Saturday mornings growing up always meant a bowl of Cheerios and early-morning cartoons. But then, there were the special days that called for Apple-Puffed Pancakes and another kind of early morning TV: General Conference.
General Conference weekend is a big deal in my family. Yummy food, family, and taking notes are the usual. But the joy of General Conference doesn’t just start at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning when that recognizable voice welcomes us to the “177th General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” The joy starts a couple of weeks before, when our preparation for General Conference starts.
People prepare a lot of different ways—writing down goals or questions, praying for self or family members to find answers in the talks, praying for the speakers to be inspired as to what they say… the preparation list goes on. Either way, I think the key is doing some kind of preparation so our hearts and minds are ready to hear what Heavenly Father and the Savior want/ need us to hear.
Next topic to wrestle: I’m not married, nor do I have children. So concentrating on watching conference is relatively easy for me. But if you have little ones, what can you do to keep them busy, and actually get to enjoy conference yourself?
• Conference Bingo: anytime your child hears a word said in conference, they get to put a treat on their Bingo board. When they get Bingo, celebrate!
• Coloring: have them draw pictures of anything that has to do with General Conference: President Monson, The Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ, etc.
• Give your older children the assignment to make cookies or some kind of treat, and assign the younger kids to help.
• Do a service project while watching General Conference: make leper bandages, quilt, put together hygiene kits.
• Do hair: one of my favorite things to do while watching conference when I was younger was braiding my sister’s hair or combing and styling my brother’s hair. Random, I know.
Any other ideas you’ve tested and found successful?
I think spring conference is my favorite because of all the flowers and the warm weather. There’s just a happy feeling in the air! So, please enjoy preparing for, watching and learning from General Conference next weekend!
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Ashley Jones practices public relations for Deseret Book. She loves writing, emailing her missionary sister, and making/ eating home-made popcorn.