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About Affirmation

David Nielson

Salt Lake City 2009: The View from Here
"Affirmation conference is one of the most worthwhile things I've ever done in my life"

David Nielson, 2009 Conference Director
February 2009

I get asked lots of questions as conference director, but the one I've been thinking most about is: "Why?"

It's a question I've had a hard time answering. If someone asks me if I want to go to conference, the answer is yes, without hesitation. For those who have been to conference, "yes" is enough. They already know that Affirmation conference is an amazing gathering, and a weekend they'll never forget. They already know that they're going to see old friends who they haven't seen in years, and that they will get to hear and see some of the most interesting and relevant programming, all in one place. They already know what's there for them.

Before I ever went to an Affirmation conference, I asked a few people what was so special about it and why I needed to go. They would think for a moment, and then say something like "it's an experience you need to have, and you'll find out why when you get there."

Find out when you get there, indeed.

When I think about that weekend and everything that happened, I have a hard time writing it down. My fingers just stop moving. Yes, I met dozens of new people and heard and saw amazing presentations and was touched and inspired by the devotional and we all laughed and cried together. It doesn't do the experience of conference justice to just say that, though. The people at conference are so different; so varied and diverse, in ways we don't usually think about. The presentations are so unique and powerful that they literally change my outlook on life permanently, every year. The devotional... how does one even describe the devotional? As a life-long Mormon, having had "spiritual" experiences all my life, none of them prepared me for the magnitude of the devotionals at Affirmation conference.

I know this may seem cheesy, but when people ask me why they should come to Affirmation conference, I always think of Alma 32, and the "experiment" of faith that we Mormons drill into our brains from an early age. Affirmation conference is one of the most worthwhile things I've ever done in my life, and I didn't know it would be when I signed up. I found out the value because I tried it. I found out when I got there, that it's where I wanted to be.

This year's Affirmation Conference will be held in Salt Lake City, September 18-20. More information, including registration and hotel accommodations, may be found at www.affirmation.org/conference. The conference web page is updated weekly.