Monday, April 2, 2012

What a Glorious Conference Weekend!

Hello, all! I hope that your days are happy, and that you´re finding joy in the simple things. I think that sometimes those simple things are the most important:)

I hope that you all had the privilege of watching General Conference! What a blessing we have, to listen, to watch, and to learn from the words of apostles, prophets, and other divinely-called servants of the Lord! As we hear their words, we hear the voice of the Savior, speaking to us all, each and every one.

It is a blessing for me to see how General Conference works in a foreign country, and in a foreign tongue. Here in Brazil, we watch Conference live. Because of the time difference, this means that we watch the Saturday morning session, which starts at 9 am in my home and 10 am Mountain Standard Time, at 1 pm in the afternoon. We watch the Saturday Afternoon session at 5 pm, which is usually at 1 pm at my home and 2 pm in Salt Lake. The Priesthood session is from 9pm to 11pm here, which is why they record it, and replay it the next morning at 8am, because it is easier for a lot of people. The Sunday sessions are at the same times as the Saturday sessions were.

What a privilege to learn and see that the Lord makes the technology available that all of His children can hear the words of His servants, in their own tongues, and in every part of the world. I was also blessed because I was able to watch nearly all of the sessions in English. I am improving with my understanding of the Portuguese language, and I need all of the practice that I can get, but there really is power in hearing the actual voices and words of the Lord´s servants. I felt the same Spirit that always attends the sessions of General Conference, and I felt the love of the Lord. What a blessing!

It was also cool to see the missionary choir from the Provo MTC. I only felt a little bit jealous, because I was at the MTC in Provo last Conference, and they didn't ask the MTC Choir to come to Conference last October:) But, what an opportunity for those missionaries now! I was also surprised to see a familiar face in the choir: Elder Barber, who is from my stake (or, at least he was from my stake before it split last year). Anyway, it was cool to see his face. I was also extremely surprised to see two familiar and beautiful faces in the audience of the Sunday Afternoon session: my sister Anna and my friend Alicia Brighton! I couldnn't believe my eyes, and I was so happy to see you both! I love you both so much, and I´m glad to know that you got to be there at Conference together. (It´s sort of a continuation of tradition, we all watched Conference together while I was at BYU)

Anyway, I love you all so very much! Keep pushing forward, and remember that the Lord loves us all, and will bless us as we follow Him.

With love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

No comments:

Post a Comment