Lessons to Live By: Words of the Prophets

Did you LOVE General Conference?!  I did.  It was fabulous.  Brock and I spent the weekend in Salt Lake with the Thompson Clan and it was wonderful.  Here are some of the important lessons I learned from this session:

- To paraphrase Pres. Ucthdorf:  If you're being mean, STOP IT!  :-) 

- The Church is not synonymous to the Gospel.  It is more important to be active in the gospel, but that activity can be supported by activity in the church.

- Elder Oaks reminded us that we owe everything we have to our Savior, so we must dedicate everything we have and do to his Eternal purposes.

- I noticed a lot of themes about overcoming adversity, letting go of the past, and moving forward.  We are never alone or unloved.

- I liked Elder Scott's point about keeping our bodies healthy so we are better able to serve the Lord.  There's some motivation to exercise!  Ha ha ha :-)

- Ask yourself this question:  "What thinks Jesus of me?"  And if you don't like the answer, change it.

- President Monson's talk was a powerful reminder of why we are really here.  "We enter mortality with the power to think and to achieve. . . We were sent here with a way to return home."  I loved that.  We need to slow down and focus on what really matters in life.

Conference is such a precious gift we have.  In Primary the other day, we were talking about following the Prophet.  We gave examples of prophets such as Moses and Elijah, and talked about how the people were blessed for following their words.  We have the opportunity to listen to a prophet just like Moses and Elijah, in the comfort of our homes, every 6 months.  I think it's important to not take that precious time for granted, but to listen to the guidance that is so readily available to us.  I am so grateful to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I know that, no matter what our lives, situations, or beliefs, the words we hear from the prophets are excellent lessons to live by!

Truth.

This weekend was LDS General Conference.  We had two days chucked full of amazing servants of the Lord telling us what we can do to improve our lives.  My highlights:

- Social Media?!  A theme throughout all of the talks!  We have these amazing tools for connecting and reaching out to people; it's easier than it's ever been.  Twitter, Facebook, Texting, Email, Video Chat, Mormon.org, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Blogs...  We should use them to spread the amazing joy of the Gospel to others.  Service and missionary work has never been so convenient!  Yay for the church being up with the times in technology!

- Stand constant and fearless.  I noticed a huge theme about the growing chasm between the standards of the world and the standards of the Lord.  We cannot stay in luke-warm water, in between the good and the bad.  We must make a decision to stand for what is right and resist the temptations that surround us.  Then we must have the courage and charity to share our knowledge and happiness with others.

- Families are Forever.  I have always loved the emphasis our church places on the family, and it was definitely reiterated in conference this weekend.  We must make our family a top priority, and cut out other things in our lives that get in the way of that priority.

- Busy does not equal productive.  This talk was very special to me because this is what I have been striving to embrace for the past year.  It has been my goal to change my life so that I prioritize what is most important, and cut out the unnecessary extra responsibilities that always creep up.  We should allow ourselves enough time to be well rested, enjoy family bonding time, grow closer to the Savior, and listen to spiritual promptings.  Sometimes we may have to cut out other responsibilities to make room for that, but I know from personal recent experience that it is so very worth it.


Those are the main things I took from conference.  Wasn't it wonderful?  Feel free to leave comments of your highlights of General Conference, I'd love to hear!  I am so very grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God and receives modern revelation to guide us and help us in our every day lives.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he personally knows and loves each one of us.  I am grateful to have the scriptures as such a wonderful tool to invite the spirit and peace into my life at any given moment.  I love the power of music and the wonderful spirit that hymns bring as we praise the Lord through song.  I am so grateful that I get to be with my husband, Brock, for eternity and for this wonderful church that supports us on our journey.  My name is Aubrey, and I'm blessed to be a Mormon!

Of Things That Matter Most

So, Day 29 is put a picture of yourself as a child.  Haha, Day 18 was put a picture of you 10 years ago, which for me and Brock = Childhood.  So, on to, Day 30!  Oh my goodness this 30 days of randomness has come to an end!

And the topic is....  Something you learned about yourself in the last 30 days.

Well, counting back to Day One, this "30 Days" actually took me 114 days.  So I have learned that there are other things to do in life besides blogging?  hahaha.  Just kidding.  We have had a great last 114 days.  This summer has rocked!  And I will tell you something I have learned this summer.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk last year entitled, "Of Things That Matter Most". It really hit home to me.  My whole life I have always been "go-go-go" nonstop.  Always finding ways to keep myself as busy as possible.  Always ALWAYS stressed.  I was falling into the category Uchtdorf said of people who "think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives."  I heard the talk, thought it was great, but I didn't change anything right away.  I was scared of changing and I didn't know how.  Hence, I still kept busy. 

And this summer, I decided to change that.  I decided that life is too short to rush through it.  I decided to follow President  Uchtdorf's advice that "there is more to life than increasing its speed...focus on the things that matter most."  And I taught myself how to relax.  I quit my unnecessary second job.  I put a cap on how many piano and voice students I would accept.  I organized my schedule so that free time for myself was always part of it.  I made a list of what was most important to me and scheduled out my time to prioritize them.  My priorities became:

Be a good wife
Be a good member of the church
Be happy, stress-free, and relaxed (AKA Aubrey time)
Be a good daughter/sister/family member
Be a good home-maker
Be a good friend
Be a good teacher


I devoted a little bit of time every day to each of those roles in my life, because I decided that in my life, that was what mattered most.  And I will tell you, and Brock will tell you, I am a changed woman!  I feel so good!  And I want to share this advice with the world!  We are never required to run faster than we are able.  This life is about learning and being happy.  I am so grateful for this opportunity I took this summer to self-reflect and really decide what is most important to me in this world.  I am fully, genuinely, happy.  And virtually stress-free.  Whoever is reading this, I invite you to join me in the club!  Take a leap of faith and de-stress your life.  I promise it's worth it.  It's scary, but it's worth it.  You can do it!