Please post your comments below. Also, if you are a priesthood bearer, please put on a white shirt first if possible. 
- Aaron B.
- About
- About BCC:
- Amri Brown
- Archives
- Author List
- BCC Papers
- Brad
- Cynthia L.
- google7cb0590cb8f68202.html
- J. Nelson-Seawright
- J. Stapley
- John C.
- John F.
- John Hamer
- Karen H.
- Kathryn Lynard Soper
- Kevin Barney
- Kristine
- M. Norbert Kilmer
- Margaret Blair Young
- Mark Brown
- Natalie B.
- Rebecca J.
- RJH
- Russell Arben Fox
- Sam MB
- Scott B.
- Steve Evans
- Steve P.
- Tracy
Saturday Afternoon General Conference Open Thread
October 4, 2008 — John C.157 Responses to “Saturday Afternoon General Conference Open Thread”
LDS Headlines- LDS temple in heart of historic Philly - Salt Lake Tribune
- Davone Bess: Mormon, Badass - MVN.com
- LDS-gay dialogue - Salt Lake Tribune
- Congrats to LDS - Salt Lake Tribune
- All for the love of the manger - Salt Lake Tribune
- The Mormon queen of the damned - New Zealand Herald
- Film documents Mormon role in gay marriage debate - The Associated Press
- Brothers sue Boy Scouts, Mormon Church over alleged abuse - 1590 KLIV Silicon Valley News
- LDS teen Tia Thomas 'performed well' in National Bible Bee - Deseret News
- Naming America's First Marijuana Cafe - Huffington Post (blog)
Meta
October 4, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I just got a chill when Pres. Eyring mentioned the Internet.
October 4, 2008 at 2:06 pm
This song is AWESOME!
October 4, 2008 at 2:07 pm
as a non American, I’m flinching at the dropped ‘t’ in ‘all that I must do’!
October 4, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Everyone see the token black child they showed at the beginning?
October 4, 2008 at 2:09 pm
It’s hard to say the “t” when you are missing your front teeth
Cute kids.
October 4, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Apparently D Todd Christofferson didn’t get the Black suit memo. He was wearing Gray.
October 4, 2008 at 2:11 pm
cute kids indeed- and all the boys wearing white shirts, as far as I could see
October 4, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Can I also say that the prayers have been amazing thus far? I don’t normally notice them.
October 4, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Dude–where are Elders Perry and Oaks?
October 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm
#8 – Amen.
#9 – Probably at BYU or another large gathering.
October 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I told my kids they could stand by the TV and join the primary choir.
October 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Perry and Oaks are probably seated in the Assembly Hall.
October 4, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Eddie, it’s neat to see my younger kids singing along with General Conference songs.
October 4, 2008 at 2:15 pm
The Light Divine is one of my favorites since childhood.
October 4, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Where is the podioum that he’s seated at relative to the main podium?
October 4, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I love that the kids can’t bring themselves to ignore the cameras. The sidelong glances and suppressed smiles are wonderful.
October 4, 2008 at 2:20 pm
It’s a little portable podium that is put temporarily in front of his usual chair.
October 4, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I really love this man. He is my oldest daughter’s favorite apostles.
October 4, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Which mic is in use here?? THe one on the podium, or the one attached to his ear?
October 4, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I’m glad Wirthlin is sitting for this talk. His talks are often poetic and beautiful, and it’s easier for me to listen when i’m not worried about him.
October 4, 2008 at 2:24 pm
There’s a mic on the portable podium. Presumably that’s the live one.
October 4, 2008 at 2:24 pm
clever.
October 4, 2008 at 2:25 pm
It’s a comedy talk!!
October 4, 2008 at 2:26 pm
The LDS need to learn to laugh at ourselves. Profoundly good advice.
October 4, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Don’t feel picked on — it happens to everyone and it’s part of life. Also good…
October 4, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I love this man.
I love that the primary choir got my one year old and 5 year old to pay attention, for thirty seconds. We should have more primary choir.
October 4, 2008 at 2:30 pm
A less punitive approach to the law of justice: your sorrow and loss will be compensated.
October 4, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I just have to say that the new media player on lds.org is streaming conference in gorgeous high resolution.
