“Awake, Arise, and Come unto Him” topic, more than 200 presenters scheduled
On Thursday and Friday, May 1 and 2, the 2008 Brigham Young University Women’s Conference, co-sponsored by the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will help women “Awake, Arise, and Come unto Him” through a broad range of instructional sessions and a service event that will “Make the Pathway Bright.”
Sheri Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book and a former counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, will introduce this year’s theme, “Awake, Arise, and Come unto Him,” taken from Moroni 10:30-32, at the conference’s opening session on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Marriott Center. The conference will conclude with a session presented by one of the church’s senior General Authorities on Friday at 3:45 p.m.
Registration is $47, or $27 for one day. BYU faculty, staff and students with a BYU ID are eligible for a reduced registration of $15 for the full conference or $8 for either Thursday or Friday.
Registration may be completed by phone at (801) 422-8925, online at http://womensconference.byu.edu or in person in the Harman Building lobby weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Women and men 16 and older may register for the conference. Logistical and safety constraints on campus no longer allow accommodations for nursing infants and young children in any conference session, including at the Marriott Center, the residence halls and all Thursday night activities.
Throughout the two-day conference, more than 200 presenters will provide nearly 100 sessions, with up to 16 sessions to choose from each hour. Some of this year’s notable presenters include former BYU president Merrill J. Bateman and his wife, Marilyn S. Bateman, the members of the Relief Society and Primary general presidencies and celebrated LDS artist Greg Olsen, who is well known for his religious paintings.
Session topics center on the conference theme, as well as receiving answer to prayers, marriage and parenting, dealing with illness and addiction, civility and respect, providing for the needy and expressions of faith through the visual arts. Each day, three sessions will be given in Spanish, with native speakers as presenters.
On Thursday evening, several service projects to “Make the Pathway Bright” will be held in the Richards Building and the Smith Fieldhouse from 5 until 8:30 p.m. Hundreds of women will gather to complete service projects that include assembling newborn kits for maternity clinics in developing countries, and school and hygiene kits for the LDS Humanitarian Center.
In past years, these service nights have yielded tons of goods for those in need. In 10 years, Women’s Conference participants have produced more than a million items to bless the lives of others, including 371,425 hygiene kits, 509,200 packets for nonprofit agencies and 145,200 food boxes.
For those looking for ways to continue serving after Women’s Conference is over, sharing stations will be set up in the Richards Building during the service activity. More than 50 exhibitors will share their ideas on loving, serving, teaching and helping others in a “tradeshow of service ideas.”
Also on Thursday evening, well-known LDS recording artists Kenneth Cope, Michael McLean, Jenny Jordan Frogley, Hillary Weeks, Eclipse and Mercy River will perform together in the Marriott Center at 8 p.m.
Parking for the conference will be available adjacent to the Marriott Center, and courtesy vans will be available to transport participants to campus sites, with preference given to seniors and those with disabilities.
Delayed broadcasts will be aired on Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, on BYU TV and byubroadcasting.org.
Sessions to be rebroadcast on Thursday, May 15, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. MDT include “Awake, Arise, and Come unto Him” by Sheri Dew; “Lay Hold upon Every Good Gift” by Elizabeth Ricks and Barbara Thompson; “Sacred Relationships and Self-Reliance” by Ana Maria Coburn and Silvia H. Allred; and “Temple Worship Is an Avenue to Exaltation in God’s Kingdom” by Marilyn S. Bateman and Merrill J. Bateman.
Sessions to be rebroadcast on Thursday, May 15, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. MDT include “Strengthening Thy Stakes: Standing Strong and Immovable in Faith” by Julie B. Beck; “'My Body is the Temple My Father Gave to Me:' Teaching Children Virtue and Chastity” by Ann Farnsworth and Cheryl C. Lant; “A Partnership of Equals: ‘Neither Is the Man without the Woman, Neither the Woman without the Man’” by Lolly Osguthorpe and Russell Osguthorpe; and the conference’s closing session given by one of the General Authorities.
Selected sessions will also be available on KBYU-TV, Channel 11 in Utah, in late May. Visit http://byutv.org for broadcast schedules.
For more information, visit http://womensconference.byu.edu, call (801) 422-7692, or e-mail womensconference@byu.edu.
Writer: Marissa Ballantyne
