This weekend I went to Time Out for Women with Mim and Michelle. Oh my! It far exceeded my expectations. 4000 women gathered to learn together. Much laughter and many tears, shared with two of my favorite women.
The theme was "We hope all things...," taken from President Uchtdorf's talk about infinite hope. Every talk was wonderful and inspiring. I took so many notes! I think I will share them one at a time, because typing them all in at once is a bit overwhelming.
Virginia Hinckley Pearce
What is a successful life? How do we measure progress and success?
Beware of false measures of success.
Get out of the business of competition. (Amen, sister.)
Comparison is the fast track to misery. It takes the fun out of life. Just make a conscious choice not to do that.
Money, children's accomplishments, even wonderful things like missions and temple marriages are not accurate measures of success. We cannot measure our success based on the actions of others who have their agency. (My grandma used to say that you can't take the credit for the successes of your children; and you can't take the blame for their failures, either.)
Discouragement weakens your faith. It is not pleasing to the Lord when we worry endlessly.
Good measures of progress and success:
Am I stretching and growing? Move just a little beyond your current capacity.
Do I trust Christ?
Am I striving to obey his commandments?
Am I taking advantage of his atoning sacrifice to develop Christlike attributes?
Am I losing my disposition to do evil?
Am I beginning to see things and people as Heavenly Father and the Savior do?
Am I working hard?
Do I love people and desire their salvation?
Can I feel the Holy Ghost working through me?
The single most important skill we can acquire in this life is to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation. This is also the best way to avoid comparison because the Spirit will tell you how you stand before God, if you are progressing, what you need to change, and how to do it.
We must know that the course we are pursuing is in accordance to the will of God, and the Spirit can confirm this to us.
When we are filled with the Spirit, we have souls that are satisfied. He can fill every need, every longing, every vacuum. It is impossible to feel despairing when we are filled with the Spirit.
Celebrate your own growth and that of others.
Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly, and this is success that no one can take away from you.
I loved every little thing about this talk. Such a good reminder about how we view success, and wonderful ways to gauge our progress. Yes, I have a long way to go, but I can also see that I'm much farther along the path than I was 5 or 10 years ago. I'm excited and motivated to keep pressing forward!
(**Max was away at a swim meet and Marc was shooting a wedding, so Grandpa Bob took Eva and Lucas out on a grandparent date yesterday. They went to the planetarium, out to lunch, and to the Museum of Natural History. My kids are so lucky! And so am I.)
7 comments:
Oh, oh, oh! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and notes.
I love to see families intertwined in strengthening each other. It really is a beautiful plan.
Thanks again for teaching us.
I always say this but it must be repeated: Mim and Bob are the best grandparents ever! They are so generous with all of their children and grandchildren, and are always looking for ways to serve; I have never known anyone else like them.
I'm so glad you got to do this! I love the spiritual boost we get from Women's Conference every year and think it's wonderful that you got another dose to keep you going.
I'm glad you're only going to be posting your notes one speaker at a time because there's a lot of good stuff that could be lost otherwise. I feel like I should copy these questions and have periodic (daily?) meetings with myself to see where I stand.
I love how the Spirit satisfies our souls! I know this is true and feel like I've made it through a potentially catastrophic year because of where I am spiritually. It makes me feel sorry for my younger self and how much sorrow could have been avoided.
thank you- sniff & tears...
I needed this
xoxo
THis is exactly what I needed to read! I will remember that it is not pleasing to the Lord when we worry endlessly. I am such a worrier and there is so much to worry about!
I opted NOT to go to this - and now reading your notes I am sad that I didn't take advantage of my opportunity! I do love when we gather as a group of women and learn together!
Glad you had a great experience!
Love this. God doesn't want us to worry. I like that.
These measures of progress are great. Most of life is not filled with opportunities for accomplishments, and you can begin like you're standing still and not going anywhere. But, racking up milestones isn't the purpose, of this existence. What matters most is the character we have at the end of our ride.
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