Spiritually Whole in Him
By President Camille N. Johnson
- Relief Society General President
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Mary Magdalene, a woman healed by Jesus, was also whole in Him. She was a devoted disciple, present at the crucifixion, and the first witness of the Resurrection.
Mary Magdalene was a woman healed of Jesus Christ. And she was a woman whole in Jesus Christ. As His disciple, she followed the Savior throughout Galilee and ministered to Him.24[SeeLuke 8:2"“3]
She was present at the foot of the cross, a witness to His death.25[SeeJohn 19:25]
She went to His tomb to complete the burial preparations and discovered that the stone covering had been taken away, that the Lord"™s body was gone. Mary was at the tomb weeping when she was asked, first by the angels ... (continued)
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The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue
By Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the history of the Latter-day Saint pioneers who traveled the overland trail to Salt Lake City, focusing on the Willie and Martin handcart companies that faced tragedies in 1856.
The stakes in the Casper Wyoming Temple District include a portion of the overland trail used by Latter-day Saint pioneers between 1847 and 1868. In preparation for the temple dedication, I reread some of the history of the trail along the Platte River near Casper and continuing to Salt Lake City. The trail had been a thoroughfare for hundreds of thousands of western emigrants. My primary emphasis was the more than 60,000 Latter-day Saint pioneers who traveled the trail. Most of our pioneers cam ... (continued)
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The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue
By Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the paintings in the Casper Temple foyer, which depict the pioneers' journey and the beauty of the Lord's creation, and how they relate to life's challenges and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
I had not been inside the Casper Temple prior to the dedication. When I entered the foyer, my attention was immediately drawn to an original handcart painting titled Between Storms. The painting was clearly not intended to depict the tragedies that had occurred. As I gazed at it, I thought, 'This painting is correct; the vast majority of handcart pioneers did not experience tragedies.' I could not help feeling that this is like life in general. Sometimes we are between storms and sometimes betwe ... (continued)
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The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue
By Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the hardships faced by the Willie and Martin handcart companies, including starvation, freezing weather, and many deaths, and the rescue efforts led by Brigham Young.
Most of the handcart Saints experienced hardship but avoided major adverse events. But two handcart companies, the Willie company and the Martin company, experienced starvation, exposure to freezing weather, and many deaths. President Brigham Young first became aware of the perilous situation of these companies on October 4, 1856. The next day he stood before the Saints in Salt Lake City and said, 'Many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, and they must be brought here; ... (continued)
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The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue
By Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the emotional scene when the rescuers arrived to save the Willie and Martin handcart companies, and the subsequent hardships they faced, including a difficult crossing over Rocky Ridge.
The winter storms began nearly two weeks after the first rescuers left Salt Lake City. The accounts of members of the Willie and Martin companies describe devastating challenges after the storms began. These accounts also depict the great joy when the rescuers arrived. Describing the arrival scene, Mary Hurren said: 'Tears streamed down the cheeks of the men, and the children danced for joy. As soon as the people could control their feelings, they all knelt down in the snow and gave thanks to Go ... (continued)
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The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue
By Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker shares the story of John and Maria Linford, members of the Willie company, who faced death and hardship but maintained their faith and hope for their family's future in Zion.
Studying their story, I appreciated the precious relationships and the long-term eternal vision among the emigrants. John and Maria Linford and their three sons were members of the Willie company. John died hours before the first rescuers arrived. He had told Maria that he was glad they had made the journey. 'I shall not live to reach Salt Lake,' he said, 'but you and the boys will, and I do not regret all we have gone through if our boys can grow up and raise their families in Zion.'
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The Love of God
By Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
During a turbulent flight in a heavy storm in Vietnam, the speaker and his wife felt God's love after their plane emerged above the storm clouds.
