By Andrew Curtis
Eight to ten hours of General Conference can make it hard for some students to pay attention, especially since it?s a weekend. But some have special techniques they use to get the most from the Brethren?s counsel.
Professor Sally Wyne of the religion department says the first step to immersing oneself in Conference might be to take it seriously. She explains that our spiritual welfare should be taken care of much like our scholastic affairs.
?I think listening to Conference is hard because we take it too lightly,? Wyne says. ?If you came to campus and for four years you just sat in classes without taking notes, without reviewing before tests, without experimenting in labs, you wouldn''t be likely to retain much of your course work. I believe the Lord expects us to be spiritual scholars, too.?
Most students would agree that staying focused during conference is important. However, many students have their own way of doing so.
Mike Cleavinger, a senior majoring in psychology, says taking notes helps him stay awake.
?The best way not to fall asleep and is not to lie down, take notes and think about what the speakers are saying and relate it to your life,? Cleavinger says.
David Cook, a senior majoring in exercise science suggests people dress up for Conference.
?Our dress can often determine our attitude,? Cook says.
Craig McClane, a senior majoring in biology says he believes it''s worth the sacrifice to take measures to pay attention during Conference.
?The feelings that you get while listening to today?s prophets are the same feelings that you get while reading the Book of Mormon,' he said. 'Their words, if not just as important as the prophets of old, are even more important because they answer more specific questions to the immediate problems.?
Wyne said she saw her young family of ten children struggle to focus during Conference and wanted to create a way for them to better learn from Conference.
Counsel from President Spencer W. Kimball helped in her creation of the ?Conference Analysis Form,? an organized note taking form that helps record thoughts and impressions in a way that invites personal revelation.
She teaches ?Teaching of the Living Prophets? and says all of her students are encouraged to either use her form or create their own. She said the form was created with hopes to help students and family members transform the Brethren?s council into action.
?If we don''t transform teaching to action, we''re the lukewarm people the Savior warned about,? Wyne said. ?Most students ? indicate that they always battled sleepiness before, but now the sessions whiz by.?
Some of the student?s focusing ideas have turned into family traditions.
?We would also play little games like conference bingo where there is a bingo sheet and every time you heard a word, like a prophet, a song, a hymn, or tithing, put a bean or just a marker on that and then hope you get bingo,? Cleavinger said. ?Prayers were off limits.?
Cleavinger hopes to continue these traditions with his future family.
?It brought us kids in the same room watching Conference, and we were all quiet because with conference bingo if someone was talking you could have missed a word,? he said. 'I want to continue these traditions to get my future family excited about Conference.'