APRIL 2025 SUNDAY AFTERNOON GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION THOUGHTS
Well, Ben beat me 3-0 in ping pong so I need some good encouragement. Good thing it’s time for the last session of General Conference.
So fun to see Elder Uchtdorf conducting. Happy flashback feelings! Also wonderful to have President Nelson in attendance. What a blessing!
I love how the concept of “reverence” has been clarified in the last few conferences. Reverence is not just an aspect of our spirituality, it is its essence. It’s a profound respect, love, and gratitude. Showing reverence for sacred things gives meaning to much of what we do every day. Unfortunately, we live in a world where showing reverence for sacred things is becoming increasingly uncommon. In fact, the world often celebrates the irreverent, which can disrupt the flow of revelation. Personally, I’m a big fan of what AI can do, but as Elder Soares warned “Artificial intelligence will never outperform divine intelligence.” It’s a wonderful servant, but a horrible master and can play a big role in our attention to reverence.
The really amazing thing is that AI can be a tool for good, but we must use revelation to understand how to use it effectively, much like every other technological innovation in the last 200 years.
Lots of talk about what discipleship is today. Loved the way Elder Michael B. Strong defined it. Disciples are apprentices, becoming more like their master. Being a disciple of Christ is not a one-time event, it is a lifetime process. Its a is a deliberate journey that we take to become transformed through the Lord's atoning sacrifice and His enabling power. Compassion and charity are the hallmarks of discipleship and one of the easiest ways to identify a disciple of Christ is to observe how compassionately they treat another.
Love is praying for a missionary. Greater love is going to prison with that missionary. Discipleship is deliberate.
Another beautiful new hymn by the choir - “Close as a Quiet Prayer”: Hymn #1030
Loved Elder Scott D. Whiting’s opening line…”Just a couple of years ago when I turned 12…”. Prickly pears will always exist to call us to repentance. 😂. The Garden of Eden was a majestic place to live, but it was not intended to be the final destination for Adam & Eve. The second temptation Satan used to work on Adam and Eve: Hiding from God. Loved the Old Testament scripture references about our efforts to hide from God. “If you hide from Him and distance yourself from your newfound faith community, you distance yourself from the very source that can and will give you the strength to overcome.”
Smooth transition into Elder Christopher H. Kim’s talk. When we hide our sins, we start to harden our hearts. “When we harden our hearts, we are blinded, and good things cannot come into our hearts or our minds.” What can we do to not harden our hearts? Daily repentance, practicing humility, and trusting and relying on our Savior. Those are the main differences between Nephi and his brothers.
Patrick Kearon can read me anything and I’d be happy. Particularly there words “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” sound especially pleasant coming from his lips as the most supernal gift of his youth. Our loving Heavenly Father is the best gift-giver and receiving His gifts is so much more than just accepting them. To receive is to value the gift, put it to use, and remember the giver with gratitude. The gift of to know that we really ARE God's children. That truth is “breathtaking and stunning.” “I invite you to receive either for the first time, or to a greater extent than ever before, the magnificent realization that you truly are God’s beloved child.”
I’m sure streaming views of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will soar after this Conference. 😂
Again, I love the smooth transition of talks from KNOWING that we are a child of God, right into Elder Benjamin M.Z. Tai’s talk about how to FEEL the love of God. “When we exercise faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ, we receive clear assurance of their reality and of their concern for us. We feel God’s love when we do things that draw us closer to Him. Our opportunity is to love, share and invite in a way that those we love can feel the love of God.”
Two powerful talks about knowing and feeling our importance to our loving Heavenly Father.
The rising generation is rising up! Love that phrase from our beloved Prophet. When we make and keep covenants with God, we can have confidence that is born of the Spirit. Charity and virtue can give us confidence before God - right now. Love the additional nod to doubling down on peacemaking. Nothing good comes from contention or hostility. Contention never leads to inspired solutions. True charity towards all men is the hallmark of peacemakers. Virtue makes everything better and happier.
As the world grows more wicked, we need to be increasingly pure. Our actions need to be unfailingly virtuous. Regular worship in the House of the Lord increases both virtue and charity.
15 temples…along with Rapid City South Dakota, baby! Been waiting for that one since I was a missionary there over 30 years ago!
God is good, my friends! So good! I’m a child of God…and so are you! ❤️
Thanks for letting me share my random and scattered thoughts about General Conference. Looking forward to going back over it again for the next 6 months to glean even more goodness.