A few months ago while traveling in Vietnam, my wife and I were on a flight that took off in a heavy storm. The turbulence was severe, and dark clouds, heavy rain, and lightning could be seen from our window. After a long and volatile ascent, our airplane finally rose above the storm clouds and emerged to this glorious vista. We were reminded once again of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and felt Their great love for us.
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The Love of God
By Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker's family experienced a clear view of the Milky Way while sleeping outdoors, prompting a discussion on the presence of the same sky at home, which is usually obscured by pollution.
One summer while traveling in a remote area, our family spent an evening sleeping outdoors under a cloudless sky. Clearly visible above us was the magnificent Milky Way, filled with innumerable stars and the occasional shooting star. While we marveled at the majesty of God"™s creation, we felt a reverent connection to Him.1[SeePsalm 19:1Isaiah 40:26Alma 30:44]Our young children, who had grown up in Hong Kong, had never experienced anything like this before. They innocently asked if we lived un ... (continued)
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The Love of God
By Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker's friend, after suffering from illness, divorce, and other challenges, found peace and relief from resentment through a spiritual experience in the temple.
I have a friend who was blessed with a beautiful family and a promising career. This changed when an illness left him unable to work, which was followed by a divorce. The years since have been difficult, but his love for his children and the covenants he has made with God have sustained him. One day he learned that his former spouse had remarried and had requested a cancellation of their temple sealing. He was troubled and confused. He sought peace and understanding in the house of the Lord. The ... (continued)
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The Love of God
By Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker's son, struggling with fitting in and self-esteem, found purpose and felt God's love by helping a woman with health challenges and fixing her video player.
One of our sons struggled with fitting in and self-esteem during his teenage years. My wife and I prayed to know how to help him, and we were willing to do whatever the Lord would have us do. One day I felt prompted to ask my elders quorum president if he knew of anyone in need who I could visit together with my son. After some thought, he asked us to visit a woman with significant health challenges and, with permission from the branch president, to bring the sacrament to her each week. I was el ... (continued)
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The Plan of Mercy
By Elder James R. Rasband
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the blessings of temple attendance for new missionaries, as guided by President Nelson's invitation to study the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer.
Last April, soon after the joyful news that the Church had acquired the Kirtland Temple, President Russell M. Nelson invited us to study the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, recorded insection 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants1[See Russell M. Nelson, "Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,"Liahona, May 2024, 121.]The dedicatory prayer, said President Nelson, "is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days ... (continued)
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The Plan of Mercy
By Elder James R. Rasband
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith's pleas for mercy in the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer led to a manifestation of mercy when the Savior appeared to him and Oliver Cowdery one week later.
How must Joseph have felt when, one week later, on Easter Day, April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, the Savior appeared to him and Oliver Cowdery and, as recorded insection 110 of the Doctrine and Covenantssaid, "I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house."12[Doctrine and Covenants 110:7]This promise of mercy must have had special meaning to Joseph.13[In a manifestation of personalized mercy, Joseph and Oliver we ... (continued)
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The Plan of Mercy
By Elder James R. Rasband
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith's history of seeking mercy from the Lord began with his prayer in the Sacred Grove and continued with the appearance of the angel Moroni after a prayer of repentance.
Joseph Smith"™s plea for mercy in section 109 was not the first time his pleas for mercy prompted revelation. In the Sacred Grove, young Joseph prayed not just to know which Church was true, but he also said that he "cried unto the Lord for mercy, for there was none else to whom I could go [to] obtain mercy."20[Gospel Topics Essays, "First Vision Accounts," Gospel Library; see especially the 1832 account.]Somehow his recognition that he needed mercy that only the Lord could provide helped ... (continued)
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The Plan of Mercy
By Elder James R. Rasband
- Of the Seventy
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The speaker shares his own struggle to feel the truth of the Book of Mormon and encourages those struggling to ponder on the Lord's mercy as taught in the Book of Mormon.
