Essential Takeaway: Shouldn’t Should. Conference countdown.
Before I really dig into conference talks, I wanted to share a little experiment I’ve been working on. For months now, I have been thinking a lot about the word “should”. I did what any reasonable person does and googled the word. It means: “used to indicate obligation, duty, typically when criticizing someone’s actions.” How many times does Heavenly Father speak to us using should? The thought of a loving God criticizing our actions seems very foreign to me. As I read all of the October 2019 conference talks, I specifically looked for the word should. Over the 2 days, 33 talks were given. I reserve the right to be wrong, however I prefer not to be. With that being said, the word ‘should’ in context of commanding us to do something was used one time. It was in Elder Renlunds talk:
“Our commitment to keep our covenants SHOULD not be conditional or vary with changing circumstances in our lives.”
That statement and concept will be explored later. For now…. I will try to keep my writing A.D.D. to a minimum and continue. Another word that felt as strong as ‘should’ was the word must. I also counted how many times I found this word. I noticed it 8 times. I will highlight those in specific conference talks as I go through the countdown.
There were other words that are similar to should, such as ought or need. Some of those words were found, but not very often. I will address those in specific conference talks as well. I found several suggestions to change, specific council or instruction given. Most were given as invitations. As you are working on goals and as you think about what changes could be made, try avoiding the word should. Concentrate on a loving invitation to change. I invite myself and us all to change our vocabulary. I’m trying to change how I use the word should. What are you being invited to change?
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