This was an historic General Conference. I know we always say that with each iteration, but they seem to get better with each edition, don’t they? I had several memorable moments and noted my favorite quotes from each speaker, which I am sharing this morning. We are truly a Christ-centered Church these days, a development for which I yearned all those many years ago in my earlier life. These quotes will attest to that reality.
President Jeffrey R. Holland:
“Is there anything sweeter, more pure, more humble than a child at prayer? It is as if heaven is in the room. God and Christ are so real, but for others the experience can become more superficial.”
“Children really do love Him, and that love can carry over into their other relationships in the playground of life.”
“I testify that they are images of the kingdom of God flourishing on earth in all of its strength and beauty.”
President Camille N. Johnson:
“I can be whole, while I wait for healing, if I am wholehearted in my relationship with Him.”
“Faith in Him increases my hope for healing, and that hope reinforces my faith in Jesus Christ. It is a powerful cycle.”
“Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can seek to be spiritually whole while we wait and hope for physical and emotional healing.”
Elder Ronald A. Rasband:
“I marvel at what President Nelson calls the ‘majesty of this moment’ and express profound gratitude to the Lord for His work. I encourage us to stand tall as his disciples, eyewitnesses of the fulfillment of prophecy, both ancient and modern.”
“The Lord commanded in the early days of the Restoration to ‘seek learning, even by study and also by faith.’ That is happening today and is worthy of a resounding ‘Hurrah.‘”
“I recognize that in the midst of the good news of the gospel, there are those who struggle, who have faith challenges, doubts and questions that seem to have no answers. Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the answer. Start with Him. Look for His hand in your life. Listen to Him.”
Elder Quentin L. Cook:
“In a world of great beauty, there are also enormous challenges. As we turn to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, He rescues us from the storms of life through His Atonement in accordance with the Father’s plan.”
“In His eternity-shaping Atonement and Resurrection, the Savior broke ‘the bands of death, having gained the victory over death’ (Mosiah 15:8) for everyone.”
“I testify that the key to the Father’s plan of happiness is the Atonement wrought by our Savior Jesus Christ. He lives and guides His Church. The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the ultimate rescue from the trials we face in this life.”
Elder Ricardo P. Gimenez:
“I hope you will consider my words as a sincere invitation to seek to understand the opportunity to link everything we do with our love for the Savior.”
“The more we can connect the reason with our love for the Savior, the more we will be able to receive what we need or are seeking.”
“I love the Savior, and my love for Him is my ‘why.‘”
President Henry B. Eyring:
“Jesus Christ loves each of us. He offers the opportunity to draw closer to Him.”
“As you bind up the wounds of those in need, the Lord’s power will sustain you.”
“Every covenant servant of Jesus Christ will receive His direction from the Spirit as they bless and serve others for Him. Then they will feel the Savior’s love and find joy in being drawn closer to Him.”
Elder Neil A. Anderson:
“The diminishing love for unborn children worldwide is a grave concern. God cherishes life. … As disciples of Jesus Christ, we cherish life.”
“Life is a most precious part of our Father’s perfect plan and by His decree we cherish life and preserve life; and we choose the continuation of life once conceived.”
“Nurturing and protecting life that is yet unborn is not a political position. It is a moral law confirmed by the Lord through His prophets.”
President Steven J. Lund:
“Serious expectations require serious preparation.”
“[Priesthood holders] will find themselves in consequential times and places where their presence and prayers and the powers of the priesthood of God they hold will profoundly matter.”
“The Aaronic Priesthood is called the preparatory priesthood partly because its ordinances allow them to experience the weight and joy of being on the Lord’s errand preparing them for future priesthood service.”
Elder S. Mark Palmer:
“To all who recognize what you have lost, we invite you to come back so you can once again taste the joyous fruit of the gospel.
“To all who are longing for faith, we invite you to come back.”
“He will never give up on you. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all that is broken can be healed.”
Elder Sandino Roman:
“When we have faith in Christ, we recognize His blessings and develop a relationship of trust with Him.”
“Pray to your Heavenly Father as if it were the first time. … If you are sincere and humble, you will hear His answer and begin a personal and lasting relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”
“So, faith in Jesus Christ is a bond of trust, forged in loyalty and love. In other words, in gratitude for God’s merciful love, we show our loyal love by keeping His commandments.”
Elder Dale G. Renlund:
“If we are wise, we receive the truth by accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ through priesthood ordinances and covenants.”
