One of the main parts of Provident Living (that's the real title of my calling) is spiritual preparedness. This may be kind of a different concept to grasp, but as I understand it, it is building your testimony each and every day so that you continually have spiritual stores for those days (weeks, months?) that are just harder than normal. The thing is though, it is not like wheat where you can store away 400 lbs. and figure you are done for 20 years (though you shouldn't technically do that either). Spiritual preparedness is everyday prayer, scripture study, pondering, and building a relationship with our Savior. It is continually working to help our testimony grow and develop. It takes effort and work, but oh is it worth it!
Spiritual experiences come in one of two ways. One is a jolt--something amazing and life-changing. Like an "Alma the Younger" experience. Funny though, these kinds of sudden changes don't always last (remember Laman and Lemuel?). The second spiritual experience comes as we put in time and effort to really know. Just like I said above, it takes everyday, but it sustains us through much. I think this second way is the best and will help us have the results we need.
This weekend is General Conference. I see Conference weekend as a time to (mostly) block everything else out and focus on what Heavenly Father wants me to hear. As sisters, we get to listen to more conference in a 2-day period than we ever have before (5 sessions!). It is going to be great! But, then again, I have seen a direct correlation with my pre-conference preparedness and how awesome my experience with Conference is. As I spend time pondering where I am spiritually, what questions I have, and praying for our general church leadership, I find I am more engaged in Conference and listen more intently when I have done my "spiritual homework" ahead of time.
On lds.org, there is a great article about learning from General Conference. I highly recommend reading it and using some of the suggestions to prepare. It just might help you get through that Sunday afternoon session tired-time. One more suggestion is to pray for our church leaders. I think President Ballard especially could use extra prayers at this time with the recent passing of his wife.
Take advantage of this time with our church leaders. And if this conference is anything like the last one, we won't want to miss a single minute, or we might not know what has changed!
I challenge you to choose one thing to help you be more prepared for Conference. I promise the results will be worth it!
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