Report: How My Predictions for the General Women's Meeting Turned Out

Hello, everyone! As the General Women's Session of General Conference has concluded, I wanted to give a report on how my predictions for that session panned out. Before doing so, I was grateful for the way the session began, with Relief Society President Jean B. Bingham (not Primary General President Joy D. Jones) opening the meeting and recognizing the Brethren on the stand, and also recognizing that President Monson was watching the proceedings on television from his home. It was nice to have that acknowledgement, brief though it was, that General Conference is still under the direction and with the consent of the Church President, even if he cannot physically be in attendance.

In terms of the speaking order, I got just about half-and-half (half wrong, and half right). Though she did not conduct, Sister Jones did participate, as the representative speaker from the Primary General Presidency. Sharon Eubank (referred to in this session as having the middle initial of "L", did speak, but was the first speaker instead of the second as I had predicted. The speaker representing the Young Women General Presidency was Sister Neill F. Marriott, not Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson as I had predicted. But I did correctly predict that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf would represent the First Presidency, which he did, giving a marvelous address, including expressing the love of President Monson for the women of the Church.

And I was especially touched by the scene after the session. Presidents Eyring and Uchtdorf greeted the General Authorities and some of the auxiliary presidency members in attendance, then turned to greet the women approaching them: President Uchtdorf's beloved wife Harriet, and President Monson's daughter, Ann, who has accompanied her father to previous sessions and to whom, with his own wife not being well enough to attend, President Eyring graciously offered his arm as they all headed out of the General Conference session.

So, in light of how that session actually transpired, that opens up a whole slew of questions. I have never been fortunate enough to get any General Conference predictions 100% correct, so I have no doubt I got several things incorrect this go-round, but it is interesting that I am projecting that President Nelson may give a second address during the Sunday Morning Session and that Sister Marriott, whom I had listed as potentially speaking during the Sunday Morning Session, will not do so now in light of having spoken during the General Women's Session.

Therefore, either the Church will have another female auxiliary presidency member speak in that slot, or the Church will continue the precedent set last April and have only two talks by the auxiliary leaders, one female, and one male. And if that is the case, then it will in turn affect future General Conferences as well. I could see the reasoning behind doing things that way. If three of the auxiliary leaders (four if we count the person conducting) are involved in the General Women's Meeting, then having only one female auxiliary leader speak in any of the other four sessions does make a lot of sense.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how the other five sessions of this General Conference unfold. And whatever happens during the course of the next weekend, you can depend on my reports of the latest news and information.

That does it for this post. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Any comments continue to be welcome and appreciated. Until my next post, I wish you all the best.