“Learning from Conference,” New Era, May 2016, 20–22
Learning from Conference
Keep Trying
“If in the days ahead you not only see limitations in those around you but also find elements in your own life that don’t yet measure up to the messages you have heard this weekend, please don’t be cast down in spirit and don’t give up. The gospel, the Church, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are not intended to discourage you. Only the adversary, the enemy of us all, would try to convince us that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don’t really improve, that no one really progresses. … Don’t fall for that. With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.
“… May [a loving Father in Heaven] bless us to strive with patience and persistence toward the ideals we have heard proclaimed this conference weekend, knowing that His divine love and unfailing help will be with us even when we struggle—no, will be with us especially when we struggle.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Listen Carefully
“True testimony will be given to the speakers. Their words may be few, but they will be carried into the heart of the humble listener who has come to the conference hungry for the good word of God.
“… Listen carefully to the testimonies borne in this conference—you will feel closer to the Lord.”
President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency
He can make us whole no matter what is broken in us.
Elder Paul V. Johnson
Of the Seventy
April 2016 general conference
“The reality of the Resurrection of the Savior overwhelms our heartbreak with hope because with it comes the assurance that all the other promises of the gospel are just as real—promises that are no less miraculous than the Resurrection. We know that He has the power to cleanse us from all our sins. We know that He has taken upon Himself all our infirmities, pains, and the injustices we have suffered [see Alma 7:11–12]. We know that He has ‘rise[n] from the dead, with healing in his wings’ [2 Nephi 25:13]. We know that He can make us whole no matter what is broken in us. We know that He ‘shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain’ [Revelation 21:4]. We know that we can be ‘made perfect through Jesus … , who wrought out this perfect atonement’ [D&C 76:69], if we will just have faith and follow Him.”
Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy, April 2016 general conference
Love is making space in your life for someone else.
Neill F. Marriott
Second counselor in the Young Women general presidency
April 2016 general conference
“Love is making space in your life for someone else. …
“Mothers literally make room in their bodies to nurture an unborn baby—and hopefully a place in their hearts as they raise them—but nurturing is not limited to bearing children. Eve was called a ‘mother’ before she had children [see Genesis 3:20]. I believe that ‘to mother’ means ‘to give life.’ Think of the many ways you give life. It could mean giving emotional life to the hopeless or spiritual life to the doubter. With the help of the Holy Ghost, we can create an emotionally healing place for the discriminated against, the rejected, and the stranger. In these tender yet powerful ways, we build the kingdom of God. Sisters, all of us came to earth with these life-giving, nurturing, maternal gifts because that is God’s plan.”
Neill F. Marriott, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 2016 general conference
Invitations to Act
Look for invitations given in conference talks that can help you improve, like these:
President Monson: Remember who you are and what God expects you to become. You are a child of promise.
President Monson: Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
President Eyring: Go and serve. … Remember the Lord as you go in service for Him.
President Uchtdorf: If you cannot muster faith right now, begin with hope.
President Nelson: Live up to [your] privileges as bearers of the priesthood.
Elder Christofferson: Honor [your father] and your mother by your own life.
Elder Renlund: Prepare conscientiously and partake worthily of the sacrament each week.
Sister Marriott: Use [your] unique gifts to nurture, to speak up, and to defend gospel truth.
Sister Burton: Prayerfully determine what you can do—according to your own time and circumstance—to serve the refugees living in your neighborhoods and communities.
What others have you found?
Scriptures in General Conference
You can have more of your questions answered by studying general conference on your own, including looking up scriptures that were used in the talks.
Here are the scriptures that were referred to most often:
Several other seminary scripture mastery verses were mentioned by more than one speaker: