For Mothers of Young Children
The Only Request of General Conference
Sometime between changing a dirty diaper and scrambling to finish an assignment, it hit me: general conference was tomorrow.
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As I got ready for bed, I found myself disappointed in my lack of preparation for general conference. I had been looking forward to it and had pictured myself spending uninterrupted time in the scriptures, pondering, and writing prepared questions beforehand.
The effort was there, but as a new mom I found that my scripture study was very interrupted, my quiet time was quite noisy, and the few questions I had were written only minutes before conference.
I tried to set realistic expectations knowing that, like my scripture study, conference would likely be full of busy baby sounds and interruptions. I knew that my listening wouldn’t be as fully engaged as it was pre-motherhood and that my notes wouldn’t be as detailed.
So my question was, “What do I need to focus on, and what should I let go of?”
Just like conference would be full of busy motherhood tasks, my life is just as busy, so I wanted to know what mattered most right now.
Jesus Christ Is the Best Choice
In only the second general conference talk, I felt overcome with God’s love and compassion for my meager efforts to prepare. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “When you have important choices to make, Jesus Christ and His restored gospel are the best choice. When you have questions, Jesus Christ and His restored gospel are the best answer. When you feel weak, Jesus Christ is your strength.”1
Elder Uchtdorf’s powerful talk reminded me that Jesus Christ is the center of our doctrine and the Head of our Church. Most things are insignificant in juxtaposition with Christ and His teachings.
Jesus Christ Is Calling for Me to Come unto Him
In the very next talk, Sister Tracy Y. Browning, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, shared her testimony of how important it is to follow Jesus Christ. She said, “Through rigorous effort to look to and for Jesus Christ in my every thought and deed, my eyes were enlightened, and my understanding quickened to recognize that Jesus Christ was calling for me to ‘come unto Him.’”2
While it seems obvious that Jesus Christ should be the center of our focus, this general conference really touched my heart. Again and again I found myself writing the name of Jesus Christ in my notes. What should I focus on? Him. What should I let go of? Anything that would not please Him or anything that He would not focus on.
Jesus Christ Is the Answer
As the last session of general conference began, I felt a renewed desire to find ways to make my home more Christ-centered. Then, Elder Ryan K. Olsen of the Seventy spoke even more on Jesus Christ. He said, “The answer to the simplest questions and to the most complex problems is always the same. The answer is Jesus Christ. Every solution is found in Him.”3
In a time of life where I have demands from my calling in Relief Society, professors at school, my growing business, and my little family at home, I wasn’t sure just how many requests I could accept from our Church leaders.
Even though there were talks from all different angles on all different topics, I felt a calm reassurance as each speaker concluded that there was only one request coming from my Heavenly Father: Follow Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is there for me every 4:00 a.m. feeding with my baby. He is there in every college class as I take notes. And He is there for me in every interrupted scripture study.
All He wants for me is to focus on Him in return. Find Him in the busy moments. Turn to Him in the hard ones. Share with Him the joyful ones. And He’ll always be there.