General conference is almost here, and I am ready to dance! I can hardly wait to learn how I can dance more gracefully, and hopefully I will be introduced to a few new dance moves to better cope with this constantly changing ballroom of ideas, trends and behaviors that we live in.
I will never forget the poignant example of Elder Wilford W. Andersen in April 2015 general conference, when he pointed out how it looks when we see people dancing or singing in their cars, but we can't hear the music they are listening to; therefore they look awkward, embarrassing and even silly. But when we can hear the music, they don't look or seem odd at all; in fact, we might even find ourselves joining in. Everything looks and feels different when we can hear the music.
Those of no faith or other faiths, and even some within our own, may look at us as odd, peculiar, rigid or unusual, simply because they don't hear the music that we hear — the music that influences why and how we dance.
After hearing that analogy almost six months ago, I have examined my own life. I will never forget one of the first and most powerful times I heard the music, or felt the Spirit: on my baptism day, when I was 8 years old. I was excited to get baptized but had no idea it would be followed by a music that was more powerful than if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir were right in front of me; I was filled with emotion for two hours straight. I felt an overwhelming joy that I have since learned comes to me when I am consumed by the Spirit. Without a doubt, I had heard the music.
Unfortunately, there were times in my life since then when I didn't hear the music and frankly I didn't want to do the dance. My parents hauled me off to early morning seminary, Young Women, church, youth firesides and everything else they could find, hoping I would hear the music and desire to do the dance. I will be eternally grateful to them for this. I did hear the music and my soul was touched, enough so that eventually I wanted to dance!
I was overcome with emotion when I reflected on the times in my life when I kept dancing, kept going to church, kept reading my scriptures, kept giving of myself, my time, money and talents even when I didn't hear the music, or feel the Spirit, simply because of covenants I had made at baptism and in the temple. Of course those were challenging times; when hope gave me purpose, my faith was increased, and my spiritual muscles were strengthened.
My favorite memories are when I hear the music and I am doing the dance. It is during those times when I raise the bar in my own life, when I know my life was and is following the path the Lord wants for me, when I feel purpose and don't feel alone or forgotten, even though I still have not married. There is no doubt that the greatest joy and peace in my life is when I am actively doing the dance, living the gospel and hearing the music. That is pure joy — I don't know how else to describe it.
Political and moral issues are being raised daily on social media, in school classrooms, in the news and on the big screen. They can be so confusing, as they are influencing people to believe they can take absolute truths and turn them in to relative truths, ignoring the eternal consequences of such thinking. They are redefining freedom, compassion, fairness and even the Bible by popular consent. Integrity, character and honesty are almost obsolete. The "ballroom" has changed. And no one knows better than the Lord's anointed what dance moves we need in these latter days. However, if we do not hear the music, the things our church leaders teach us will seem irrelevant, awkward, silly and outdated.
Undoubtedly, this general conference our leaders will instruct us on a few new dance moves, some will challenge us to be more exact with the moves we already know, but most importantly, we will be reminded to listen to the music, to get in tune with the Spirit. Without the clarity that the Holy Ghost brings, some of the dance moves or instructions we hear will seem far-fetched or of little value. With the perspective we gain from the Holy Ghost, it will become crystal clear as to why we have been counseled as we have. Whether we hear the music or not as we watch general conference will make all the difference in our understanding, interpretations and responses.
So as I look forward to general conference, I know that the most important thing I can do is to prepare myself to hear the music. In the meantime, I need to go to where the music is, do those things that invite the Spirit in my life, and eliminate those things that are distracting me from having its influence. I don't want four-plus sessions of conference to fall on deaf ears: I want to feel, I want to see, I want to hear, and I want to know; yes, I am ready to dance!
Becky Thomas has a degree from BYU. She was a weekly columnist with Mormon Times for two years. Her email is bthomas2@prodigy.net.