“In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. . . One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention...”
Since reading his warning, I've tried to pay attention to messages and themes that repeat themselves throughout General Conference. One of the more obvious pairings from the most recent conference was the talks by Elder Scott and Elder Packer, with a common theme of receiving spiritual answers and direction.
Elder Richard G. Scott gave a talk in the Saturday morning session called “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance,” where he taught that guidance will be gained “by careful practice, through the application of correct principles, and by being sensitive to the feelings that come.”
In President Boyd K. Packer’s talk from the Saturday afternoon session, “Prayer and Promptings,” he asserts that both these communications (found in his talk title) are still available to all of God’s children. He says, “You can know the things you need to know. Pray that you will learn to receive that inspiration and remain worthy to receive it.”You can read the talks by clicking on their titles above, and you can find both the audio and video versions of these talks here.
Simply the fact that two talks on a very similar topic were given in Conference on the same day is an alert that it was a principle worth addressing. What do you think the “action items” for these talks are? What are these brethren both trying to encourage us to do more/do better? And how do you think this topic can do what Elder Eyring said, and help us "to find safety from sin and from sorrow"?
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Stephanie is a mom of three young and relentless children. Her interests include latin music, naps, restaurants, writing, travel, teaching, housework denial and long showers. Stephanie seeks for the divinity in motherhood--- tries to share it when she finds it, and tries to laugh when she doesn't. She blogs for fun, posterity, and therapy. Her musings are chronicled at Diapers and Divinity, and if you know how to send chocolate as an attachment, you're welcome to email her here.
