2009
Summary for the 179th Semiannual General Conference
November 2009

“Summary for the 179th Semiannual General Conference,” Liahona, Nov. 2009, 2–3

Summary for the 179th Semiannual General Conference

Saturday Morning, October 3, 2009, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Henry B. Eyring. Invocation: Elder John M. Madsen. Benediction: Elder Clate W. Mask Jr. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, directors; Clay Christiansen and Richard Elliott, organists: “Glory to God on High,” Hymns, no. 67; “Rejoice, the Lord Is King!” Hymns, no. 66; “Choose the Right,” Hymns, no. 239, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” Hymns, no. 19; “My Heavenly Father Loves Me,” Children’s Songbook, 228–29, arr. Hofheins, unpublished; “Oh, May My Soul Commune with Thee,” Hymns, no. 123; “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, no. 30, arr. Wilberg, unpublished.

Saturday Afternoon, October 3, 2009, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Henry B. Eyring. Invocation: Elder Carlos H. Amado. Benediction: Elder Robert S. Wood. Music by a combined ward choir from stakes in Bountiful and Farmington, Utah; Michael Huff, director; Linda Margetts, organist: “Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise,” Hymns, no. 41; “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free,” Hymns, no. 240, arr. Huff, unpublished; “Come, Ye Children of the Lord,” Hymns, no. 58; “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Hymns, no. 136, arr. Huff, unpublished.

Saturday Evening, October 3, 2009, Priesthood Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Invocation: Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander. Benediction: Elder Lance B. Wickman. Music by an Aaronic Priesthood choir from stakes in West Jordan, Utah; Neil Hendriksen, director; Andrew Unsworth, organist: “High on the Mountain Top,” Hymns, no. 333; “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” Hymns, no. 142, arr. de Azevedo, pub. Embryo; “Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 27; “Rise Up, O Men of God,” Hymns, no. 324, arr. Staheli, pub. Jackman.

Sunday Morning, October 4, 2009, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Thomas S. Monson. Invocation: Elder Glenn L. Pace. Benediction: Elder Enrique R. Falabella. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, directors; Richard Elliott and Andrew Unsworth, organists: “Sing Praise to Him,” Hymns, no. 70; “I Need Thee Every Hour,” Hymns, no. 98; “Beautiful Zion, Built Above,” Hymns, no. 44, arr. Wilberg, unpublished; “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85; “Love Is Spoken Here,” Children’s Songbook, 190–91, arr. Cardon, unpublished; “Have I Done Any Good?” Hymns, no. 223, arr. Zabriskie, pub. Plum.

Sunday Afternoon, October 4, 2009, General Session

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Invocation: Elder Marlin K. Jensen. Benediction: Elder W. Douglas Shumway. Music by the Tabernacle Choir; Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, directors; Bonnie Goodliffe and Linda Margetts, organists: “In Hymns of Praise,” Hymns, no. 75, arr. Murphy, unpublished; “O Divine Redeemer,” Gounod, pub. IRI; “Hope of Israel,” Hymns, no. 259; “Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing,” Hymns, no. 163, arr. Wilberg, unpublished.

Saturday Evening, September 26, 2009, General Relief Society Meeting

Presiding: President Thomas S. Monson. Conducting: Julie B. Beck. Invocation: Martha Johnson. Benediction: Carole M. Stephens. Music by a Relief Society choir from stakes in West Point, Clearfield, Clinton, Sunset, and Syracuse, Utah; Cathy Jolley, director; Bonnie Goodliffe, organist: “There Is Sunshine in My Soul,” Hymns, no. 227; “As Sisters in Zion,” Hymns, no. 309, arr. Boothe, unpublished (flutes: Nancy Toone and Cory Maxfield); “How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85, descant arr. Webb, unpublished; “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah,” Hymns, no. 83, arr. Wilberg, pub. IRI.

Conference Talks Available

To access general conference talks in many languages, visit conference.lds.org. Then select a language. Generally within two months following conference, audio recordings are available at distribution centers.

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

King Benjamin’s Address, by Jeremy C. Winborg, may not be copied.

