Review of the
15th Annual Evergreen conference
Evergreen International, Inc.
September 16th and 17th, 2005
Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Salt Lake City, Utah
"Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support;
yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let
it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea,
let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever." - Alma
37:36
The 15th Annual Conference of Evergreen International was an anniversary
celebration as well as an intellectual and spiritual feast. The music was
beautiful and inspiring. The social events were emotionally filling and the
workshops were educational, helpful, and full of hope.
The conference
began Friday morning with an introductory address by Evergreen Executive
Director, David Pruden. He cautioned conference participants to not be
looking for a "magic bullet" or "quick cure." Growth and healing comes
through Gospel-oriented effort combined with the love and support of family,
Evergreen, the Church, and the Atonement of the Savior. Taking the
scriptural theme as our guide, the focus was on the Savior and His Atonement
throughout the conference. Then with the Savior as focus, the workshops were
based on one of the four aspects of healing and diminishing feelings of
same-sex attraction (SSA) - spiritual, relational, informational, or
therapeutic. The women discussed "Being a Daughter of God," "Developing
Healthy Female Relationships," "Learning to Trust Again," and "Seeking
Support in Our Struggles." The men discussed "I'm Here, Now What?,"
"Developing True Manhood - Christ as Our Role-Model," "Developing Healthy
Male Relationships," "Facing the Challenge of Change," "Making Weak Things
Become Strong," and "Things That Work." Spouses discussed "Taking Care of
our Own Needs." Parents discussed "Support Strategies: Things Parents Can Do
to Help." There were ideas for friends and family in general and workshops
talking about "Relying on the Lord for Support" and "SSA101: What is It and
How Can We Help?" There were other workshops for all conference
participants teaching concepts and lessons about the blessings of
repentance, changing our hearts, peace and healing through the Atonement,
and finding joy in the light of Christ. Some therapeutic directed workshops
taught breaking down communication barriers, continuing progress in the
struggle, methods of counseling and how to choose a therapist, and dealing
with trauma and abuse. Some informational workshops taught alternative
therapies using meditation and music. And some relational workshops taught
understanding spouses' needs, intimacy in marriage, and inclusion rather
than exclusion of those who struggle. There were workshops taught in
Spanish in the last session each day for our Spanish-speaking brothers and
sisters. The featured presenters at this conference were
Sterling G. Ellsworth, PhD and
Michael J. Merchant. Dr. Ellsworth
has been a practicing counseling psychologist for over 40 years. He has
written several books that have helped those who struggle with SSA, the most
recent is Latter Day Plague, Breaking the Chains of Pornography Addiction.
Dr. Ellsworth gave a keynote address on Friday afternoon and also presented
a workshop each day. In his keynote address, Dr. Ellsworth taught us to
think of mortality as "earth school." He taught that while here we all need
certain love supplies - such as empathy, verbal affection, physical
affection, and privacy and trust. He talked of our national plague - using
sex as a love substitute. He quoted President Kimball that all sin is wrong,
but it comes from deep and unmet needs. He stated that Satan's greatest lie
is that we are helpless victims of sexual needs and there is nothing we can
do about it. Dr. Ellsworth taught us to (1) think about what we are
thinking, (2) classify our thoughts, (3) take out the thought trash, and (4)
replace stupid thoughts with positive thoughts. He taught about three brains
that can be correlated to our concept of three degrees of glory. The
telestial or "lizard" brain seeks physical gratification and worships the
body. The terrestrial or "monkey" brain is hooked on people and seeks the
praises of men. The celestial or "angel" brain thinks about God and God's
love - what would Jesus do? When one brain is being nourished the other two
brains are gone. This "brain" concept took us directly to the theme and
Dr. Ellsworth counseled us to be the "angel" brain and enmesh our brain with
God thoughts - "let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord
forever." In his two workshops, Dr. Ellsworth developed the concepts of
the "Human Identity Seed" and how it is nourished by human love supplies or
mutated by love substitutes. He also taught about moving from a victim or
negative thought state to a state of agency or positive thought - being in
charge of thoughts and feelings instead of them being in charge of you.
Michael Merchant is the President and Executive Director of ANASAZI
Foundation, an organization that helps youth and young adults with substance
and emotional/behavioral concerns. Brother Merchant taught two workshops and
presented the concluding fireside Saturday evening. He taught the workshop
to the men on "Developing True Manhood" developing the concept of using
Christ as the exemplar. He also taught "A Spiritual Approach to Overcoming
Addictions" for the only lasting remedies to our addictions (and the
afflictions we suffer as a result of the addictions) are spiritual in
nature. At the concluding fireside, Brother Merchant talked about walking
in the light. We need to find the path of light and use the light to chase
darkness from our soul. Does your heart walk forward in the light? He told
the story of a man who lost his sight early in life. At age 17 he did great
things because he had a heightened attentiveness and could sense people and
know who he could trust. Although he couldn’t see physical light, he saw
inner light and then followed it. Brother Merchant talked about a time in
his life when he didn’t walk in the light. He finally sensed that he was in
darkness and prayed to know what to do. He saw his bishop and began to read
the scriptures and the light began to return. He began dating again and
through a series of experiences in following the light, he met his
wife-to-be and eventually asked her to marry him. Brother Merchant
concluded with: God loves us and wants us to rid ourselves of the worries
and concerns of life and walk in the light. On Saturday morning, in the
Joseph Smith Memorial Building Chapel, a general session was held to which
ecclesiastical leaders were invited to participate with conference
attendees. In commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of Evergreen, the
dedicatory prayer, originally written and offered November 12, 1992, was
read. Elder James O. Mason was the general authority speaker. Elder Mason
served as a member of the Second Quorum of Seventy from April 1994 to
October 2000. Prior to the call as a General Authority, Elder Mason served
both the Church and government in the public health arena. He currently
serves on the Evergreen Board of Trustees. As he began to speak, Elder
Mason commented that he was impressed to put aside his notes and speak from
his heart. (His prepared address is on this
Web site.) Elder Mason used the scriptures beginning with Mosiah 3:19
and commented that many ask the question, "Why me?" He said, "I don't know,
but God knows." Elder Mason then went to 2 Nephi 9:28-29. He commented
that today in 2005 we have the spacious building and the mists of darkness
of Lehi's dream. They are the secular world - the "learned [who] think they
are wise." We also have the iron rod - the word of God and the fruit of the
tree - the Savior's Atonement. He then went to Abraham 3:22-26. Elder
Mason said, "Abraham saw us, 'the noble and great ones.'" He said that we
were sent here to earth to be "proved" - to be tested. This life is a test.
We need to hang on and endure "as long as the blink of an eye in the context
of eternity." The room was still because the sound system was not working
and as we were all very quiet so that we could hear, the Spirit came in
abundance. It was a deeply moving spiritual experience as we all felt Elder
Mason's love and the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior. He also
promised those who remain faithful, in spite of SSA challenges, will receive
all the rewards our Father has in store for all his children. Afterward,
the ecclesiastical leaders were able to have additional training and an
opportunity to ask questions in a workshop just for them. Saturday evening
before the concluding fireside, a dinner, awards presentation and 15th
anniversary commemoration was held. Evergreen Chairman, Larry Richman
delivered the State of the Organization and
History of Evergreen International, Inc. report.
The 16th Annual Evergreen conference will be held Friday and Saturday,
September 15th and 16th, 2006, in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt
Lake City, Utah.
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