Beginning a Year of General Conference

So I made an ambitious goal for myself. Over the upcoming school year, I am going to try to listen to all General Conference talks since I was born to the present, so that is all General Conferences from April 1976 to April 2018 (since that will be the last one of this upcoming school year). School doesn't start until Monday but I thought I'd give myself a head start, so I listened to two talks on my morning walk today. I didn't start from the beginning, but started to browse through them to see which one spoke to me. I started with "The Still Small Voice" by S. Dilworth Young. I liked how he emphasized how a major part of personal revelation comes through feelings. After sharing 1 Nephi 17:45 he says

I repeat: “He hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.” (Italics added.) Why did he not say, “Ye are past hearing that ye could not hear his words?” Because the assurance comes through feeling.

And the next talk in order was "You Are Your Greatest Treasure" by John H. Vandenberg. He shared a verse that I just recently read (in bold below) in Elder Maxwell's book -

“Such was, and always will be, the situation of the saints of God, that unless they have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God they will grow weary in their minds, and faint, for such has been, and always will be, the opposition in the hearts of unbelievers and those that know not God. … For a man to lay down his all … requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God. … Let us here observe,” he continues, “that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith, 6:4, 5, 7.)

I like it when there is a quote I like that I come across several times in different places! I feel like the Lord is emphasizing this message for us. Corey and I need to seek to know God's will and follow it. The most important thing is to be doing the will of God.

Then tonight I listened to the next talk by Elder Maxwell "Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King". This whole talk was wonderful. Two parts I'll mention of many, bold emphasis mine:

"I testify that his premortal performance reflected both an astonishing selflessness and a breathtaking commitment to freedom as a condition of our genuine growth. I thank him for combining his long view of our needs with a short step forward to volunteer his services. Never has anyone offered so much to so many in so few words as when Jesus said, “Here am I, send me.” (Abr. 3:27.)"

~ and the second part:

"I testify that he and the Father are serious about stretching our souls in this second estate. I thank him for truly teaching us about our personal possibilities and for divinely demonstrating directions—not just pointing."

God is serious about stretching our souls. Made me think of how stretched Corey is lately with work, and how much the kids and messy house stretch me. We are getting the education we came here to get, (I hope!) We will try to endure it well and not faint. We do thank God for the education we are experiences, though sometimes (like Elder Maxwell said) when these moments come, we are sometimes feel:

"...too taxed to testify or too anguished to appreciate."