LDS Gen Conference

So, I've been reading a friend's blog as she has been sharing all sorts of great quotes, talks, etc. over the past while, and I've been envious of the ability to just scroll through all these great quotes.  I've tried organizing my own thoughts and notes in EverNote (which has definite strong points--searchability being one of them), but find that sometimes I just want to quickly be able to scan back over what has particularly touched me or been speaking to me in what I've read of late, rather than have to click back to my notes for each specific talk.  So, in an attempt to see how this works for me, and just to have the quotes that influenced me or stood out to me the most this past conference at such "ready" hand, I'm going to share and post them as I find them/read them/hear them over the next few weeks.  General Conference was great, but I really felt like a lot of the talks needed me to give them some serious study to really get what I needed out of them.  There was a ton of powerful stuff in there.  Especially on the family, and on overcoming fear.  What stood out to you?  I certainly felt a love for all of you, and a desire to show that love more often and to prioritize my family.  I kinda like you guys. I've got a good one. :)

So, without further explanation, here are some quotes I've pulled that stood out to me from the talk I happened to listen to tonight, and first decided to do this with. :)  ha.  Elder Clayton's Saturday morning talk, "Choose to Believe."
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"Few of us will ever endure an experience as harrowing as Sailor’s. But all of us will, at some time or another, have to traverse our own spiritual wilderness and undertake our own rugged emotional journeys. In those moments, however dark or seemingly hopeless they may be, if we search for it, there will always be a spiritual light that beckons to us, giving us the hope of rescue and relief. That light shines from the Savior of all mankind, who is the Light of the World."

"Recognizing the Savior’s spiritual light begins with our willingness to believe. God requires that initially we at least desire to believe. “If ye will awake and arouse your faculties … and exercise a particle of faith,” the prophet Alma teaches, “yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of [the Savior’s] words.'
Alma’s call for us to desire to believe and to “give place” in our hearts for the Savior’s words reminds us that belief and faith require our personal choice and action. "

"There may be times when we have been hurt, when we are tired, and when our lives seem dark and cold. There may be times when we cannot see any light on the horizon, and we may feel like giving up. If we are willing to believe, if we desire to believe, if we choose to believe, then the Savior’s teachings and example will show us the pathway forward."

"God does not force us to believe. Instead He invites us to believe by sending living prophets and apostles to teach us, by providing scriptures, and by beckoning to us through His Spirit. We are the ones who must choose to embrace those spiritual invitations, electing to see with inward eyes the spiritual light with which He calls us. The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all our other decisions."

"Belief and testimony and faith are not passive principles. They do not just happen to us. Belief is something we choose—we hope for it, we work for it, and we sacrifice for it. We will not accidentally come to believe in the Savior and His gospel any more than we will accidentally pray or pay tithing. We actively choose to believe..."

"Our actions are the evidence of our belief and become the substance of our faith. We are choosing to believe when we pray and when we read the scriptures. We are choosing to believe when we fast, when we keep the Sabbath day holy, and when we worship in the temple. We are choosing to believe when we are baptized and when we partake of the sacrament. We are choosing to believe when we repent and seek divine forgiveness and healing love."

"Sometimes progress in spiritual things can seem slow or intermittent. Sometimes we may feel that we have lost ground, that we have made mistakes, or that our best efforts to find the Savior are not working. If you feel this way, please do not give up—ever. Go right on believing in Him and in His gospel and His Church. Align your actions with that belief. In those moments when the light of your faith has dimmed, let your hope for the Savior’s love and grace, found in His gospel and His Church, overcome your doubt. I promise that He stands ready to receive you. Over time you will come to see that you have made the best choice you could possibly have made. Your courageous decision to believe in Him will bless you immeasurably and forever."