Line upon Line

At this October 2024 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson, only spoke briefly and once, but with such prophetic power, that his words were inscribed in the hearts of the listeners. With the eyes of a seer, he asked, “Do we see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray we will not miss the majesty of this moment!”

Certainly this is about the announcement of 17 more temples in this conference, but it is also about what these 185 temples that he has announced in 6-1/2 years means to the purposes of the Lord.

“Why are we building temples at such an unprecedented pace? Why? Because the Lord has instructed us to do so. The blessings of the temple help to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. These blessings also help to prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord!” he said.

There are no minced or vague words there, but a trumpet of what we are about as a people in this generation and those to closely follow. With the temple at the center of the Saints’ lives, we are to become God’s force of goodness and light to prepare the world, so that He can return.

“Jesus Christ will govern from both old Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem ‘built upon the American continent.’ From these two centers, He will direct the affairs of His Church,” President Nelson explained.

Then he continued the theme citing Isaiah “as memorialized in Handel’s Messiah, when Jesus Christ returns, ‘the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.’”

“Brothers and sisters, now is the time for you, and for me, to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority,” he repeated the message to drive it home.

“I have learned that the most crucial question we each must answer is this: To whom or to what will I give my life?” asked President Nelson. He was inviting us to a life of gathering Israel, of finding the power in the temple, of being not only “called and chosen”, but also deeply faithful for the time has come.

He said, “My heart aches for those who are mired in sin and don’t know how to get out. I weep for those who struggle spiritually or who carry heavy burdens alone because they do not understand what Jesus Christ did for them.

“It is neither too early nor too late for you to become a devout disciple of Jesus Christ.”

“The best is yet to come, my dear brothers and sisters, because the Savior is coming again!”

This was an astonishing moment in the kingdom, punctuated with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square singing the Isaiah verses that President Nelson had just quoted in Handel’s Messiah—“the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” The message was as clear as possible that whenever the Lord comes, this moment, now, is the time to prepare. It is the task and calling of this generation with our temples that sweep across the world.

Elder Kyle S. McKay of the Seventy quoted Joseph Smith about this great latter-day work, “The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators.”

A Refreshment

The Latter-day Saints are treated two weekends a year to refreshment and renewal at General Conference. As the Book of Mormon opens, Lehi has a vision of concourses of angels gathered around the throne of God, and at conference this covenant people, too, are gathered across the earth around the prophets and apostles who lead the Church. It is unifying and bonding, as we are given joy, insight and warning. We belong to each other and to the Lord, and we feel it during Conference weekend.

Though the exact currents of our angry world were not mentioned at General Conference, they were in the background. We were taught how to navigate, with faith, storms we know are coming, stay faithful in a world that would assault and upend our beliefs, find peace and strength in Christ and understand with more clarity, our particular role as covenant children. We were reminded twice, not to sell our birthright for a mess of pottage.

Brad Wilcox, First Counselor in the Young Men’s Presidency, said that young church members around the world have asked him, “Why must Latter-day Saints live so differently from others?” He reminds them that it is because they are children of the covenant.

He says, “Is your birthright evidence of God’s love? Yes, but more important, it is evidence of His trust. It is one thing to be loved and another thing entirely to be trusted.

“Does your birthright mean you are better than others? No, but it does mean you are expected to help others be better.

“Think of it! Of all the people on the earth, God trusts you, the children of the covenant…to help with His work of bringing all His children safely home to Him.”

Brother Wilcox said, “It would be easy for Heavenly Father to simply give you all that He has. His desire is to help you become all that He is.

“Your commitments demand more of you, but that is how God is making more of you.”

Nourishing a Testimony

Several speakers gave gentle, but clear warnings to stay firmly grounded in Jesus Christ, and not get lost on the journey. Many talks were both a call to come home, as well as a call to awaken.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “When it comes to nourishing our testimonies of Jesus Christ, I wonder if we sometimes mistake the branches for the roots. Knowing what is eternal and what is not is key to growing a testimony of Jesus Christ and His Church.

“One of the most important things we can learn in this life is the difference between what is eternal and what is not.

“Some truths are core, essential, at the root of our faith. Others are appendages or branches.

“If you want to nourish a tree, you don’t splash water on the branches. You water the roots. Similarly, if you want the branches of your testimony to grow and bear fruit, nourish the roots. If you are uncertain about a particular doctrine or practice or element of Church history, seek clarity with faith in Jesus Christ. Seek to understand His sacrifice for you, His love for you, His will for you.”

Elder Uchtdorf added, “Faith is not faith if never tested. Faith is not strong if never opposed.

Faith is beautiful because it persists even when blessings don’t come as hoped for.”

A Book of Mormon Warning 

Elder Bednar spoke of a warning from the Book of Mormon writers who had seen our time.

“We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon to include [this account] in his record? What lesson can I learn from [this admonition] to help me live in this day and age?’”

