BYU Easter Conference

My baby sister, Cari, and I were able to go to an Easter Conference at BYU the week before Easter. It was from 9-12 on a beautiful Saturday morning and I am SO glad we went (and that we went to the mall after and had SO much fun and found some crazy sales!) I told my Mom we went to the conference and she was dying to hear about what we learned. So Mom, and everyone else, here are some of my notes. :)

Brother Belnap
-What it means to be a son or daughter of God:
Romans 8:14 D&C 76 Moses 1:4
-Obtaining revelation that forgiveness has been achieved-overlooked step in repentance process
-Luke 15:31-32- Prodigal Son restores status of "Son"
-Alma helps Zeezrom begin to heal (who is ill- physically and spiritually) by asking spiritual questions and Zeezrom is healed physically and spiritually
-Hebrews 4:15-16

Brother Millet
He began by saying that in order to truly know Christ, we need to know what he is. We talk a lot about what He is but Brother Millet spoke about what Christ is not.
Christ is not:
1. a cosmic errand boy
He's not just sitting around, waiting for us to tell Him what we want Him to do
C.S. Lewis-" We want not a Father in Heaven, but a Grandfather in Heaven." :)
2. just a Galilean Guru
More than just an inspired teacher, but the Son of God, God the Son
Spoke with divine authority
"The prototype of all saved beings." Joseph Smith
3. just religious
Root of "religion"-ligament- bonds man to God
Religion has become just another part of our lives- our social life, our family life, our religious life
As latter-day-saints, our religion is life
4. just my older brother
Appropriate when referring to our pre-existence
"Brother" is never used in His titles in the Book of Mormon; always "Lord God Almighty," "Supreme Being," "True Messiah"...
"Brother" doesn't go far enough in describing His role in our lives; He is not our spiritual peer
"Brother" is easier to understand and relate to, at the expense of acknowledging His divinity
5. my buddy
Brings Jesus down to my level
Emphasizes His humanity over His divinity
We need to recognize His magnificence- those who understand His divinity speak of Him in reverence
6. the God of the Gaps
He doesn't just come at the day of judgement to make up the difference- doesn't adequately describe what He has done for us; He has bought us with His blood; anything we are able to do in the first place is because of Him
He saves us above and beyond, and in spite of, all we can do
His grace is extended to us every hour of every day, not just at Judgement
Nothing we can do, no matter how much, will ever be enough. Good works are hollow unless they are accompanied by complete dependence on Christ- Elder Ballard quote paraphrased
Men cannot "earn" his own salvation
"Easy-Believism" cheapens the role of Deity in our lives
He is God, and were it not so, He could not save us

Elder Lund
We talk a lot of about what the Atonement means to us, but what did it mean to Christ?
-It was experienced by the Son of God, and the man Jesus
- The will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father
Not just at Atonement, but throughout His whole existence
- Savior had agency, but his will and desires always came second
- Life was lonely for Christ- misunderstood- people always told Him He was not the Son of God. Even his closest friends didn't completely understand Him, but He always had the presence of the Father
- Descended below them all- not just in His humble birth, but in the moment of the Atonement that goes beyond human power to endure- "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?"
- "Abba, Father"- why did translators keep it like that? Both words show depth of relationship between Father and Son
Abba- used by infants; shows trust, intimacy
Father- formal, respectful name
- Like Christ, we need a broken heart
Repentance brings about a broken heart
Paul- Godly sorrow bringeth about repentance
Pres. Benson- Repentance requires not just a change in behavior, but a change of heart
Godly Sorrow is a gift of the Spirit
"Godly Sorrow is a deep realization that our actions have offended God and Christ"- Benson
Parable of the Cats:

A naturalist was walking through the woods (Thoreau, I'm guessing) and he saw a couple boys drowning kittens. Their mom had asked them to get rid of the kittens the mother cat had just had because she didn't want a bunch of cats around. So the boys had gone to the river, put the kittens in sacks with rocks tied to them and began drowning them. The mother cat was pacing along the river, meowing and howling. There were three kittens left when the naturalist saw them. He offered to take the rest of the kittens.

He walked away with the cats and the mother cat followed him home. The next day, the man had some friends over and he was telling them about the cats. They were standing around the fire when the car came in with a rat in her mouth. She had intentionally not killed it, but it was very near death. She walked up to the man and laid the rat at his feet.

The near-dead rat was thoroughly unnecessary to the man, but was still an acceptable offering of thanks.

- Our need to serve God is incalculably greater then His need for our service
- Acceptable Offerings:
1. Acknowledgement- D&C 59- "against none is my wrath kindled. . ."
2. Acceptance- "For what doth it profit a man. . . "
3. Gratitude- Serve the Lord with gladness- psalm
4. Remembrance- in remembering, we are compelled to action

There was a story in a mountain climbing magazine that taught this principle well, without really knowing it. :) An experienced climber was out climbing with friends. His rope was hooked onto another climber whose job it was to make sure he was secure, which was also his own job. They were up high when the man slipped. The other climber supported all of his weight and the weight of the falling climber and secured his rope and stopped him from falling any farther and dying.

The man was very grateful, but couldn't think of anything he could do to repay the man who had saved his life. "Do I buy him a new rope for Christmas? No, I just remember him. I just always remember him."