General Conference

Conference has been over now for 43 minutes and in that time I've drank two glasses of water and sat on the couch. There are things that I ought to do, but nothing seems all that pressing except sitting and thinking.

This is the first conference I've watched from start to finish. (Or, it would be if I hadn't fallen asleep Saturday afternoon--though maybe I absorbed it better since I still had it on?) I've watched Conference before, but only isolated sessions. I've listened to the mp3s of previous talks and read some more. But this was the first all-live Conference I've participated in.

I say 'participate' despite being alone because it was a superb example of what I consider the Church's strongest claim: that it can create unity and kinship in a very real way. Too often our imperfections get in the way of making it happen--but it is possible, and in this I delight.

I wish I could call up some friends and discuss this more over some good food. Judging by other reactions, I'm not the only one who thought there were some great sermons. I want to know if others got what I got and if we can come to some greater understanding by working through it. The open threads are good, but don't compare.

It won't happen because I don't have any LDS friends in this town. For the first time, I'm quite sad about this.

I'm neither believer nor non-believer--or is it that I am both? If I were a believer, these are the sort of talks I'd want to share with friends: I'd say that this is why I can't give it up. I'm thinking specifically of the talks by Elders Holland and Wirthlin and Presidents Uchtdorf and Monson. If I were a non-believer, these types of talks are why I couldn't leave it alone.