Simply, Simplify

In President Uchtdorf's opening talk to this weekend's General Conference, he advised people that if they felt the Gospel was not working for them, to simplify their discipleship and go back to the basic fundamentals of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. By making our worship a little less complicated, President Uchtdorf promised members would see remarkable changes, even through these small and simple principles.

President Uchtdorf relayed a story in the middle of his talk. He told of a woman who loved teaching the best relief society lessons. She wanted to make a quilt to go with her lesson. It would be the perfect touch and she wanted to go above and beyond. President Uchtdorf described how the woman's life became very busy, but still she stayed up all night making the quilt. He described the elaborate design, the vibrant colors, and the intricate patterns. In the middle of this rather complex quilt was the word, "Simplify," the ironic topic of the busy sister's lesson.

This story was a great example of the rhetorical concept, antithesis. Antithesis is contrasting two different opposite concepts or ideas. President Uchtdorf's contrasted the idea of being too busy and simplifying, weaving into one story. The sister was trying to teach a lesson about simplifying your life and your worship, but did it in a very complex way. By telling this juxtaposing story, President Uchtdorf not only brought about laughter from the audience and captured their attention, but his story highlighted his message of simplifying our discipleship. Audience members were clearly able to see the importance of simplifying due to the complexity and business in the story. It was an effective rhetorical tool that brought greater emphasis and attention to his ultimate point.