It's that time again....

Yet again it is General Conference time. General conference happens twice a year, April and October. It is when the leaders of the Mormon church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speak to the whole church and anyone who happens to tune in. You are more than welcome to participate if you so desire. Here is the link . It will be going on on Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am and 2:00 pm Mountain time. It is so inspiring. So very uplifting.

Of course that is 8 hours worth of inspiring words that my children don't always um... get engrossed in. Let's just say some sessions in our past have gone more smoothly than others. Of course before Thomas Monson became the prophet I heard him say "Those are very large spirits to fit in such tiny bodies. We shouldn't get too frustrated with them when it is hard to keep still." That gave me great comfort. The idea right now is that each child and adult will have a notebook and something to write or color with. Those who can write will be required to take some version of notes, even if it is just one word that you thought was the main topic of that particular talk.

We have also tried a game in which you pick a specific word to listen for, such as love, atonement, scriptures, prayer, temple, etc. Then when the speaker says that word you get to eat an M&M or a Skittle or whatever candy we have on hand. It was rather effective and did keep focus. It was a bit on the disruptive side to have 4 children springing up constantly demanding a piece of candy. The rules are going to change for this particular conference. This time you get to keep a tally on your paper and present it at the end of the talk. I will be keeping track too, in large part so that no one tells me they heard Heavenly Father 72 times in one talk when it was only said 12 times. We will see how it goes. I have high hopes for it.

Here is a sample of what conference is like. This is the prophet Thomas S Monson speaking. I find him very loving and inspiring.