Thoughts from General Conference

Twice a year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called Mormon), of which I am a member, broadcasts a General Conference for its members. This conference is broadcast worldwide and allows us the opportunity to listen to uplifting, Christ-centered messages. We believe that there is a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson, as well as living apostles. General Conference provides an amazing opportunity to listen to these men, as well as the women who lead organizations within our church, an. Each time I attend Conference, I increase my testimony and understanding of gospel principles. I am so grateful for this month's General Conference and was touched by so many talks.  Next month, two church publications, the Ensign and the Liahona, will publish text of these talks in various languages.I wanted to share some quotes from a few talks that particularly spoke to me.

From The Love of God by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf,Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.

God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.

He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.

What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us.


My thoughts: Days after listening to President Uchtdorf, his words resonated with me and I kept returning to this incredible passage:Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely."These words so eloquently express what I feel in my heart. As my children grow, feel discouraged, and make choices, this is a message I want them to internalize.

From More Diligent and Concerned at Home by Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
As our sons were growing up, our family did what you have done and what you now do. We had regular family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Now, I am sure what I am about to describe has never occurred in your home, but it did in ours.

Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.

Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome. But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together. The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.

My Thoughts: Listening to this talk made me grin as I both recalled some laughing fits during prayers as a kid and thought of my little family's Family Home Evenings that often consist of a short story, quite a few songs, and a highly anticipated dessert. I worry sometimes that it's not as spiritually edifying as it should be. Elder Bednar's words helped me to understand that it is the consistency that matter. Even a short thought on eternal families, followed by "Families Can Be Together Forever," then brownies  strengthens my family. He also inspired me to consider other ways I can be more consistent in my personal study and worship.


From What Have I done for Someone Today? by President Thomas S. Monson
The Apostle Paul admonished, “By love serve one another.”³ Recall with me the familiar words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”⁴

The Savior taught His disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”⁵

I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.


My Thoughts: I think it is significant that Thomas S. Monson, our prophet, chose to emphasize service during conference. When we struggle personally, professionally, financially, etc., it can be easy to look inward. I definitely have a long way to go before I serve others as I should, but I have a testimony that, when you lose yourself in service, that is when you find yourself. President Monson also shared stories of ways young children celebrated his birthday through gifts of service and they inspired me to find ways to help my own children understand the joy of service.

Text, Audio, and Video from these and other talks from the October 2009 General Conference can be found at www.lds.org

I'm a Diaper Discussions Contributer Today!

I'm a contributer on Diaper Discussions today, sharing my Love/Hate Relationship with Prefold Diapers! Visit A Love Hate Relationship with Prefolds to view my post. Thanks for the opportunity, Julie!

Dads are the Best

Despite the rain and chill, Ella is still desperate to play outside these days. I do my best, but Ezra and I don't enjoy playing outside for quite as long as she does. Tim took her out yesterday evening, despite the fact that he was tired and just wanted to stay inside. I went out to call them in for dinner and was treated to a delightful sight. Tim had his bicycle out and was riding up and down the sidewalk while Ella chased after him. Ella was slightly winded, with rosy red cheeks, and bright eyes. Her excitement was palpable and she said, "I'm chasing Daddy on his bike!" Mommy is never this fun. Aren't dads the best?!

Wordless Wednesday: First Hair Cut!

I put a fun photo of Ella's hair on The Inquisitive Mom blog, so I thought I'd highlight Ezra's new do for this one. My friend Kendra couldn't stand the long hairs around Ezra's ears and neck this past Friday, so she just went ahead and trimmed him during our babysitting trade night. When I walked in, she said, "I hope you won't be made at me" and I laughed. I'm glad he got a little trim, but a tiny bit sad I missed it! Oh, well, she did me a favor and he looks like such a big boy (although, thank goodness he left the personality on top!).

Visit http://www.5minutesformom.com for more Wordless Wednesday posts.

Mr. Personality

I looked at Ezra today and thought, "He won't be a baby much longer." Made me feel a tiny bit sad, but also excited for what's to come. He is such a delightful little guy and gets cuter by the minute. I love how much he shows his personality lately and caught a few fun shots of him this past week. My friend, Kendra, had her turn babysitting on Friday and just couldn't stand the long hair around the ears anymore (She's a Hair Stylist). So, she trimmed up his hair (but left the personality on top) and he looks like such a big boy! Photos to come!

