Report of the 164th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sermons and proceedings of October 1–2, 1994, from the Tabernacle on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

“We are at a time in the history of the world and the growth of the Church,” said President Howard W. Hunter at the Sunday closing session of the October general conference, “when we must think more of holy things and act more like the Savior would expect his disciples to act. We should at every opportunity ask ourselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’ and then act more courageously upon the answer. We must be about his work as he was about his Father’s. We should make every effort to become like Christ, the one perfect and sinless example this world has ever seen. …

“Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience.

“Let us share with our children the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. And let us teach them more earnestly and more comfortably the things we can appropriately say about the purposes of the house of the Lord.

“Let us prepare every missionary to go to the temple worthily and to make that experience an even greater highlight than receiving the mission call. Let us plan for and teach and plead with our children to marry in the house of the Lord. Let us reaffirm more vigorously than we ever have in the past that it does matter where you marry and by what authority you are pronounced man and wife.

“All of our efforts in proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead lead to the holy temple. This is because the temple ordinances are absolutely crucial; we cannot return to God’s presence without them,” proclaimed President Hunter.

With this powerful and moving summary, President Hunter closed the October general conference, which was beamed via satellite in English and in many other languages to thousands of locations around the world.

Conducting conference sessions were President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency.

Conference proceedings included the sustaining of President Hunter, President Hinckley, President Monson, and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in solemn assembly during the opening conference session on Saturday, October 1 (see pages 4–5). Also sustained were other General Authorities and the general auxiliary leaders of the Church. This included sustaining three new members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (see pages 6, 103–5), granting emeritus status to one Seventy and releasing seven others (see pages 6, 103–4), calling a new Sunday School general presidency, releasing the Primary general presidency and a counselor in the Young Women general presidency, and sustaining a new Primary general presidency and a new counselor in the Young Women general presidency (see pages 6, 103–4, 106–7).

Videotapes of conference are sent to Church units where transmission of conference is not available.—The Editors