An Ode to the Little Pencil (by Ashley)

When our Flake family lived in West Virginia, we used to watch General Conference at the stake center. We would have to get all dressed up in our stuffy church clothes and sit in a dark chapel and try not to fall asleep. In the evening our dad would go to priesthood session and after he would come home he would whip out a folded piece of paper where he had taken notes with a short pencil (which he conveniently carried in his wallet). We would all listen with rapt attention as he relayed the messages that had been given there, and sometimes with tears in his eyes the touching stories told by apostles and prophets.

It was in this environment that I learned to respect General Conference.

Now several years later, listening to General Conference is not the hardship it once was to my seven-year-old self. Nor is it the nap time opportunity that I secretly wished for as a teenager. Or the undivided attention, intense note-taking of myself as a single adult. Now it's two people sitting in their pajamas, the laptop hooked up and chasing babies around.

I've mentioned before that my family stays very close through emails. Now after Conference weekend, you can expect the emails to be filled with favorite conference talks, inspiring stories, or heartfelt personal revelation received. I guess it's all kind of an ode to that little pencil and folded up piece of paper my dad kept so many years ago (and still keeps!).

On Saturday, my favorite talks came from the priesthood session (it surely couldn't have anything to do with the fact that that happened to be the session where my babies screamed the least). President Eyring's talk compared priesthood service with the Good Samaritan. It really hit home for me. I have one of those husbands who is always asked to serve. At this stage in my personal progression, I do not always willingly want him to go. Yet if I can remember that he was not asked to be the priest or the Levite, but the Samaritan, and that those who are asked to "sacrifice the most receive a greater reward," then I know I can begin to learn this important lesson.

I loved the family choir in the Saturday second session, I was so touched. The Spirit testified to me that this is what heaven looks like: families. The children sang with such purity it brought tears to my eyes as they stood. It reminded me of our greater purpose on this Earth: to return to our Father in Heaven. I thought the family choir was such a great idea and put the whole conference in perspective for me. Listen to it here.