How General Conference Helped Me Fight the “Blah” Moments of Life
General conference gave me a new perspective on the moments between awful and amazing.
I’m sure you know the moments.
The ones where you’re not feeling bad or sad, but you’re not feeling good or happy either.
You’re just somewhere in between. Stagnant. Blah.
Blah. One of the internet’s definitions for it is “boring or without meaningful content.”
Sometimes I spend more time in the “blah” state than I want to. And although I’m grateful in those times that I’m not enduring some terrible trial, I sometimes wish there was something I could do to feel a little more happy, productive, and engaged. A way to find more meaning in my life.
Going into conference weekend, I was looking for ways to fight the blah. To my surprise, one came in the very first session.
What It Means to Be “OK”
When Sister Amy A. Wright, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, shared her personal experience with cancer, her faith and resilience touched my heart. But what she shared next about “being OK” struck me in a different way:
“In the end, because of Jesus Christ, everything can be OK.
“We learn from a careful study of the Doctrine and Covenants what ‘OK’ looks like:
“‘… For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived … shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day’ [Doctrine and Covenants 45:56–57; emphasis added].
“Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to ‘abide the day.’”1
Sister Wright continued, “Abiding the day does not mean adding to an ever-increasing to-do list. … We need to simplify, focus our efforts, and be gatherers of the Light of Jesus Christ. We need more holy and revelatory experiences.”2
Her words gave me a new perspective on the moments between awful and amazing. “OK” didn’t need to mean “blah.” It could mean abiding the day with Christ.
Holy and Revelatory Experiences
I wanted to make general conference a “holy and revelatory experience.” So as I listened, I asked myself, “What can I do to ‘abide the day’ in Christ?”
Here were some of my takeaways:
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Elder Gary B. Sabin of the Seventy taught me that “when nothing is expected and everything is appreciated, life becomes magical. … You will never be happier than you are grateful.”3
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Elder Yoon Hwan Choi of the Seventy challenged: “Do you want to be happy? Stay on the covenant path. Your life will be easier, happier, and filled with joy.”4
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Sister Tamara W. Runia, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, gave me hope with her emphatic testimony: “With an eye of faith on Jesus Christ, may we see that everything will be all right in the end and feel that it will be all right now.”5
Through these and other teachings, the Spirit reminded me that I can make even the in-between, “OK” parts of my life quietly meaningful. I can be content with gathering light rather than constantly having intense experiences.
Keeping the Light with You
As conference came to a close, I started to worry a bit. Would any of these revelations stick when I started feeling blah again?
President Russell M. Nelson’s closing message was the encouragement I needed. He said, “Today, to assist you to qualify for the rich blessings Heavenly Father has for you, I invite you to adopt the practice of ‘thinking celestial’! Thinking celestial means being spiritually minded.”6
Now in times where life doesn’t feel meaningful and that blah creeps in, I want to keep a celestial, spiritually minded perspective. I want to live according to the revelation God is so willing to give. As I do, I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help me—and all of us—abide every day.