Transcript
From the conference center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
This is the women’s session of the 192nd annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
with speakers selected from leaders of the church.
Music for this session is provided by a women's choir from various stakes in the Utah area.
This broadcast is furnished as a public service by Bonneville Distribution.
Any reproduction, recording, transcription, or other use of this program without written consent is prohibited. Sister Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President, will conduct this session.
Sisters, we welcome you to the women’s session of the 192nd annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Russell M. Nelson, who presides at the conference, has asked me to conduct. We are grateful to gather with the Young Women and Relief Society sisters of the Church and with our friends of other faiths who may be joining us.
All are welcome, and we hope you feel of our love for you, wherever you are.
We recognize and are deeply grateful to have President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring in attendance this evening.
We likewise acknowledge our priesthood advisors, Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the 70, and Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the 70, and Bishop Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop of the Church, who are seated on the stand.
It is a privilege to work with and have the support of these brethren.
We note with warm appreciation the Relief Society, Young Women and Primary General Presidencies and General Council members who are with us tonight.
The music for this session will be provided by a women’s choir from various stakes in the Utah Area, under the direction of Leah Tarrant with Linda Margetts at the organ.
The choir will open this meeting by singing “Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise.”
The invocation will then be offered by Rebecca Mehr,
a member of the Relief Society General Council, after which the choir will sing “We Listen to a Prophet’s Voice.
[MUSIC PLAYING] “Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise”
Let Zion in her beauty rise; Her light begins to shine.
Ere long her King will rend the skies, Majestic and divine,
The gospel spreading thru the land, A people to prepare To meet the Lord and Enoch’s band Triumphant in the air.
Ye heralds, sound the golden trump To earth’s remotest bound.
Go spread the news from pole to pole In all the nations round:
That Jesus in the clouds above, With hosts of angels too,
Will soon appear, his Saints to save, His enemies subdue.
That glorious rest will then commence Which prophets did foretell, When Saints will reign with Christ on earth, And in his presence dwell
A thousand years, oh, glorious day! Dear Lord, prepare my heart To stand with thee on Zion’s mount
And nevermore to part.
And nevermore to part!
Our Father in Heaven, we are so grateful to gather as sisters who love each other and who love Thee and who love the Savior, our
Redeemer and friend. We thank thee for the restoration of His gospel.
We thank Thee for the grand blessings of priesthood, of covenants,
and the prophetic guidance of our beloved President Nelson.
We ask Thy blessings on us as a global sisterhood that we may reach out to all
and welcome all who have desires to know Thee and to know Thy Son,
and that we might minister relief to those who seek refuge and healing.
Father, tonight, we ask Thy blessing on those who will speak to us that we might all be edified by the Spirit,
and that as we listen, we may find answers to private prayers.
And as we act, we may know of a surety of Thy love.
This we say in the name of Thy beloved atoning Son, Jesus Christ, amen.
[MUSIC PLAYING] “We Listen to a Prophet’s Voice”
We listen to a prophet’s voice and hear the Savior too.
With love he bids us do the work the Lord would have us do.
The Savior calls his chosen seer to preach the word of God, That men might learn to find the path marked by the iron rod.
In ev’ry land, in ev’ry tongue, our prophet will be heard;
How swiftly round the world his voice reveals the gospel word! The sacred message that he brings will witness and agree With ev’ry prophet called of God throughout earth’s history.
Hosanna! Let our praise ascend
unto the Savior’s throne; Rejoice! The prophet has declared that by Him we are known.
Attend, ye earth! The prophet speaks; come listen and obey. He is the man who holds the keys of priesthood pow’r today.
Come listen to, a prophets voice;
and in his word today
We will now be pleased to hear from President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency. He will be followed by Sister Susan H.
Porter, first counselor in the Primary General Presidency, and Sister Rebecca L. Craven, second counselor in the Young Women General Presidency.
My dear sisters, as we begin this unique women's session of General Conference, I am pleased to deliver this introductory message from the First Presidency. Our Saturday sessions have a history of different purposes and different audiences.
This evening we add to that history as we embark upon a new purpose and procedure for the foreseeable future.
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not change. Gospel doctrine does not change.
Our personal covenants do not change.
But over the years, the meetings we hold to communicate our messages do change and very likely will continue to change over the years.
For now, this Saturday evening meeting is a session of general conference,
not a session of any organization.
Like all sessions of general conference, the planning, speakers, and music are designated by the First Presidency.
We have asked President Jean B. Bingham, President of the Relief Society, to conduct this session. Future Saturday evening sessions may be conducted by one of the other general officers of the Church, such as members of the Presidencies of Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary designated by the First Presidency. Tonight,
This Saturday evening session of general conference will concentrate
on the concerns of Latter-day Saint women.
