If you’ve been following us for awhile, you’ve probably worked out that we are Mormons, or more properly, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you haven’t worked that out yet, Hello! When we talk with others about religion, questions often arise about the difference between what we believe and what mainstream Christianity believes. Before I start, you can be assured that we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and rely upon his mercy and grace. Though there are significant differences between what we believe and mainstream Christianity, EVERY difference can be attributed back to one basic difference: We believe that God has called prophets on the earth today, in the same way that he called Moses and Noah (and others) in the past.

We believe that God has a prophet on the earth today, teaching us with the same power, authority, and urgency as Moses. What would a prophet of God tell us today, to guide us in our lives? Twice a year, our church holds a worldwide conference, where we all tune in to listen to our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and other leaders speak to us. Oct 4-5, 2014 is our next conference.

Because the Internet is awesome, you can watch the entire conference online live (go here), or video archives later. The entire conference consists of 6 sessions: Two on Saturday, two on Sunday, a special session held for Women and Girls, and a special session held for Men and Boys. (The session for Women and Girls actually happened yesterday, and is already viewable online!)

If you pick one session to watch, choose 10AM Mountain Time, Sunday Morning, October 4th 2014 . The music during that session is always The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and our Prophet will speak then as well. This meeting is the largest meeting we hold as a church, and a great way to sneak a peek into what we believe and the instruction we are given.

It is interesting to note that not all instruction given by a Prophet of God is dramatic. The instruction we need is rarely something like Leave Egypt! or I’m going to build a boat! but instead reminders of instruction already given, and small but important ways for us to follow the Gospel of Christ. In the most recent instruction from our Prophet, he cautioned us to be careful with our finances and debts. What will he tell us this general conference? Tune in and find out!

Also know that we are more than willing to talk about religion and what we believe. If you have questions something you hear in the conference, or about anything really, reach out to us and we’d be happy to talk either publicly or privately. We will answer ANY question, as long as it is sincere. We love discussions, but find arguments to be unpleasant and non-productive.

We are excited for this opportunity t0 listen to our leaders! Although we are unsure of exactly where exactly we will be, we will definitely be making it a priority to listen!