183rd Annual General Conference Sunday Highlights

183^rd Annual Conference  

Sunday Morning 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• Don’t resign yourself to darkness.
• Accept that darkness exists, but don’t dwell there. Light also exists. Choose to live there.
• God’s light is real and available to all.
• It takes an act of faith, to open your eyes to the light of Christ, it can’t be seen with carnal eyes, you have to act, you can’t just sit in a dark room waiting for someone else to turn on the light.
• How do we turn on the light? 1^st Start where you are.
• The heavens will open up to us with the very first steps we take.
• It doesn’t matter how unqualified you think you are, or how behind others you feel you are.
• Darkness may not dissipate all at once, but as night always gives way to dawn, the light will come.
• 2^nd turn your heart to the Lord.
• 3^rd walk in the light.
• Rise up and become the person you were designed to be.
• Help each other to lighten heavy burdens.
• Despite your difficulties and trials stay filled with light.
• Darkness will not gain victory over the light of Christ

Neil L. Andersen

• No force in the entire world can stop the work of God.
• If you don’t have a missionary badge on your coat, paint one on your heart.
• The Lord needs you now, more then ever to be an instrument in his hands.
• Pray to know who you should speak to. Names, faces, thoughts will come to mind and the Lord will bless you with your very own miracles if you act upon these promptings.
• Make sharing your faith online more a part of our daily lives. 

Rosemary M. Wixom

• Children’s believes and self worth are shaped early in their lives.
• Everyone can be an influence of good to them.
• How we speak to our children, and the words we use can uplift them and encourage them.
• Children come to this earth ready to listen.
• Speak softly to children, don’t scream.
• Spend quality time with children, interacting with them, technologically disconnecting. Don’t spend time ‘with’ them by being in the same room, but distracting them with videos or other electronics. 

L Whitney Clayton

• In the happiness of marriages, both husband and wife consider their marriages to be a pearl beyond price.
• Watch and learn.
• Humility is the essence of repentance.
• Humility is selfless instead of selfish.
• It listens kindly for understanding, not vindication.
• Husband and Wives in g treat each others as equals.
• They make decisions unanimous, both participating and entitled to an equal voice and vote.
• There are no secrets in happy marriages.
• Make decisions on finances together.
• Both have access to all information.
• Be fiercely loyal to your spouse.
• Marriage is a gift of god to men, The quality of our marriage is a gift from us to God.

L. Tom Perry

• Today we find ourselves in a war of words, deeds, and thoughts.
• Seclusion is beginning to be the norm and many of it’s believes and practices contradict the Lord’s way.
• Obedience to law is liberty.
• None of us should ever underestimate how driven Satan is to succeed.
• Each choice you and I make is a choice between liberty and eternal life, and captivity and death.
• We’re removing the glue that holds our society together by disobeying the commandments of the Lord.
• Sin will always be sin. 

Thomas S. Monson

• There are rules and laws to help assure our physical safety. Likewise the Lord has provided guidelines and commandments to assure our spiritual safety. To help us navigate our mortal existence.
• The happiness of the Latter Day Saints the peace of the Latter Day Saints the progress of the Latter Day Saints the prosperity of the Latter Day Saints and Eternal salvation and external exaltation lie in walking in obedience to the councils of God.
• Obedience is the hallmark of prophets.
• Never make excuses when given an assignment to complete.
• Refuse to deviate from what you know is right. 

Sunday Afternoon

Jeffery R. Holland

• When facing the challenge of faith, the father asserts his strength first only then acknowledging his faith.
• Hold the ground you’ve already won, even if that ground is limited.
• Hold fast to what you already know.
• Stand strong until additionally knowledge comes.
• The size of your faith, or the degree of your knowledge isn’t the issue.
• Don’t start your quest by saying what you don’t have.
• Be true to the faith you do have.
• You have more faith then you think you do.
• What we know will always trump what we do not know.
• Be kind when it involves human frailty, whether it be your own or another.
• Do not be afraid to ask for help.
• God will send help from both sides of the veil.
• Never apologize for only believing.
• Belief is always the first step to conviction.
• Now and forever, fan the flame of your faith. 