This will include the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
the policies of the Church that relate especially to women, and the general responsibilities and work of the organizations that include the women and girls of the Church.
Though deliberately broadcast to a worldwide audience, like all sessions of general conference,
the audience invited to be present in the Conference Center for this session is women and girls age 12 and older.
We've included some priesthood leaders who preside over the participating organizations.
What we are initiating here is responsive to the communication resources currently available to the Lord’s worldwide Church leadership and membership.
The doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone.
So that is our principal motive and extent of dissemination.
We honor the daughters of God in this special session by concentrating on their concerns and those of their organizations.
We are grateful that broadcast technology now gives church leaders the capacity to conduct detailed training by addressing specific audiences in the field. We also welcome the fact that current travel opportunities are increasing. That allows us to send church leaders to conduct needed regular face-to-face
leadership training in the field. This is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are His servants, directed by His Holy Spirit.
We invoke the blessings of our Lord upon the leaders of these organizations
and upon the faithful women and girls who serve the Lord in these organizations and in their individual lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Sisters, what a joy it is to be gathered with each of you in this women’s session of General Conference.
I grew up in western New York and attended a small branch of the Church about 20 miles from our home.
As I sat in Sunday School class in the basement of our old rented chapel with only my friend Patti Cho,
I never could have imagined being part of a global sisterhood of millions of women.
Five years ago, my husband Bruce became seriously ill when we were serving with the consecrated saints in the Europe East Area.
We returned home, and he passed away only a few weeks later.
My life changed overnight. I was grieving and felt weak and vulnerable.
I pled with the Lord to direct my path. What would Thou have me do?
A few weeks later, I was going through my mail when a small picture in a catalog caught my eye. As I looked closer, I realized it was an artist's rendition of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at the well.
At that moment, the Spirit spoke clearly to me.
That is what you are supposed to do.
A loving Heavenly Father was inviting me to come to the Savior and learn.
I would like to share with you three lessons I am learning as I continue to drink from His well of living water. First,
our past and present circumstances do not determine our future. Sisters, I know that many of you feel, as I did,
unsure how to face difficult challenges and loss.
Loss because your life is not unfolding in the way you had hoped for,
prayed for, and planned for.
No matter our circumstances, our lives are sacred and have meaning and purpose.
Each of us is a beloved daughter of God, born with divinity in our souls.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, through His atoning sacrifice, made it possible for us to be cleansed and healed and enabling us to fulfill our purpose on Earth,
regardless of decisions of family members, our marital status,
physical or mental health, or any other situation.
Consider the woman at the well. What was her life like?
Jesus perceived that she had had five husbands and was currently not married to the man she was living with.
And yet, despite her life’s difficulties, one of the Savior’s first public declarations that He was the Messiah was to her. He said I, that speak unto thee,
am He. She became a powerful witness, declaring to those in her city that Jesus was the Christ. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him for the saying of the woman.
Her past and present circumstances did not determine her future. Like her,
we can choose to turn to the Savior today for the strength and healing that will enable us to fulfill all that we were sent here to do. Second, the power is in us.
In a familiar verse in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord encourages women and men to be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will and bring to pass much righteousness, for the power is in them. Sisters, the power is in us to bring to pass much righteousness.
President Russell M. Nelson testified
every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants
and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God.
I have come to know that as we strive to honor sacred covenants made at baptism and in holy temples, the Lord will bless us with His healing strengthening power and with spiritual insights and awakenings we've never had before.
Third, out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples, “Ye are the salt of the earth,
and ye are the light of the world.”
Later, he compared the growth of the kingdom of heaven to leaven,
which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. Salt, leaven, light: Even in very small amounts, each affects everything around them.
The Savior invites us to use His power to be as salt, leaven, and light. Salt.
It is surprising how much difference a sprinkling of salt makes in the flavor of what we eat.
And yet, salt is one of the least expensive and simplest ingredients.
In the book of 2 Kings, we read of a little maid who was captured by the Syrians and became a servant to the wife of Naaman, captain of the Syrian army.
She was as salt. She was young, of no worldly importance, and her life is a slave in a foreign country was clearly not what she had hoped for.
However, she spoke two sentences with the power of God,
testifying to Norman’s wife: “Would God, my Lord, were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for He would recover him of his leprosy.
Her words of faith were relayed to Naaman, who acted on her words,
allowing him to be healed, both physically and spiritually.
We often focus on the servants who convinced Naaman to bathe in the River Jordan as the prophet Elisha directed.
But Naaman would not have even been at Elisha’s door without a little maid.
