General Conference - October 6, 2014

He he :) I found another mouse in the house thanks to a spare mouse trap, and then I could hear another one the other night. I am going to buy more traps :) This time I threw the cinderblock too hard, as it broke :) I think we have another one for the next mouse :) 

We tried to focus on inviting people to come to General Conference this week, but we weren’t able to get around to all, and few came from the ward, to tell you the truth. I feel that they really need to hear those talks though, as did I! 

We didn’t have a single investigator that was able to go... Alejandro was going to go, but got grounded, and so wasn’t allowed to leave..... a pretty ironic punishment, because as it says in the book of Mormon, there is no more effective way to improve the behavior of the people than by the Word of God. Oh, well, we will have to help him be able to read them. 

Today we had another service projects, where we helped a sister in the ward (Karla) clean her roof! We took down a bunch of old wood and a patch of weeds that were growing in a patch of dirt up on her roof ( in Spanish it is called Sabela).

And yes, I got to watch the conference in English. But when we saw the 2 General Authorities that spoke Spanish, we changed the channel on the TV to hear their voice in Spanish :) that is awesome to thing that I can do that now :)

This General Conference was great. I can literally say that I had one of those experiences where you fell like the talks are directed directly at you. I especially felt how personal the talks were to me in the Saturday Morning session, Know which way You Face, as well as the talks on personal responsibility. 

I felt that the theme for this conference was this: Which voice do I follow? There were many talks on Personal Revelation, that we must seek answers from our Heavenly Father; on Agency and choice making, that we must be wise in our choices; talks on the authority of the Prophets of God, who serve as God´s mouthpiece; and talks on the Sacrament, that allows us to live the gospel all our life and have the Spirit to be with us, so that we can have the Spirit's voice to guide us; and also teachings on Priorities, that we must always put God first, and not listen the twisted voice of the advisary, who tempts us to do maybe good things in place of the Best things.

I feel that Heavenly Father sees that his children have a great need to harken to His voice and the voice of His servants rather than the voice of the adversary, and inspired the speakers in the conference to remind us of that. 

I really want to look at my priorities, and do what I can to stand firm and not be ''tossed to and fro'' when I hear the opinions of others. What God says is truth, absolute truth, as Elder Bednar taught, and no matter how much we justify or rationalize, wrong is wrong. 

I really have been able to learn a lot from this Conference, and it has strengthened my faith in Living Prophets and Revelation, both through them and personal. I know that this is Christ's church! 

That is amazing that Makaila and Thomas are so OLD! That is great that the family could get together to celebrate Kaila's Birthday.

But, I must say, that I felt an immense sadness to hear that a Mission is not amongst Thomas's plans for the future. Thomas, you are too good a young man NOT to take ahold of this great opportunity. A mission is to serve your Redeemer who lived, suffered and died for YOU; it is to find out WHO you really are, and to fulfill your duty to God and at least TRY and pay him back for all that he has given you. Elder Richard G Scott called out the Great Lie that we do not have time to study the scriptures. There is always time. School, Work, Sleep, Sports, and things Just For Fun, such as TV and Video Games should ALWAYS be second to scripture reading. And this applies to all things pertaining to our personal Salvation. A Mission will not only help YOU to walk the path that Jesus walked, as Pres. Monson taught, but it will allow you to help many, many others to do the same. After the Conference was over, I found myself standing in the lobby, scanning over the crowd, watching the people leave the Conference. I was marveled as I realized how many of the people I knew in the crowd and how much I loved them, and then realized, that If I had not come and accepted the Prophet's call to serve, I would not know a single one of them. There are experiences that you need to have and people you need to meet. You cannot allow the voice of the Adversary, as Elder Uchtdorf taught, blur your perception of the Greatness of God and His Work- If you want success in your future, in Sports or whatever it may be, I testify to you in the name of Christ, that you MUST take hold of this opportunity to serve an Honorable Full Time Mission. Just as we learned in the Conference, we have our Free Agency, and are responsible to make our own choices and to suffer their consequences, which not only affect ourselves, but many others. I can only invite you, I cannot obligate you. But I invite you STRONGLY. And let it be known that these are not my words, but the words of the Spirit that is in me. I am not the only one who wants you to serve. HE does too. And it is because He, as well as I, LOVE YOU. 

The Prophets are real. They are Men of God. I more sure that this is the true Church of God than I have ever have been from listening to this conference. Christ leads this Church. It is True, all True. And if it is True, we must do ALL in our power to live it and qualify for our passport to Life Eternal. 

Thank you Thank you Thank you. 

I Love you all!!!!!

Never forget what you have learned in the Conference. and Most importantly is to APPLY it. 

With my all my heart, 

Elder Redford