Dallin H. Oaks

• Don’t love the praise of men more then the praise of God.
• Jesus’ teachings weren’t meant to be theoretical, but to be acted upon.

Christoffel Golden Jr.

• God is ever near, and interested in us. 

Enrique R. Falabella

• A child who sings is a happy child.
• Express love constantly in many different ways.
• Read the scriptures with a spirit of prayer and meditation. 

Erich W. Kopischke

• Being accepted by good people motivates us. It increases our self worth and self confidence.
• 1. Know that our hearts are honest and broken.
• 2. Know that our Spirit is contrite.
• 3. Be aware of our conscious decision to observe our covenants through sacrifice.
• Sometimes observing our covenants is as simple as standing still when the storms of life try to knock us down.

Bruce D. Porter

• Do not fear the future, for God is with us.
• We may not understand everything that happens around us or to us, but if we humbly rely on the Lord he will help us and bless us with deep inner peace.
• Stay optimistic. 

D. Todd Christofferson

• Those in the bondage of sin can be freed through redemption/repentance.
• Do all we can to help others with their sufferings and burdens.

Thomas S. Monson

• Be good citizens of the nations in which you live, and good neighbors in your communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as our own. May we be tolerant as well as kind and loving to those who don’t share our beliefs and our standards.
• Ever be ready to extend a helping hand and a loving heart.
• Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
• Nurture and nourish your testimonies of the gospel.

To read, watch, listen to the talks of this conference in their entirety, check out the church website: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2013/04?lang=eng 

 

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

 

-Sarnic Dirchi

 

The Dream

 

I was on a scavenger hunt. In a competition with a bunch of others. Where we had to travel all over a mountainous city area fulfilling the requirements. My team had got ahead...only to realize that we had misdone one of the tasks. So we had to go back to nearly the beginning, to find a plane made of wood that we had to build. and would fly on it's own. It took forever and by the end...I'm pretty sure we were in last place. I thought about quitting, as we couldn't catch up, but stubbornly persevered.

 

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....

and I became myself again. :)

 

-S.N.D

183rd Annual General Conference Saturday Highlights

Today was a first for me.
For I actually had to work part of conference. :(
So weird!
And that last hour of work seemed to drag on forever!
But, luckily different channels replay conference right after it ends.
So I was able to watch/listen to all the talks. ^^
Yay!
Here are things I took away from today's conference. :)
 

183^rd Annual General Conference

Saturday Morning

Thomas S. Monson

•  2 New Temples! Cedar City, Utah; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• 65,634 Full Time Missionaries. Over 20,000 more have received their calls but aren’t in MTC. Over 6,000 are in the interview stage. We have created 58 new missions because of this influx. 

Boyd K. Packer

• We won’t always be safe from the adversary’s influence, even in our own homes.
• We live in a dangerous world that threatens things most spiritual, the family.
• Live in such a way that the adversary can’t steal into our homes.
• Faith is a real power, not just an expression of belief.
• Tolerance is a virtue. But like all virtues, exaggerating it can make it a vice.

Dean M. Davies

• Build on a Sure Foundation.
• Excluding any elements of the Sure Foundation, would make it unsure.
• We would be at risk at being weakened in our spiritual, structural strength. 

Elaine S. Dalton

• Where Ere Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part
• Our part matters because we matter.
• We must never lose sight of the strength of the women.
• Return to Virtue.
• Virtue is the strength and power of daughters of God.

Craig A. Cardon

• The Lord loves us and wants us to understand his willingness to forgive.
• The Lord does not limit forgiveness in accordance to the seriousness of the sin.
• He who sins against the greater light receives the greater condemnation.
• The Lord will lovingly forgive when repentance is complete, but that doesn’t mean one should return willingly to sin with impunity.
• Bear in mind that people can change.
• See men not as they are in the present, but as they may become. 

M. Russell Ballard

• Men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood. Men and women have different roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive without a man, men can’t fully use their priesthood without their wife. Both are needed. 
• If we don’t get constant ‘light’ and ‘water’ we will wilt spiritually and eventually die unless we receive the light and water.
• Let Christ’s light and living water do to you what water and light can do to a tomato plant. Make you grow.
• God will freely share his power with those who receive and honor the priesthood. 

Henry B. Eyring

• Treasure up these words in your heart…and I will encircle thee with the arms of love.
• Stand witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places.
• The Lord will bless you and your family with what is best.
• The Lord’s power will sustain you. His arms are outstretched to succor you.

Saturday Afternoon 

 

Sustaining of Church Officers

Audit Report

Statistical Report

·         14,782,473 –Total Members 

Richard G. Scott

 

·         Simple consistent good habits lead to bountiful blessings.

·         Work hard to develop your talents.

·         Stay on the Lord’s side and you will win every time.

·         Be wise in how you embrace technology.

·         Selfishness is the root of great evil.

·         Focus your lives outward.

·         Be a true friend, it fills the potholes of life and makes the journey more smooth and pleasant.

·         Trust in the Lord and his timing, that a positive answer to our prayer and rescue efforts will come.

·         There are some things that must be left to the Lord.

·         Recognize the good in others, not their stains.  

Quentin L. Cook

• The Spirit of God will not strive with the Spirit of Man. Peace will be taken from the Earth.
• You must never give up on achieving the goal of World Peace.
• It won’t come unto the world until mankind receives God.
• Honestly hope and pray for universal peace, but it is as individuals and families that we achieve this sort of peace in our lives.
• Peace is a gift of God. It’s not just a temporary tranquility, it’s a deep spiritual contentment.
• This peace will ease suffering, bind up broken hearts…and infuse our souls with happiness.
• The Savior’s peace can blot out our hate.
• Remember that God isn’t the author of confusion, but the author of peace.
• The Savior is the source of true peace. 

Stanley G. Ellis

• Do you want me to speak directly or with sugar? As a whole the Saints have generally spoken directly.
• Bloom where you are planted.
• How we raise our children is more important then where we raise them.
• We are not spiritual orphans. 

John B. Dickson

• The Gospel is available to all, the living and the dead. 

David A. Bednar

• The power to create mortal life is the most exalted power God has given. We must not misuse it.  
• Heavenly father desires to be together in the light and in hope. While Satan desires for us all to be in darkness without hope.
• Satan can’t learn the lessons that those who have mortal bodies can for he has no body. We can continue to develop and become like our Heavenly Father, while Satan’s progress has been stopped.
• He lures us to spiritual destruction by attacking the thing he doesn’t have. The sanctity of the body.  
• Love increases through righteous restraint, and decreases through impulsive indulgence.
• Guilt is to our spirit, what pain is to our body.
• The Lord’s truth isn’t altered by fads, public opinion, or polls.
• Chastity are Now, Always Have Been, and Always Will Be most dear and precious above all things. 

Russell M. Nelson

• Catch the wave.
• Have faith and enthusiasm.
• Keep all that is good and true in your life. 

 

To watch, listen, or read the conference talks, visit this website: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2013/04?lang=eng 

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

 

-Sarnic Dirchi

Clean Floors

There are things that happen....that really don't make sense to me.

Take for example Carpet cleaning.

Why on earth would you do Carpet cleaning like three weeks before half of the apartment complex moves out for the summer?
I would think you'd want to do it right after everyone moves.
I mean...think of the higher traffic all the floors receive.
More people are coming in and out.
Furniture and other heavy things are being dragged across the floors.

Seriously...I think the carpets would stay cleaner if you did them after everyone moved out. I mean all the stuff that isn't the apartment's would be gone!
But then again...for everyone moving in....it probably doesn't make much of a difference when the carpets are cleaned.

Except....it's a huge hassle to those still in school.
Especially if you've collected alot of things.
That have ended up on the floor.
Over the years.

I mean...it wouldn't be too bad if they just asked you to clean your room.
But to move all furniture that isn't the apartment's property off the carpets....
Is a huge pain.
Because we can't just stuff them willy nilly in the tiled areas.
No, the kitchen has to remain clear so the guys can reach the sink....for some cleaning purpose.
So there goes half of the space.
Then you need to leave places clear so you can actually move around the apartment...
Yah. A huge pain for one such as I.
Who has brought alot of furniture in to make my place more homey.

But. I figured it out.
I got everything out of the way. ^^

Lol and got called "Scary Efficent" by Kikay when she got home from work, as when she'd left, nothing had changed. But when she came back I had cleared out the front room and was just finishing the disaster area that was my bedroom. ^^;; Yep. All clean three hours later lol.

But now....
that the carpets are cleaned....
I have absolutely no desire to move anything back into my room.

Why?
Because I'm moving at the end of the month.
And I find it hard to put everything back....to just pack it all up again.

However, I did realize.
That this whole moving thing is going to be more complicated then I thought.
As I've forgotten about the dark places.

You know the dark places?
It's where you stick things that you don't want to deal with...an forget about them.
Like...under the bed, in a desk drawer, in a cabinet.
And now...faced with moving.
I have to face this dark abyss of things that haven't seen the light of day in months if not years.

Yah...this is going to be fun....

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

To Catch A Thief

As a young man, Brother Vern Crowley said he learned something of the crucial lesson the Prophet Jospeh had taught the early Saints in Nauvoo when he told them to "love others, even our enemies as well as friends."
This is a good lesson for each of us.

After his father became ill, Vern Crowley took responsibility for running the family wrecking yard although he was only fifteen years of age.
Some customers occasionally took unfair advantage of the young man, and parts were disappearing from the lot overnight.
Vern was angry and vowed to catch someone and make an example of him.
Vengeance would be his.

Just after his father had started to recover from his illness, Vern was making his rounds of the yard one night at closing time.
It was nearly dark.
In a distant corner of the property, he caught sight of someone carrying a large piece of machinery toward the back fence.
He ran like a champion athlete and caught the young thief.
His first thought was to take out his frustrations with his fists and then drag the boy to the front office and call the police.
His heart was full of anger and vengeance.
He had caught his thief, and he intended to get his just dues.

Out of nowhere, Vern's father came along, put his weak and infirm hand on his son's shoulder, and said, "I see you're a bit upset, Vern. Can I handle this?"
He then walked over to the young would-be thief and put his arm around his shoulder, looked him in the eye for a moment, and said, "Son, tell me, why are you doing this? Why were you trying to steal that transmission?"
Then Mr. Crowley started walking toward the office with his arm around the boy, asking questions about the young man's car problems as they walked.
By the time they had arrived at the office, the father said, "Well, I think your clutch is gone and that's causing your problem."

In the meantime, Vern was fuming.
"Who cares about his clutch?"
He thought.
"Let's call the police and get this over with."
But his father just kept talking.
"Vern, get him a clutch. Get him a throwout bearing, too. And get him a pressure plate. That should take care of it."
The father handed all of the parts to the young man who had attempted robbery and said, "Take these. And here's the transmission, too. You don't have to steal, young man. Just ask for it. There's a way out of every problem. People are willing to help."

Brother Vern Crowley said he learned an everlasting lesson in love that day.
The young man came back to the lot often.
Voluntarily, month by month, he paid for all of the parts Vic Crowley had given him, including the transmission.
During those visits he asked Vern why his dad was the way he was and why he did what he did.
Vern told him something of their Latter-day Saint beliefs and how much his father love the Lord and loved people.
Eventually the would-be thief was baptized.
Vern later said, "It's hard now to describe the feelings I had and what I went through in that experience. I, too, was young. I had caught my crook. I was going to extract the utmost penalty. But my father taught me a different way."