You may be young or feel of no importance, but you can be as salt in your family, at school, and in your community. Leaven.
Have you ever eaten bread without leaven? How would you describe it?
Dense, heavy, hard. With only a small amount of leaven, bread rises, expanding to become lighter and softer.
When we invite the power of God into our lives, we can replace the spirit of heaviness with inspired perspectives that lift others and make room for hearts to be healed.
Recently a friend of mine lay in bed on Christmas morning, overcome with sorrow. Her children begged her to get up.
However, she was filled with the pain of her pending divorce.
Lying in bed, sobbing, she poured out her soul in prayer to her Heavenly Father, telling Him of her despair. As she concluded her prayer, the Spirit whispered to her that God knew her pain.
She was filled with His compassion for her.
This sacred experience validated her emotions and gave her hope that she was not grieving alone.
She got up, went outside, and built a snowman with her children,
replacing the heaviness of the morning with laughter and joy. Light.
How much light does it take to pierce the darkness in a room?
One small ray, and that ray of light in a dark place can emanate from the power of God in you. Even though you may feel alone as the storms of life are raging,
you can shine a light in the darkness of misunderstanding,
confusion, and unbelief. Your light of faith in Christ can be steady and sure, leading those around you to safety and peace. Sisters,
hearts can be changed and lives blessed as we offer a pinch of salt,
a spoonful of leaven, and a ray of light.
I testify that the Savior is the salt in our lives,
inviting us to taste of His joy and love.
It is He who is the leaven when our lives are hard, bringing us hope and lifting our burdens through His matchless power and redeeming love. He is our light, illuminating our path back home.
I pray that we can come to the Savior. Like the woman at the well and drink of His living water. With the people of Samaria, we can then declare,
“Now we believe, for we have heard Him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.
Not long ago, a dear friend had an impression to visit a woman in her ward. She brushed off the prompting, because she hardly knew her. It just didn't make sense.
But since the thought kept coming to her,
she decided to act on the prompting.
Because she was already feeling uncomfortable by the impending visit,
she determined that taking something to the sister would help ease her anxiety.
Certainly, she couldn’t go empty-handed.
So she bought a container of ice cream and off she went. To begin what she worried might be an awkward visit.
She knocked on the woman’s door, and shortly the sister answered.
My friend handed her the ice cream in a brown paper bag, and the conversation began.
It didn't take long for my friend to realize why the visit was needed.
They sat together on the front porch.
The woman unveiled a host of challenges she was facing.
After an hour of talking in the warm summer weather, my friend noticed the ice cream melting through the brown paper bag.
She exclaimed, “I am so sorry that your ice cream melted.”
The woman sweetly responded, “It’s okay. I’m lactose intolerant.”
In a dream, the Lord told the Prophet Lehi, “Blessed art thou, Lehi,
because of the things which thou hast done.”
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ involves more than just hoping or believing. It calls for effort, movement, and commitment.
It requires that we do something, being doers of the word and not hearers only.
In the case of the melted ice cream, what mattered most? The ice cream?
Or that my friend simply did something?
I had a sweet experience with a darling young woman who asked a very sincere question. “Sister Craven,
how do you know that anything about the Church is true?
Because I feel nothing.” Before jumping to an answer, I first asked her some questions.
“Tell me about your personal scripture study.” She replied,
“I don’t read the scriptures.” I asked, “What about with your family?
Do you study Come Follow Me together?” She said, “No.” I asked about her prayers.
“What do you feel when you pray?” Her answer: “I don’t pray.”
My response to her was simple:
“If you want to know anything, you will have to do something.”
Isn't that true with anything we want to learn or know?
I invited my new friend to start doing the gospel of Jesus Christ: praying, studying, serving others, and trusting in the Lord.
Conversion won't come while doing nothing.
It comes through the power of the Holy Ghost as we intentionally make an effort by asking, seeking, and knocking. It comes by doing.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord occasionally says, “It mattereth not.” It makes me ponder that if some things matter not or matter less,
there must be things that matter most. In our efforts to do something or do anything, we might ask ourselves what matters most.
Advertisers often use slogans such as “essential”
or “must have” in hopes of luring us to believe the product they are selling is necessary for our happiness or well-being. But is what they are selling really essential?
Must we really have it? Does it really matter?
Here are some thoughts to consider. What mattereth most—
How many likes we get on our social media posts?
Or how much we are loved and valued by our Heavenly Father?
Wearing the latest trend in clothing
or showing respect for our bodies by dressing modestly?
Finding answers through an Internet search
or receiving answers from God through the Holy Ghost? Wanting more
or being content with what we have been given?