Ezra tried "Yo Baby" Yogurt for the first time this week - Yum!

This messy face is pretty common around our house.

Ezra was delighted by this balloon the other day.

Look at those cool string - and my big boy sitting himself up.

I love his big grin and silly hair!

Everything goes in the mouth. Look at Ezra sharing!

Hmmm...what  happens if I drop it?

Where'd it go?

Can I reach it?

Happy Days

Whew! Things have been busy around the Farmer household lately. I'm still trying to figure out a parenting - work - life - homemaking - church calling balance, but I think that will be a lifetime pursuit! I've always been the type of gal who's had the "you work to play" mindset. This posed a bit of a challenge as I transitioned to becoming a full-time SAHM. In a Mom's world, everything blends together. You have no clearly defined boundaries between work and play. Now that I have my Scentsy business and my writing position as more clearly defined "work," I'm trying to figure it all out again.

Amidst all of this, though, one thought keeps dominating everything: "My life is good." I used to think the best things in life involved leisure - reading a good book, watching a thought-provoking film, or playing games. I still love these things, but I'm not waiting for those moments of "freedom" to feel relaxed or satisfied anymore. Instead, I'm enjoying the time spent with my two little ones and loving my work. It's actually difficult for me to sit down and watch a show alone now, unless I just have to hunker down and fold laundry or organize materials. I save that time for hanging out with Tim. I'd rather be occupied elsewhere. In fact, I'm dually folding laundry and writing this post while Ezra naps. The trick, for me, seems to organize my day so I can focus fully on the moment at hand without worrying about the other things I need to accomplish!

I feel like it's been too long since a fun post sharing some fun Farmer kid facts! I thought I'd take a moment and share some!

Ella Love, love, loves preschool (and Eloise books too.)
If you ask her what she did at school today, she'll most likely describe the snack and tell you she rode the bus. (The two most important things).
Ella rides the bus home from school (I drop her off) because she is so enamored with buses and was so sad when she didn't get to ride it the first day.
She can talk non-stop for what seems like hours, asking "What color is that?" What's her/his/it's name?" "What's that, mommy?" Her curiosity is insatiable!
Her vocabulary seems to expand daily and she is so descriptive now.
Ella adores Halloween and has been telling us things are "spooky" lately, as in "That's a spooky popsicle."
She would always rather play with a friend or mom and dad than play alone.
She is trying learn to ride a trike and gets how it works, but doesn't quite have the patience to follow through.
Ella could still swing all day.
She now likes to ask to watch "Bear Grylles" - Man Vs. Wild.
She is a total sucker for reverse psychology. Mom wants a kiss and says, "I hate kisses." Ella furrows her brow and decides I need kisses.
My favorite game: "I love you, Ella." "No, I love you." "No, I love you." You get the idea.

Ezra continues to charm people everywhere he goes with his big, bright eyes and sweet grin.
He loves to wave, but not on queue and still looks puzzled when other people wave.
Ezra loves banging toys together.
He loves to clap and gets so excited when you say, "Yeah!"
I love it when Ezra tries to pinch pictures in books between his fingers because he thinks they're real.
He has 6 big teeth!
He scoots backwards and it makes him mad!
Ezra loves to stand holding hands and wants to let go and lean on my legs or just hold one hand. He is ready to stand on his own any day!
He's started taking steps when he's standing and holding hands.
Ezra loves feeding himself and would eat bananas and snacks all day if he could (alas, he can't).
His cheeks are so round and soft and sweet - I love to kiss them!

He has a full, happy, delighted laugh.

Scentsational Mom Giveaway: Scentsy DIY (Design It Yourself) Kit

Head on over to The Inquisitive Mom at www.theinquisitivemom.blogspot.com to enter (several ways) to win a DIY (Design it Yourself) Warmer, Theme Pack, and Scentsy Bar from the new fall catalog! You can check this fun new product out at www.scentsy.com/mindyfarmer as well! Link to my website from my new Scentsy button! Be sure to tell your Scentsational friends about this giveaway as well!