Women's Conference 2014

I had a great time at Women's Conference. On Thursday I was there by myself, but it's no big deal because you just go around to separate class sessions anyway. 2014 Women's Conference theme was Psalms 84:11 

                              For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: 

no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. 

The opening speaker was Sheri Dew and she was really awesome. Her talk was on grace. Some of the things she said that I liked were: 


"Grace=power. Power to do things we could not do on our own." 

"The Lord shows us our weakness that we may see His grace."

"...experience a change of heart to do good continually."

"Conversion requires immersion."

She said a lot of other great things but those are the ones that really stuck out.


Then I attended one class that was really great and one not so really great. But I loved the class on "Communication in Marriage". A husband and wife gave the presentations on that. Some of my favorite things said were:

"Communication is more than the sharing of words."

"There are 7 basic needs that create the acronym STARVED. They are Safety, Trust, Appreciation, Respect, Validation, Encouragement, and Dedication. When one of those is threatened or not there, we feel starved."

"Marriages and family create a Paradox - we love them, but they drive us crazy."
                          There was a lot said about the paradox idea and I loved it.

Then I missed the rest of the activities for that day because I had to get back to Salt Lake to play for the U's commencement. That ended up being really cool too because Alex Smith was the key speaker there.


On Friday, I was able to meet up with Carrie. The opening speakers were Linda K. Burton - General Relief Society President, Bonnie L. Oscarson - General YW President, and Rosemary M. Wixom - General Primary President. They were all fantastic. From Sister Burton I liked her analogy of a child playing the piano and the Master whispering "don't quit, keep playing". She said "we may forget in the heat of our trials that the Lord is aware of us."

From Sister Oscarson I liked:
"It is not enough to know about the Atonement - the Atonement must be internalized and become personal and individualized." 




From Sister Wixom I liked:

"Nothing will startle us more than to pass through the veil and realize how well we know our Father."

"[Jesus said], if you will come unto me, I will show unto you your weakness."

My favorite class for that day was: Coping With Stress Through Good Nutrition & Sleep Habits. The first presenter talked about eating balanced diets and eating a variety of foods. She gave 6 rules of what she called "intuitive eating". 1) Make peace with food - get ride of ideas like good/bad and should/should not. 2) Honor your hunger. 3) Respect your fullness. 4) Discover satisfaction factors; like eating at the table with family. 5) Honor your feelings w/o using food; find alternatives to address emotions. 6) Respect your body; it's about health, not body size/image.

The second presenter talked about stress being a part of our human experience and it helps us grow. He said sleep is how we unwind and it is best to have a regular sleep schedule. He said our bodies like a regular schedule.

The closing remarks were Elder Quentin L. Cook and his wife. Some of the things from Sister Cook I liked were:
"We make our own happiness, no matter what trials we face."

"We can be happy and positive regardless of what comes our way. ... Being able to laugh keeps you going."

Elder Cook said:
"Do not underestimate your influence. ...Even if you feel inadequate - it is enough."

"If Christ came tonight, to whom would he come? Or, if Christ came tonight, who would be ready to receive Him?"

"We create Zion in our hearts and homes."

"Love is the key ingredient to happiness."

I was really glad I could go. :)