We thank thee...

Bentley's using 2 hands to sustain the Prophet!

This weekend was the 181st General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In case you're wondering what this picture could have to do with this you need to know 2 things:

1) We have the privilege of having the Conference broadcast on Live television. (You can also view it on the internet.)

Since we were home on a Saturday...Bentley didn't change out of his Jammies :)

2) The purpose a sustaining of the leaders of the church, something that we take very seriously, the opportunity to raise our hand in support and sustaining of the Prophet of God, and his Councilors as well as Apostles of God and other Church leaders.

Why is this so great? It's a uniting of Family and Gospel. There was a time well know by the whole world, documented by the Bible, known as the Apostasy when there weren't any left, who sustained the apostles that Christ himself appointed and left in his stead. We know that as we have a prophet today that is guided and receives revelation from the Lord himself, that we will not see another apostasy where the gospel is removed from the earth. In raising our arm in a sustaining of the Prophet President Thomas S. Monson, it is a personal commitment and a uniting in our hearts, an exercise of our religious freedom and privileges.

I do love General Conference! I love listening and receiving guidance for my family and personal goals. There is no aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that does not point us toward becoming a better person.

I want to share all my tidbits, but I will limit it to one small bit of learning.

Richard J Maynes a member of the Quorum of the Seventy read this Poem by C.C. Miller.

'Twas a sheep not a lamb
That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,
A grown-up sheep that strayed away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek
And earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:
They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
When sheep go wrong,
It won't take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today,
For when sheep are lost,
What a terrible cost The lambs will have to pay.

This poem resonated in my heart and soul what a great responsibility as a parent that I have. To teach and love, but also what a great responsibility we all have to lift and strengthen each other as parents and brothers and sisters in this world. As we are ALL Sons and Daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us. In loving others and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, we give the great blessing of lifting the heads that hang down and strengthening the families of the world. A family built upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ will without a doubt, better withstand the temptations and evils of the world.

My heart is full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for my knowledge that I am a Daughter of God, that I have a purpose and that I have a place to turn in my sorrows and triumphs. Truly the Lord has blessed me greatly in my life and I owe all that I am to him. My heart longs for my family both immediate and extended to rejoice in these blessings for now and eternity! I am grateful for the knowledge and the covenants that make it possible to be with my family for eternity.

So I with Bentley, raise 2 hands in the sustaining of our Prophet President Thomas S. Monson, and am thankful that we have a living prophet who guides not only this Church, but who is a beacon of Truth and Light to all the World.

Thank you for allowing me to share the most tender thoughts and feelings of my heart.