President Russell M. Nelson teaches, “With the Holy Ghost as your companion, you can see right through the celebrity culture that has smitten our society.
You can be smarter than previous generations have ever been.
Set a standard for the rest of the world.”
It takes effort to stay focused on what is truly essential for lasting joy. Satan would love nothing more than for us to misplace our eternal values, leading us to waste precious time, talents, or spiritual strength on things that matter not.
I invite each of us to prayerfully consider those things that distract us from doing what mattereth most.
Our oldest son's third grade teacher taught her class to boss your brain.
It was a reminder to her young students that they were in control of their thoughts and could therefore control what they do.
I remind myself to boss my brain when I find myself drifting towards things that matter less.
A high school student recently told me that it has become popular among some youth of the church to disregard the commandments with a calculated plan to repent later. It's sort of a badge of honor, I was told.
Certainly the Lord will continue to forgive those who humbly repent with real intent. But the Savior’s merciful Atonement should never be used in such
a mocking way. We know the parable of the one lost sheep.
Of course, a shepherd will leave the other 99 sheep to find the one who is strayed. But can you imagine the joy that those who choose to be the 99 bring to the Good Shepherd,
the ones who stick together and help each other and live their covenants?
Can you visualize what the world or your school or your work or your home would be like if being obedient was the popular thing to do?
It's not about doing life perfectly.
It's about finding joy while doing our best to live the covenants we have made with the Lord.
With a world expressing more doubt about God and confusion and pressures increasing,
this is the time we must stay closest to the Prophet. As the Lord’s mouthpiece,
we can trust that what he urges, counsels, and pleads with us to do are things that matter most.
Although it may not be easy, there is always a way to do the right thing.
While talking with a group of friends at school,
a young woman's heart dropped when the conversation turned to criticizing the standards of the Church. She realized she couldn’t stay silent.
She had to do something. Respectfully, she spoke of the love of Heavenly Father and how the commandments He set are to bless and protect His children.
It would have been much easier for her to do nothing. But what mattered most?
Blending in with a crowd or standing as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places?
If the restored Church of Jesus Christ is going to come out of obscurity,
we must come out of obscurity. As covenant-keeping women,
we must shine our gospel light all over the world by stepping up and standing out. We do this together as daughters of God.
A force of 8.2 million women, ages 11 and beyond,
whose work is exactly the same.
We are gathering Israel as we participate in the work of salvation and exaltation, striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ,
caring for others in need,
inviting all to receive the gospel and uniting families for eternity.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of action and a gospel of joy.
Let us not underestimate our capacity to do those things that matter most.
Our divine heritage gives us courage and confidence to do and be all that our loving, loving Heavenly Father knows we can be.
The youth theme for this year is from Proverbs 3:5–6.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
A key component of trusting in the Lord is moving forward,
believing He will guide us even when we don’t have all the answers. Sisters,
it is not about the ice cream, and it is not about doing more.
It's about doing what matters.
It's applying the doctrine of Christ in our lives as we strive to become more like Him.
The more we do to stay firmly on the covenant path,
the more our faith in Jesus Christ will grow.
The more our faith grows, the more we will desire to repent.
And the more we repent, the more we will strengthen our covenant relationship with God. That covenant relationship draws us to the temple,
because keeping temple covenants is how we endure to the end. If and as we center our lives on Jesus Christ,
we will be guided to do what mattereth most,
and we will be blessed with spiritual strength, contentment, and with joy.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Thank you for your messages. On a signal from the conductor, we will stand and join the choir in singing “Come, Ye Children of the Lord.”
We will then view a short video presentation, after which it will be my privilege to address you.
[MUSIC PLAYING] “Come, Ye Children of the Lord”
This is the women’s session of the 192nd annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Come, ye children of the Lord, Let us sing with one accord. Let us raise a joyful strain To our Lord who soon will reign On this earth when it shall be
Cleansed from all iniquity,
When all men from sin will cease, And will live in love and peace.
Oh, how joyful it will be When our Savior we shall see!
When in splendor he’ll descend, Then all wickedness will end.
Oh, what songs we then will sing
To our Savior, Lord, and King! Oh, what love will then bear sway
When our fears shall flee away!
All arrayed in spotless white, We will dwell ’mid truth and light.
We will sing the songs of praise; We will shout in joyous lays.
Earth shall then be cleansed from sin.
Ev’ry living thing therein Shall in love and beauty dwell;
Then with joy each heart will swell.
In 1979, President Spencer W. Kimball was in the hospital and asked his wife Camilla to read his talk to a general women's meeting.
Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world, in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality,
will be drawn to the Church in large numbers.