“Indeed, God will be disappointed if we do not rely upon the merits, mercy and grace of the Savior to magnify the God-given talents we have received.”
“Rely on those who love you and who love the Savior. Seek God’s guidance to develop your unique abilities and help others, even when it is not easy.”
Elder Hans T. Boom:
“To those of the rising generation … please learn and receive strength from the faith and testimonies of those that came before you.”
“All of us, whether we are the first generation in the gospel or the fifth, should ask ourselves, ‘What stories of faith, strength and celestial commitment will I pass on to the next generation?‘”
“Let us be, ‘True to the faith that our parents have cherished.‘”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
“The Lord invites us not just to join His kingdom but also to be anxiously engaged in building it.”
“We are one, not because of where we’ve been but where we are striving to go, not because of who we are but who we seek to become.”
“Our love for God and His children is a powerful testimony to the world that this is truly the Savior’s Church.”
Elder Gary E. Stevenson:
“We rejoice that because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven and cleansed of our sins as we repent. This brings us peace and hope while making it possible for us to return to God’s presence.”
“Living prophets in our day — who receive revelation from God to teach and lead us — are increasingly inviting us to come unto Christ.”
“I testify that all who accept the invitations from our living Prophet and his counselors to more intentionally commemorate the holy events that Easter represents will find that their bond with Jesus Christ grows ever stronger.”
Sister Amy A. Wright:
“If we are not testifying to the veracity of His premortal godhood, His divine mission and His prison-bursting Resurrection in our homes and in every single meeting of this Church, then our messages of love, service, honesty, humility, gratitude and compassion can become nothing more than a jaunty pep talk of thoughtful living.”
“If we become casual in our discipleship of Jesus Christ, it could be catastrophic for our children.”
“When we tell our children we love them, are we also telling them that their Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ love them? Our love may comfort and inspire, but Their love can sanctify, exalt and heal.”
Elder James R. Rasband:
“It might be said that the plan of salvation is a plan of happiness precisely because it is a ‘plan of mercy.‘”
“For those who sometimes struggle to feel answers to prayer, seeking the Lord’s mercy is one of the most powerful ways to feel the witness of the Holy Ghost.”
“In sum, is the Father’s plan as taught in the Book of Mormon really this merciful? I testify that it is.”
Elder Sergio R. Vargas:
“I invite all of us today to center our lives on Jesus Christ and His teachings.”
“Our divine nature and covenant relationship with God entitle us to receive divine help.”
“Ask for help. Jesus Christ understands and is always eager to share our burdens.”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson:
“True worship means loving God and yielding our will to Him — the most precious gift we can offer.”
“Worshipping together, as the ‘body of Christ’ has unique power and benefits as we teach, serve and sustain one another. … As a community of Saints, we strengthen each other in worship and in faith.”
“Those who reject God as the source of truth, or disavow any accountability to Him, in effect substitute themselves as their god. One who places loyalty to a party or cause ahead of divine direction worships a false god.”
Elder David A. Bednar:
“Joseph [Smith] did not pray merely to know what was right. Rather, he prayed to know what was right so he could do what was right.”
“The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, confirms the truthfulness of the Bible and restores plain and precious truths that were lost from the Bible.”
“Ancient prophets and apostles personally conferred priesthood authority upon Joseph Smith and committed priesthood keys to him.”
Elder Steven D. Shumway:
“When we say yes to serving, we are saying yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible.”
“We engage in God’s work, not because God needs us, but because we need God and His mighty blessings.”
“Callings are sacred gifts from a loving Father to help bring others with us to Jesus Christ.”
Sister Tamara W. Runia:
“I testify that while God cares about our mistakes, He cares more about what happens after we make a mistake. Are we going to turn to Him again and again? Are we going to stay in this covenant relationship?”
“The invitation to repent is an expression of God’s love. Saying yes to that invitation is an expression of ours. … Yes, your repentance doesn’t burden Jesus Christ; it brightens His joy.”
“We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day. And when we’re repenting, God forgives without shaming us, comparing us to anyone else or scolding us because this is the same thing we were repenting of last week.”
Bishop Gerald Causse:
“The Lord loves you personally. He knows your circumstances and the door to His blessings remains wide open to you no matter the challenges you face.”
“What matters to the Lord is not merely whether we are able, but whether we are willing, to do all we can to follow Him as our Savior.”