October 4, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I guess I have to stop making fun of the true life angel stories in the women’s magazines.
And it also answers the questions about Matt and Mandy.
October 4, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Intermediate hymn at 46 after the hour??
October 4, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Not really, I think. It complicates it because he brings human action into the realm of angelic ministration.
October 4, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I absolutely love Elder Holland. Always been my favorite. Always will be.
October 4, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Mortal and immortal angels. Fantastic.
October 4, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Some men go bald. Others are blessed with a beautiful head of hair late into their lives.
October 4, 2008 at 2:51 pm
My six-year-old just grabbed the hymn book and brought it to me so she could “sing with the other kids”.
October 4, 2008 at 2:53 pm
“He adapts to the level of the individual.” I love that.
October 4, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I don’t remember having a Primary choir in conference before. This is so sweet!
October 4, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I think that only kids in the congregation should have sung that song. No adults.
October 4, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Hurray! A French general authority speaking! Gerald Causse is from Paris, the Versailles ward
October 4, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Anyone have any info on who this is? I’m not familiar with him.
October 4, 2008 at 2:55 pm
We used to sing it back and forth — the kids would sing the first verse (“Teach me …”) and the adults the second (“Come little child …”) and all join in on the third.
October 4, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Info on Elder Causse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rald_J._Causs%C3%A9
October 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Is this a historic first?
October 4, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Elder Causse was recently sustained in the first quorum of the seventy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rald_J._Causs%C3%A9
October 4, 2008 at 2:57 pm
#40-Elder Causse on Wikipdidia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9rald_J._Causs%C3%A9
October 4, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Really? I was a missionary there, but unfortunately I don’t really remember him.
October 4, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Hey, last Sunday I went to church in the Paris ward, and I was reading the bulletin board thinking, How cool. There’s a Versailles Ward!
October 4, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Anyone notice how many different ways in which we are being told not to take ourselves too seriously (think Perry, Wirthlin, Causse)?
October 4, 2008 at 3:01 pm
#45: Yup, when did you serve? I returned a little less than two years ago.
October 4, 2008 at 3:01 pm
oops, #44
October 4, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I was in the Versailles ward in late 1997 and early 1998.
October 4, 2008 at 3:03 pm
The Little Prince.
Huzzah!
October 4, 2008 at 3:03 pm
How neat. I was just there on vacation, though!
October 4, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Is this the first time Antoine de Saint-Exupery has been quoted in GC?
October 4, 2008 at 3:04 pm
All saving knowledge is contained in the pre-baptism lessons? Not so sure that’s true…
October 4, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hmm. Maybe you knew the Babin family? They’re Elder Causse’s in-laws.
October 4, 2008 at 3:05 pm
#53: saving, not necessarily exalting
October 4, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Rachel, do you have any inside info on the Paris temple? We’ve been trying to get it built since 1998.
October 4, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Looks like all the non-Apostle (male) speakers so far are the newest members of the 1st Quorum of the 70.
Is this normal?
October 4, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Three Seventies called in April 2008 have spoken so far today.
October 4, 2008 at 3:07 pm
This Corbridge dude talks just like an apostle. Sure, everyone tries, but this guy’s got it down.
October 4, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Well, I was there when the church was looking at some property west of Paris, but the public found out about it somehow and that put a stop to inquiries. As far as current information, I couldn’t say. I’ll need to contact my sources . . .
October 4, 2008 at 3:08 pm
OK, I remember the Babins.
October 4, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Any other way is madness!
October 4, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Ok, “He forgives us! He… He…” which I’m wondering about. Does Jesus forgive our sins or does our Heavenly Father forgive our sins? Did I miss something.
Sorry, new to all of this.
October 4, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I hope people weren’t so dazzled by Elder Causse’s French mystique that they didn’t notice that he gave a really outstanding, and doctrinally rich talk.
October 4, 2008 at 3:09 pm
“He paid the price of our education.”
I have never heard it said that way, but I LOVE it.
October 4, 2008 at 3:09 pm
The current speaker looks like Henry Winkler (Fozzie from Happy Days).
October 4, 2008 at 3:09 pm
But is he giving a talk or preaching?
