General Conference

I was born in Utah and grew up in southeastern Idaho. Aside from a stint as a white-water rafting guide in Alaska just prior to my mission in Europe, I never experienced much of life outside of areas with predominantly Mormon populations. My first general conference in another country came during my mission in Italy. I remember longing to hear what the brethren were saying. The weekend of the conference came and went. Several months later, I received a copy of the Ensign with the conference addresses and poured over them with new gratitude for the words of living prophets.

A different group may be watching LDS General Conference carefully this year: political operatives and reporters interested in how church teachings may affect Mormon presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. “Once they become aware of that conference, I bet they will cover it, and they will be looking to see what is unique. And, of course, they will be looking to see what is either really weird or odd or different” or even mainstream, says Herb Asher, an emeritus political science professor at The Ohio State University, who has written about presidential campaigns for decades.

Edna Alba recalls sitting at a banquet table, bulky headset in place and her feet resting on a dirt floor underneath the Tabernacle during a session of general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). Alba assumed the task of interpreting the meeting's proceedings from English to her native Spanish language. Not only was there a dirt floor, but also an Army tent pitched as a protective barrier from interrupting noises.Alba was one of the very early interpreters for conference proceedings, beginning her volunteer service in 1966.

Conference months can be a bit tricky when constructing a message to share with the women you visit teach. In my experience, most visiting teachers just relay the admonition to read or listen to all of conference. Well, if you can’t tell by now, I am not that kind of girl. I like to think about the messages I am sharing. I like to pray for the sisters I visit teach. I do my best to avoid rattling off a sterile, stock message which would then mean nothing to me or the recipient. Sometimes I put together a series of quotes that I liked best from conference, but most often, I select a talk that strikes me. So, for this month, I have chosen the awkwardly-titled, More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us by Elder Paul V. Johnson. In this message, Johnson targets those who are going through trials. I am going through a relatively trial-free period in my life (knock on wood), but I am well aware that the appearance of being trial-free is often powerfully wrong. Even President Henry B. Eyring reminded us in 2004 to treat everyone as though they were in serious trouble. So I would like to include Erying’s advice to treat everyone as though they are going through a personal trial. Although the purpose of Visiting Teaching is so that we can get to know and serve others, some trials are so personal that it may take years before people feel they can trust you enough to not judge with whatever it is they are fighting. Be sensitive to this, and you will be able to serve as an empathetic, listening friend, which is infinitely more valuable than serving as a rote lecturer.

It was a simple smile but thousands of members of the LDS church around the world saw it. Most smiled back at the TV, but many were too busy laughing. A campaign by http://www.LDSFriends.com publicized the smile by creating images that they coined General Conference Posters. The posters went viral on Facebook and other social networking sites within a matter of hours.