Some thoughts on the Saturday session

This Saturday was my second attempt at watching General Conference over the internet. Last Conference I had a lot of homework to do, and so I set up camp in the grad lab and tuned into conference so that I could listen, and do work during musical numbers and between sessions. It was not very successful, partly because sitting in the grad lab was too much like studying at school, and partly because having the internet right there in front of me was way too distracting, and partly because the streaming wasn’t all that great and the talks kept blipping out.

Today was much more successful. For one, I have my very own internet connection in my apartment now, and so I just stayed at home. This was a lot more comfortable. I was also aware of my propensity for distraction, and so I had rules for myself—the only other website I was allowed to open was an LDS blog I like to read, which has an open thread during each session of general conference for readers to post any thoughts and comments.

(That right there is a discussion in and of itself. It’s fascinating to me how technology can change the way we participate in things. I have to say that having that running commentary as I watched made viewing conference an entirely different experience—it occasionally distracted, but mostly enhanced.)

Anyway, since the Saturday session is much harder to schedule into life than the Sunday session is and not everyone gets to watch it, I thought I’d give a little bit of commentary for the benefit of those who may have missed it (and even those who did not).

With the recent death of President Faust, the most anticipated moment of conference was the sustainings at the beginning of the first session. If you haven’t heard already, Elder Eyring was called to replace President Faust as the second counselor in the presidency, and Quentin L. Cook was called to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve. I’m not entirely sure who I was expecting to be called to the Presidency, but I have only good feelings about the choice of Elder Eyring. I have always been impressed with him not just as a speaker, but as a person. Quentin L. Cook is someone I know very little about—I am looking forward to hearing him speak in one of the later sessions.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the talks given in the first session. But I have to admit that, since I was in my own home and had way more to do today than time to do it, I listened while I did other things—cleaning, laundry, eating lunch, making something for a potluck I’m going to tonight. This meant that I didn’t take notes or listen nearly as intently as I did the second session, and I can’t remember very well what was said. I find that when I do take notes, I don’t generally look at them afterwards. Instead it just helps me focus during, and remember things that stood out to me.

For the second session I was a lot more focused, and there are three things that really stood out to me.

The biggest one was that there was a definite theme. Elder Ballard, Elder Holland, and Elder Nelson each gave addresses that very directly addressed questions that people outside the Church have about the Church. The Church is really in the limelight right now, more than usual, with Mitt Romney running for president, and I have never been more aware of the misconceptions, suspicion, and sometimes downright hostility that is floating around out there. I know there are plenty of people out there who think of Mormons as generally good people, even if they don’t quite get our beliefs, but the people who are most vocal are the people with the strongest feelings, and I’ve been quite shocked by some of what I’ve seen in magazine articles or letters to the editor or online forums.

Each of these three addresses were very clearly meant to address what’s out there right now, but they each did it in very different ways. If you didn’t have a chance to listen, I highly recommend that you read their talks when they come out online, because they were very clear and very powerful and very relevant. Elder Ballard addressed his talk to Church members, talking about the question “Tell me a little about your church.” He laid out what people need to know in a very simple and understandable way—comments about values and lifestyles, as well as doctrines and history. Elder Nelson talked about the Book of Mormon and its relationship to the Bible. And then there was Elder Holland, whose talk was probably my favorite of the three. He addressed the question about whether Mormons are Christians, but in a way I’ve never seen done over the pulpit at General Conference. Rather than saying, “Of course we’re Christians, because we believe in Christ,” which is all of our natural responses, he got to the meat of the dilemma, the differences between our belief in the nature of Christ and the Godhead when compared to most of the Christian world (which is precisely what most other Christians take issue with). He didn’t deny the differences in our beliefs, but he talked about the scriptural basis for our beliefs and our own contention that we are every bit as Christian as other Christians. And he gave the talk in his customary straightforward style, honest and unapologetic. Wonderful talk.

What impressed me about these talks was that they were not talks meant to suppress our differences and highlight our similarities. It was not “make a good image for ourselves” conference, but a “laying bare the facts” conference, and that was very refreshing and, I think, much needed.

I was struck by Elder Wirthlin’s talk, too, but for a completely different reason. Elder Wirthlin has been one of my favorite speakers for several years. I have a hard time listening to his talks. I think he has vision problems, and it is difficult for him to read the teleprompter. And so his talks are often broken, with occasional misspoken words. But when you go back and read, they are without fail full of wonderful and profound thoughts. Clearly it is only his physical capacity that is diminishing—his intellectual and spiritual capacity is amazingly strong.

I have to admit that I had no easier time focusing on his words this time, and I already know I need to reread his talk when it becomes available. But what was memorable was something that happened as he was giving his talk. During his delivery, his health problems began to overcome him. About halfway through the talk Elder Wirthlin began breathing hard and shaking, and it nearly looked as if he would not make it through the talk (although he pressed on with pretty admirable dedication). And then Elder Nelson came and stood behind Elder Wirthlin and very tenderly took his arm to steady him, then stayed there throughout the rest of his talk. The camera zoomed out so that you could see both of them, and the picture itself was worth more than I can say in this post. It made Elder Wirthlin’s words about brotherly love particularly meaningful, and it’s an image I suspect I will never forget.

Finally, there was one particular thought that stood out to me from the other talks. Michael J. Teh (who, if I remember right, is in the first Quorum of the Seventy) talked about how the most important service we can render is in our day-to-day interactions with each other. Sometimes when I am feeling that something is missing in my life, I think (rightly, I believe) that I’m too focused on myself. My usual reaction is to think that I must do something to save the world (which I know perfectly well I can’t do), but what I really need to do is to make the world immediately around me a better place by reaching out to the people I come into contact with day by day. He quoted from the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I don’t remember the exact quote, but the idea was that when you get people to project their benevolence solely outward, to people in faraway lands who they don’t know, and their malice toward the people they do, then the malice becomes more real, but the benevolence becomes less so. We think we are doing good, when we are really removing that good from our own reality. It was an interesting thought, and made me think about how I think and act about the people who are in my everyday life.