October 4, 2008 at 3:10 pm
#63 – They each have in different situations.
October 4, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Is there a “Mormon Doctrine for Dummies” booklet? I sure could use one.
October 4, 2008 at 3:11 pm
#67 – ??
October 4, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Uh, I think you mean Barry Zuckercorn from Arrested Development.
October 4, 2008 at 3:11 pm
True.
October 4, 2008 at 3:12 pm
#69 – Just don’t use “Mormon Doctrine”.
October 4, 2008 at 3:12 pm
70- I was referring to his opening segment…I think it was a rhetorical device, now he has settled into a “talk”.
October 4, 2008 at 3:13 pm
#67: there is something vaguely . . . [can't think of the right adjective] about his talk. I was actually going to look up his history, if it’s online.
October 4, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Fonzie, surely…isn’t Fozzie in The Muppet Show?!
BTW I’m really enjoying the talks and this blog! (Can’t believe my first post was about a TV show)
October 4, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Very, very good.
October 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I enjoyed his talk. I need to read it again.
Oh, and I like Elder Christofferson’s pin striped suit. Nice change in fashion.
October 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever watched a session that went as fast as the last one, but this one is close. Riveting talks.
October 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
The pre-2004 missionary discussions booklets might be good for that.
October 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Dude, Fozzie is a muppet. You mean Fonzie, as in Arthur Fonzarelli. Sheesh.
October 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm
D Todd — Gray AND Pinstripes.
October 4, 2008 at 3:17 pm
@75:
http://www.cbclaw.com/Bio/LawrenceCorbridge.asp
http://www.cmoe.com/blog/qualities-of-leadership.htm
October 4, 2008 at 3:17 pm
New temple in Zion, talk on building Zion…
October 4, 2008 at 3:18 pm
By the way, Corbridge got the “supernal” of the day award. One so far.
October 4, 2008 at 3:19 pm
“Nephi saw that these dominions would be small.”
Interesting. Very, very interesting.
October 4, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the little prince quoted before in gc.
October 4, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Uh oh, he’ll pay for that. Monday news flash…
SALT LAKE CITY- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today announced that Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has “resigned”…
I kid, I kid.
October 4, 2008 at 3:20 pm
He’s flirting with Nibleyesque rhetoric here.
October 4, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Poverty discussed in GC! How exciting!
October 4, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Love talks on Zion. But why do we say “ZI-uhn”, and the people in the Matrix said “ZI-ahn.” Is it like an “Ore-gun” “Ore-gone” thing?
October 4, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Love the connction between forgiveness and unity! I’ve never thought of it so coherently.
October 4, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Zion – individual and economic requirements.
Can a person really become a “Zion” person if there are poor people around them? I really like this talk.
October 4, 2008 at 3:23 pm
#69- I have “Mormonism for Dummies”. And I learned stuff from it, too!
October 4, 2008 at 3:24 pm
The Matrix is rated R.
The Lord called his people Zi-uhn.
October 4, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Do people in Zion wear pin stripe suits? I kid, I kid.
October 4, 2008 at 3:24 pm
“Mormonism for Dummies” is quite good.
October 4, 2008 at 3:24 pm
The Moldovan YSA example is fabulous. Splitting up to hear everything, then sharing notes with each other and others not there.
October 4, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Wow.
October 4, 2008 at 3:26 pm
He’s flirting with Nibleyesque rhetoric here.
is that a good thing or a bad thing?
October 4, 2008 at 3:26 pm
“The Lord has judged his people by how they cared for the poor.”
This is an amazing talk.
October 4, 2008 at 3:27 pm
#100 — a good thing.
October 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm
sufficient for our needs…
October 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm
#100 – personally, I love Nibley. He was a well-known Mormon scholar on Mormon doctrine. He also wrote great articles about Zion.
October 4, 2008 at 3:28 pm
“Paul warned about those who think that gain is godliness.”
October 4, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Re: 37 & 42 Primary choirs are a regular occurrence in conference.
re: 58 General practise is to have seventy speak who were called during the previous conference.
October 4, 2008 at 3:29 pm
there goes those “i obeyed and then i made it big” testimonies. but prob. not.
October 4, 2008 at 3:30 pm
What an amazing story of the kitchen tables!
