Sunday Conference Sessions

Morning Session


Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I testify that the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the faith of our Heavenly Father. It is His truth revealed to his servants the Prophets from the days of father Adam until our own time. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith to restore the faith of our Father on this earth, never to be taken away again. God desires that all of his children receive it, irrespective of their background, culture, or tradition. True religion should not originate from what pleases men, or the traditions of ancestors. But, rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father.

Elder d. Todd Christofferson
It is faith in Christ as the Atoning One, the Redeemer, who can cleanse from sin and make holy. To be complete however, repentance requires a covenant of obedience. Baptism unto repentance is the culminating step. The capstone of our repentance. Then the Lord baptizes us by fire, or the Holy Ghost. As members continue in the path of rebirth, temptations will lose their appeal, and through Christ you will become holy, as He and His Father are holy.

Elder Sheldon F. Child
As we faithfully pay our tithes, the Lord will indeed open the windows of Heaven, and pour us out a blessing that there shall not be room to receive it. We are living in challenging economic times, however if we look back over the past years, we find there have been, and will continue to be, times of relative prosperity and times of financial uncertainty. However, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves, if we pay our obligation to the Lord, and then use wisdom and good judgment, the Lord will help us manage the resources he has given us.

Sister Susan W. Tanner
My soul delighteth in the things of the Lord: His law, His life, His love. To delight in Him is to acknowledge His hand in our lives. Our gospel duty is to do what is right and to love what is right. When we delight to serve Him, our Father in Heaven delights to bless us.

President Boyd K. Packer
The most precious thing lost in the apostasy was the authority held by the twelve: the Priesthood Keys. For the church to be His church, there must be a Quorum of the Twelve who hold the keys, and can confer them on others. Since the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James, and John to Joseph Smith, there has been an unbroken line of authority. The same Priesthood Keys Christ gave his apostles have always been held by members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The present twelve apostles, like the original twelve, are not spectacular individually, but collectively they are a power.

President Thomas S. Monson
I pledge my life, my strength, all that I have to offer in serving Him and in directing the affairs of His Church in accordance with His will and His inspiration. My earnest prayer is that I might continue to be a worthy instrument in His hands to carry on this great work and to fulfill the tremendous responsibilities which come with the office of President. A sweet spirit of unity exists among the general authorities. I would encourage members of the church, wherever they may be, to show kindness and respect for all people everywhere. The world in which we live is filled with diversity, we can and should demonstrate respect toward those whose beliefs differ from ours.


afternoon session



Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
The LDS Church claims that God continues to speak His word and reveal His truth. Revelations that mandate an open canon of scripture is one of the doctrinal issues that are viewed by some as marking the Church as not Christian. Some Christians, in large measure because of their genuine love for the Bible, have declared that there can be no more authorized scripture beyond the Bible. In thus pronouncing the canon of revelation closed, our friends in some other faiths shut the door on divine expression that we in the LDS Church hold dear: The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, and ongoing guidance received by God's anointed Prophets and Apostles. Continuing revelation does not demean nor discredit existing revelation. Please do not misunderstand, we love and revere the Bible. The Bible is the word of God. It is always identified first in the canon of our standard works.

Elder David A. Bednar
Simply saying prayers is quite a different thing from engaging in meaningful prayer. Even though we recognize the importance of prayer, all of us can improve the consistency and efficacy of our personal and family prayers. I have long been impressed with the truth that meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Asking in faith requires honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence. To pray for the success of missionaries is meaningless without a true effort to support the work meaningfully. To pray for the poor and needy requires action to alleviate their needs. Prayers may not be answered until after one has endured the trial of our faith. Recognizing and accepting the will of God in one's life is an important aspect of prayer.

Elder W. Craig Zwick
The time has come when we must take an unyielding stand. We must shore up our spiritual underpinnings and be prepared to withstand the wiles of the devil. A teenage boy recently asked his mother, "Do I need to lower my standards to keep my friends?" It is a profound question for each of us to consider at all stages of life. Are we lowering our standards to fit into our neighborhoods? Are we altering our values to suit the situation in the workplace, or to be popular at school? Don't do it! Live by your standards and stand up for what you believe in. Sometimes it is not easy and you may be standing alone for a while. Find friends with integrity and character and tell them you appreciate their example. Pray for guidance and protection from the Lord. It requires courage to make good choices. Even when others around us choose differently. As we make the righteous choices day by day in little things, the Lord will strengthen us and help us choose the right during more difficult times. Sure spiritual fortification is found in two words: Jesus Christ.

Elder Robert C. Steuer
We live in marvelous times. Yet also an hour when peace has been take from the earth. To prosper in these times, spiritual light must burn within us. We obtain this spiritual light by learning true doctrine, gaining a pure testimony, and living the gospel courageously. The words of doctrine can open the minds of people to see spiritual things not visible to the natural eye, and they can open the heart to the feelings of the love of God and a love for truth. A pure testimony is the confirmation by the Holy Ghost that God is our Father and that Jesus is the Christ. The light and truth we see in all things urge us to obtain knowledge by study and faith which precede the confirmation by the spirit. He that receiveth light and continueth in God receiveth more light, and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander
Often there is one among a crowd who reacts individually and reaps blessings. All of us are among the crowds of this world. We all have faith that just a touch will bring healings to our aching souls, and relief to our innermost needs. Struggling through the crowds of the world can be lonely and hard. Who can reach, support, and ultimately rescue the one among the crowd better than the savior? He understands what it is to persevere among a disrespectful crowd and still remain true.

Elder Lance B. Wickman
Mortality is fragile. Only one heartbeat, or the drawing of a single breath separates this world from the next. Death is a curtain through which each must pass, and none of us knows when that passage will occur. Of all the challenges we face, perhaps the greatest is the misguided sense that mortality goes on forever, and its corollary that we can postpone until tomorrow the seeking and offering of forgiveness which are among mortality's central purpose. The person we are when we depart this life is the person we will be as we enter the next. Thankfully, we have today. Today is the day to forgive others their trespasses.

Elder Craig C. Christnensen
The Book of Mormon is a book with a promise. Although its history is compelling by itself, it is a book of scriptural significance compared to the Bible, and should be received and read under the influence of the Holy Ghost. It is a book with a purpose which is to convince each person that Jesus is the Chirst, the Eternal God. It is a book that teaches the great plan of happiness in profound yet understandable terms. It teaches the purpose of life: from whence mortals came and what happens to them when they die. We learn of faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, of the importance of baptism by immersion, and the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. It testifies that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world. The book is evidence that Joseph Smith was a Prophet chosen by the hand of the Lord to restore his ancient church to earth.

Elder M. Russell Ballard
While women live in homes under many different circumstance; married, single, widowed or divorced, some with children, and some without; all are beloved of God and He has a plan for His righteous daughters to receive the highest blessings of eternity. There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply, and in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us, and to seek, with the Lord's help, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners, but I believe that the instincts and intense nurturing involvement of the mothers, with their children, will always be the major key to their well.being.

Presidnet Thomas S. Monson
I have attended General Conferences for a long time, and have not felt as blessed as during this session. We have had a smorgasbord of faith, love, and counsel. Let us incorporate it into our lives. Brethren, treat our wives with dignity and respect. Sisters, honor your husbands. Parents, show love to your children, and call on Heavenly Father for help in dealing with the challenges of parenthood. I commend our youth who stand up to the inequity of the world. Brothers and Sisters, we have had a wonderful conference. We have been edified and our testimonies strengthened. Let us rededicate ourselves to live the Gospel. We have felt your prayers in our behalf and appreciate your sustaining vote. Together, we can reap the blessing the Savior has in store for us.