Conference! Yeeeeessssss!

"The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel."

Different.

Unique.

Memorable.

Unforgettable.

When this was first announced, we all speculated about what the April conference would be like. Would they televise it from the Sacred Grove? I don't think any of us even imagined that an entire world would literally be forced to their homes with nothing much to do except watch and listen to what a living prophet might have to say.

I've been thinking about how this conference might "commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel" and two thoughts have come to me. First, when Joseph knelt to pray, Satan tried his very darnedest to stop that prayer from happening:

"I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction." (Pearl of Great Price, JSH 1:15)

I think Satan is at it again. He's trying his darnedest to hinder this weekend's proceedings. The world feels as if "thick darkness" has gathered around and it were "doomed to sudden destruction."

But this much we all know: light and darkness cannot coexist together and light will always win out. The LIGHT of the world broke through that darkness that Joseph was experiencing and He will do the same for our darkened world.

Second, Joseph's simple, miraculous vision did not occur in front of a crowd, on a stage, with myriads of people looking on. No, it was in a quiet grove between him and God.

This weekend's messages of hope and inspiration will not be held at the conference center with 20,000 people looking on. It will be televised from a simple, humble room with just a few select speakers. This is how we as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will commemorate the restoration of Jesus Christ's gospel . . . as a simple, humble experience in our homes with our families and copious amounts of time for reflection and revelation in the coming weeks.

"Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable."

I can't wait for tomorrow.