October 4, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Oooh, love the “table story.” Hit us where we live, Elder Christofferson!
October 4, 2008 at 3:33 pm
janice kapp getting the gc nod
October 4, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Where have we heard the story of the kitchen tables before? It’s familiar, but I can’t remember when I heard it previously.
October 4, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I heart the primary choir.
October 4, 2008 at 3:36 pm
My teenage son said he could sing better than the primary choir, so we muted the first verse and made him prove it. He was lying.
October 4, 2008 at 3:37 pm
LOL
October 4, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Eddie, that’s awesome. Did your son agree with your verdict?
October 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm
oo i like that creation in the morning.covey-esque, though it be.
October 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm
October 4, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Jinx on Brad
October 4, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I told him that I posted it here. He said, “that was mean.”
October 4, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Here he is, “the helmet of righteousness.” His hair is more perfect than Mitt’s.
October 4, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Though, honestly, our primary choir might learn something about tone from King’s College or the Vienna Boys. “Strident” is not necessarily “adorable.”
October 4, 2008 at 3:41 pm
More than his hair, I admire his youthful skin. Nary a wrinkle
October 4, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Actually, I was thinking that he appears to have aged much since last we saw him. Not that he isn’t still boyishly good looking…
October 4, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Wow, I really appreciated Elder Bednar’s outlining of the relationship between night and morning prayers. i had never thought of it that way. It makes the idea of keeping a prayer in your heart all the more concrete when you think of the continuum stretching from morning to evening prayer.
P.S. Thanks for this thread–it keeps me more engaged in the talks!
October 4, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I’m predicting a very short, concise prayer at the conclusion of this session, which only offers thanks within it.
October 4, 2008 at 3:46 pm
“The prayers of prophets are childlike in their simplicity”
I enjoy the tiny window into those Thursday meetings….
October 4, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hmmm. I must be wicked. I have always found “thanks-only” prayers to be artificially pious. I don’t know how I’d get through a prayer without asking for forgiveness. “Thanks for the forgiveness you will undoubtedly give me, O Lord” seems somewhat manipulative; I like to offer the opportunity to be refused. Oh well, I guess I should repent.
October 4, 2008 at 3:52 pm
THe kids must have been told “Hands by your sides, not in your pockets.”
October 4, 2008 at 3:53 pm
#128 I still think the most relevant advice about prayer is to pray sincerely and with real intent.
October 4, 2008 at 3:53 pm
#122: Undoubtedly, but they are professional choirs. These amateur kids probably got three rehearsals together, tops.
October 4, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Has anyone heard that descant before? I don’t recognize it.
October 4, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Okay, calm down. Elder Bednar seems to simply be carrying the logic that has been expressed throughout the conference (i.e. don’t take yourself, your intellect, your lifestyle, your problems, your needs, too seriously) into personal prayer.
October 4, 2008 at 3:55 pm
yeah, you must be right about the pockets thing. Did you see that one kid smack the other one? So great!
October 4, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Rachel, what areas did you serve in? Welcome back btw.
October 4, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I would expect that a prayer that focused only on expressing appreciation for past earnestly felt forgivenesses might be sufficent. It would certainly lack piousness in needing to acknowledge and recall how I had strayed, or been harsh and then led by some tender mercy to acknowledge my part and need for the atonement to heal me and restore me to wholeness.
October 4, 2008 at 4:00 pm
#132: It’s a new one to me, too.
I meant that the children may have rehearsed more intensively in local groups, but didn’t all get together until the end.
October 4, 2008 at 4:03 pm
133, I’m calm. My last line was not intended to be sarcastic. I’m just curious about the practicalities of such a prayer.
136, That’s certainly something to think about. Thanks.
October 4, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Thanks, Steve. I served in Rennes (3 months), Versailles (7 months), the eastern side of Paris in the Paris-Lilas ward (5 months), and in Le Mans (3 months)
October 4, 2008 at 4:05 pm
122, Yeah. I just covet the music of the Anglicans.
October 4, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Nice! I was 7 mos. in Versailles as well (well, St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, anyhow). At least you got out to Brittany, even if it was the outskirts.
