Saturday was so much fun. The workshops were awesome. My notes from the respective dates are below. After the workshops we had a carnival and dance. I must have gone down the Slip n' Slide twenty times. So much fun, but I am sooo sore now. Totally worth it. We had a dance after the carnival and I worked up my courage and asked a guy (who I really like) to dance and then to dinner. (He got his mission call last night and is going to Anchorage Alaska on November 11th). He said yes to both. I know he's younger than me but we get along really well. I feel a bit old to wait for a missionary, but we'll see where things go before he leaves.
My favorite quote from the whole conference is from Sunday's devotional by Elder Bednar. He was talking about how some stray from the straight and narrow path because the world makes what it has look so tempting and then he said "We are already in the lifeboat, why would we want to get back on the Titanic?"
That just hit me like a bolt of lightning. We already have the knowledge of what needs to be done to gain eternal life and happiness. The party on the Titanic may look like fun, but we KNOW the ship is sinking. The covenants we have made (or in my case, are preparing to make) place us firmly in the lifeboat and no wave is going to knock us out as long as we decide (and behave like) we want to be in the lifeboat.
The Sacrament meeting was so powerful. Almost a thousand YSA's were gathered. It took 6 priests to bless the Sacrament and another 24 to pass the Sacrament. I feel so blessed to have participated in such an inspiring and inspired gathering of young Saints.
Atlanta YSA
Conference - 8/10/2013
"No More Strangers"
We are a family of brothers and sisters.
By love, serve one another
"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in
the service of your God"
Lose yourself in service to others
Do your family history
Sister Sheri Dew
The Lord will not force you to learn, you must authorize the Spirit to
teach you
Do you ask your questions in an environment of faith or of doubt? 2
Nephi 32 & 28
1) Know who we are - spiritually you are of noble birth, Heavenly Father
reserved His strongest children for the final days, who would face the world at its worst and be
fearless in building Zion. Read D&C 138 and Abraham 3 and pray about
whether it is talking about you.
2) Know who the Savior is - Luke 4:18 I have come to heal the
broken-hearted. There is no mortal condition that has escaped Christ's grasps
or understanding. Study scripture looking for what the Atonement did
3) Know how to recieve personal revelation - understand the difference
between feeling the Spirit and hearing the voice of the Spirit. Ask Him to
teach you to understand the language of the Spirit (language of revelation),
track in scriptures how often God speaks to a person.
Help the Spirit talk to you (a) purity (b) unplug yourself (try playing
conference talks rather than surfing web/playing games)
4) Learn what's in the temple - temple is Lords house of higher
learning, D&C 109
Get worthy to go to the temple and go. The temple is a source of
strength. When you enter the temple, you leave the world of
make-believe.
Know what we know, seek to understand what is true, follow in the
footsteps of the Master
Brother
Brad Wilcox
Free
because of the commandments, not in spite of them
We
are jumping with a bungee cord, they are jumping without a cord. We are flying,
they are falling.
We
have what the world is trying to get.
Smokers
smoke to feel normal (not good, but normal)
Drinkers
drink to feel good (but can't remember the good feeling)
Mormons
are the only people in world who can act happy drunk, but aren't drunk
Selfishness
corrupts a relationship (don't be the drain or the faucet)
Love
blooms on a foundation of trust and commitment
The
law of chastity protects you!
God
isn't keeping you from something, but is giving you the recipe for it
D&C
17:8 - Jacob 4:7
We
don't pray because we are worthy, we pray because we need help
We
don't take the Sacrament because we are perfect, we take it to be perfected
The
Atonement is about change and transformation.
The
Atonement can refill empty water-bottles
Coming
to Christ is the means to an end (becoming more like Him)
Christ
will keep helping us as long as we are willing to keep trying and changing
(think of the priest (me) and bishop (Christ) when priest flubs the sacrament
prayer)
Disciples
are honest and trying (ask for His help)
We
renew our covenants week after week (and weakness after weakness)
Pathway
BYU-Idaho
-
academic
start for 1 year
===============================================================
David and Brenda Yates, Personal
Finance Experts
"7 Deadly Sins of
Financial Practices vs. the 7 Effective Habits of Financial Security"
How
do you see yourself?
See... Do...
Get...
Key
to financial security to see yourself as one who can manage your money and tell
it where to go
Budgeting:
1)
Know what you want to accomplish
2)
Track your spending (expenses)
3)
Make a cash budget
Spend
less than you earn
Keep
good records
Use
a budgeting method that meets your needs
Budgeting
methods
1)
Envelope system
2)
60% Solution (self-employed)
3)
Spreadsheet
4)
Computer software program (mint.com , Quicken, Mvelopes)
Financial
preparedness and budgeting is a survival skill we need for mortality
Learn
more about financial preparedness
Saving
Difference
between saving and investing?
Short
term vs long term
Savings
readily accessed and 100% secure
Investing
is less accessable with more risk
Income
- Pay the Lord - Pay Yourself = Budget Money - Expenses
How
much should I save?
3-6
months of income
Bankrate.com
- check for CD rates
Investing
Risk
vs return
Diversification
Investment
(equity vs fixed income)
Dollar
cost averaging vs. marketing
Make
Uncle Sam work for you (tax advantaged investing)
Compounded
returns
Appropriate
investment mix (120 - my age = equity %)
Once
emergency savings is fully funded, redirect savings $ to investment accounts;
first to fully fund IRA then to general securities
Pay
tithing with stock donations
Homestead
Funds - beginner investing
Credit
Scores
Credit
score is your "financial reputation"
What
impacts it?
