STAKE CONFERENCE WITH GENERAL AUTHORITIES!

This weekend we had a rare opportunity for our stake conference. We had Elder Oaks and Elder Schwitzer visit our stake. We didn’t have any changes, just a visit. Elder Schwitzer is a new 70 and so this was his first stake assignment and came along for training. Boy we were in for a treat.

When you see the apostles and 70s at General Conference, they are mostly business like and more solemn but Elder Oaks seemed very happy and funny and told a lot of funny cute stories on Saturday night. I took a few notes but these are some highlights I want to share:


Elder Oaks said that the most valuable things you can do as a family are these:
1. Have a kneeling family prayer daily.
2. Family Home Evening, studying the scriptures together.
3. Dinner together daily as a family without the TV.

He admonished us to keep an eye on what is most valuable.

He said a TESTIMONY is to know and to say while being CONVERTED is to do and to become. This is steady and tranquil dedication of a lifetime.

A funny thing he said that some in every ward seem to be called to offend. They are the moaners and groaners. They never seem to be released and are good at what they do!

He said he knows we are going to be in times of affliction for a while but his widowed mother’s favorite scripture was in 2 Ne 2:2 which promises that the Lord will consecrate thine afflictions for thy good.


Elder Schwitzer had an interesting talk on commandments which are basic to the gospel and we have four stages to understand them. He calls it the 4 Ws:
1. WHAT - The commandments give us borders on how far to go.
2. WHY - We learn why we live them – scriptures say if we do not keep the commandments we will perish.
3. WANT – We want to have commandments because we see the benefit in our lives and we start to express gratitude for them.
4. WITHIN – The commandments begin to live within us and they help us look for opportunities to live them better. They become covenants with Heavenly Father.
Revelation 22:14 – “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

He also said that our most important calling was to be a teacher in our own homes. We told us to look at our house and look at what the pictures, videos, library and other media are teaching and then to do a spiritual audit of our home. He told us to be creative in teaching and said to make use of the refrigerator door, the dinner table and walks with our family. He said that teaching in our home will bless us to the third and fourth generation of our grandchildren!