My New General Conference Commitment

This last weekend was stake conference for me. One of the members of the stake presidency talked about how he’s listened to the general conference talks multiple times already. That, of course, made me feel a bit guilty. I’m usually good about reading the general conference talks once the “Liahona” comes out. I have started to read them online, but I do better with a paper copy than reading them on a screen. Generally, I don’t listen to them a lot. I find I get the most out of them by sitting down and reading them.

My Justification

As this member of the stake presidency was talking, I felt like I also needed to start listening to the general conference talks more. In my head, I was thinking that I wasn’t sure how to do that. I justified that I’d really try harder to read them online and definitely do better once I was able to get a paper copy of them, which should happen in the next week or so. I tried to justify this in my mind. Yet, I still felt like I also needed to listen to them.

My Realization

It might sound ridiculous, but in my head, I was seriously struggling to figure out when I could listen to general conference talks regularly. I know people listen to them while eating, getting ready in the morning, driving, and doing housework. While these multitasking solutions work for other people, they didn’t feel practical for me.

Then it hit me. I could listen to/watch general conference talks while writing in my journal at night. Honestly, it was such an obvious solution that I wondered why I’d never considered it before. I generally watch something or listen to something on my computer while writing in my journal at night anyway. I could replace movies, television shows, or YouTube videos with something more meaningful.

At first, I was thinking that I wouldn’t get the most out of the talks. My attention would be split between writing and listening/watching. That’s kind of why I was concerned about trying to listen to general conference talks while doing household tasks. Then the thought came to me that while I might not get everything out of the talks if my mind was split between two things, I’d get more out of them than I’d get if I didn’t listen to them at all. That was kind of a “well, duh” moment for me.

Writing in My Journal and Listening to General Conference Talks

Last night, I tried writing in my journal while listening to a couple general conference talks. It actually worked really well for me. Did I hear everything in the two talks? No. Would I have gotten everything out of the talks if I’d listen to them or read them without doing something else at the same time? Probably not. I was able to pause the video, take notes, and pay attention enough that I feel like it was a valuable experience and something that I want to continue doing. This seems like, at least for now, the right way for me to listen to general conference talks.

Why This Works For Me

There are several reasons why this is the right solution for me. First, it allows me to be sitting down and take notes. That really doesn’t work when driving or even when getting ready for the day.

Second, it’s easy to pause, go back and relisten to something, or otherwise rewatch part of the talks. For me, that doesn’t work as well when doing other things.

Third, when necessary, I can stop doing other things and concentrate fully on the talk. It’s easy to stop writing in my journal for a minute or two to focus fully on the talk. I can’t really just stop driving or even stop in the middle of many other tasks to listen fully to a general conference talk.

Fourth, it’s easy to listen to the whole talk. When listening to a talk and doing other things, often I get to the end of my task, and I’ve still got another three or four minutes left of the talk. I don’t like to stop in the middle of a talk and have to either finish it or restart it later. For me, when writing in my journal, I can coordinate things better.

My General Conference Encouragement for You

If you’re the sort of person who’s great about reading and listening to general conference talks, this might not be for you. If, though, as is the case for most of us, you could do a little better, I encourage you to determine how you can better study the general conference talks. For some people, it might mean listening to them on their commute to work. For others, it might mean listening to them while brushing your teeth, putting on makeup, or otherwise getting ready for the day. Maybe, you just need to make it a goal to read one on your phone every day (or even 2-3 times a week). Maybe, your change is simply reading the talk before the Priesthood or Relief Society lesson about that specific talk.

General conference talks are there for us to learn, grow, and become better people. Regular study of them will help the principles stick with us better. If, like me, you find you aren’t taking full advantage of the words of the prophets, I encourage you to find a way to commit to doing better.