35%
payment history
30%
amounts owed (credit used/credit avail should not exceed 30%, never use more
than 60%)
15%
types of credit in use
10%
new credit
10%
types of credit in use
Don't
close paid off accounts, use it twice a year
clarkhoward.com
(free credit score)
Debt
Good
Debt vs Bad Debt
Good
debt is home loan or student loan
Pay
off highest interest rate first
Find
hidden assets; liquidate assets to reduce credit card debt
Add
extra dollars to monthly payments
Support
system!
Stewardship
Parable
of wise steward - Matt 25:14-29
Importance
of paying full tithe
Beware
of "get rich quick" schemes
Honesty
in all our affairs
Acceptable
to pray for temporal blessings - Alma 34:19, 24-25
===============================================================
President and Sister
Posey, Atlanta Temple President, "Holiness to the Lord, the
House of the Lord"
Hymn
"In That Holy Place"
We
have the ability to bring happiness to others.
Song
name ? "its the place I reach for heaven and heaven reaches in
return"
D&C
87:8
Temple
is most sacred place on the earth, next to the home.
Elaine
S Dalton, April 2013 Conf Talk
Choose
the right (live your lives in such a way that you can hear the Holy Ghost)
Share
and live the Gospel
Revelations
3
When
the Savior knocks on the door of your heart, open it and let Him in
Temple
recommend interview questions are to awaken you to your responsibilities
D&C
128
Sacred
things deserve sacred consideration
Marry
a man who will bring you to the holy temple often
D&C
27
D&C
138
D&C
110
You
are never alone in this life (once you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost)
===============================================================
President and Sister
Wolfert, Atlanta North Mission President,
"Answering the Tough
Questions"
Journal
- write down instances each day where you see the hand of the Lord in your life
Alma
11 See how Amulek responds to the questions
D&C
50
You
can't rightly teach the Gospel without the Spirit
D&C
84:85
Ask
Questions
Don't
Be
- Defensive
- Offended
Be
Happy
Keep
It Simple
Be
Open
What
Is Your Message?
Establish
common ground...
- "Like you..."
- "I'm reading a book..."
===============================================================
Elder Keith Giddens, Area
Seventy, "Am I Okay?"
Adversary
works thru discontent
Be
pleased but not satisfied
D&C
83:40
God
teaching the Saints to decide for themselves
D&C
58:20, 27, 28
60:5
61:22
62:5
2 Nephi 2:5
Prayer is a powerful tool to help us make decisions
Process for decision making
D&C 9:5, 7, 8
Acts 9-13
Ponder in a quiet place
Exodus 5:23
D&C 64:31-32
58:3
Alma 8:14, 15, 18,
Am I okay...?
Are you keeping your covenants?
Are you clean, pure?
Are you trying?
It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. Put your trust in the Lord
and it will all work out... - President Gordon B Hinckley
===============================================================
Atlanta YSA
Conference Sacrament Meeting
Hymns
Opening 308 Love One Another
Sacrament 193 I Stand All Amazed
Closing 219 Because I Have Been Given Much
Sister Rachel Ashby
Ephesians 2:19
Be able to make strangers feel at home
If you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than other?
There are many ways we can feel foreign, think about it and try to reach
out to others in those situations
Who are the strangers and foreigners? (we all are)
We are all far away from home (heaven) and trying to navigate these
waters
We are all citizens in the house of God
Special Music Number:
Each Life That Touches Ours for Good
Elder Keith Giddens (Area 70)
The church is one generation away from extinction - President Eyring
The work is being hastened to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ
We are gathering scattered Israel on both sides of the Veil
Much is expected and required of those whom are given much
2 Nephi 26
All are one before God
Mosiah 5:13
The trump card of the adversary is discontent.
Philippians 4:11
Hebrews 13:5
Do not voluntarily participate in the adversary's plan of deception and
discontent
1) Reduce the stimulation
2) Jacob 4:13
Holy Ghost is the
manifestation of all truth
"I do always those things that please Him"
Christ knows and understands all you are going thru and have gone thru
===============================================================
Devotional by Elder Bednar with Sister Sheri Dew and Brother Brad Wilcox
"Strangers No More" by YSA singers
Spiritual strength in numbers
We are in the greatest season in the history of the restored church
One step at a time...
Just do what you can do in a given day...
Get on your knees and plead for help
Then get on your feet and get to work
Life is like a wheel
Be good, get going and while you're going reach out
Look outward and upward
Read the New Testament Gospels and 3rd Nephi and look for examples of
Christ looking outward (turning out)
Matt 4 (Joseph Smith translation)
Don't let Satan affect you with "if" and "if onlys"
How does Satan attack us;
Attack understanding of who we are
Attacks us thru others (pointing finger of scorn from spacious building)
Moses 1
God will help me
What's the alternative?
The acceptance of the world is shallow and worthless
We're in the lifeboat, why would we want to get back on the Titanic?
The Atonement is so much more than just allowing us to repent
D&C 88 Appoint a teacher
Don't act like objects (waiting to be acted upon)
Study what the Savior taught when He knew He was going to die soon (New
Testament) also what He taught when He visited the Nephites (3rd Nephi)
Covenant breaking vs exercising free agency
Have deep Gospel roots (like a palm not a ficus)
We have to want to learn
Look at fruits of your labor
D&C 50:24...
Study, learn, ask, seek and knock
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