by the reflecting pool and a man with a HUGE camera lens was pointed right at us just shooting away. Who knows we might just be in the ensign :) Last general conference Jeff, a few other friends, and I went to temple square and sat out on the grass and listened to conference as they projected it out on a loud speaker. Doing that is my favorite. I little of me always feels like we are the people in the Book of Mormon who are sitting with their tents facing King Benjamin as he gives his address to the people.  

(Salt Lake City Temple Reflecting Pool 10-7-12)

 

April's General Conference       

(Allisham, Amber, Jeff, Carrie, Jeremy)

For the second session we drove to Janneke's home, Jeff's sister, who lives near Salt Lake. Her home is always so fun because it feels like a home. Such a nice break from college apartments and the bubble of college life. 

                                                       
This is Christopher and Benjamin, Janneke's little boys, that Jeff are holding. The above picture of Christopher is of him falling asleep while cuddling with Jeff and I during conference :)  So adorable!!!

Now for the reason why I began this blog post :)

For the past few days I have had time to ponder and think about conference. A couple things from two talks keep being at the foremost of my mind. The first has to do with the saying:

"I LIVE IT"

It comes from the quote that Sister Dibb said during conference," I'm a Mormon, I know it, I live it, and love it!" The funny thing to throw in real quick is that in BYU's book store three days after conference they are already had t-shirts with this saying printed on it. A little quick there to make money? It definitely made me laugh :) 

I loved her testimony shining forth about how proud she is to be a Mormon and how we ought to be as well, but what I keep remembering is the "I Live It" part of her quote. I keep thinking is

1. LIVE THIS MOMENT

    * feel the dancing more and move to the music

    * study and learn, enjoy the learning process

    * escape in the reading

    * get lost in the running

    * feel the love I have towards person that I am with or that I am serving

There are so many things in life that we just do. They become normal as they turn into the pattern of our daily lives. We don't live forever. Why let those mundane things pass without truly living the experience. I know it is a little silly, but I do not want to miss on seeing something amazing at all times in this life. This is the life I have and I don't want to miss it, I want to live it!!! Walking home from school last night I saw a tree that I had never noticed before even though I am sure I have done that walk more than a hundred times. Today I called a friend and talked to her for an hour. As Pres. Uchtdorf said in his talk, which is the other talk that I keep thinking about, "Spend more time with loved ones, don't waste your time on things that don't really matter." People truly are the most important blessings we have in our life.  President Uchtdorf said, "Give people the gift of your precious time." I know that other things in life are important. Spending time studying is a need to get us to where we can work and do what we love. And with a good a job that gives us comfort of income, less stresses, and more leeway in choosing time so we can spend more time with our loved ones. I also feel that other than time, meaning long periods of time was, really focusing on those we love with the allotted time we have when we are with them. There is a difference in giving someone our undivided attention and being destracted by other things such as work or school when we are with them. 

Basically I do not want to regret when my life on this Earth is almost over. And to put it in a smaller scale. I do not want to regret when my college life is over. I do not want to regret when a vacation is over or when my years of being a mother is over. I do not want to regret about what kind of spouse or daughter I was.  It makes me sad to think of reaching an old age and thinking

 "I never became the person I wanted to"

I am making a goal right now to not allow this to happen!!!

(my little secret from conference. I became a stalker

and took a picture of this beautiful orange vehicle because I 

kind of fell in love)