General Conference Conversations

Elder Uchtdorf speaks about joy! We all feel sadness and happiness, anger and love. He reminds us that through the gospel, we can feel lasting joy and gives three ways to find joy in this life - draw near unto God, look for it, and serve others. He ends with an invitation to do those things. “Life is not an endless sequence of emotional highs. “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in...

Elder Carpenter compares our covenants to preserving fruits and vegetables when we can them. As we keep the covenants we make at baptism and in the temple, the blessings are sealed upon us and can be preserved for eternity. “The Holy Ghost, in His divine role as the Holy Spirit of Promise, will seal each ordinance upon those who are faithful to their covenants so that it will be valid after mortal...

Sister Muñoz Spannaus shares the story of David and Goliath and says that, while David's first stone defeated the giant, he was prepared with 5 stones. She gives some examples of "stones" we could have in our hands to prepare us for the "giants" in our lives. “While David used only one stone to kill Goliath, he was prepared with five. With five! This makes me think about ho...

Elder Bangerter speaks about our individual proposes here on earth and how our choices in the premortal life direct our life now. We can use our agency to fulfill the purpose God has planned for us. “Those premortal promises and blessings are called your foreordination. “The doctrine of foreordination applies to all members of the Church.” Foreordination does not guarantee that you will receive ce...

Elder Bowen testifies of miracles and the priesthood's role in them. He shares stories from his life and from his family history of miraculous events and his testimony of their divine origin. “I witness that miracles have not ceased, angels are among us, and the heavens are open. And oh, how open they are!” What miracles have you seen in your life? If you’d like to be part of the conversation:...

Elder Cook 's talk revolves around a line from Christ's intercessory prayer - that we should be one with each other and one with Christ. He talks about the relatively simple task of becoming one with Christ and being unified with others in him. A large portion of his talk discusses choices, agency, and free will, and how we are free to choose what we value and what we spend our time on. An...

Elder Nelson talks about the importance of the rising generation - having good relationships with and supporting the youth. A lot of what he says also applies to other callings and other relationships in our lives. “We express our confidence in the youth by offering support and direction without taking over. As we step back and allow the youth to learn through counseling together, choosing an insp...

Elder Gong reminds us of God's purpose - to bring all things together for our good. He shares stories of God working miracles in people's lives through ways they never imagined. “When trials come, often what we most want is for someone to listen and be with us. In the moment, cliché answers can be unhelpful, however comforting their intent. Sometimes we yearn for someone who will grieve, a...

Elder Alonso bears testimony of the power of Christ in our lives and the transformative journey we can be on when we follow Him. “The clarity of His invitation “come unto me” and “take my yoke” affirms the profound nature of His promise—a promise so vast and complete that it embodies His love, offering us a solemn guarantee: “Ye shall find rest.” As we diligently seek spiritual guidance, we embark...

Elder Nielson shares his witness - his testimony - of the restoration of the gospel and the growth of the church throughout the world. He talks about missionaries, temples, and members living their lives as a witness to the power of Christ's atonement. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that the very same terms I was using every day as a lawyer were also the terms I used in my gospel conve...

Elder De Feo talks about seeing with our spiritual eyes. He gives three principles for how we can focus on Christ and work on our spiritual vision. “All around him were telling him to be quiet, but he cried out even more because he knew who Jesus really was. He ignored those voices and screamed even louder. He acted instead of being acted upon. Despite his limited circumstances, he used his faith...

Elder Bednar’s talk is all about finding peace and stillness in a loud and chaotic world. He talks about Christ being the rock we build our foundation on and places and times we can do that so that we have assurance and confidence that everything in our life will be ok. “I believe the Lord’s admonition to “be still” entails much more than simply not talking or not moving. Perhaps His intent is for...

President Eyring speaks about the temple and the power of temple covenants. He shares a story about a time he and his wife found peace and comfort during a hard time because of their covenants. And he shared a few things President Nelson has promised us in recent years about temple attendance. “Perhaps this statement from President Thomas S. Monson best illustrates what Kathy and I felt on that un...

Elder Gerard's talk is all about, as the title says, integrity. He talks about the need for integrity in our lives - the ability to stick to our morals and beliefs in our relationships with God, others, and ourselves. “Living a life of integrity requires us to be true to God, to each other, and to our divine identity. Integrity flows from the first great commandment to love God. Because you lo...

Elder Soares speaks powerfully of the temple and the confidence - power, reassurance, and strength - that we receive through covenants. He focuses specifically on temples and the true goal of temples - this covenant confidence. He shares a few stories of people in the scriptures and also people who he knows who have that confidence so obviously in their lives. “I pray that we may be spiritually re...

Elder Dushku’s talk is all about personal revelation and how individual and unique it is. He tells the story of the First Vision and then reassures us that if we never have an experience like that, we are still faithful. We can be spoken to in a million very personal ways. “And yet, every one of us is different. No two people experience God’s light and truth in exactly the same way. Take some time...

Sister Dennis speaks about symbols and the power of symbols to teach us deeper meanings and remind us of important things. She specifically talks about covenants being symbols and the symbols used in the ordinances we participate in to make covenants. She also covers garments and the symbols they are in our lives. She also reminds us that missions and marriage are not a requirement for going throu...

President Holland gives powerful, personal testimony. He talks about the death of his wife and his recent health struggles and how that has changed his view of the gospel and life. He also spends much of his talk speaking about the power of prayer, even in the life of Christ. And he closes his talk with his testimony of Christ, His Atonement, and the gospel. “In my profound gratitude for all this,...

Hello hello! It’s been a while! But I’m back. And I have just a couple announcements and housekeeping before we get into this next season of General Conference Conversations. When I started this project two years ago, I was really just getting into Podcasts. And I fell in love with a lot of Come, Follow Me podcasts specifically that helped with my CFM study and helped me to have more comments at c...

“Think Celestial!” is the most quoted talk of this conference. In it, President Nelson reminds us of the benefit of seeing our lives with an eternal perspective. Here’s a question to consider as you study: How are you “thinking Celestial” in your day to day life? You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiavmFctfCBB68kWaKVy0g If you’d like to send in comments o...

“We Are His Children” by Elder Giraud-Carrier is all about seeing others as God’s children. Here’s a question to consider as you study: How does your perspective of someone change when you see them first as a child of God? You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiavmFctfCBB68kWaKVy0g If you’d like to send in comments on your favorite talks or if you have any...

In “Love is Spoken Here,” Elder Gong talks about three “languages of gospel love.” Here are questions he asks to considers as you study: “So, where and how does Jesus Christ speak to you in love? Where and how do you hear His love spoken here?” You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiavmFctfCBB68kWaKVy0g If you’d like to send in comments on your favorite tal...

Elder Esplin’s talk “The Savior’s Healing Power upon the Isles of the Sea” is all about the miracles God is working with temples. Here is a question to consider as you study: “Through temple blessings, the Savior heals individuals, families, and nations—even those that once stood as bitter enemies.” How have you seen this healing in your life? I also mentioned a talk by Elder Renlund from October...

In “Divine Parenting Lessons,” Elder Cordón talks about parenting, but a lot of what he teaches about can be used in other relationships as well. Here’s a question to consider as you study: How can you be more intentional with your time with the people around you? You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiavmFctfCBB68kWaKVy0g If you’d like to send in comments...

Elder Pingree’s talk “Eternal Truth” is all about truth! Here are a few questions to consider as you study: Have you ever been taught a truth (or been corrected) that felt like it was not done from a place of love? How did that make you feel? How can you teach or bear testimony with love? You can also watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoiavmFctfCBB68kWaKVy0g If you’d...