Sister Sienna Hawkins : Choose to Believe

Conference weekend!

Wasn't conference so awesome!? Goodness I wrote just about all of the talks down to study later. I think of conference as I do holidays. It's like when Christmas passes and you think, "dang... now I have to wait a whole other year". Luckily conference is every 6 months!!

Wow, there's so much goodness to this conference that it doesn't seem fair to write something so short and brief. There seemed to be a lot of talks about love, being alert, caring for our lost brothers, marriage and faith. Well good! I got a lot from the love, faith, alertness, and caring for lost brothers part but the marriage part made me feel uncomfortable... that's gonna have to wait!

As my companion and I went to bed we discussed lots of talks and shared what stood out to us. She reminded me of a quote by L. Whitney Clayton that kept playing in my head as I fell asleep. (feel free to listen to his whole talk here...)

He said that we have to choose to believe. That God doesn't force us to believe, He invites us.

(for more conference quotes to print, click ----> here!)

How does he invite us? His invitations are countless! How many scriptures tell us to "come unto Christ" and "delight in the Gospel"? If you even take a minute to look around you the mountains, the sky, the stars, and the sea are open invitations to believe in something greater than any of us. The love of a neighbor, the help of a friend, the unconditional support of parent and child. The 85,000 missionaries, 144 temples and millions of members stand as witnesses and invitors for others to believe.

But why believe? Why does it even matter? L Whitney Clayton spoke of the darnkess that fills this world. When we choose to believe we let the spiritual light in. When we sacrifice and defend this belief, we choose to live above the world and not in it. The darnkess that the world offers can be dimmed as we nourish this light within ourselves and within the walls of our own homes. There is peace. There is rest from our trials. There is sincere and unconditional love. But it starts with a belief.

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in Earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth, believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend"Mosiah 4:9

I don't just believe in a God, I know there is a God. A God who is loving, who is waiting for us, wanting to bless us with that light.