Women's Conference

I've been to a lot of women's conferences and other meetings for women in the past year. I attend the Fresno Women's Network Luncheon regularly. I also attend their two annual events. I enjoy what I learn at the Central Valley Women's Conference and the monthly women's business owners roundtable. A good friend of mine and I also hold a monthly mentoring meeting for women. I enjoy all of these functions and have great friends at all of them. I always learn something and meet people who are amazing.

Yet none of those events compares to what I feel when I attend functions for the Relief Society. For those of my readers who do not know, the Relief Society is the women's organization in our church. Our local stake had a Conference today, which we have not had in a long time. We signed up to attend classes on various topics, were provided lunch, and enjoyed the company of great sisters throughout the day. It was fabulous! My friend Cresta and I signed up to sing with the choir, and we sang 8 hymns as prelude before the meeting started. The whole event was a spiritual feast!

Here are some thoughts that stood out to me today. Even though their thoughts are in quotes, they are not direct quotes (I can't write that fast!):

Sister Lawrence: (Topic: Being filled with light)"Don't dwell on the things of the world or the mistakes you've made...if you do, you'll stand still. When you're standing still, you will regress spiritually. Instead, keep your eye single to the glory of God and move forward. And remember..the Lord NEVER gives up on us. He fights for us! He gave his life for us."

Dr. Jones: (Topic: How to give your teenagers the light they need) "Church programs protect our teenagers, but they do not inoculate them. They can be taken in by the world. The answers we need to combat the world are always found in the scriptures and service. Start your children early on serving others. Remember, nothing good happens after midnight. Make it a rule never to be broken! Teach them that sex belongs to marriage only. Teach the gospel in your home and remember, you WILL receive personal inspiration regarding how to help your teenagers."

Sister Thacker: (Topic: Does your light need adjusting?) "Like the butterfly, we all have to struggle against life in order to become strong and beautiful and in order to fly home to our Father in Heaven. Remember the story of Martha and Mary...sometimes the good stuff has to wait so that we can do the best stuff...like taking care of ourselves, filling our lives with the word of God. Learn to be present here in this moment, now. Don't wish away the moments (even the bad ones) because life is terribly short. The only things we can take with us when we die are our relationships and our testimonies, so when you prioritize your life, make sure these are first. Consider this: "Be ye therefore perfect" does not mean what we think it means. It means to be whole/complete/finished. We are supposed to be perfect in faith, hope and charity, but even these cannot be attained without the help of our Savior. We have to ask for help through the Savior...only he has the power to do this!"

I'm so grateful for the day that all of us were able to enjoy! I'm grateful for specific inspiration that the Lord gave me during this event about my family. Love you all!