Why is it important to prepare for General Conference?

I look forward to General Conference twice a year.  My dad always tells us to pray that the talks that are shared will help answer questions that we have.  A quote by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says "As you prepare for General Conference I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered"..."There are messages in each general conference given as a gift and a blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations." By watching general conference you can find answers to your questions. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said "If we teach by the spirit and you listen to the spirit, some of us will touch on your circumstance sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you." I like general conference because it is an easy way for us to have some of our questions answered and we can be inspired.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared a story about a member and a non member talking about general conference. "A fine member of the Church was talking with a neighbor who was not of our faith. When the topic of discussion turned to general conference, the neighbor asked, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year in a worldwide conference they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely,” the member replied with confidence.

The neighbor thought about that for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested and then asked, “What did they say in the last general conference?”

At this point the good member of the Church went from feeling excited about sharing the gospel to feeling embarrassed. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend found this troubling and said, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?” 

He goes on to say that it is hard to remember every message given and that we shouldn't be embarrassed if we don't remember it all; but there are messages that are given to us as a gift from heaven. He gives us 3 different ways that we can prepare for conference. Number 1 is "Members of the Church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the inspired words spoken at general conference." It just says that we should ponder any questions we need to have answered. He says that answers to your specific questions could come directly from a talk or phrase but others maybe a word or song. "If you have a heart filled with gratitude and a desire to hear and follow the words of the counsel will prepare us for personal revelation."

His second help is don't ignore a message that you have heard before, he says prophets have always taught by repetition it is a law of learning. We hear similar messages because the Lord knows that the topic needs to be understood. 

The last point is, the words spoken at general conference should be a compass that points the way for us during the coming months. He gives the example of the Liahona that if we follow the promptings of the spirit it will serve as a Liahona. 

He tells us that general conference is no ordinary blessing. I know that general conference is a blessing to us and that if we prepare for it and ponder on questions we need answered and follow President Uchtdorf's tips that our questions will be answered.

Written by: Nick Wheeler