Howard W. Hunter -A More Excellent Way -April 1992 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

There was a murderer on the loose, and she was targeting couples. Married couples. Only she was escalating, in her killings. At first she had focused on married couples who had been married for years. But then she decreased the years. The couples had been couples for less time. Six years. Four years. Two years. A year. Six months. 3 months. their wedding day, the day before the wedding, engagement. first dates. It was getting to the point where if a guy looked at a girl either one or both were liable to be on her hit list.
So we came up with a plan. We as in Shawn and Jules from Psych. They set themselves up, to become her target. Which happened.
I ran like crazy to Kikay's car and jumped inside. Only I couldn't remember what keys to press (like laptop keys) to lock the doors. I could only remember ctrl o. But it seemed to open the doors, but I thought we were safe enough as Jules jumped into the car and there was no sign of the crazy lady. Until we started driving. Then she popped out of the trunk and stood in the back of the cab (now it was a truck) like a crazy person hair streaming in all directions. It was terrifying! Because we were basically trapped. She was going to kill us.

Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

A Mall Trip

I'm not a girly girl.
But today.
I gave in.

I needed shoes.
Like new church heels and sandals for the summer.

So I went to the mall.
As I heard Payless was having a Bogo sale.
A good way to spend money but save money at the same time.

Yah....
I ended up getting distracted.
With a different store.
I did drop by Payless to see their shoes...but it just didn't compare to what I found at
Forever Young Shoes.

Kikay turned me onto the place as a good place to get boots.
And I saw they were having a sale on boots.
So for fun I went in.
They didn't have any boots I wanted,
but I found something else.
This:



I know. It's something completely different from what I usually wear.
But it totally caught my attention.
Because at first glance it looks like a boot, or a tennis shoe with higher sides.
It's not.
They're heeled. Or I guess...Wedged?
So they're actually high heel tennis shoes.
Which make me look taller!
And surprisingly.
They're comfortable!
Awesome!!!

I know that the What Not The Wear guys totally say that you can have cool shoes that are comfortable for years.
Totally understand now. :)

Though those sandals and church shoes...totally NOT comfortable.
I will have to continue my search elsewhere for those.

But these shoes!
LOVE THEM!
I mean...I'm not a shoe person.
And I'm still squeeing over these shoes!
I don't usually wear shoes in my own apartment.
But I kept these new ones on for hours.
I just love how they feel,
;) and how tall they make me.

lol I think I caught a glimpse of what all those girly girls like about going to the mall.
Finding something that is totally you, is rather exhilarating. ^^;;

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I was at work, helping to move pallets around, but I ended up in a cabin. I was being hunted and this woodsman came in to help me, but we ended up both getting into trouble....

-S.N.D

Unintentionally

Doing things unintentionally is a ton of fun. :)
Especially when others unintentionally help me out.

Soo
As many of you may know,
Yesterday was April Fools day.

I had to pick up my cousin that evening.
And so....
I decided to drop by my parents place for a couple of hours to hang out.
As last time I had planned to hang out for a couple of hours...I ended up getting called into work and so I could only spend like twenty minutes visiting before I had to go.

Only...I didn't tell them I was coming this time.

Soo I drove home.
In pouring rain.
It totally came at me in Wavy Sheets like ten miles away from home.
I hate driving on the freeway in the rain.
Seriously.
I don't know why people prefer that to snow.
Because when enough rain gets on the road...the lines get harder to see.
And with my windows fogging up and the windshield wipers going a hundred miles an hour to no avail...
I really wished I had a nice snow trail to follow. Cus you know...other cars leave tracks in snow.
But I made it home! Following the tail lights of cars in front of me. :)

And I noticed Meralto's car wasn't in the driveway.
He was at work.
Perfect. *grins*
So I walked inside.
and I heard my mom call out. "So I guess it was the early shift then?"
-Apparently Meralto wasn't sure if he was working til this time, or a later time. It was the later time, but I came at this time.
Hehe.
I walked into their bedroom and was like; "Neither."
Haha.
My parents faces were priceless!
"You're not Meralto....SARNIC!! You're HOME!" ()_()
^^ lol that moment of confusion when they tried to process that I wasn't my brother.
Ah. A good moment. Totally made the scary drive through the rainstorm worth it. ^^ lol..
And all unintentionally as well. :)
Thanks Bro for helping me out even if you didn't know you were doing it. (and I didn't either) :D

Soo it's not quite an April Fools Joke....but still was fun. :)
I hope you guys had an Epic April Fools day!

