In a recent Western Canada member meeting with Sister and President Nelson, Elder and Sister Renlund, Sister Nelson shared some fascinating insights on this recent General Conference. Here are a few of the things she said (full meeting can be found here):
- I know more than ever that General Conference is filled with truths directly FROM the Lord and directed BY the Lord. And because of that, I know now more than ever that opposition to General Conference will always be FIERCE and RELENTLESS, so thank you for your prayers.
- Here’s the truth: the adversary goes to extraordinary lengths to try to prevent truth from being spoken and to prevent truth from being received. We knew that October 2022 General Conference was going to be a singular experience based solely upon the number and intensity of trials and attacks prior to Conference. That’s probably all I need to say about that at this point. However, look me up in the next world and I’ll tell you more. A lot more.
- Brothers and Sisters, I wonder if you and I would study, in just a little different way, actually, perhaps in a much different way, each truth we received from this past General Conference if we had any idea of the price paid by our leaders to offer each truth to us?
- Think of just one truth you received from our recent General Conference. Now, would you treasure that truth? Want to share that truth? Want to live that truth with even more joy and exactness if, under each speaker’s name, there were a caption noting what she or he had to go through, had to sacrifice, even had to suffer, in order to speak that one truth?
- My dear brothers and sisters, many speakers at our recent General Conference paid a high price to deliver their messages, and many of the over 200 million who experienced General Conference, came well prepared, spiritually hungering to receive truth. And that is why October 2022 General Conference was remarkable.
- I know now more than ever that for you and for me to be spiritually and even temporally safe now is the time to stop putting question marks after what is said by the Lord’s prophets, seers and revelators. If we’re going to be safe and stay safe, it is now time to use exclamation points after everything they say.
- That’s exactly what President Nelson did long before he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve, and that’s exactly what will fortify our testimonies and help us through our Abrahamic tests and Abinadi moments.
- When you and I find ourselves desperately wanting to follow divine counsel, we will be becoming the righteous people President Nelson pleads for us to become, quote: “A people who are able, ready and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again” end quote.
- I can assure you that President Nelson is NOT given to hyperbole. Not at all. I know more than ever that when he speaks from the pulpit, he is NEVER exaggerating in order to cheer us up or pep us up. He only wants to offer the truth. With that in mind, listen to some of his words from October 2022 General Conference:
“My dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In the coming days we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns with power and great glory, He will bestow countless privileges, blessings and miracles upon the faithful.” - I know now more than ever that what President Nelson says is what the Lord would have Him say. President Nelson is the Lord’s prophet. Chosen and prepared and instructed by Him. I know more than ever that this is The Church of Jesus Christ. It is called by His name because it is His church. Jesus Christ stands at the head. I know more than ever that the Savior is counting on you and me to be His saints in these latter days, and He is providing the way through the words of His prophets.
This concludes what Sister Nelson shared with the saints in Western Canada. So what did prophets and apostles—these Special Witnesses of Christ to all the world—say earlier this month in General Conference? What warnings did they give as watchmen on the tower? What blessings did they promise? What truths did they testify of? What invitations did they extend to you and I? Here are just a few that our Family Proclamation team found:
President Nelson
- In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,”1 He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.
- I plead with you now—to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.
- My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.14
- I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.
- With the power of the holy apostleship vested in me, I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.
- Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, stand ready to help you. I urge you to increase your efforts to seek Their help.
- It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.
- My dear brothers and sisters, may you focus on the temple in ways you never have before. I bless you to grow closer to God and Jesus Christ every day. I love you. May God be with you until we meet again.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
My dear young friends, if the Savior were here right now, what would He say to you? … [He would tell you that] You can find confidence, peace, safety, happiness, and belonging now and eternally, because you will find all of it in Jesus Christ, in His gospel, and in His Church.
Of this I bear my solemn witness as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and leave you my heartfelt blessing.
Elder Dale G. Renlund
I invite you to have the confidence to claim personal revelation for yourself, understanding what God has revealed, consistent with the scriptures and the commandments He has given through His appointed prophets and within your own purview and agency. I know that the Holy Ghost can and will show you all things that you should do.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband
As an Apostle of the Lord, I invite you to follow our beloved prophet, President Nelson, in flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon. The need is so great; we need to act now. I promise that you will be participating in “the greatest work on earth,” the gathering of Israel … I testify that by divine design the Book of Mormon was prepared in ancient America to come forth to declare God’s word, to bring souls to the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel “this day.”
President M. Russell Ballard
I testify that as we follow Jesus Christ with footsteps of faith, there is hope. There is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope for all in this life. … I testify that there is hope and peace in Christ. He can carry us today through difficult times. He did it for the early pioneers, and He will do it now for each one of us.
Elder Ulysses Soares
I testify to you that as we—women and men—work together in a true and equal partnership, we will enjoy the unity taught by the Savior as we fulfill the divine responsibilities in our marriage relationships. I promise you, in the name of Christ, that hearts will be “knit together in unity and in love one towards another,” we will find more joy in our journey to eternal life, and our capacity to serve one another and with one another will multiply significantly. I bear witness to these truths in the holy name of the Savior Jesus Christ,
Elder Anderson
I know He lives and guides His holy work. I do not fully have the words to express my love for Him. … As you allow your love for the Savior and His love for you to sink deep into your heart, I promise you added confidence, peace, and joy in meeting the challenges of your life.
Elder Gary L. Stephenson
I promise that as you more fully understand what a testimony is, and as you share it, you will overcome obstacles of uncertainty and fear, enabling you to nurture and keep this most precious possession, your testimony. … I invite you to seek opportunities to bear your testimony in word and in deed.
Elder Quinten L Cook
Avoid pornography, evaluate the appropriateness of what we are streaming in our homes, and avoid every form of sinful conduct. … As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I bear my sure witness of the Savior’s divinity and the reality of His Atonement.
Elder David A. Bednar
As we appropriately seek for the spiritual gift of eyes to see and ears to hear … I promise that we will be blessed with the capacity and judgment to strengthen our covenant connection with the living Lord. We also will receive the power of godliness in our lives.
… I joyfully declare my witness of the divinity and living reality of God, our Eternal Father, and of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that He lives. And I also witness that the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, thus initiating the Restoration of the Savior’s gospel in the latter days.