Still, I imagine that some may be struggling, despite your faithful reading and prayers, to realize Moroni"™s promise that Heavenly Father "will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."35[Moroni 10:4]I know this struggle because I felt it, many years ago, when my own first couple of reads of the Book of Mormon did not yield an immediate and clear answer to my prayers.
If you are struggling, may I invite you to follow Moroni"™s counsel to ponder on the many ways t ... (continued)
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The Times of Restitution of All Things
By Elder David A. Bednar
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith, seeking to know which church to join, prays in the woods and is visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ, who tell him that Christ's original church was lost and that he would help restore it.
In the spring of 1820, a young boy named Joseph Smith went into the woods near his home to pray. He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul, and he yearned "to know which of all the [churches] was right, that [he] might know which to join."3[Joseph Smith"”History 1:18]Joseph trusted that God would answer his prayer and direct him.4[See "The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Gospel Library.] Please note that Joseph did not pray merely to know what was righ ... (continued)
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The Times of Restitution of All Things
By Elder David A. Bednar
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The restoration of priesthood authority and keys, including the visitation of John the Baptist and the apostles Peter, James, and John, who conferred this authority upon Joseph Smith.
Under the direction of the Father and the Son, the resurrected John the Baptist restored, in 1829, the authority to baptize by immersion for the remission of sins.16[SeeDoctrine and Covenants 13:1]In that same year,17[SeeDoctrine and Covenants 18:927:12"“13see also Revelation Book 1, 24, josephsmithpapers.org.]three of the original Twelve Apostles"”Peter, James, and John"”restored the apostleship and additional priesthood authority and keys.18[SeeDoctrine and Covenants 27:12"“13] Six yea ... (continued)
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The Times of Restitution of All Things
By Elder David A. Bednar
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
The Lord instructed Joseph Smith to organize His Church on a precise day, which was done only after the priesthood was restored and the Book of Mormon was published.
As Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he received revelations indicating that the Church of Jesus Christ would be reestablished. But the Lord instructed Joseph not to organize His Church immediately. Rather, "by the spirit of prophecy and revelation," the Lord revealed to Joseph "the precise day "¦ [he] should proceed to organize His Church once [again] upon the earth."23[Doctrine and Covenants 20, section heading] The Church was organized in proper sequence only after the restorat ... (continued)
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Thou Art the Christ
By Sister Amy A. Wright
- First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Despite Eli's concerns, he was admitted to law school with a scholarship, and during a campus visit, he and his family found the law school decorated with attributes from the Sermon on the Mount.
Two weeks later, Eli was admitted with a scholarship. Before committing, we visited the campus. The law school looked like a castle and was set high on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. Remarkably, as we walked through the magnificent library and stately corridors, we found on banners and carved in stone attributes from the Sermon on the Mount.
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Thou Art the Christ
By Sister Amy A. Wright
- First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
Eli, the speaker's son, was inspired to study law and Jesus Christ after being elected as a class judge and taking an oath administered by a Utah Second District Court judge.
When our son Eli was in fourth grade, his class set up a mock government where he was elected by his peers to serve as class judge. One day a sitting judge from the Utah Second District Court visited, put his official robes on Eli, and then administered an oath of office for their class. This ignited in Eli"™s young, impressionable soul a passion for studying law and the Lawgiver Himself, Jesus Christ.
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Thou Art the Christ
By Sister Amy A. Wright
- First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
📅 April 2025
📖 general conference
During a law school interview, Eli answered a question about his moral compass by referencing Jesus Christ and the Sermon on the Mount, which he feared might jeopardize his admission into secular academia.
After years of diligent effort, Eli received an invitation for an interview with one of his top choices for law school. He pronounced, "Mom, I was asked 10 questions. The final question was, "˜Where do you derive your moral compass?"™ I stated that throughout history humankind has derived systems of morality by patterning their lives from archetypes. The archetype of morality I strive to pattern my life from is that of Jesus Christ. I stated if all of humanity abided by the teachings of Jesus ... (continued)
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