This will happen to the degree that the women of
the church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives. And to the degree that the women of the church
are seen as distinct and different in happy ways from the women of the world.
My dear sisters, you, who are our vital associates during this winding-up scene, the day that President Kimball foresaw is today. You are the women he foresaw. Your virtue, light, love, knowledge, courage, character, faith, and righteous lives will draw good women of the world along with their families to the Church in unprecedented numbers.
We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.
The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God. Whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions,
your insights, and your inspiration.
We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils.
We need each married sister to speak as a contributing and full partner
as you unite with your husband in governing your family.
Married or single, you sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special intuition you have received as gifts from God.
We brethren cannot duplicate your unique influence.
We know that the culminating act of all creation was the creation of woman.
We need your strength. I thank you, my dear sisters,
and bless you to rise to your full stature
to fulfill the measure of your creation
as we walk arm in arm in this sacred work.
Together, we will help prepare the world for the second coming of the Lord.
Sisters, what a joy to gather in a worldwide sisterhood.
As women who make and keep covenants with God, we share spiritual bonds that help us meet the challenges of our day and prepare us for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
and keeping those covenants allows us to be women of influence who can draw others to the Savior. Those who have been baptized, covenanted on that never-to-be-forgotten day, to take Jesus Christ’s name upon them, to always remember Him, to keep His commandments, and to serve him to the end. When we do these things, Heavenly Father promises to forgive our sins and give us the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
These blessings start us on the path that, if we press forward and endure to the end, will allow us to live with Him and His Son in the celestial kingdom.
Every baptized person has a promise of these privileges if she or he keeps the covenant made that special day.
Those who make further covenants in the temple receive powerful promises conditioned on personal faithfulness.
We solemnly promise to obey God’s commandments,
live the gospel of Jesus Christ,
be morally pure, and dedicate our time and talents to the Lord.
In return, God promises blessings in this life and the opportunity to return to Him.
In that process, we are given or endowed with the power to discern between truth and error, between right and wrong,
amid the confusing and negative voices that bombard us. What a powerful gift.
In preparation for my first trip to the temple,
my mother and experienced Relief Society sisters helped me select the items I would need, including beautiful ceremonial clothing.
But the most important preparation came even before knowing what to wear.
After interviewing me to determine if I was worthy,
my bishop explained the covenants I would make.
His careful explanation gave me the chance to think about and be prepared to make those covenants.
When the day came, I participated with a feeling of gratitude and peace.
Even though I did not understand the full significance of the covenants I made, I did know that I was bound to God through those covenants and was promised blessings I could scarcely comprehend if I kept them.
Since that first experience, I have been continually assured that keeping the covenants we make with God allows us to draw upon the Savior's power,
which strengthens us in our inevitable trials,
provides protection from the adversary’s influence, and prepares us for eternal glory.
Life’s experiences can range from humorous to heart-wrenching,
from grim to glorious. Each experience helps us understand more about our Father’s encompassing love and our capacity to change through the Savior's gift of grace.
Keeping our covenants allows the Savior's power to cleanse us as we learn through experience,
whether it is a minor misjudgment or a major failing.
Our Redeemer is there to catch us when we fall, if we turn to Him.
Have you ever stood on a high cliff with your toes on its edge and your back to the abyss below? In rappelling, even though you are securely connected to a system of strong ropes and equipment that can deliver you to safety,
standing on the edge is still heart-racing.
Stepping backward off the cliff and swinging into thin air requires trust in an anchor secure to an immovable object. It demands trust in the person who will apply tension to the rope as you descend.
And although the equipment provides you with some ability to control your descent, you must have confidence that your partner will not allow you to fall. I vividly remember rappelling with a group of young women.
I was first in the group to go. As I stepped backwards off the cliff, I began to fall without control.
Gratefully, the rope jerked, and my too-rapid descent was stopped. As I dangled halfway down the jagged rock face,
I prayed fervently for whomever or whatever was keeping me from dropping onto the rocks.
Later, I learned that the anchor boat had not been securely set, and as I stepped off the edge, the person belaying me was jerked on his back and pulled towards the edge of the cliff. Somehow he wedged his feet against some rocks.
Stabilized in that position, he was able to laboriously lower me hand over hand with the rope.
Although I couldn't see him, I knew he was working with all his strength to save me.
Another friend was at the bottom of the cliff, prepared to catch me if the rope ceased to hold. As I came within reach,
he caught my harness and lowered me to the ground.
With Jesus Christ as our anchor and perfect partner, we are assured of His loving strength in trial and of eventual deliverance through Him.
As President M. Russell Ballard taught, “Faith in God and in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the anchor we must have in our lives to hold us fast during times of social turbulence and wickedness.
