Thanks at Conference Time

I don't have much to write or say today, except to just express my gratitude for General Conference.  It is always something of a bitter-sweet moment for me when General Conference comes to a conclusion.  It is a little bitter because I realize that it will be another six months before the next Conference, but it is sweet because the end of a Conference gives me an opportunity to sit back and reflect upon the marvelous messages that I have just heard.  While I would love to write something about each of the talks, I don't really have the time, so I figure I will just hit a few highlights.

Were I asked to name my favorite talk from this Conference, I think I would have to single out President Uchtdorf's marvelous message during the Saturday Morning Session.  That talk hit on so many things that I needed to hear that it left me--and likely tens of thousands of other people--feeling like it had been given just for me.  Everything in it, from President Uchtdorf's touching story about his time in Texas, to his powerful witness about our worth in God's eyes, was touching.  It really spoke to me and to my present circumstances.

Equally touching to me was the wonderful message by Elder Robert D. Hales.  Everyone who saw it and heard it knows that Elder Hales is going through some very challenging circumstances right now.  Yet despite his own health problems, he cared enough about us to come and deliver a powerful discourse on the Atonement and upon how we can apply it to our lives during times of adversity.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Elder Hales.

President Monson's talks in the Priesthood Session and the Sunday Morning Session were likewise moving.  Both talks were powerful warnings about the dangers of moral relativism.  As a graduate student in history, I found these talks particularly important and was struck once again with a feeling of profound gratitude to live in a day when we have Prophets to warn and teach us.

Finally, I can't express just how excited I was to hear the announcement that the Provo Tabernacle will be rebuilt as Provo's second Temple (currently accepting suggestions for it's name--NUSKIN related suggestions need not apply).  When the Tabernacle burned down, I was shocked.  The Provo Saints had struggled and sacrificed more than I can comprehend to build that building and I took its loss very deeply.  I believe that rebuilding it as a House of the Lord is at least as much a statement about the faith of those early Provo Saints as it is a statement about the faith of the city's current residents.  What a wonderful blessing it is to know that even when many people have forgotten about the faith and contributions of men like Abraham O. Smoot, God never forgets those contributions and continues to honor them down through the ages.  May we likewise live lives of faith and devotion to God's kingdom that will be worthy of His continued remembrance as the years pass on.

For all these messages and for many more, I echo Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in saying that "I give personal thanks at general conference time."

Brett