It’s General Conference time again, and we’re going to be posting summaries and our thoughs here on The Millennial Star blog. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ll preface my summary by saying that I tried to get as much down as I could, but is as usually the case with young children in the room, everyone needed everything, all at the same time.
President Uchtdorf conducted the session.
Prelude hymn: How Firm A Foundation
Opening hymn: Press Forward Saints
Elder Carl B. Cook offered the opening prayer.
The Mormon Tabernacle choir sang, Lead Kindly Light … all of the music was beautiful. I love the choir!
President Monson spoke first. He told us we were gathered as a great family of saints. He then spoke about his experience dedicating the Gilbert, Arizona temple in March. Here is where I will put in a little personal note. The Gilbert Temple is just down the street from where I grew up. Many family members and the children of my friends were able to participate in the cultural celebration, Live True to the Faith. Hearing their experiences, along with Pres. Monson’s experiences was very sweet for me. It truly was a blessing, even with all of the rain, and cold to watch the program and know that it did in fact make lasting memories for the people and the home I love so dearly.
Pres. Monson continued …
In May the Ft. Lauderdale temple will be dedicated, and will be the 143rd temple of the church. When all of the temples which are currently under construction and those that have been announced have been built, there will be 170 temples world wide. It was mentioned later on in another talk that right now, 85% of the members of the church live within 200 miles of a temple. Temples truly dot the earth!
We will continue to build temples and to look for places where there is a need for temples. We are a temple building and a temple attending people. May we be filled with the spirit, uplifted and inspired as we listen and learn.
Elder Holland
I’m calling his talk “Defending the Faith”. We will be called to defend our faith and will be attacked personally. We have to have courage and courtesy on our part as we endure these attacks. He shared a story of some sister missionaries who were attacked by a man weidling mashed potatoes. I appreacited this story, as a returned missionary myself. In one of my areas, we had a neighbor who would wait every day to throw her garbage on us. I actually am thankful to her. She taught me how to love my enemeies as a missionary! Continue reading →
Katharine Lee Bates was born August 12 1859, in Falmouth, Mass. Katie had a normal and happy childhood and was an avid writer. In 1876 the family moved to Grantville, Mass, the home of the newly formed Wellesley College for women. Katie was part of the second class which was admitted to the school. She thrived at Wellesley, and after graduating in 1880 began to teach high school English. In 1885 she was invited to join the faculty at Wellesley and taught there for the next 40 years. Katie was a favorite of students and was known for her ability to make literature “come alive.”
