General Conference April 2008

I can't remember a General Conference when I felt uplifted any more than the most recent one. I had been hoping and praying that Pres. Monson would give a talk that would really confirm for me the divinity of his calling. Nothing against Pres. Monson, really, but I have heard his stories so many times I just wanted something different. I didn't hear it Saturday night at Priesthood session, but Sunday morning and afternoon the Spirit bore witness to me during his talks that he is truly a prophet of God.

I have felt for year that there is a qualitative difference between a Seventy talk and an Apostle talk, and a qualitative difference between an Apostle talk and a First Presidency talk. All the talks this conference were excellent, but the talks by those Apostles who spoke on doctrines (Oaks, Holland, Ballard, Bednar, Packer, etc) were exceptional. And then there were the talks by the First Presidency! I have always enjoyed Pres. Uchtdorf's talks, but this time he really bowled me over. I would defy anyone to listen to his Sunday morning talk and not be moved. I plan to download the Apostle and Presidency talks in video format to a CD soon and pass them out to nonmember friends (as well as keeping one for myself).

What a glorious time we live in, when we can sit in the comfort of our living rooms and participate in a meeting 600 miles away because some light beams are bounced off a satellite thousands of miles above us in geosynchronous orbit. When we can log on to the Internet a couple of days later and watch each talk online, and download the text of the talk to read or download it to our MP3 player. Think of the advantages of being able to lift our spirits every day as we go through the trials of life! I never cease to be amazed. We are really blessed.