Discussing Church Talks

Over the weekend I got the chance to go over the notes I had taken from Stake Conference with a friend.  My friend had to go out of town to give his return-from-mission speech that Sunday in his home ward and missed the opportunity to hear what Elder Snow, Sister Beck, and Elder Holland had to say.  He had been asking me the past couple days about looking at my notes and so I gave them to him when we both were home. I had to call my Mom so I let him take the notes home and read them. When he returned them, he asked if I could go over the notes with him and explain some of the stories.  I was a little apprehensive about discussing them because the talks were given a while back and I was afraid I wouldn't remember anything, when I was the one who took those notes! I didn't want to look like I hadn't payed attention.  However, I agreed and he came in and we began to converse. We talked for a good hour and I realized that while talking with him, I made connections I never would have made with the different talks if I hadn't talked them over with someone else. It's one thing to take notes, but it's another to actually know what the speakers are saying and apply it to your life.  I never realized how important it is to talk about what your thoughts, especially when it comes to church related things. You get different perspectives on certain ideas and you get to hear the different experiences people have had.  In the end, you come out with more knowledge than before.  I am very grateful that my friend had come over and insisted that we discuss the Stake Conference talks because it definitely helped me grow spiritually and get more out of the talks.