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President Nelson opened the October 2021 conference by admonishing the audience to listen for three things during the conference: pure truth, the pure doctrine of Christ, and pure revelation. To drive his point home, he continued:

Contrary to the doubts of some, there really is such a thing as right and wrong. There really is absolute truth—eternal truth. One of the plagues of our day is that too few people know where to turn for truth. I can assure you that what you will hear today and tomorrow constitutes pure truth.

Two examples of pure truth taught in the conference were:

  • first great truth in the universe is that God loves us exactly that way—wholeheartedly, without reservation or compromise  The Greatest Possession Jeffrey R Holland
  • As we reflect on trust, we know God is a God of truth and “canst not lie.”  We know truth is a knowledge of things as they are, were, and are to come.  We know continuing revelation and inspiration fit unchanging truth to changing circumstances…

President Russell M. Nelson assures, “You do not have to wonder whom you can safely trust.”  We can always trust God. The Lord knows us better and loves us more than we know or love ourselves. His infinite love and perfect knowledge of past, present, and future make His covenants and promises constant and sure.  Trust Again Gerrit W. Gong

As we look forward to the April 2022 conference, this article takes a look back at the October 2021 conference by examining data from that conference.

God’s Love

We believe that God loves every one of us in a way that is beyond our mortal comprehension.  In the October 2021 conference, the topic of God’s love was raised in 23% (9 out of 39) of the talks.  It seems clear that the general authorities want each of us to know and feel how much God loves us.  This is a trend that has accelerated in the Nelson era as shown in the following chart:

Quoting President Nelson on Joy

The memorable phrase: “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives” from President Nelson’s  October 2016 conference address, Joy and Spiritual Survival, was quoted by four speakers in this conference.  The four speakers were: Anthony D. Perkins, Moisés Villanueva, Ronald A. Rasband and Sean Douglas.

Most Frequently Referenced Scriptures

The scripture references in the October 2021 conference were consistent with overall trends.  The most frequently referenced verse was Moses 1:39 which is the most referenced verse in general conference overall.  The following table shows the most referenced verses in general conference[i].

It is interesting to compare the most referenced verses overall with the most referenced verses of the Nelson era (since 2018). The following table shows the most referenced verses of the Nelson era:

The most referenced chapter in the October 2021 conference was 2 Nephi 2 – the fifth most referenced chapter in general conference overall.  The following table compares the most referenced chapters in general conference with the most referenced chapters of the Nelson era:

Volume Breakdown

A volume breakdown shows the percentage of scripture references taken from each volume of scripture.  Overall, for all conferences, the breakdown is 28% Book of Mormon, 23% Doctrine and Covenants, 32% New Testament, 10% Old Testament and 7% Pearl of Great Price

The following chart compares the breakdown of volume references by era:

This chart shows that a significant shift occurred during the Benson era.  President Benson powerfully emphasized the importance of the Book of Mormon.  During his time as president the percentage of Book of Mormon scripture references increased from the mid-20s to the low 30s, while the percentage of Doctrine and Covenants and New Testament references decreased[ii].

Statistics for October 2021:

  • 1,171 scripture references – the conference average since 1971 is 727
  • Most referenced verse: Moses 1:39 (referenced in 6 talks)
  • Most referenced chapter: 2 Nephi 2 (referenced in 10 talks)
  • Since 1971, there have been 3,736 conference talks given by 505 different speakers.  In those talks there are 74,181 scripture references.
    • The most frequently referenced verse continues to be Moses 1:39 (referenced in 219 talks)
    • The most frequently referenced chapter is  Doctrine and Covenants 88 (referenced in 414 talks).
  • In the Nelson era, there have been 273 conference talks by 111 different speakers.  In those talks there are 8,529 scripture references.
    • The most frequently referenced verse in the Nelson era is Alma 7:12  (referenced in 25 talks)
    • The most frequently referenced chapter in the Nelson era is  Doctrine and Covenants 88 (referenced in 48 talks).

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Past issues of General Conference by the Numbers:   April 2021, October 2021, November 2021

This general conference data may be accessed at https://searchgeneralconference.com

Questions and comments are welcome at: mailto:[email protected]

[i] Since 1971

[ii] The Hunter era was only one general conference.  While it appears to be an anomaly, there is not enough data to make any conclusions.

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