Our faith must be centered in Jesus Christ, His life and His Atonement, and in the restoration of His gospel.”
The spiritual equipment that keeps us from being broken on the rocks of adversity is our testimony of Jesus Christ and the covenants we make. We can rely on these supports to guide and carry us to safety. As our willing partner, the Savior will not allow us to fall beyond His reach.
Even in our times of suffering and sorrow,
He is there to lift and encourage. His power helps us recover from the often devastating impact of others’ choices.
However, we each must put on the harness and make sure the knots are securely tied.
We must choose to be anchored to the Savior, to be bound to Him by our covenants. How do we strengthen that anchor?
We pray with a humble heart, study and ponder the scriptures,
take the sacrament with a spirit of repentance and reverence,
strive to keep the commandments, and follow the prophet’s counsel.
And as we fulfill our everyday tasks in higher and holier ways, we become more connected to the Savior and, at the same time, help others come unto Him.
What does that higher and holier way look like?
We try to live the gospel in all our interactions.
We care for those in need by truly ministering, expressing love through simple service.
We share the good news of the gospel with those who need peace and strength and know not where to find it.
We work to unite families for eternity on both sides of the veil. And for those who have made covenants in the house of the Lord,
as President Russell M Nelson explained,
“Each adult temple patron will wear the sacred garment of the priesthood, which reminds us to walk on the covenant path each day in a higher and holier way.”
These actions are not just an occasional splurge but are essential to our daily happiness and eternal joy.
There is nothing more important to our eternal progress than keeping our covenants with God.
When our temple covenants are in force,
we can trust in a joyful reunion with loved ones on the other side of the veil. That child or parent or spouse who has left mortality is hoping, with all his or her heart, that you will be true to the covenants that bind you together.
If we disregard or treat lightly our covenants with God,
we are putting those eternal ties in danger.
Now is a time to repent, repair, and try again.
Happiness is hollow if we exchange the blessings of eternal joy
for momentary ease. No matter our age, that is the absolute truth.
The key to lasting happiness is living the gospel of Jesus Christ and keeping our covenants. Our prophet, President
Nelson, has affirmed that “our ultimate security and our only enduring happiness lies in holding to the iron rod of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, complete with its covenants and ordinances.
When we do so, we can safely navigate through rough waters, because we have access to God’s power.”
Many of us are experiencing rough waters. As we are tossed by waves of adversity and are sometimes blinded by the torrents of tears that come in those difficulties,
we may not know which direction to paddle our life’s boat.
We may not think we have the strength to get to shore.
Remembering who you are, a beloved child of God, while you’re on the earth and your goal of living with God and your loved ones can clear your vision and point you in the right direction. In the midst of the storm, there is a bright light to show the way.
“I am the light which shineth at the darkness,”
Jesus declared. We are assured of safety when we look to His light and maintain the integrity of our covenants.
It has been a privilege to meet women of all ages living in a wide variety of circumstances who are keeping their covenants.
Each day they look to the Lord and His prophet for guidance, rather than to popular media.
Despite their individual challenges and the detrimental philosophies of the world that try to dissuade them from keeping their covenants,
they are determined to stay on the covenant path.
They rely on the promise of all that the Father hath. And whatever your age,
each of you women who has made covenants with God has the ability to hold up the Lord's light and lead others to Him.
Through keeping your covenant, He will bless you with His priesthood power and enable you to have a profound influence on all with whom you interact.
As President Nelson declared,
you are the women who will fulfill the prophecies that have been foretold.
Dear sisters, above all else, stay on the covenant path to Jesus Christ.
We have been blessed to come to Earth when temples dot the globe.
Making and keeping temple covenants is available to every worthy member of the church. Young adults, you don’t need to wait until marriage or a mission to make those sacred covenants.
You can prepare as a young woman to receive the protection and strength temple covenants give as soon after the age of 18 as you are ready and feel a desire to honor those temple covenants.
You who have already received the blessings of the temple,
don’t let detractors or distractions pull you away from eternal truths.
Study and ask trusted sources for greater understanding of the sacred significance of the covenants you have made.
Go to the temple as often as you can and listen to the Spirit.
You will feel sweet reassurance that you are on the Lord's path.
You will find the courage to continue as well as to bring others with you.
I testify that as we choose to make covenants with Heavenly Father and access the power of the Savior to keep them,
we will be blessed with more happiness in this life than we can now imagine and a glorious eternal life to come. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.
Dear sisters, it has been a joy to be with you.
We express our sincere appreciation to each one of you for sharing this evening with us.
We thank the choir and all others for their participation
and gratefully acknowledge those who have assisted in preparing for this session in any way.
