What do you call 20,000 Women all in one place?

BYU Women's Conference 2009

The Marriott Center is filled with lots and lots of ladies.

Mom, Me, Rachel, Julie Service, sorting and boxing blankets.The trees were absolutely beautiful and smelled so good!

Lovely tulips.

For the past 5 years, I have had the opportunity to attend BYU Women's Conference with my Mom, Aunt and Cousins. It is truly one of the highlights of my year! It is a time to spend with family, laughing, crying and being spiritually fed. There were so many wonderful presenters, and I felt the spirit so strongly. The theme for this years Women's Conference was "Strength in the Lord" we can do great things, even ALL things in the strength of the Lord. I took lots and lots of notes, but I have decided to to write about the top 10 things that impressed me the most.

1: YOU make a difference, just because you are here! When you walk into a room, you can either add to it, or take from it.... ADD to it, without saying a word.

2: Most of life's lessons are learned in the classroom of our mortal bodies: Our curriculum is customized for us, there is Divine design in our trials. Every trial that we go through is necessary for our growth. Neal A Maxwell said " He is preparing you to become a God"

3: What's so good about Zion? EVERYTHING! What's so bad about Babylon? EVERYTHING!! There is only room in our hearts for one God. We can create Zion in our hearts and our homes. Babylon is bondage, Zion is eternal freedom. Mary Ellen Edmonds gave this presentation, and I really liked one of the things that she said: " Membership is based more on who has your heart that who has your records" God's plan is not the plan of pleasure, it is the plan of happiness.

4: Do the VERY best we can in our own circumstances. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way to discipleship. Discipleship is a journey, and we learn from the refining lessons that purify our hearts. We need to "let" people repent, to allow them to grow and be worthy of all that God has to offer us.

5: The closer that we become to the Savior, we come to a greater realization that we are nothing without him. Everything that we are is owed to that God that has created us. Serve the Lord without expectation. No one owes us anything, we owe EVERYTHING to the Lord.

6: As women, there are three things that we need to do to prepare for eternal life. 1- Increase faith and personal righteousness. 2- Strengthen our families and homes. 3- Seek out those that need relief.

7: The Family WILL exist eternally. The creation: An earth was created on which a family could dwell. The Fall: Provided a means for a family to grow, and to increase our faith. The Atonement: Ties families together forever, it gives us the opportunity to grow into the eternities. NOTHING is more important to humanity than families!!! The family is being threatened on every hand, spiritual destruction is happening in high places. Children and families are less valued by the world. The world teaches "I" and "me" the family is about "us" and "we". Anti-family teachings are anti-Christ teachings. When things go wrong in the family, things go wrong in every other aspect of the world. We MUST preserve the family, and keep our focus on the blessings of eternal life.

8: Ours is the duty to bind and heal the wounds of others, we shouldn't judge according to appearance. We never know the trials that others are dealing with, we can be an instrument in God's hands to allow forgiveness. We miss out on so much because of anger. Holding on to anger destroys us, forgiveness is healing. When we forgive, we open ourselves to a better future. The only dressing large enough to heal some wounds comes through the atonement. We need to be like Christ, and forgive ALL, God's judgements are ALWAYS just. There is no peace in the nurturing of a grudge.

9: Elder L. Tom Perry spoke at the closing session: We as Latter Day Saints have a responsibility to carry the Gospel throughout the world. We must present ourselves in a greater light. How do we close the gap between how we view ourselves and how the worlds sees us? Listen first, learn how to ask the right questions. Know the doctrine of the restoration, the plan of happiness, and the ordinances of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. LIVE the standards of the Church. Be exemplary citizens. Be good neighbors. Open our mouths. Extend invitations. Use technology. Be bold but not overbearing. Our love for the Savior must now be more illuminated more brightly. May we have the courage to bring it out of obscurity!!

10: I have been blessed with an exceptional family! I am truly grateful for the examples of my Mom, Aunt and Cousin! They provide me with hope, strength, and unconditional love. I hope to be able to carry on this tradition for many years to come. I can truly say that I came home a better person. My desires to be a better wife and mother have been strengthened. I love Women's Conference, and I recommend it to everyone!