Conference Photography

Scenes of general conference in Salt Lake City were taken by Craig Dimond, Welden C. Andersen, John Luke, Matthew Reier, Christina Smith, Les Nilsson, Scott Davis, Lindsay Briggs, Rod Boam, Alpha Smoot, Cody Bell, Mark Weinberg, Weston Colton, Ashton Rodgers, and Shannon Norton; in Brazil by Laureni Ademar Fochetto; in Germany by Ruth Sipus; in Minnesota, USA, by Nell Hegdahl; in Namibia by Matthew Haugen; in Norway by Arne H. M. Fagertun; in Nova Scotia, Canada, by Ronald Smith; and in Peru by Juan Pablo Aragón Armas.

Speakers in Alphabetical Order

  • Allred, Silvia H., 115

  • Andersen, Neil L., 40

  • Ballard, M. Russell, 47

  • Beck, Julie B., 110

  • Bednar, David A., 17

  • Burton, H. David, 76

  • Callister, Tad R., 35

  • Choi, Yoon Hwan, 53

  • Christofferson, D. Todd, 105

  • Clayton, L. Whitney, 12

  • Cook, Quentin L., 91

  • Dibb, Ann M., 79

  • Eyring, Henry B., 25, 59, 70, 121

  • González, Walter F., 50

  • Hales, Robert D., 29

  • Holland, Jeffrey R., 88

  • Matsumori, Vicki F., 10

  • Monson, Thomas S., 4, 62, 84, 109

  • Nelson, Russell M., 81

  • Nielson, Brent H., 95

  • Oaks, Dallin H., 26

  • Osguthorpe, Russell T., 15

  • Packer, Boyd K., 43

  • Perry, L. Tom, 73

  • Renlund, Dale G., 97

  • Ringwood, Michael T., 100

  • Scott, Richard G., 6

  • Sitati, Joseph W., 103

  • Thompson, Barbara, 118

  • Uchtdorf, Dieter F., 21, 55

  • Watson, Kent D., 38

  • Zeballos, Jorge F., 33

Topic Index

  • Aaronic Priesthood, 59

  • Accountability, 91

  • Agency, 105

  • Anger, 62

  • Atonement, 12, 33, 40

  • Book of Mormon, 50, 88

  • Burdens, 12

  • Chastity, 91, 105

  • Commandments, 26

  • Communication, 47

  • Compassion, 84

  • Confidence, 59

  • Conversion, 97, 100

  • Covenants, 103

  • Discernment, 81

  • Discipleship, 21

  • Divine nature, 118

  • Endurance, 55, 88, 97

  • Eternal life, 33

  • Example, 53, 76

  • Faith, 59, 97, 110

  • Family, 17, 26, 70, 91

  • Fathers, 47

  • Forgiveness, 40

  • Godhead, 35

  • God’s love, 21, 26

  • Heavenly Father, 29

  • Holy Ghost, 6, 10, 29, 43

  • Home, 17

  • Hope, 21, 88

  • Humility, 100

  • Inspiration, 6, 10, 15, 43, 81

  • Integrity, 76, 105

  • Jesus Christ, 29, 38, 70, 109

  • Leadership, 53

  • Learning, 15, 55

  • Love, 17, 21, 26, 53, 70, 84

  • Missionary work, 4, 50, 73, 95, 103

  • Moral discipline, 105

  • Obedience, 21, 79, 100, 109

  • Perfection, 33

  • Pioneers, 73

  • Pornography, 6

  • Power, 6

  • Prayer, 43, 81

  • Preparation, 59

  • Priesthood, 50, 62

  • Prophecy, 95

  • Prophets, 29

  • Provident living, 38

  • Purity, 91

  • Regret, 62

  • Relief Society, 110, 115, 118, 121

  • Repentance, 12, 40

  • Restoration, 35, 103

  • Rising generation, 95

  • Safety, 79

  • Scriptures, 79

  • Self-mastery, 62

  • Service, 84, 91, 110, 115, 121

  • Sin, 12

  • Smith, Joseph, 35

  • Stewardship, 91

  • Teaching, 15

  • Temperance, 38

  • Temples, 4, 73

  • Testimony, 10, 17, 29, 109, 118

  • Trust, 47

  • Virtues, 76

  • Visiting teaching, 110, 121

  • Women, 115

  • Work, 55

  • Worthiness, 95

  • Young Men, 47, 53

  • Young Women, 118