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream...had something to do with driving...being with my sister...getting into trouble.
-S.N.D

April 1994 General Conference Saturday Afternoon

Thomas S. Monson -The Sustaining of Church Officers

• We pay tribute to Elder Marvin J. Ashton, a member of the Council of the Twelve, who passed away 25 February 1994.
• In view of the call of Bishop Robert D. Hales as a member of the Council of the Twelve, it becomes necessary to release him as the Presiding Bishop.

Ted E. Davis -The Church Audit Committee Report.

F. Micahel Watson -Statistical Report 1993

• Total membership: 8,696,224

M. Russell Ballard -Counseling with Our Councils

• Our Heavenly Father does not expect them to do everything by themselves.
• All have stewardships that require large amounts of their time, talent, and energy. But none is left to do it alone.
• Giving them a chance to offer suggestions and to be heard.
• People who feel ownership of a problem are more willing to help find a solution, greatly improving the possibility of success.
• Let us work together as never before.

Lloyd P. George -Gratitude

• "One of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are guilty to-day, is the sin of ingratitude."
• Trials are blessings in disguise if we accept them with humility, faith, and fortitude.

Kenneth Johnson -We All Have a Father in Whom We Can Trust

• I realize that my contribution was not necessary for my father to complete the work he was engaged in. I was the beneficiary, as through these experiences I came to know him and to love him.
• It is not necessary for us to know the answer to every question or comprehend the reason for every challenge we face to feel secure in the knowledge of our divine Creator.
• "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy."

Merlin R. Lybbert -The Special Status of Children

• The Lord extends special protection to children and shares jurisdiction with earthly parents, even as we enjoy their presence.
• Parents in Zion have the special responsibility of teaching and training their children in righteousness. They are to be taught "to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old." Otherwise, the Lord declared, "the sin be upon the heads of the parents." This teaching is to be done before a child reaches the age of accountability, and while innocent and sin-free. This is protected time for parents to teach the principles and ordinances of salvation to their children without interference from Satan. It is a time to dress them in armor in preparation for the battle against sin. When this preparation time is neglected, they are left vulnerable to the enemy. To permit a child to enter into that period of his life when he will be buffeted and tempted by the evil one, without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and an understanding of the basic principles of the gospel, is to set him adrift in a world of wickedness. During these formative, innocent years, a child may learn wrong behavior; but such is not the result of Stan's temptations, but comes from the wrong teachings and the bad example of others. In this context, the savior's harsh judgement of adults who offend children is better understood, wherein he said, "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about  his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."

Dallin H. Oaks -Tithing

• During the Great Depression, President Grant continued to remind the Saints that the payment of tithing would open the windows of heaven for blessings needed by the faithful. In that stressful period, some of our bishops observed that members who paid their tithing were able to support their families more effectively than those who did not. The tithe payers tended to keep their employment, enjoy good health, and be free from the most devastating effects of economic and spiritual depression.
• I pay my tithing, not only because it is a law of God, but because I expect a blessing by doing it.
• I believe that when many citizens of a nation are faithful in the payment of tithes, they summon the blessings of heaven upon their entire nation.
• The payment of tithing is a test of priorities.

L. Tom Perry -"Therefore I Was Taught"

• Five basic concepts that could increase every family's chances for success.
• First, strengthen relationships through family activities;
• Second, establish reasonable rules and expectations;
• Third, build self-esteem;
• Fourth, set achievable goals;
• Fifth, periodically evaluate family strength and needs.
• Let your hearts be turned to your children, and teach your children; but you must do it when they are young enough to be properly schooled.
• You are a chosen generation--saved for this special time in the history of mankind.
• The application of this program will be a shield and a protection to you against the evils of our time and will bring you, individually and collectively, greater and abundant joy now and in the eternities hereafter.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi