2008
Conference Summary for the 178th Annual General Conference
May 2008

“Conference Summary for the 178th Annual General Conference,” Ensign, May 2008, 2–3

Conference Summary for the 178th Annual General Conference

Saturday Morning, April 5, 2008, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Thomas S. Monson. Invocation: Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen. Benediction: Elder Ulisses Soares. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg, director; Clay Christiansen and Richard Elliott, organists: “How Wondrous and Great,” Hymns, no. 267; “Lead, Kindly Light,” Hymns, no. 97, arr. Wilberg, pub. Deseret Book; “Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 27, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” Hymns, no. 19; “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go,” Hymns, no. 270, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “Come, Follow Me,” Hymns, no. 116, arr. Manookin, pub. Sonos.

Saturday Afternoon, April 5, 2008, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Invocation: Elder Gary J. Coleman. Benediction: Elder Stanley G. Ellis. Music by a combined choir from Brigham Young University; Ronald Staheli and Rosalind Hall, directors; Bonnie Goodliffe, organist: “The Morning Breaks,” Hymns, no. 1, arr. Staheli, unpublished; “Lean on My Ample Arm,” Hymns, no. 120; “Redeemer of Israel,” Hymns, no. 6; “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me,” Hymns, no. 104, arr. Manookin, pub. Sonos.

Saturday Evening, April 5, 2008, Priesthood Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Thomas S. Monson. Invocation: Elder Mervyn B. Arnold. Benediction: Elder Larry W. Gibbons. Music by a priesthood choir from the Logan and Ogden institutes; J. Nyles Salmond, Lynn Hopkins, and Jerald F. Simon, directors; Andrew Unsworth, organist: “Rise Up, O Men of God,” Hymns (1948), no. 332; “An Angel from on High,” Hymns, no. 328, arr. Unsworth, unpublished; “Ye Elders of Israel,” Hymns, no. 319; “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free,” Hymns, no. 240, arr. Unsworth, unpublished.

Sunday Morning, April 6, 2008, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Thomas S. Monson. Invocation: Elder Anthony D. Perkins. Benediction: Elder Benjamín De Hoyos. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg, director; Richard Elliott and Andrew Unsworth, organists: “Rejoice, the Lord Is King!” Hymns, no. 66; “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer,” Hymns, no. 26; “He Sent His Son,” Children’s Songbook, 34–35, arr. Hofheins, unpublished; “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85; “If You Could Hie to Kolob,” Hymns (1948), no. 257, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “High on the Mountain Top,” Hymns, no. 5, arr. Wilberg, unpublished.

Sunday Afternoon, April 6, 2008, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Invocation: Elder C. Scott Grow. Benediction: Elder Bruce C. Hafen. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg, director; Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe, organists: “For the Beauty of the Earth,” Hymns, no. 92, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “Called to Serve,” Hymns, no. 249, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah,” Hymns, no. 83; “God Bless Our Prophet Dear,” Hymns, no. 24, arr. Wilberg, unpublished.

Saturday Evening, March 29, 2008, General Young Women Meeting

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: Susan W. Tanner. Invocation: Miranda Kuhni. Benediction: Jennifer Thorup. Music by a Young Women choir from Cache Valley in the Utah North Area; Merrilee Webb, director; Bonnie Goodliffe, organist: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” Hymns, no. 72, arr. Webb, unpublished; “I’m Trying to Be like Jesus,” Children’s Songbook, 78–79, arr. Christofferson, unpublished (flute: Helen McGarr); “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85, arr. Kasen, pub. Jackman; “Press Forward, Saints,” Hymns, no. 81, descant arr. Webb, unpublished.

Conference Recordings Available

Recordings of conference sessions are available at www.lds.org. Generally within two months following conference, recordings are also available at distribution centers. Recordings for individuals who are deaf are available at www.lds.org/asl and generally within two months following conference from distribution centers (three DVDs with a signing inset). For more information, call 1-800-537-5971 or log on to www.ldscatalog.com.

Conference Talks on the Internet

To access general conference talks on the Internet in many languages, visit www.lds.org. Click on Gospel Library and General Conference. Then select a language.

Home and Visiting Teaching Messages

For home and visiting teaching messages, please select an address that best meets the needs of those you visit.

On the Cover

Front: Photograph by John Luke. Back: Photograph by Craig Dimond.

Conference Photography

Scenes of general conference in Salt Lake City were taken by Craig Dimond, Welden C. Andersen, John Luke, Christina Smith, Les Nilsson, Emily Beus, Scott Davis, Rod Boam, Cody Bell, Lindsay Briggs, and Hillary Holbrook; in Argentina by Javier Coronati; in Australia by Colin Legertwood; in Belize by Colin Howard Blair; in Brazil by Israel Antunes and Laureni Fochetto; in Idaho, USA, by John Snyder; in Korea by Hyun-Gyu Lee; in Madagascar by Sean Peterson; and in Wales by Ellen Jones.

Speakers Listed in Alphabetical Order

  • Amado, Carlos H., 35

  • Ballard, M. Russell, 108

  • Bednar, David A., 94

  • Burgess, Dean R., 53

  • Burton, H. David, 51

  • Child, Sheldon F., 79

  • Christensen, Craig C., 105

  • Christofferson, D. Todd, 76

  • Cook, Mary N., 120

  • Cook, Quentin L., 47

  • Dalton, Elaine S., 116

  • Eyring, Henry B., 20, 61, 123

  • Hales, Robert D., 29

  • Holland, Jeffrey R., 91

  • Johnson, Kenneth, 15

  • Lant, Cheryl C., 13

  • Lund, Gerald N., 32

  • Madsen, John M., 55

  • Monson, Thomas S., 65, 87, 111

  • Nelson, Russell M., 7

  • Neuenschwander, Dennis B., 101

  • Oaks, Dallin H., 26

  • Packer, Boyd K., 83

  • Perry, L. Tom, 44

  • Rasband, Ronald A., 11

  • Scott, Richard G., 40

  • Steuer, Robert R., 99

  • Tanner, Susan W., 81, 113

  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., 4, 57, 68

  • Walker, William R., 37

  • Wickman, Lance B., 103

  • Wirthlin, Joseph B., 17

  • Zwick, W. Craig, 97

Topic Index

  • Aaronic Priesthood, 53, 55

  • Abuse, 40

  • Adversity, 111

  • Apostles, 83

  • Atonement, 35, 40, 103

  • Authority, 83

  • Baptism, 44

  • Blessings, 79

  • Book of Mormon, 105

  • Callings, 68

  • Chastity, 81

  • Choice and accountability, 123

  • Conversion, 13

  • Courage, 65, 97, 101, 116

  • Covenants, 53, 61

  • Differences, 17

  • Divine nature, 53

  • Enduring, 44

  • Error, 57

  • Eternal life, 44

  • Exaltation, 7

  • Example, 15, 65

  • Experience, 11

  • Faith, 11, 15, 20, 68, 94, 101, 116

  • Family, 7, 13, 15, 47, 61, 81, 108, 111

  • First Presidency, 37

  • Generosity, 51

  • Godhead, 29

  • Gospel, 68

  • Gratitude, 20

  • Healing, 40

  • Heritage, 68, 87

  • Holy Ghost, 26, 32, 57, 91, 99, 113, 123

  • Humanitarian aid, 51

  • Individuals, 17, 101

  • Jesus Christ, 29, 35, 55, 76, 101, 113, 116

  • Joy, 81

  • Kindness, 17

  • Knowledge, 26

  • Leadership, 37, 87

  • Light of Christ, 99, 123

  • Love, 111

  • Mercy, 103

  • Missionary work, 105

  • Modesty, 118, 120

  • Motherhood, 108

  • Obedience, 15, 79, 94, 116, 120

  • Potential, 55

  • Prayer, 94, 118

  • Priesthood, 65, 83

  • Prophets, 47, 57, 87

  • Purity, 32

  • Repentance, 17, 44, 57, 76, 103

  • Revelation, 32, 91, 118

  • Salvation, 7

  • Scripture, 91, 118

  • Service, 35, 51, 61, 65

  • Smith, Joseph, 105

  • Spiritual rebirth, 76

  • Standards, 97

  • Succession, 37, 87

  • Sustaining, 20

  • Temptation, 97

  • Testimony, 11, 26, 29, 87, 99, 120

  • Tithing, 79

  • Traditions, 13

  • Truth, 20, 99

  • Unity, 87

  • Witness, 113

  • Womanhood, 81, 108

  • Word of Wisdom, 47