(Bad idea)
So. I suppose that I will finish up my General Conference favorites...
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A:
I would first like to talk about something that Elder Quentin L. Cook said in his talk last Saturday afternoon. (full talk here.)
I loved these two lines...
"Our great desire is to raise our children in truth and righteousness. One principle that will help us accomplish this is to avoid being overly judgmental about conduct that is foolish or unwise but not sinful."
That last part that I have bolded really stood out to me.
Here's why:
I am in ninth grade. I go to a school with seventh, eighth, and ninth graders.
Can I just tell you how incredibly immature some junior high kids can be? It is seriously ridiculous.
I'm honestly not thinking of certain kids, and there are plenty of kids who are very well-grounded and are realistic about things... but still.
I hear things all of the time that cause me to wonder, "WHO THE CRAP CARES???"
Haha... well...
Then I listened to General Conference. I realized that if kids - or adults - care about things that seem really dumb and pointless to me... it really doesn't matter.
None of it is my business anyway, I mean, I shouldn't be judging them either way, but that talk by Elder Cook made me realize that if something matters to someone else, that's fine, and I shouldn't question it or let it bug me.
Ya know, people all mature at their own rate. Some people may never grow out of the drama that seems so pointless to me right now...
But... some people will.
Life is a journey. We should spend our entire earth lives learning and growing. We just all do it differently, and that is perfectly fine.
If people like to chat about dumb stuff, I'll be okay with that. I will stop judging. They usually aren't even doing anything wrong.
I suppose that I was the one doing something wrong after all.
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B:
My last thought that I starred in my General Conference notebook was from David F. Evans' talk found here.
He said:
"The work of naturally and normally sharing the gospel with those we care about and love will be the work and joy of our lives."
Naturally and normally.
I totally can relate to this one.
I remember in elementary school, around second or third grade, me and some other girls actually bribed a girl with jolly ranchers if she would listen to us tell her about the Church during recess.
I mean, that's pretty funny. I kinda laugh about it now.
BUT, for some people, even as they get older, this seems to be their method of sharing the gospel. Granted, maybe not with jolly ranchers, but some people are so desperate to share the gospel with their friends, that they end up making it an awkward, forced situation.
Fast forward. I have several friends now that are not members of the Church, and I'm fine with that. I really wish that everyone would be eager and ready to hear the gospel right when they meet you, but that's understandably not often the case.
There have actually been many days at lunch when our conversations have naturally shifted to religion. That is when you share with them your feelings on the gospel, as long as they are willing to listen.
I promise you... so much more will be accomplished if you are not forcing the messages on someone.
I think that we all think of converting someone as a cool idea, and we hope that we have the chance to do that someday. If that happens, it will be because they opened their heart and were willing to listen.
Do not approach it the wrong way or always pester someone if they don't want to talk about religion. Just be patient, and hopefully they'll come around.
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