Our concluding speaker for this session will be Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Following his remarks, the choir will close this meeting by singing “Oh, May My Soul Commune With Thee.”
The benediction will then be offered by Andrea Spannaus, who also serves on the Relief Society General Council.
Dear sisters, thank you for being here.
I’m honored to participate in this women’s session of general conference.
On occasion, I’ve also been privileged to attend Young Women classes.
But let me point out the obvious: I’m not young,
and I’m not a woman. I learned, however, that I feel less out of place if I can recite the Young Women Theme along with the young women.
The profound doctrine taught in the Young Women Theme is important for young women, but it's applicable to all,
including those of us who aren't young women.
The Young Women Theme begins, “I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and eternal destiny.” This statement contains four important truths. First,
you are a beloved daughter. Nothing you do or don’t do can change that.
God loves you because you are His spirit daughter.
Sometimes we may not feel His love, but it is always there.
God's love is perfect. Our ability to sense that love is not.
The Spirit plays a pivotal role in communicating God's love to us.
Yet the influence of the Holy Ghost can be obscured by strong emotions such as anger, hate, or fear. Like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeño pepper,
one flavor completely overpowers the other.
So, too, behaviors that distance us from the Holy Ghost, including sin,
make it difficult for us to perceive God's love for us.
Similarly, our sense of God's love may be blunted by challenging circumstances and physical or mental illness, among other things.
In all these cases, the counsel of trusted leaders or professionals can be beneficial. We can also try to improve our receptivity to God's love by asking ourselves, “Is my love for God constant?
Or do I love him when I have good days, but not so much when I have bad days?”
The second truth is that we have heavenly parents,
a Father and a Mother. The doctrine of a Heavenly Mother comes by revelation
and is a distinctive belief among Latter-day Saints.
President Dallin H. Oaks explained the importance of this truth.
Our theology begins with heavenly parents.
Our highest aspiration is to be like Them.
Very little has been revealed about Mother in Heaven.
But what we do know is summarized in a Gospel Topic found in our Gospel Library application.
Once you've read what's there,
you'll know everything that I know about the subject. I wish I knew more.
You, too, may still have questions and want to find more answers.
Seeking greater understanding is an important part of our spiritual development. But please be cautious.
Reason cannot replace revelation.
Speculation won't lead to greater spiritual knowledge,
but it can lead us to deception or divert us
and divert our focus from what has been revealed.
For example, the Savior taught His disciples,
“Always pray unto the Father in my name.”
We follow this pattern and direct our worship to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, and do not pray to Heavenly Mother.
Ever since God appointed prophets, they’ve been authorized to speak on His behalf,
but they don't pronounce doctrines fabricated of their own mind
or teach what hasn't been revealed.
Consider the words of the Old Testament prophet Balaam, who was offered a bribe to coerce the Israelites to benefit Moab,
Balaam said, “If the King of Moab would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord, my God,
to do less or more. Latter-day prophets are similarly constrained.
Demanding revelation from God is both arrogant and unproductive.
Instead, we wait on the Lord and His timetable to reveal His truths through the means that He has established.
The third truth in the opening paragraph of the Young Women Theme is that we have a divine nature.
This is intrinsic to who we are.
It's spiritually genetic,
inherited from our heavenly parents, and requires no effort on our part.
This is our most important identity,
regardless of how else we choose to identify ourselves.
Understanding this profound truth is important for everyone,
but especially for individuals belonging to groups who've been historically marginalized, oppressed, or subjugated.
Remember that your most important identity relates to your divine nature as a child of God. The fourth truth is that we have an eternal destiny.
Such a destiny will not be forced on us.
After death, we will receive what we've qualified for
and enjoy only that which we're willing to receive.
Realizing our eternal destiny is dependent on our choices.
It requires making and keeping sacred covenants.
This covenant path is the way we come unto Christ and is based on absolute truth and eternal, unchanging law.
We cannot create our own path and expect God's promised outcomes.
To expect His blessings while not following the eternal laws upon which they're predicated is misguided,
like thinking we can touch a hot stove and decide not to be burned.
You may know that I used to treat patients with heart failure.
Their best outcomes were obtained by following established, evidence-based treatment plans. Despite knowing this, some patients tried to negotiate a different treatment plan.
They said, “I don’t want to take so many medications,” or
“I don’t want to undergo so many follow-up tests.”
Of course, patients were free to make their own decisions,
but if they deviated from the optimal treatment plans, their results suffered.
Patients with heart failure cannot choose an inferior course
and blame their cardiologists for inferior outcomes.
The same is true for us. Heavenly Father's prescribed path leads to the best eternal outcomes.
