By Scot Facer Proctor

            Maurine and I were out in Utah around conference a year ago.  Things felt like conference everywhere you looked.  There was even a feeling in the air.  Fall had come.  The leaves on the trees were turning into their majestic brightness.  There was anticipation in our hearts.  “What is it the Lord wants us to know and ponder in our hearts for the next six months?” we always ask ourselves before conference.

            One of my favorite scriptures comes to my mind as we approach this glorious weekend:  “Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.” (Doctrine & Covenants 43: 34)  There is truly something amazing that happens when we treasure inspired and inspiring words up in our hearts.  Our minds are enlightened, our souls are filled with joy.  We see things we didn’t and couldn’t see before.

            I captured a few pictures of Temple Square and the Conference Center last October that I thought would be appropriate to share as we approach this wondrous weekend.  It was one of those perfect days for shooting photographs where storm and light are mixed together.  I hope you can see that my photographs usually carry with them some deeper meaning.

            I have added to these few photographs a few of my favorite scriptures and some powerful moments from past conferences.  There are certainly thousands more, but I’m keeping this essay short so you’ll read the whole thing.

click photos to enlarge

“Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth.  Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.  For behold, the Lord God hath sent forth the angel crying through the midst of heaven, saying: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight, for the hour of his coming is nigh—”
--Doctrine & Covenants 133: 16, 17.

“And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.  And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them.”
--Doctrine & Covenants 1: 4, 5.

“And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people…What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
--Doctrine & Covenants 1: 14, 38.

“And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.  And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”
--Doctrine & Covenants 68: 3, 4.

“We are all very much aware, my brothers and sisters, that the world is in turmoil. We are continually being tried and tested as individuals and as a church. There are more trials yet to come, but be not discouraged nor dismayed. Always remember that if this were not the Lord’s work, the adversary would not pay any attention to us…With faith and good works, the truth will prevail. This is His work. There is none other like it. Let us, therefore, press forward, lengthening our stride and rejoicing in our blessings and opportunities.” [1]
--Spencer W. Kimball

“I feel, and the Spirit seems to accord, that the most important doctrine I can declare, and the most powerful testimony I can bear, is of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.  His atonement is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation’s dawn through all the ages of a never-ending eternity.  It is the supreme act of goodness and grace that only a god could perform…I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

“I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.  But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.” [2]
--Bruce R. McConkie

Click here to go to Part 2 of General Conference Weekend:  Letting the Solemnities of Eternity Rest Upon Our Minds