Over the past almost-6-years of authoring this blog, I haven't written much on the topics of religion or politics. This has been intentional. I wanted the focus to be on my experiences as a mother; especially my experiences as a mother to a handicapped child.
But today I feel like I need to say something about religion. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This weekend was the semi-annual general conference, broadcast from church headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. Over the course of the weekend there were four sessions of conference, two hours each. And within in each session church leaders spoke on a variety of topics.
Donald and I decided that rather than have the the girls sit for some 8 hours and listen (with wandering minds), we would use our DVR to record conference and listen to the speakers one at a time over the course of the month. I feel that this is more developmentally appropriate for their ages and will allow us to discuss the things we hear together as a family.
Last night we listened to the words of Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy as he spoke about being meek. We hit the pause button many times to talk about what it means to be meek and how we can apply Elder Soares counsel to our lives.
Each of the girls sat with a paper in front of them, taking notes on things that seemed pertinent to them or made an impression.
As I write this post I am glancing at Alexandra's notes. She wrote,
As I write this post I am glancing at Alexandra's notes. She wrote,
"Meek - teachable, humble, patient and God fearing."
"Being meek does not mean weakness, but goodness"
"Learning how to control your temper is one of the challenges in life. Instead of losing your temper, use gentle persuasion. By controlling your reactions, being calm, and avoiding contention we will begin to qualify for the gift of meekness."
How true those words are. I know that I need to work on being meek. Indeed, I need to follow His example. And I know that as I strive to follow His example I will find peace and comfort amidst the confusions and conflicts of life.