We are free to choose, but we cannot choose the consequences of not following the revealed path.
The Lord has said that which breaketh the law and abideth not by law,
but seeketh to become a law unto itself, cannot be sanctified by law,
neither by mercy, justice nor judgment.
We cannot deviate from Heavenly Father's course and then blame Him
for inferior outcomes. The second paragraph in the Young Women Theme reads, “As a disciple of Jesus Christ,
I strive to become like Him.
I seek and act upon personal revelation and minister to others in His holy name.”
We can develop a testimony of Jesus Christ by acting in faith.
We can claim the spiritual gift to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He was crucified for the sins of the world.
Or we can receive the gift to believe on the words of those who do know
until we know for ourselves.
We can follow the Savior’s teachings and help others come unto Him.
In this way, we join Him in His work. The Young Women Theme continues.
“I will stand as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places.” All members of the Church are needed as witnesses of God, although Apostles and Seventies are commissioned as special witnesses of the name of Christ.
Imagine a soccer match in which only the goalie protects the goal.
Without the help of the other team players,
the goalie won’t be able to adequately defend the goal, and the team will always lose. So, too, everyone is needed on the Lord’s team.
The final paragraph of the Young Women Theme begins, “As I strive to qualify
for exaltation, I cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day.” Because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice,
we can repent, learn from our mistakes, and not be condemned by them.
President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Too many people consider repentance as punishment. But this feeling of being penalized is engendered by Satan.
He tries to block us from looking to Jesus Christ, who stands with open arms,
hoping and willing to heal, forgive, cleanse, strengthen,
purify, and sanctify us.” When we sincerely repent,
no spiritual scar remains,
no matter what we’ve done,
how serious it was, or how many times we repeated it.
As often as we repent and seek forgiveness with real intent,
we can be forgiven. What a remarkable gift from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost can assure us that we’ve been forgiven. As we sense joy and peace, guilt is swept away,
and we're no longer tormented by our sin.
Even after sincere repentance, however, we may stumble.
Stumbling doesn’t mean that the repentance was inadequate
but may simply reflect human weakness.
How comforting to know that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than He sees rebellion.
We shouldn't doubt the Savior's ability to help us with our weaknesses,
because when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy.
The Young Woman Theme concludes, “With faith,
I will strengthen my home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, [and]
receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple.”
Strengthening home and family may mean forging the first link in a chain of faithfulness, carrying on a legacy of faith or restoring it.
Regardless, strength comes through faith in Jesus Christ and by making sacred covenants. In the temple, we learn who we are and where we have been.
The Roman philosopher Cicero said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always as a child.”
He was, of course, referring to secular history.
But his astute observation can be expanded. We live as perpetual children
if we’re ignorant of the eternal perspective gained in temples. There, we grow up in the Lord, receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost,
and become more fully committed as disciples of the Savior.
As we keep our covenants, we receive God's power in our lives.
I invite you to center your life on Jesus Christ and remember the foundational truths in the Young Women Theme.
If you are willing, the Holy Ghost will guide you.
Our Heavenly Father wants you to become His heir and receive all that He has.
He cannot offer you more. He cannot promise you more.
He loves you more than you know and wants you to be happy in this life
and in the life to come. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
[MUSIC PLAYING] “Oh May My Soul Commune with Thee”
Oh, may my soul commune with thee And find thy holy peace;
From worldly care and pain of fear,
Please bring me sweet release.
Oh, bless me when I worship thee To keep my heart in tune,
That I may hear thy still, small voice,
And, Lord, with thee commune.
Enfold me in thy quiet hour
And gently guide my mind
To seek thy will, to know thy ways,
And thy sweet Spirit find.
Lord, grant me thy abiding love And make my turmoil cease.
Oh, may my soul commune with thee
And find thy holy peace.
And find thy holy peace.
Our dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful.
At this time, our hearts are full.
We thank Thee, Father, for the opportunity to gather together,
to be taught and guided by Thy prophets and leaders.
We thank Thee, Father, for our Savior, Jesus Christ, for His love, His mercy,
and His eternal, atoning sacrifice.
Please, Father, help us as women to use our knowledge and our influence always for good, to help others. Help us align our desires, our thoughts to Thy will and to our
divine identity. We love Thee, dear Father, and we offer this prayer humbly in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
This has been a broadcast of the women’s session of the 192nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Speakers were selected from leaders of the church.
Music for this session was provided by a women’s choir from various stakes in the Utah Area.
This broadcast has been furnished as a public service by Bonneville Distribution.
Any reproduction, recording, transcription, or other use of this program without written consent
is prohibited.