General Conferences

I can't explain it. I like making goals for myself. Its like a game in my head where I enjoy checking things off. I'm weird. My newest goal is to read all of the Gen Conf talks since I have been born. I'm a decade or so in, and here are the things I have observed so far:

1. Compared to the talks given today, the talks of the past are not entertaining. This isn't a criticism necessarily, more of a comment on our greater culture.

2. The story-telling abilities of the general authorities has increased greatly in the last few decades. They understand the power of a good story and use it well.

3. The gospel is the gospel is the gospel. Use whatever words you want, it's the same precious message.

4. Last month I attended a week-long seminar on how many (all?) of the things LDS-Christians believe, which non-LDS Christians don't, can also be found in the teachings on the Early Church Fathers (1 - 3rd century). So as I'm reading, I cant help but look for things which are different, and try to think about which Church Father would have said them too. It's a line of thinking I need to put more effort into than I can right now.

5. I don't think most LDS-Christians give much thought to how our current teachings developed over the decades and centuries. But its easy to see some of that play out in conference talks.

That's it for now - I'm actually on vacation on some far-flung Caribbean island. But its raining and how outside, so I found an internet cafe and am getting things done. Hopefully the sun coms out soon....