“The Lord’s compensating blessings often come through the kindness and service of others who help us accomplish what we cannot do on our own.”
Elder Gerrit W. Gong:
“This is Easter in Jesus Christ: He answers the longings of our hearts and the questions of our souls. He wipes away our tears, except our tears of joy.”
“He reunites us, whole and holy, with each other and God. In all good things, Jesus Christ restores abundantly — not only what was but also what can be.”
“Each Easter season we celebrate, as a symbolic whole, eternity’s great gifts through Jesus Christ — His Atonement; His (and the promise of our) literal Resurrection; Restoration of His latter-day Church with priesthood keys and authority to bless all God’s children.”
Elder John A. McCune:
“In Christ, we can understand better the perfect attributes of the Father and His plan. Through Christ, we are given the enabling power to overcome the tendencies of natural men and women so that we might become more like the Father.”
“As we make and keep covenants, we will naturally turn outward and have a desire to help others feel the measure of joy and love we feel in our covenantal relationships.”
“We can be part of the greatest cause on the earth today, the gathering of Israel. We can help to bring God’s children to Christ.”
President Dallin H. Oaks:
“By far God’s strongest mortal help was His provision of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would suffer to pay the price and provide forgiveness for repented sins.”
“The plan of a loving Father in Heaven provides many other gifts to protect us, including protecting us from sinning in the first place.”
“Our part in this divine plan is to trust in God and seek divine helps, most notably the Atonement of His Beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.”
Elder Ulisses Soares:
“Reverence is not just an aspect of spirituality; it is the essence of it — the foundation upon which spirituality is built, creating a personal connection to the divine.”
“Showing reverence for sacred things gives meaning to much of what we do every day and strengthens our feeling of gratitude-inspiring awe, respect and love for higher and holier things.”
“The absence of respect for the sacred produces an increasing casualness in attitude and carelessness in conduct, which can rapidly spiral one generation into apathy and catapult the next generation into misery.”
Elder Michael B. Strong:
“To be the Lord’s disciples, we must intentionally imitate His thoughts and actions every day — for example, His obedience, humility and patience.”
“Compassion is that portion of charity that seeks to alleviate all suffering.”
“Discipleship of Jesus Christ … is a path filled with deliberate and purposeful acts of love towards others.”
Elder Scott D. Whiting:
“To those who may be in hiding, we implore you to come back.”
“Through the matchless power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you can be made whole again.”
“As His Saints, each of us must foster a culture of belonging in the Church that is loving, accepting and encouraging of all who desire to progress along His path.”
Elder Christopher H. Kim:
“When we harden our hearts, we are blinded, and good things cannot come into our hearts or our minds.”
“We want to become humble before the Lord, like as a little child who obeys their father. We will then always have the Holy Spirit with us, and our hearts will soften.”
“We can choose to harden our hearts, or we can choose to soften our hearts. In our daily lives, we can choose to do the things that invite the Lord’s Spirit to come into and dwell in our hearts.”
Elder Patrick Kearon:
“I invite you to receive either for the first time, or to a greater extent than ever before, the magnificent realisation that you truly are God’s beloved child. You must undo the bow, tear off the wrapping paper, open the box and actively receive with grateful humility a true, pure understanding of this foundational truth.”
“You may be wondering, ‘What do I have to do to receive this gift from God?’ Well, actually, nothing. It is a gift from the Giver. That is simply a fact. Just let it in. You are His child. You are beloved of Him. Do not complicate it. Do not block the receiving of this gift with thoughts that you are somehow undeserving.”
“You are a child of God. This is not just a nice song we sing. Will you please accept, open, and receive this gift of knowledge and understanding from Him? Will you hold it close as the precious treasure it is? Re-receive this gift, or perhaps truly receive it for the very first time, and let it transform every aspect of your life.”
Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai:
“When we exercise faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, we receive clear assurance of their reality and of their concern for us.”
“Our opportunity is to love, share and invite in a way that those we love can feel the love of God.”
“Please know that your every effort matters and, as certain as the stars above us, that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know, hear and love you.”
President Russell M. Nelson:
“When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confidence in approaching God right now.”
“Two years ago, I called upon us, as covenant followers of Jesus Christ, to be peacemakers. … I thank those of you who took my previous counsel to heart. But we can still do better.”
“As we go to our Heavenly Father, with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”
