Incredible Stake Women's Conference

This weekend was our Stake's annual Women's Conference and it was incredible. Friday night was the Humanitarian Aid project. Each ward was asked to sew 100 school bags before the Conference and donate the school supplies to fill them. Then at the Conference we did assembly line filling of the bags. Since I think there are eight wards in the stake that means we filled 800 of them...and we did it in 45 minutes. We were like a well oiled machine.

Then three wonderful ladies did a concert for us called Womanhood...Enjoy to the End! I was laughing one minute and crying the next. I am so happy to have been there. They really touched my heart.

Saturday was the main event. As we entered we were given a rock and asked to write on it about a time that the Lord had helped us. After breakfast we were told the story of Eleazer and the 12 stones that he asked to be carried then then built as an alter to their thankfulness to the Lord. Some of the sisters had created a HUGE silhouette of the L.A. Temple on the back wall of the Cultural Hall. It was beautiful and even had a gold Moroni pointed to the east on top. After we had written on our stones we were asked to enter the temple and as we passed the alter to leave our stones on it. Very cool.

The choir was incredible and even had three violins, a cello, a harp and gorgeous organ music accompaniment. They sounded so good!

The key not speaker was Sister Sydney Reynolds, form General Primary First Counselor. Some of her comments that I wrote down:
-The tender mercies of the Lord are over you.
-We need to turn to the Lord with our burdens.
-Righteous women will be denied no blessings.
-We have a part to do but we don't have to do it all.
-Listen to the prophets.
-Learn to listen and follow the promptings of the Spirit.

Next we heard from Sister Lani Reynolds.
She spoke about the three gardens that the Lord has given us. The Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden Tomb. She gave us a list of some of the garden tools that we have all been given.
-Fasting (not just from food, but from negative thoughts, getting angry, etc.)
-Self Talk (self rejection is the greatest enemy to a righteous life)
-Our divine role as a woman
-Prayer (it can be our armour)
-Extending ourselves
-Giving up our favorite sins (I really liked that phrase!)
-Scriptures (the more you read the more delicious they become) SO TRUE! She challenged us to always have a scripture in our heart to be pondering.
-Counsel from the Brethren
-Being virtuous and true

President DeLewis Porter, our Stake President then spoke. Some of his comments:
-Think well of yourself. He said that over and over.
-Those negative feelings you have come not from the Savior, but from Satan.
-Everything about the temple points towards the Savior.
-Attend the temple.
-We choose...the devil is impotent, he cannot make us do anything we don't want to do.
-Make correct choices in your life.
-Take control.
-Do your best...make sure it is your very best.

Our final speaker was Elder William F. Reynolds, an Area Seventy. He spoke about building Zion. He said:
-The Lord is concerned with the kind of people we are not what we do for a living.
-He said that the purpose of manhood is to protect and support mother's raising their children.
-When we make a change in our lives it goes right down the line to our children and grandchildren.
-The great unknown power in this church is fasting. Not just from food, but from anything that takes our focus off the Lord.
-Fasting can break every yoke.
-Fast anything and everything you struggle with will get better.
-This world is the illusion, God is the reality.
-We need to choose to build our lives around the Savior.

I came away mentally and spiritually uplifted beyond measure! Thanks to our great Stake Relief Society Presidency for putting it together for us.