Years ago, I watched another general authority speak in the Marriot Center at BYU. It is a sports arena, and seats 25,000 people. Perhaps the fact of its being a sports arena had something to do with a technical gaff that disrupted his talk. Even though the sound of his voice continued, the jumbo-tron screens above his head suddenly began showing a hockey game. I assume a technician bumped the wrong button or something. Those who left the Marriot Center that Sunday were talking about hockey, instead of what the leader talked about.
Today in General Conference, some people in the audience shouted "NO!" as the names of the First Presidency and Twelve were read for sustaining. I wonder if they understand the meaning of the phrase, "by the same sign." If we want to show a sustaining vote for the leaders, we raise our hands. If we want to register a "no" vote, we also raise our hands at the appropriate time. Shouting is not part of the invitation for group participation.
In any case, this kind of thing is nothing new.
Below is a letter I wrote for one of my home teaching families this last Tuesday, 31 March 2015, in case they were not home. Realizing it was the last day of the month (it can creep up so stealthily), I improvised, planning to drop off a letter and not interrupt their evening together. (This is a bad way to do home teaching, but something is better than nothing). They were home, and invited me in graciously, even without any appointment. After they turned off the TV, we read the letter together. It is applicable to the subject at hand. Aside from a few typo corrections and removing their names, here is the letter:
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Instead of home teaching this month, invading your home at the last minute without my companion (again), I thought I’d just write up some brief thoughts and leave them with you to think about.
General Conference is coming up—yet another meeting.
Why are there so many meetings in the Church? Three hours of meetings on Sunday, divided up by age and gender for two of them. Ward and Stake conference are semi-annual; we are to meet as families for FHE once a week. Our callings may require even more meetings throughout the week. That’s roughly 2 million meetings per year. (I got a D in high school algebra; my calculations might be wrong.)
The oldest history we have of any event is the Grand Council, a meeting called by God to announce His plan for our happiness. It resembles General Conference in some important ways.
Everyone was invited to this comprehensive meeting. The whole world can come to General Conference if they want. All sessions are made available to the public, even priesthood session (online).
God asked, “Whom shall I send?” when the Savior was chosen. The majority of His children accepted the Savior (2/3). There were voices of dissent, but those who accepted Jesus overcame that opposition by faith in Him (see Rev. 12:11). The opposition was cast out for violent rebellion. General Conference gives us the chance to sustain those whom God has chosen in our day. We learn from Him through them about the plan, what we should do next. The building is hemmed in by hecklers and protesters and loud apostates. Stories of rudeness abound. Choirs of Single Adult and Young Single Adult stakes surround the Conference Center in long lines, spaced regularly every few feet to make it illegal for hecklers to get too close.
Satan and his followers were cast out into the earth. The temptation during Conference is to cast ourselves out into the world—and play. Boating, camping, or wandering, anything but sitting through another meeting. We should remember that Sunday is still the Sabbath, even if the sacrament is not passed.
“And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days” (D&C 1:4). We have a chance to sustain these men and women, just as we had a chance to choose or reject Jesus premortally. “And all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith. Amen” (D&C 26:2). A majority vote is not enough in the Lord’s plans—harmony and agreement are necessary before we can move forward effectively.
“And if ye desire the glories of the kingdom, appoint ye my servant Joseph Smith, Jun. (or whoever the living prophet is), and uphold him before me by the prayer of faith” (D&C 43:12). There is something special about the prayers of the Saints for the Brethren and the Prophets, and theirs for us. They pray for us; we should pray for them.
I suppose if God’s course is one eternal round, then there were heavenly councils before the one we know about, and there will be other councils in the future when we get to heaven. Heaven is described as an “innumerable company of angels” (D&C 76:67), and if we want to prepare to live there, then we need to learn how to be part of a team, a family, even. Maybe that’s why there are so many meetings in the Church: “I say unto you, be one: and if ye are not one, ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).
I hope you enjoy General Conference this weekend, and make time to listen for what you each need to hear.
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I then felt I should tell this young married couple that even where two or three are gathered together, there will be Jesus also. I said that, in my opinion, the Lord honors decisions made in councils far more than those made by individuals in their own heads, and will be more likely to support those decisions—even if it is just a husband and wife meeting to discuss some issue.
Thinking of ways to suppress others or deny them their agency, even when they are doing the wrong thing for themselves or others, will cost us the companionship of the Spirit. We should allow them their freedom in our hearts. I pity those ecclesiastical leaders who must deal with members in open rebellion and apostasy; I trust they will balance what is best for them, and for the rest of the Church.
It is funny that I was considering skipping the sustainings section of the Conference to do a little more exercise; it is always the same, I thought. Now I worry that people will be so distracted by the dissenting voices during the sustainings that they will forget to talk about the fact that this has been an astonishing spiritual feast thus far, and we are only two sessions in.
I had my major concerns and questions addressed so forcefully within the first thirty minutes of the first session, it was like a tender mercy to me. Gossiping about a little rudeness is not the main point of General Conference; let's not be distracted. I hope that neither the beauty of a building, nor a game of hockey, nor the inappropriate shouts of dissent will cause us to lose our focus, or become angry and lose the Spirit. This has been great so far, and I am excited to hear the next six hours of talks.
