Teaching the Kids about Conference

I am sure most readers of my blog know all about General Conference but for those who are unaware, this weekend members of our church all gathered around TVs, computers, radios, and more to listen to our Prophet (Pres. Monson) and Apostles speak. It is a busy weekend that consists of 4 Conference Sessions that are each 2 hours long. So we spent our Saturday and Sunday watching church on our TV.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to listen to the Prophet speak and because of this I work really hard to try to teach my kids about the Prophet and how important he is to us.

For Will this doesn't require much...basically whenever the Prophet spoke I would point to him and say, "Look Will, that's our Prophet". And he would politely smile at me as if to say, "If I smile can I get back to playing with my ball?"

There was a time when this is all I did with Ella too and I was so excited when she learned to recognize the Prophet and call him by name. Every Conference I try to up our expectations a little for her but realize that no 4 year old is going to sit through 8 hours of Conference.

So, this year she just had to sit still and listen during Pres. Monson's talk. She drew a picture of the prophet (she drew a cute little tie on him and everything) and then listened for something he said that I could write next to the picture. Since he spoke about temples that is what she chose for me to write down. Then Chris and I had her choose her favorite temple so we can hang that picture up on her bedroom wall (she chose the one is Sweden so it is going to be an expensive wedding).

We made some great Conference memories this year but I can't conclude this entry without leaving out the other side of Conference. You see, Ella did not seem to understand what was happening at all...with quotes like:

"Is this that movie about the Prophet?"

"Why is the Prophet wearing a purple tie?"

"Purple is a girl color."

"Why are we praying during a movie?"

"Why is the prayer so long?"

"Why are we watching this movie over and over again?"


It would seem clear that Ella thought we were watching a movie and every Session was the same movie again and again. I tried to explain but she just didn't get it. It did provide some great comic relief though.