LDS General Conference - April 2014

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Twice a year, the first weekend in April and October, the LDS Church holds what is known as General Conference.  The last weekend in March and September, there is a meeting specifically for the sisters in the Church.  The first weekend in April and October there are five, two-hour sessions where member of the Church listen to their leaders.  It is during these two hour sessions that the general church membership is instructed by the senior leadership in the LDS Church.  I tried to watch as much of General Conference as I could this last weekend.

Overall, the messages are excellent.  I always feel uplifted.  I also feel chastened.  I realize that I can do better as a husband and a parent.  I have made some mental notes on things that I need to do in order to be a better person.

One of the talks that I remember the most was given by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom titled, "What Manner of Men?".  The story that stood out from that talk was about the man that said to Elder Hallstrom, "That's the way that I am."  How many of us are stuck, drifting?  How many of us are working to better ourselves and to become someone better?  I personally have been drifting for some time, but I want to change.  I want to do something different.  I want to be a different person.  That isn't to say that I'm a bad person (I think I'm generally a good person), but I firmly believe I can be an even better person.  But in order to become that better person, I must be actively engaged.  I must work at it.  I must set goals and work towards becoming the person that I want to become.  Without those goals, I will drift.

If you feel that you are drifting, take some time to do a self-evaluation.  What do you spend your time on?  Is that what you really want to be doing with your time?  What interests you?  What things can you work on to be a better person?  Make goals.  Work on becoming the person that you want to become.  You are only limited by yourself.  You will fail to become the person you want to become if you fail to plan to become that person.  Wishing for something won't bring you any closer to your wish.  Only acting upon your desires will bring you closer to what you want to become.  Don't be discouraged if you occasionally fall short.  That is called life.  Nothing ever goes as planned.  Just remember to take those shortcomings in stride.  Learn from them.  Then move on.  Don't dwell on the past that you have no control over, but instead focus on the present and the future.  Chin up!  The future is bright and new!