Sunday thoughts

I am so fired up from going to Women's Conference. There is power and strength in gathering with so many like-minded women to be instructed and uplifted.

It's hard to pick a best part, but Sister Beck's talk at the opening session is also pretty hard to beat. We all agreed that it was worth the price of admission all on its own. (I took 7 pages of notes.)

Here are my highlights:

• What is your mission? We all have a mission to develop ourselves and to build up the kingdom of God, but we should each put some thought into our individual missions.

• Taking care of our posterity takes precedence over all other things.

• Rebekah in the Old Testament had a very full mortal experience. She was one of the most pivotal people in history. She knew how to receive personal revelation.

• We are only limited by our faithfulness and our willingness to achieve.

• Go to the temple and listen to the promises the Lord has given you. Listen to the blessings and who is giving them.

• When we have the Spirit with us, we can literally walk with God. We can discern His will – we can gain the ultimate education.

• How do we choose to walk with the Lord?

know our responsibilities
increase in faith and personal righteousness
seek out and help others in need
the power of a group working together in faith is immense

• A mother is the lioness at the gate. Whatever is important to her will be important to her family, because she will make sure of it. She will devote her life to preparing her cubs to go out and serve the Lord.

• When our priorities are out of order, we lose power.

• Divide the things in your life into: essential, necessary, and nice to do. Each person's lists will be different, but many of our essentials are the same (prayer, scripture study, repentance, revelation).

• The essential things: if I don't take care of these, my eternal progression may be compromised. Know the mind and will of God. How can I help my family? What things do I need to correct?

• Necessary: Homemaking takes on new meaning when we are striving to make a home where the Spirit can dwell. Create a house of order. Be kind to your husband. Lay aside the things of the world. Become self-reliant. Love each other.

• Nice to do: Projects, having lunch with friends, leisure reading, entertainment. These things will not save us. When our priority is here, we are neglecting what is essential and necessary.

• The swing shift is when the lioness needs to be at the top of her game. When everyone comes home tired, hungry, and less lovable, they are also the most teachable and the most grateful. Prioritize where you're going to spend your energy so that you are available at this crucial time.

• Take a pencil and paper with you when you say your prayers.

• Those that are strong, take with you those that are weak.

• Visiting teaching is the best kind of friendship.

• Visiting teachers are first responders.

• Get a new copy of the Book of Mormon. Write in the front:

1. Who am I?
2. What are my responsibilities in the House of Israel?
3. How do I fulfill my responsibilities?

Record the answers you find.

• Be a Rebekah in your own generation. She never saw the outcome of her commitment during her lifetime, but her life had limitless impact.

• If we will do our part, He will walk with us, and we can walk with Him.

Jill, Kristi and I decided that we simply cannot just walk away from this conference and return to the status quo. We can't reconvene next year as the same people that we were this year. We're going to set goals based on the things we learned and be accountable to each other.

I have so much to think about, and many things to change.