There's Room For Improvement

“There’s room for improvement.” That is definitely the sentiment I feel when I listen to President Monson.  His welcome message isn’t exactly a talk, but there are still many things that I found wonderful in it.

“There’s room for improvement.” That is how he opened this conference. Maybe it’s daunting, but at the same time it’s inspiring! We don’t have to stay stuck in the same place forever – there’s room for improvement! There’s room in our hearts and our lives for us to place something beautiful. Sometimes our lives feel like they’re so full of “stuff” and we think, “How could I ever change? I have so many habits, so many fears and inhibitions, so many “favorite sins,” there just isn’t any room in there for anything else! But it isn’t true! President Monson says, “There is room for improvement.” As I thought about that phrase, a song came to my mind that states, “In every heart there is a room, a sanctuary safe and strong.” (And So It Goes, by Billy Joel) As I thought about this I realized that this room in our hearts, just like any room in our homes, is filled with the things that we decide to put in it.

Here’s my philosophy: take that room – however big or small it may be – and put something good in it, something you didn’t have there before. Maybe it’s a few extra minutes of scripture study each day. Maybe it’s a new institute class, or a goal to go to the temple, or do genealogy. It doesn’t really matter what it is so long as it is good. And so long as you really give it room. Give it the same time and consideration that you do other things that have “room” in you. I believe that as you do this, you will grow to love that thing of beauty that you have placed in your room, and you will feel a desire to “redecorate,” and remove some of those bad or ugly things in your life and replace them with good, beautiful things.

What a wonderful way to open up our conference! A time when we can feel the influence and inspiration of the Holy Ghost to lead us to those good things we most need in our lives. That’s why I’m doing this blog challenge, because I want to fill my room with improvements! I want to be better and think better. I want my light to grow brighter!

So for anyone who happens to read this, here’s your challenge: to find out what you want to fill your room with. It’s okay to start small. What one thing are you going to do to improve your life?

p.s. just so you know…that wasn’t at all what I thought I would write about for this talk. It was truly brought on by the spirit of revelation! I know it was exactly what I needed, and I hope it helped some of you as well!  J

My Conference Challenge

Hello there! So I love reading blogs, and I've been wanting to make my own blog for a long time now...but I could never figure out what I could blog about. I know I could probably write about things in my own life...but then I'd never actually do it. I'd probably just think, 'I should probably blog about that...yeah, I'll do it later.' And that's not really that big of a deal really, because it is just a blog, but if I'm going to start something, I want to actually do it! So I kept putting off starting a blog until I knew I had something to write about, something that I could keep coming back to that wouldn't let my blog sit and collect internet dust. But I couldn't think of anything like that I could write about until last week during General Conference. General Conference; now that's something I can write about.

I love listening to the talks, and I always wish that I would do better studying them and applying them after conference is over. As I was listening this year this idea to blog about the conference talks came into my head. It kept nagging at me and wouldn't go away, and the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to do it. I'm so much better at expressing my feelings through writing than through speaking (at least in my opinion), even to myself. I knew that this would be a good way for me to articulate my feelings and impressions on the talks in such a way that I can make sense of them to myself. And hey, maybe this way I can even share my insights with others and bring them some added understanding or appreciation, or at least start a productive train of thought and study for them. Maybe I'll be the only one who ends up reading it, but even if that's the case, I think it'll be lots of fun! I can't wait to see what comes of this, because I know at the very least it will bless my own life. :)

So stay tuned, because tomorrow I will be posting my thoughts on Pres. Monson's welcome message from the Saturday Morning session! It's going to be a great adventure!