A few thoughts...

...as I attended last night's Aaronic Priesthood Commeration service at the LDS Conference Center.

(1) This was the first time I had actually attended an actual service in the Conference Center. Interesting, though, that even though I was there seeing President Hinckley and company live, I still 'watched' the entire service on the big screen on the side of the wall. And why wouldn't I? I wasn't in the front row, so the speakers themselves were still distant figures. Watching the 'broadcast' on the screen was the only way to see the speaker's facial expressions and other non-verbal cues (an important part of any talk, in my opinion). I have never attended General Conference in person and probably never will. Why should I, when I'd just be watching it on the screen inside the Conference Building anyway, the same way I could at home without the two+ hours travel time (not to mention parking, etc...) I can hear exactly the same talks as everyone else sitting at home.

(Side Note: I always laughed at friends of mine who would tell me stories of their families getting up at 3 AM to travel and stand in line for a conference session, and then they were so tired after getting in that they slept through half of the session anyway. Um...doesn't that defeat the purpose of going? Meanwhile, I can get up at my leisure anytime between 7 and 9 in the morning, eat breakfast, turn on the TV at 10, and hear every word everyone says...)

I'm a big sports fan, but I don't plan on attending a live pro sporting event either, because the TV broadcasts are just better. Better close-ups, camera angles, statistics (I could do without the typical announcers who are just cliche after cliche, but sometimes they're valuable...) Am I a slave to technology? Or just lazy? Or maybe in this instance modern technology really is an 'improvement'...

(2) As to the actual content of the service, President Hinckley, while exhorting the men of the priesthood to be more righteous, said "Let the world do what it will..." This is a sublimely deep statement that echoes back to his talk in General Conference about peril and how the conflict between good and evil has always existed in every age of human history. I got the sense that President Hinckley was making a subtle comment to those doomsayers in the Church who talk about current trends (such as gay marriage) bringing about the end of traditional family life as we know it. President Hinckley was saying, in essence, the world in general has been falling away from gospel standards for a long time now; it is inevitable and not something you should let yourself get all worked up about. Let the world accept gay marriage and such if it wants to, you should look to yourself and worry more about keeping your standards and supporting your family. In a sense, his comments echoed the sentiment, "Give me power to change the things I can, patience to accept the things I can't, and the wisdom to tell the difference." Support the right when you have the opportunity, of course, but don't worry so much about things outside of your control. Things will turn out all right in the end...