It really is a crazy time. Last October in General Conference, President Nelson announced that this conference would be memorable, as we would be commemorating 200 years since Joseph Smith's Marvelous Experience (did you know that's what the first vision was referred to in the early publications of the church?). He said "general conference next April will not only be memorable; it will be unforgettable."
TRUTH
General Conference will be held in a room in the Conference Center, with only the speakers and those offering prayers for the actual session in attendance. The choir will not perform, as we are asked to keep gatherings to fewer than 10 people. I wonder if there were great plans for a unique conference that have been switched up. It will still be unique. I'm looking forward to the messages.
To be totally honest, yesterday and this morning have been difficult for me. Getting divorced, moving into my parent's basement, and being quarantined due to a global pandemic isn't quite what I anticipated for 2020. Allison DeVuyst and I went on a long walk yesterday and I told her I didn't understand why the end of the world had to be awful. Why couldn't it be happy? BUT, I've watched and read some very uplifting messages of hope that help me realize this is a great time to look at my patriarchal blessing and see the gifts I've been given to help me at this time. I can also look for ways to grow and learn. This is a historic time. People will talk for years about the pandemic. It would be pretty pathetic if all I could remember about it is wallowing in the negative about it.
As a worldwide church, we fasted and prayed for this pandemic to end and for all those affected. It was a good fast. Mom and dad and I had the sacrament in the living room. We discussed Come Follow Me. Later, I chatted with the girls via FaceTime and I shared parts of an address given by Pope Francis and we read parts of Come Follow Me.
I've especially been touched as I read an address given by Pope Francis in an empty St. Peter's Square. He likened what is happening in the world to the tempest experienced by Jesus and his disciples, when they were afraid they were going to die. This is the only account we have of Jesus sleeping and he was sleeping in the stern of the boat, the part that sinks first. Here are some of my favorite parts of the Pope's historical address:
"We find ourselves afraid and lost. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm (referring to the tempest in Mark 4). We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat… are all of us. Just like those disciples, who spoke anxiously with one voice, saying “We are perishing” (v. 38), so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this."
"Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies."
"Lord, you are calling to us, calling us to faith. Which is not so much believing that you exist, but coming to you and trusting in you. This Lent your call reverberates urgently: “Be converted!”, “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing. It is not the time of your judgement, but of our judgement: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others."
"In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side. The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us, to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering flame that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled."
"Dear brothers and sisters, from this place that tells of Peter’s rock-solid faith, I would like this evening to entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Health of the People and Star of the stormy Sea. From this colonnade that embraces Rome and the whole world, may God’s blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace. Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: “Do not be afraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, “cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us” (cf. 1 Pet 5:7)."
There was more...lots more. Look up the Urbi et Orbi address given about coronavirus and you can find the whole text. Urbi et Orbi is a papal address and apostolic blessing usually given only at Christmas and Easter. This is so special that he would take time to write and deliver this message of hope.
"If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, we seek after these things." Thanks, Pope Francis.
I also learned that RESTORATION is messy. Think of restoring furniture. The Garden of Eden was the beginning of this earth and it was perfect. The whole history of the world has been messy since then. It will take a lot of mess before it's over. Then it will be like the Garden of Eden again.
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