Saturday Afternoon Session Live Blogging

(This session is during the kids' naps...obviously, I'm taking *better* notes!)

Music by a combined choir from BYU Idaho

"How Firm A Foundation"

Report from Church Audit: Contributions, expenditures, assets recorded and administered accorded to GAAP, church policies, etc

December 31st 2010:

• 2,896 stakes 
• 340 missions 
• 614 districts
• 28,660 wards and branches
• 14,131,467 members
• 120,528 new children of record (children born to members)
• 273,814 converts
• 52,225 missionaries
• 20,813 church service missionaries (many live at home)
• New Temples: Vancouver BC, Gila Valley AZ, Cebu City Phillipines, Kiev Ukraine (Laie, HI was re-dedicated
• 134 temples in operation
• Of note: Arnold Friburg has passed away (among many other former church leaders).  He was an artist

Choir: "How Great the Wisdom and the Love"

Elder Boyd K. Packer (President of the Quorum of the Twelve, or the most senior member) (Man, he gave a solid synopsis of our religion!  I love to hear him speak.)

• Scriptures: Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenenants
• We are called "Mormons" by many we don't resent it, but it's not accurate.  We call ourselves "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" or "Latter-day Saints."  
• "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies that our children may know to whom they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26)
• Same church organization as at Christ's time: 12 apostles given gift of Holy Ghost, commanded to baptize and confer the gift Holy Ghost.  After they died, there were no more apostles on the earth.
• priesthood restored 1829 by John the Baptist, by apostles Peter, James, and John.  To understand us, you must accept this.
• No coffee, tea, tobacco "Receive health in their navel, run and not be weary, walk and not faint, receive... hidden treasures of knowledge"
• Procreation only between man and woman, husband and wife.  Only graver sin is shedding innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost.
• We must and we can resist all temptations.
• Plan of happiness centers on family life, husband is head of home, wife is heart of home.
• Latter-day Saint Man: family man, faithful in gospel, husband, father, reveres womanhood
• Latter-day Saint Wife sustains husband
• both nurture spiritual growth
• Love all, frankly forgive.
• don't take offense.  "leave it alone"
• don't condemn God for man's mistakes. We are all ordinary.
• Forget your burdens, a lot of forgetting, a little repenting

Elder Russel M. Nelson (He was a heart surgeon who pioneered some of our modern methods- I love to hear him talk because you can tell how much he LOVES people.)

• Thank you for serving in your families and communities
• We live to die, and we die to live again.
• Only premature death is of one unprepared to meet God
• Don't let fears displace faith
• teach children faith
• don't follow "cafeteria approach" to obedience: can't pick and choose which commandments to follow!
• It takes faith, and keeping commandments will strengthen faith
• God's angels are on call to help us!!
• Believe God: he will hear your prayers
• It takes faith to tithe...and then tithing becomes a precious priviledge
• "Tithing will keep your name among the rolls of God, and protect you in the days of burning and vengeance ahead"
• We will suffer persecution: will you be crushed, or motivated to be exemplary
• "We don't not life to fight life's battles alone"
• "I the Lord will fight their battles, and their children's, and their children's children's to the third and fourth generation"

Choir and Congregation: "Press Forward Saints"

Richard J. Maynes

• Selfishness, greed, pornography: Satan's tools
• Satan doing everything he can to destroy the family, does not want us to be happy
• There is power in establishing "celestial traditions" in home: things that strengthen us.  (FHE, prayer, scripture reading, etc.  Christ-centered home.)
• Teach our children faith, teach them of Christ

Cecil O. Samuelsen Jr.

• To gain and retain a testimony
• Everyone willing to keep commandments can have a testimony
• A testimony needs constant nourishment

1. Everyone has worth, as a child of God
2. A testimony is gained gradually
3. Grow from challenges, be grateful for lessons learned
4. Trust in things we know, to sustain in hard times
5. Hope, believe, and then know truth
6. Teaching others strengthens our testimony
7. Do daily tasks reguarly: scriptures, temples, visiting teaching, church
8. Don't hold others to higher standards than we keep
9. Being too hard on our selves just as bad as too casual when we make a mistake
10. Atonement is continuously operative

• We gain testimonies from doing things, and do things because we have testimonies.  CIRCLE!!

Elder Dallin H. Oakes (He's so matter of fact!)

• What do we desire, how do we rank desires?
• Desires, priorities
• priorities, choice
• choices, actions
• Desire for food, shelter, and sleep can all be overridden (Have a greater goal)
• desire, labor, faith to have promised blessings
• All who have temple marriage should do all they can to keep it
• Those who aren't married should strive for a temple marriage.

Elder M. Russell Ballard

• Don't ignore tiny things, looking for big ones
• Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, no matter how complicated we try to make it
• "Love the Lord with all thy heart"
• "Love thy neighbor as thyself"
• Serve at home, at church, in community.  Be kind, supportive, sensitive
• Give service, serve missions
• Respond to friends and neighbors needs, many will want to know more about us.  Church will expand through love.
• Listen to promptings, who needs our help
• We can all do something to help someone.
• Most important gift is charity