Women's Conference

I have always liked President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and have always enjoyed listening to his talks during conference sessions. Somehow, though, I enjoyed the one I just heard at Women's Conference tonight so much more than I remember enjoying them before. Perhaps it was the lack of children tugging at my leg and screaming in my ears every few seconds. Perhaps it was the dark quiet of the stake center chapel. Perhaps it was the reverence and respect of the congregation of women sitting with me listening tonight. I can't really say for sure. He said some very interesting and important things today. None were ideas I haven't heard a million times before, nor were they extremely profound, but I felt uplifted and enlightened as I walked away from this meeting. A few of my favorite things he said tonight were about service, talents, creativity, and self-worth.

He said, in short, that serving others makes us happy. I've heard this many times before, and have experienced first hand how serving someone else can lift my spirits and brighten my mood when I'm feeling down. It really is easier said than done sometimes, though. When I'm in a rotten mood, the last thing I want to do is do something for someone else. But when I can pull myself out of my self-pity and egocentric disposition and serve someone, even in the slightest way, I definitely feel better. I couldn't agree more that service to others is one of the best ways to serve myself.

He also said that everyone has talents. When we, as women, see another person's abilities and talents, we often start to envy those abilities and wonder why we can't be as good as "so and so" at whatever it is. President Uchtdorf reminds us that we all have talents, and we all have something to contribute. If we all were good at all the same things, the world would be severely lacking. If we feel like we aren't talented, we need to "think again" and find what it is we are good at, no matter how small or insignificant.

He spoke of creativity tonight as well. He said there is no greater joy than when we can take unorganized matter and organize it into something beautiful that did not exist before. He emphasized that we are all created in the image of God, our maker, who is the ultimate creator. This means that if he had the capacity to create something as complex, intriguing and amazing as us, and we are created in his image, as a part of Him, then we all have the capacity to create. He said that if we think we have no capacity for creativity, then we should start with seeing how many smiles we can create. Once we've tried that, then we can move on to bigger and better things. He compared his and his wife's cooking abilities in part of his talk. He said that his wife always made beautiful and delicious meals that he always enjoys. Then when he cooks, it never turns out nearly as well or as delicious, but it always makes him feel heroic and capable for being able to make something at least edible. It's all in the way we look at it.

He also spoke of self-worth. He mentioned that many women are self-defeating more often than self-uplifting. I see this all the time in myself, as well as in my friends. I know when I'm doing it to myself, but somehow, I keep doing things that bring me down instead of building me up. For me, sometimes it's hard to recognize the beauty beneath the flaws. Lately I've been dealing with some issues beyond my control that have been bringing me down. But they only bring me down because I let them. I appreciate talks like the one I heard tonight from President Uchtdorf that bring my priorities and thoughts back into focus and back in the direction they should be. It's important to look at the bigger picture. Remember to look into the future instead of dwelling in the present. All in all, I came away from the conference tonight happier than when I started out today, and more uplifted than I ever would have been had I stayed home like I wanted to. Thank you Brittney for "guilting" me into going! You're exactly what President Uchtdorf just told us we need to be!