He turned to the book of Helaman. “The most stunning and sobering aspect of this decline into apostasy by the Nephites is the fact that ‘all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years.’

Elder Bednar said, “Prosperity, possessions, and ease constitute a potent mixture that can lead even the righteous to drink the spiritual poison of pride. We always must be on guard against a pride-induced and exaggerated sense of self-importance, a misguided evaluation of our own self-sufficiency, and seeking self instead of serving others,

“If you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger.”

Aligning Our Will with His

Elder Ulisses Soares spoke of the importance of aligning our will with the Lord’s.

“When we don’t allow God’s way to prevail in our life, we are left to ourselves, and without the Lord’s inspiring guidance, we can justify almost anything we do or don’t do.”

He said, “One of the most glorious moments of mortality occurs when we discover the joy that comes when doing always those things that “work for and please the Lord”, and “what works for us”become one and the same! To irrevocably and unquestioningly make the Lord’s will our own requires majestic and heroic discipleship! At that sublime moment, we become consecrated to the Lord, and we totally yield our wills to Him. Such spiritual submissiveness, so to speak, is beautiful, powerful and transformational.

Elder David P. Homer noted, “The boundaries between right and wrong are not for us to define. God has established these boundaries Himself, based on eternal truths for our benefit and blessing.”

Passive Weapons of Rebellion

Elder D. Todd Christofferson turned to the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s in the Book of Mormon who laid down their “weapons of rebellion” to lose the stain of their sins, and suggested that rebellion can be both active, such as Lucifer fighting against God’s plan in the premortal world, or more passive.

He noted, “Perhaps the more insidious form of rebellion against God, however, is the passive version—ignoring His will in our lives. Many who would never consider active rebellion may still oppose the will and word of God by pursuing their own path without regard to divine direction. I am reminded of the song made famous years ago by singer Frank Sinatra with the climactic line, “I did it my way.” Certainly, in life there is plenty of room for personal preference and individual choice, but when it comes to matters of salvation and eternal life, our theme song ought to be, ‘I did it God’s way,’ because truly there is no other way.”

God’s Forgiving Nature

Sister Kristin M. Yee, Second Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, spoke of the joy of the Lord’s redemption through telling a story. Ten years ago, she decided to paint a picture of the Savior, a process where she had to exercise trust in God.

Then, at one point, when she thought the painting was finally finished and dry, she applied a coat of varnish, but to her horror, the paint underneath began to run. She had wiped away a portion of her painting with the varnish.

“So I prayed and pled for help, and painted through the night to repair things. And I remember looking at the painting in the morning—it looked better than it did before. How was that possible? What I thought was a mistake without mend, was an opportunity for His merciful hand to be manifest—He was not done with the painting, and He was not done with me.”

“There is such relief and hope in knowing that we can try again.”

Yet, she said, “To truly repent and change, we must first be ‘convinced of our sins.’ A person does not see the need to take medicine unless they understand that they are ill.

The Lord is not done with us when we make a mistake, nor does He flee when we falter. Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came.

On Brokenness and Love

Elder Karl Hirst of the Seventy, spoke of God’s love that is personal penetrating:

“Perhaps you feel a long way from the love of God? Perhaps there is a chorus of voices of discouragement and darkness that weighs into your thoughts? Messages telling you that you are too wounded, confused, too weak and overlooked, too different or disoriented to warrant heavenly love in any real way. If you hear those ideas then please hear this: those voices are just wrong. We can confidently disregard brokenness in any way disqualifying us from heavenly love. Every time we sing the hymn that reminds us that our beloved and flawless Saviour chose to be ‘bruised, broken and torn for us’. Every time we take broken bread. Surely Jesus removes all shame from the broken. Through His brokenness, He became perfect and He can make us perfect in spite of our brokenness . Broken, lonely, torn and bruised He was – and we may feel we are – but separated from the love of God, we are not.‘Broken people; perfect love’ as the song goes.”

He asked, “I wonder, if Jesus were to choose a place where you and He could meet, a private place where you would be able to have a singular focus on Him, might He choose your unique place of personal suffering, the place of your deepest need, where no one else can go?”

Welcome to the Church of Joy

Elder Patrick Kearon said, We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the church of joy! Our reverence flows from a soul that rejoices in Christ’s abundant love, mercy, and salvation!

“To worship is to intentionally praise and adore our God in a way that transforms us!”

He invited us to an expanded way to take the sacrament, “Yes, we ponder the sufferings and injustices inflicted upon our Redeemer for our sin, and that does cause sober reflection. But we sometimes get stuck there—in the garden, at the cross, inside the tomb. We fail to move upward to the joy of the tomb bursting open, the defeat of death, and Christ’s victory over all that might prevent us from gaining peace and returning to our heavenly home. Whether we shed tears of sorrow or tears of gratitude during the sacrament, let it be in awesome wonder at the good news of the Father’s gift of His Son!”