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Getting to this late, but: SATURDAY MORNING SESSIONElder Uchtdorf: Excellent basic Gospel sermon. I liked the references to hope embedded in the Gospel.
Sister Jones: I understand and respect the focus on teaching kids early, but this one didn’t resonate with me at all. Too “indoctrination-y” for me.
Brother Newman: Good, generic talk.
Elder Stevenson: YES!! Call out ALL bullying, meanness, racism, persecution, etc. – in detail. Chastise members who exclude non-member neighbors and their kids. (Also, as a note, I used to attend church in Quincy, IL – so the story of the compassion of the citizens of that city was good to hear.)
Elder Gong: This is a wonderful sermon about kindness and love and active service – and being Good Samaritans in real, important ways. Good focus on the LDS Church being international. There are a TON of excellent statements in this talk. I hope there are more changes that reflect a practical acceptance of all.
Pres. Eyring: I don’t have the same type of “spiritual orientation” he does (not a visionary person), so his statement about how all can experience what he experienced doesn’t ring for me personally, but I appreciate his care to distinguish, multiple times, the idea that these are HIS experiences and HIS testimony.
Feel free to add any impressions or thoughts about any of the talks. Elder Stevenson and Elder Gong’s talks were really good. IMO those are the two to take away from the Saturday morning session. I was just called along with DW to teach 11 year olds in Primary. Sister Jones’s talk was good for me, mostly. I usually tune her out but I picked up some useful points. Seems like she got that that perpetual grin under control. I think one of the reasons Sister Jones’ talk was relatively non-impactful for me is that I now am an empty nester – and the only grandkids close to me geographically don’t go to church. Generally I don’t like the implications of not being far enough in as a reason for falling. Being human is the reason for falling. We’re human, we will fall, falling is part of it. I feel that aspect of her talk, and most of Eyring’s talk, lead to toxic perfectionism and scrupulosity, which I also feel is a big problem in our culture.
That aside, I think this was one of the better sessions of conference that I can remember. nibbler wrote:
That aside, I think this was one of the better sessions of conference that I can remember.
Yes, I agree. Mostly mundane but not offensive mundane. I did like Uchtdorf’s hope and both Stevenson and Gong. Eyring was a little too worthiness oriented for my liking and I actually thought it was the “lowlight” (or whatever the opposite of highlight is) of the session. Sister Jones was fine but not applicable to me, but a friend and I have had some recent conversations about “teaching correct principles” as opposed to overbearing (and I believe the latter to be more what Sr. Jones favored).
Just so everyone knows, I will not be able to see or hear the afternoon sessions live, so feel free to provide any summaries of talks as they happen – of any length or detail. I caught a tiny snippet of the one talk where the guy used golfing at St. Andrews for some corollary in the Church/Gospel. I’m sure it was a fine talk and that the guy is top-notch, but I don’t think this is the kind of story that will resonate with the non-wealthy. The members of the Church I knew in South America, some of whom couldn’t read or write, all of whom had low prospects for financial security would not have known what St. Andrews was or anything about golf, for that matter. I think the Church GAs have done a pretty good job in the last couple decades of trying not to have an elitist look, but sometimes it still comes through. It made me wonder what a talk by Thurston Howell III would be like. Elder Holland is at his best when he talks about common difficulties and faithful support. I appreciated greatly his clear condemnation of abuse – and the explicit inclusion of ecclesiastical abuse. That is an institutional issue that needs to be addressed. I believe he is sincere, but the message needs to get to the end of the rows – and local leadership needs to be humble enough to solicit and accept feedback from the membership. Brother Becerra’s talk is sincere, but it also is very orthodox. Neal Andersen. Sigh. That is all. Elder Anderson’s talk is going to be misrepresented by MANY members. For that reason, it is my least favorite talk so far – and I encourage most people here to skip it. The following is a simple, careful summary of what he actually said:
He decried the declining birth rates around the world. He focused on abortion. He quoted Pres. Hinckley, with an excerpt that acknowledged legitimate exceptions that make abortion acceptable (but that is going to be ignored by most members). He used an example of two “consenting” teenagers who would not be part of any standard exception (which is going to be ignored by most members), with the young woman choosing to give birth and allow the child to be adopted and eventually marry his grandson. This example explicitly allows people not to get married, which is an improvement over the past (but that probably is going to be ignored by too many members). He explicitly said how and when to conceive is an individual choice, as well as how many kids to have – but he then used an example of a woman who was done having kids but then had a revelation to have more (which is going to be used by too many members as a model, not an individual exception).
I recognized my immediate reaction of concern, so I listened carefully. I can’t say I disagree strongly with anything he actually said (except for the angst about declining birth rates and, more specifically, the lack of attention to why that is happening), but I feel a foreboding about how it will be misunderstood, misrepresented, and actually twisted by so many members – including many who are close to me in important ways. For that reason, it is my least favorite talk so far – and why I wish he had not given it.
(I am not a fan of focusing on abortion from the pulpit. No member I know takes this issue lightly – and anything that adds pressure to exceptional situations bothers me greatly, even when exceptional circumstances are mentioned.)
Elder Ballard’s talk had some very good excerpts, and I liked the general message – but I was unable to focus on it fully, since I was trying to summarize Elder Anderson’s talk while it was fresh in my mind. 
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