A week from Saturday is October General Conference.  We've got some changes coming up in our leadership because President Faust of the First Presidency passed away a little while ago and it's expected that we'll have at least one new member of the First Presidency (typically called from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) and a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

So, as we prepare for Conference we might all want to pray for the people who will be called to new positions, and pray for ourselves to have spiritual confirmation of the callings so that we can confidently sustain our new leaders.

For those of you looking for ways to prepare for General Conference (I know some of you are giving talks that topic this week), take a look at my previous posts: "How to stay awake and interested during General Conference" and "Preparing for General Conference." 

If you don't know what General Conference is, check out my previous explanatory post here.  I think the most remarkable thing about General Conference is that it's an opportunity to hear the voice and counsel and commandments of the Lord through his chosen mouthpiece, the modern-day Prophet of God.  What would you give up to hear Moses or Abraham speak in person?  President Hinckley has the same authority and prophetic calling as they did, only it's even more exciting because he's here to tell us what the Lord wants us to focus on today.  Go to Conference and listen to the prophet's voice. 

1. Prepare.  No one falls asleep when they're having a massive spiritual experience. 
2. Watch with specific questions or problems in mind and pray for the Spirit to help you find answers during Conference.
3. Conference Bingo– either use the grid from the Friend here, or make a Bingo grid with pictures or words that you might hear in Conference.  Then each time you hear something that's on your Bingo card, mark it off.  First person to get a Bingo wins a prize!
4. Play other Conference games.  Do a search for "general conference game" of the Friend, or click here, and pick one.
5. Take copious notes and have some sort of notes system.  My sister said she heard someone suggest dividing your note paper into two columns–one for what the speaker said, the other for what the Spirit said.  My uncle once drew caricatures of each speaker in my journal next to my notes, so that might help some artistic people stay interested.
6. Food.  My aunt had grapes out during Conference yesterday and that kept Degen in the room and quiet.  He might have absorbed something while he was quiet…
7. Plan to talk about Conference afterward.  Have a quiz with a prize for the best memory.  Writing a quiz will help you stay involved.
8. Imagine how it must feel for the speakers to talk to millions of people and allow yourself to become extremely sympathetic.  Become each speaker's cheerleader in your head.
9. Try to come up with the scripture reference to each scripture mentioned before the speaker says it.  Write down all the scripture references mentioned.  Keep track and try to find out which scripture is used most in General Conference.
10. Force yourself to sit in a really hard seat.  You may have noticed yesterday that they said they didn't make the Tabernacle seats any softer. 
11. Go to Conference in person if you can.  Live with all those people in the room it can be electrifying.
12. Get plenty of sleep the night before and make sure you eat something and use the bathroom before the session starts.
13. Shower and get dressed before Conference.  Wear something that makes you feel reverent.
14. Start getting in the mood before Conference starts by listening to reverent music, saying a prayer, and/or reading your scriptures.
15. Agree with the person next to you to punch each other if you fall asleep.  Or just wake up the person next to you to set the tone of waking each other up.
16. Splash yourself with water.  Or give a water gun to the person next to you.
17. Keep your hands busy.  Doodle, knit, or do anything else that doesn't require the use of the listening parts of your brain.
18. Watch Conference in more than one format at a time.  Meaning, turn on the closed captions, stream it on the internet, picture in a picture, listen on the radio at the same time as you are watching. 
19. Put picture in a picture on the TV with a cartoon with no volume in the small picture for the kids to get their bright colors while they listen to the words of Conference on the big picture (untested).
20. Invite a neighbor or a stranger to watch with you so that you are concentrated on setting a good example or excited to introduce someone to Conference.