I love General Conference. I don’t always get the chance to watch all the sessions live, but this time, I did. I sat down, pen in hand, and I was ready to hear the voice of the Lord. And ready to see what President Nelson had in store for us this time.

After the last Conference and all the changes and announcements, there seemed to be even more excitement about this Conference. I’m sure you heard some of the same rumours I had heard about the “big changes” that were going to be announced at Conference. Mission length was going to change; an important new mission was going to be announced, the word of wisdom was going to change, and on and on and on.

But then we sat down and listened. Speaker after speaker, session after session we listened. There were beautiful stories and faith-building experiences. There were points of doctrine that were made more clear to me. There were challenges extended, and blessings promised. I had written pages of little notes, most of them small quotes, or reminders of things said so I could go back and study them again later. Every speaker was excellent, and some in particular really spoke to me. But in the end, no big earth-shattering announcement. Not even a small change. Or so I thought at first.

I was pondering afterward and looking through my notes to review the impressions I had received when I received a message from a friend. He had also heard the rumours and had been curious to see what would actually be announced. The message said, “We expected them to announce a change in the church, they told us to change ourselves and repent (Crying laughing emoji).” I laughed as well, but then I started to think about what he had said. I hadn’t placed a whole lot of confidence in all the rumours, but I did expect that something was going to happen. I guess I had just come to expect it with President Nelson. And as much as I loved Conference, I did feel just a little disappointed that there wasn’t something. And then I got that message.

I started to re-read my notes again and to search the talks with a different perspective. Here are just a few things from that Conference.

President Nelson – exercise personal agency, make covenants, keep them. If you haven’t kept all your covenants, then repent while there is still time. We must do better, and be better.

President Oaks – We must warn others when danger is approaching or when our actions are leading to an unhappy outcome… before it is too late for the little squirrel.

President Eyring – Make the sacred, personal choice to sustain Church leaders.

Elder Quentin L. Cook – progress, qualifying for blessings, and preparing to meet God are all individual responsibilities. Make our homes a refuge from the storms around us.

Elder David A. Bednar – we each have an individual responsibility to learn and follow the Lord’s teachings and receive the saving ordinances.

Elder David P. Homer – We must choose to hear Christ’s voice amongst all the distractions and noise of the world.

Elder Mathias Held – We have to use our rational mind AND the whisperings of the Spirit if we don’t want to be led astray.

Elder Ulisses Soares – “our actions must reflect what we learn and teach.”

Sister Becky Craven – We are accountable to remain on the right track. “We can rationalize all we want, but the fact is, there is not a right way to do the wrong thing.”

Elder Ronald A. Rasband – Use Come Follow Me and personal study to make our homes into a fortress against evil.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson – Don’t wait passively for Christ’s return. “Let us be about building up Zion to hasten that day.”

And those are just a few of the things that were said. So many of them emphasized the personal, individual, and family focused . I thought there would be a change in the Church. Some bit of administration, or policy, or something like that. Instead, the message was much more personal, “YOU need to keep up.” It is you and I that need to change.

Remember Naaman? A Syrian noble who had leprosy. He came to Elisha the prophet expecting something big, a grand gesture that would cure him of his disease. Instead, he got the prophet’s servant. And he told him to go bathe seven times in a river that is quite dirty and murky.

Between the offense of Elisha not even coming out to see him, and the ridiculous request to go bathe in a muddy river, he was so upset he was ready to turn around and head home. That was until one of his servants gave him a little tough advice, “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean?”

It is really, really easy to dismiss the simple little things. We hear them all the time; read the Book of Mormon daily, pray with full purpose of heart, have family home evening, study, fast and pay a generous offering, pay your tithing, keep the Sabbath day holy. I haven’t seen any long articles online about how President Nelson asked us to read the Book of Mormon. But he asks people to use the proper name of the Church, or to allow 11-year-olds to hold the priesthood and it is everywhere!

So here is the personal moment, forget the big announcements, changes, and rumors. Think about the small and simple things we were asked to focus on in Conference. To make it simple, just focus on a few. Daily reading the Book of Mormon, personal prayer, and keeping the Sabbath day holy. How were you on those three this week? I know I need some work. Even if you nailed those three this week, I bet there has been something weighing on your mind and in your heart that you can work on.

Please don’t let this discourage you. We are not just being taught as a church; we are all being tutored individually by the Spirit how to become more like Christ. One on one, perfectly tailored instruction and guidance. I remember a class where  my seminary teacher was teaching us that we all had room to improve. He was the most kind, loving, and devoted person I knew. Someone asked him, “what do you have to work on?” He answered that there had been a day that week when he hadn’t offered the kind of personal prayer he thought he should have. I felt like laughing at the idea of that being the most significant concern he had at the time. I used to think that having things I needed to work on meant I was somehow unworthy, or not good enough. Now I believe the opposite. The feelings I was having, and the feelings of my seminary teacher had the same purpose. They were the whisperings of the Spirit to teach us the steps we needed to take to come closer to Christ.

It’s like the development of an athlete. I coach my son’s T-ball team. Most of the time, we are working on very basic skills, or I am trying to keep them from filling their gloves with dirt. When they take, even a small step forward or improve, I am so excited! Now consider a Major League Baseball player. A 10-year veteran and perennial all-star. They are also being coached and the finer points of hitting, fielding and strategy. I can’t imagine their biggest concern is drawing in the dirt in the infield. But both players are getting guidance that is precisely tailored to what they need to do right now to keep moving forward.

So right now, we don’t need a big change in the Church. If we did, we would have got one. What we need right now is to prepare ourselves and our families. We need to be more diligent. We need to be like Naaman and  do the sometimes seemingly little things that can cure the worst problems, heartaches, and challenges in our lives. We need to to listen to the Lord’s servants and the whisperings of the Spirit.

So think about the messages that hit you the hardest during Conference. Maybe that is the change you need to make: To sustain your leaders, or study the scriptures, or pray more earnestly, or strengthen our families. Don’t be fooled because it isn’t some new big thing. It is the change you need to make.

So I guess there was a significant change announced in Conference after all. I just missed it the first time. The changes that are needed are in me, and my family. We need to find those messages and then follow through. If we do, the changes and the blessings we will see in our lives will be no less miraculous than the curing of Naaman from leprosy.