October 4, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Steve, that St. Quentin branch was great. It got absorbed into the Versailles ward when I was there, though. Made me a little sad. Versailles, Versailles, what a great and hard place at the same time. When were you in France?
October 4, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Bonsoir tout le monde.
October 4, 2008 at 4:18 pm
My dad was in Brittany–St. Nazaire or Lorient–for five months.
Actually, on the outskirts. The Germans were still in the cities.
October 4, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I’m skipping Priesthood session and going to dinner with my wife and kids. But if I see any of you guys crowding up Olive Garden I’ll be very disappointed in you.
October 4, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Mark, wow. You’re dad must have been there during the real re-building years for the church. The church basically started from zero after WWII
October 4, 2008 at 4:32 pm
While you are all rehashing the history of the church in France (during and after the war), we’re all still processing the announcement of a temple locally in the Philadelphia area. My daughter gave a talk in church just last week telling about the youth temple trip the day before. They left before 7:00 in the morning and returned at about 7:00 in the evening. We realize that this is nothing compared to the story we heard last week of the Saints who traveled five days to the temple, but having a temple in this area will sure make things easier for a lot of people. We’re very excited and had a lovely flurry of emails from friends and family all over the country.
Great conference so far!
October 4, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Sorry, Rachel–I was, as usual, not being serious. My dad was in Brittany as a member of the Black Panther Division (66th Infantry Division, U.S. Army), from December 1944 to May 1945. The Germans in Lorient and St. Nazaire back then were members of the Wehrmacht, and maybe some men from the Kriegsmarine–they had submarine bases in those cities.
I don’t think he had much opportunity to speak to the Bretons about anything, including the gospel. And, if he had, they wouldn’t have understood English, the only language he spoke.
October 4, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Corbridge was my stake president. I remember going in for my first temple recommend interview and him giving me a hard time about going to law school. He is a lawyer and felt there were too many as it was.
October 4, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Mark: well, I gotta learn sometime not to jump to conclusions. Still cool that your dad was in France, even if not a missionary. He saw a beautiful part of the world
StillConfused: Hmm. I’m thinking about law school myself. any advice?
October 4, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Rachel,
Well, you should ask yourself these important questions:
-Do I have any parents who have had productive and enjoyable legal careers and who used the time and connections from those careers to become Mormon studies junkies?
-Do I have any extremely literate and literary older sisters who would be shocked if I ended up as a lawyer rather than as another literature grad student?
-Wouldn’t it be kind of fun to shock them?
-Besides, just think how much the Mormon blogs would love you. A lawyer _and_ a Frandsenette — why, no LDS blog could resist that combination. You could write your own ticket.
I realize there are other factors to consider (career, cost, yada yada), but I think that this list covers the really important ones.
October 4, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Kaimi,
you flatter me undeservedly. Would that skill and success were inherited as easily as my family reputation . . . But still, you bring up a good point, being shocking would be pretty fun.
October 5, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I was away from the ‘net over the weekend, so very late with this comment: did anyone else find Corbridge’s talk to be a bit on the creepy/cultish side? his rigid stance, weird stare, and over the top rhetoric had Cult written all over it. I really try not to complain unduly, but in this case I was disturbed. It was like he was trying to hypnotize the audience with a repetitive series of simple phrases. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to outdo the memory of McConkie or give Dallin Oaks a run for his money. I mean, is the guy a former Evangelical or something? I had to get up and walk around after that talk just to shake it off.
October 6, 2008 at 7:23 pm
#154 — that is just Larry’s personality!
#151 — law school was a blast. I totally enjoyed it. It is the easiest doctorate to get. My advice is: go to law school where you plan on living; and don’t go directly to law school from undergraduate school. Life experience is a plus. The first year of law school is a game. The socratic method of teaching is irritating if you want to know the correct answer. But just play along with the game and it all turns out well. I have mentored women going through law school for ten years now so if you take the plunge, let me know.
October 6, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Re: #65, 71:
This is way late, but I wish I could point Jobicus to the book
published by the First Presidency. I’ve been active for more than fifty years, but I still get a tremendous amount out of that book. It often is inspired, although I don’t know for sure whose words they actually are. Available wherever . . .
October 6, 2008 at 9:03 pm
u