The April 2025 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided inspired messages for guidance in our lives. General Conference is spiritual – each of us experiences it differently. When it comes to identifying the most important messages in conference, there are widely differing viewpoints. As part of the “General Conference by the Numbers” series, this article explores some of the prominent themes, key scriptural references, and statistical highlights from the April 2025 conference, illustrating the use of SearchGeneralConference.com (SGC). You can use SGC to explore additional topics that are important to you.
Worship
Worship emerged as a theme in April 2025, addressed by multiple speakers. SGC data indicates that the word “worship” appeared in 16 of the 32 talks, the highest usage in any General Conference. The word “worship” has been used 1142 times or about 10 times per conference.
Here are a few standouts among the 16 talks that discussed worship:
- Worship by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
- As a Little Child by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- By This Will All Know That You Are My Disciples by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- And We Talk of Christ by Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
This focus on worship reflects inspired guidance from Church leaders, encouraging members to deepen their spiritual growth and discipleship. SGC’s Word search allows users to examine these 16 talks in detail, accessing full texts on churchofjesuschrist.org to study the teachings on worship presented in the conference.
Preparation for the Second Coming
Preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was another prominent theme, reflecting a sense of urgency in prophetic counsel. SGC data reveals that eight talks mentioned the Second Coming, matching April 2020 for the highest number in any conference. The charts below are part of the results from doing a Phrase Search using the phrase “second coming”:
President Russell M. Nelson, who has referenced the Second Coming in 25 talks—more than any other speaker—reinforced this focus in his talk Confidence in the Presence of God. He stated: “Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of His coming. But I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that ‘great and dreadful day.’”
During President Nelson’s presidency, the second coming has been mentioned more often than in any other era (11% of talks).
The phrase “prepare for the Second Coming” appeared in three talks, a significant number given its use in only 14 talks across all conferences combined.
Additionally, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, symbolizing readiness for the Lord’s return, was cited in three talks, equaling April 1974 for the most mentions in a single conference. This was discovered by doing an SGC Word search with “wise foolish ten” in the ANY box and “virgins” in the ALL box. In that search, SGC will find all talks that have the word “virgins” and at least one of “wise foolish ten”. The results include:
In his talk: Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior, Dale G. Renlund gave an insightful interpretation of the Parable of the Ten Virgins: “The essential lesson of this parable of the ten virgins is that we are wise when we accept the gospel, seek to have the Holy Ghost with us, and avoid deception. The five wise virgins could not help those without oil; no one can accept the gospel, take the Holy Ghost as a guide, and avoid deception on our behalf. We have to do this for ourselves.”
Scriptural Patterns: John 3:16 and New Testament Emphasis
Scripture references offer further insight into the April 2025 conference. SGC data shows that John 3:16, widely recognized from public displays at events, was the most-cited verse, appearing in eight talks. This verse ranks as the 12th most-referenced verse across all General Conferences. Users can leverage SGC’s scripture search to explore these eight talks, understanding how speakers used John 3:16 to reinforce their messages.
The following tables can be found by doing a Conference search on “April 2025”:
Notably, over 50% of scripture references in the conference came from the New Testament, compared to the historical average of 32%. SGC’s analytical tools enable users to visualize this trend, comparing New Testament usage across conferences.
The chart above compares the percentage of scripture references taken from each volume of scripture. The ‘Overall Totals’ bar is the breakdown of all speakers in all conferences: Book of Mormon(28%), the Doctrine and Covenants(22%), the New Testament(32%), the Old Testament(10%) and the Pearl of Great Price(5%).
SGC: A Tool for Analysis and Study
SearchGeneralConference.com enhances the study of General Conference by providing tools to search talks by keyword, scripture, speaker, or conference, alongside statistical analyses of usage patterns. For example, users can investigate the 16 talks mentioning “worship,” the eight addressing the Second Coming, or the eight citing John 3:16, with direct links to full texts on churchofjesuschrist.org. SGC’s visualizations, such as charts showing the peak in “worship” references or the rise in New Testament citations, offer valuable context for members preparing talks, lessons, or engaging in personal study.
Conclusion
The April 2025 General Conference highlighted worship and preparation for the Second Coming, with John 3:16 and New Testament scriptures playing prominent roles. Through SearchGeneralConference.com, you can explore these themes and statistics in depth, gaining additional insight to the messages given. SGC gives you an additional way to engage with General Conference talks to take full advantage of this amazing resource that we’ve been given.
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Notes:
1 The percentages do not total to 100%, because a small percentage of talks (2-3%) don’t have any scripture references.
