Uchtdorf’s Parable of the Quilt

CONFERENCE WAS AWESOME!! One of my many favorite stories from the October 2015 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was shared in the Saturday Oct. 3rd morning session by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency.

I’m calling it the Parable of the Quilt:

Are we making our discipleship too complicated? . . .

One lovely sister, a Relief Society instructor, was known for preparing flawless lessons. One time, she decided to create a beautiful quilt that would serve as the perfect backdrop to the theme of her lesson. But life intervened. There were children to pick up from school, a neighbor who needed help moving, a husband with a fever, and a friend who felt lonely. So the day of the lesson approached and the quilt was not completed.

Finally, the night before her lesson, she did not sleep much as she worked all night on the quilt. The next day she was exhausted and barely able to organize her thoughts, but she bravely stood and delivered her perfect lesson.

And the quilt was stunning — the stitches were perfect, the colors vibrant, the design intricate.

And at the center of it all was a single word that triumphantly echoed the theme of her lesson:

Simplify.

😀

Brothers and sisters, living the gospel doesn’t need to be complicated!

It is really straight forward, it could be described like this;

• Hearing the word of God with earnest intent leads us to believe in God and to trust His promises.
• The more we trust God, the more our hearts are filled with love for Him and for each other.
• Because of our Love for God we desire to follow Him and bring our actions in alignment with His words.
• Because we love God, we want to serve him. We want to bless the lives of others and help the poor and the needy.
• The more we walk in this path of discipleship, the more we desire to learn the word of God.

And so it goes. Each step leading to the next, and filling us with ever increasing faith, hope and charity.

“It is beautifully simple, and it works beautifully!”

Brothers and Sisters, if you ever think that the gospel isn’t working so well for you, I invite you to step back, look at your life from a higher plane, and simplify your approach to discipleship. Focus on the basic doctrines, principles, and applications of the gospel.

I promise that God will guide and bless you on your path to a fulfilling life, and the gospel will definitely work better for you.

President Uchtdorf encourages us all to begin where we are.

“We don’t need to be more of anything, to start becoming the person that God intended us to become.”

Let us “focus on ‘the simplicity that is in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 11:3) and allow His grace to lift and carry us during our journey from where we are now to our glorious destiny in our Father’s presence!

This was a message I personally needed to hear, and Ihope you enjoyed it too! – MoSop

Watch President Uchtdorf’s whole talk – “It Works!”

~~~

THREE NEW APOSTLES were called during this historic conference!

Meet Today’s Living Prophet’s and Apostles