Why Should I Watch General Conference?

We live in the time of the ongoing Restoration, a time when the heavens are open and God wants to continue to speak to us. And He does! He teaches us both through personal revelation and through His appointed servants at general conference. Twice a year, we have the opportunity to listen as God’s mouthpiece – the prophet – and also other global leaders teach us what God would have us know.

However, our lives become busy, and the commitments on our social and work calendars fill up. It’s hard to take two weekends out of the year and completely step away from the world, tuning in to general conference broadcasts all weekend when there are so many other things we could be doing. Our Heavenly Father knows that it is a big sacrifice. He blesses us for our efforts to hear from Him, no matter how big or small those efforts are. Here are three specific reasons why we should watch general conference:

1. To find answers to questions
2. To receive spiritual power
3. To increase our faith

Finding Answers to Our Personal Questions

General conference is a way for God to speak to us individually. Our leaders are inspired by Him in the messages that they prepare for conference. Even though they may not know us personally, we have a loving Heavenly Father who does. He is aware of every trial, pain, heartache, and question we face. We can come to general conference to find answers to our questions. In the Book of Mormon, the missionary Ammon taught, “And he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning” (Alma 18:32). Just as we receive revelation from the scriptures, listening to our prophet today is our modern-day scripture and revelation for our lives.

Wilford Woodruff invited the Saints in an 1881 discourse,

“Seek after God; call upon Him in your secret places, and do not turn away from righteousness and truth. There is nothing to be gained by doing that, but everything to lose.”^[1]

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of our everyday lives. It is being embedded in search tools, smartphones, family history apps, education platforms, medical guidance, and even the tools we use at work and church. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we care deeply about fairness, compassion, agency, and truth. So, it’s worth asking, “Is AI fair? And if not, why?”

This article offers a simple explanation of why bias shows up in AI and how we can use these tools wisely.

Why Does AI Have Bias?

AI systems learn by observing the information around them. They do not hold beliefs or emotions, but they pick up patterns from the data they are trained on. Those patterns include both the strengths and the flaws found in human society.

Think of it like raising a child. If a child only hears one point of view, or grows up with incomplete information, he or she will naturally develop a limited understanding of the world. AI works the same way.

Here are the most common reasons bias appears:

• The data it learns rrom. Most AI systems are trained with enormous collections of text, images, and examples gathered from the internet. But the internet is not always balanced, kind, or representative. If some groups, voices, or cultures are over- or under-represented, AI will reflect that imbalance.
• The way humans label information. People who categorize or review content for training often have different backgrounds, values, and interpretations. Their opinions, however sincere, may introduce subtle bias.
• Real-world inequalities. AI mirrors reality. If certain groups historically received fewer job interviews, less medical attention, or unequal treatment, the data will show those patterns, unless developers actively correct them.

Where Bias Shows Up

Bias in AI isn’t only about big social debates. It can affect normal experiences, for example:

• In healthcare, models may perform better on some age groups, races, or genders than others if the training data wasn’t balanced.
• In hiring tools, AI may unintentionally prefer resumes from certain schools, backgrounds, ages, or regions.
• In online content moderation, certain dialects, cultural expressions, or religious phrases can be misinterpreted as “harmful” or “aggressive.”
• In generated images or text, if you ask an AI to “show a leader,” it may default to specific demographics unless you specify otherwise.

For Latter-day Saints, this raises important questions. Does the tool treat everyone as a child of God? Does it respect agency, identity, and worth? Will I get information that is fair and balanced?

Why Fairness Matters

The Savior taught, “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). AI should help all of God’s children equally. When technology is unfair, it undermines principles we hold dear:

• Moral agency (our ability to act and be judged fairly)
• Equity and compassion
• Stewardship over tools that influence others
• Truthfulness in how information is presented

We don’t need fear or suspicion. But we do need awareness.

What AI Companies Are Doing to Improve Fairness

Even though AI can inherit bias, researchers are working hard to build systems that are more just, representative, and balanced. Some common approaches include:

• Improving training data. Teams are expanding datasets to better represent age, gender, culture, language, and global diversity.
• Conducting “fairness audits.” Models are regularly tested to ensure they don’t produce different outcomes for different groups.
• Using diverse human reviewers. People from varied backgrounds help guide how AI responds so it doesn’t reflect a single worldview.
• Creating transparency standards. Developers are learning to explain how models make decisions, something that was nearly impossible just a few years ago.
• Developing regulations and safeguards. Governments and industry groups are working toward standards that protect fairness and human dignity.

No system is perfect yet. But progress is being made.

How Latter-day Saints Can Use AI Wisely

Here are a few principles that align with gospel teachings:

• Be aware, but not afraid. AI reflects human data. Knowing this helps us interpret its answers more thoughtfully.
• Seek multiple sources. Just as we do in gospel study, don’t rely on a single result or tool for important decisions. Always verify information from the original source.
• Look for potential blind spots. If an answer seems off, incomplete, or biased, question it.
• Remember every person’s divine worth. If you see technology treating groups unfairly, say something. Advocate for fairness.
• Use AI to lift, not divide. Whether you’re creating content, researching, teaching, or communicating, use AI in ways that reflect Christlike love.

Also, see a list of principles that can provide guardrails in your use of AI in the article “101 Ways To Use AI In Everyday Life.”

Final Thought

AI is a powerful tool. It can bless lives, improve health, strengthen communication, enhance learning, and assist in gathering Israel. But like all tools, it works best when guided by wisdom, compassion, and a commitment to fairness.

When we understand where bias comes from and how to navigate it, we can use AI in a way that honors our values and uplifts others.

For practical ideas on how to use AI, see the article “101 Ways To Use AI In Everyday Life.”

If your ward or branch meeting times changed at the beginning of the year, the ward or branch clerk should update the meeting times so they display accurately in various Church systems, such as the meetinghouse locator.

A leader or clerk should log in to Leader and Clerk Resources and choose Unit Settings, where he can update the start time of the block and of sacrament meeting.

1. Follow through with what your predecessor started if appropriate.

We need continuity and consistency. If something has been planned and publicized, it is best to continue it.

This applies primarily to static events like a particular activity, but not to continuing events that may or may not be appropriate, necessary, or desirable. Everything needs to be carefully thought through.

2. Meet with your predecessor

In the paper era, people used to meet with the person who held the calling prior, and there was a handover of information and guidance. This doesn't seem to happen anymore.

Meeting with the person can be extraordinarily useful even if no paper records need to be transferred. You need that person's knowledge and experience. Trust me, it is valuable.

Keep that institutional memory going!

3. Read the Handbook

Leadership used to give people with new callings the write-up in the Handbook that related to their calling responsibilities. No more.

YOU have to look up this guidance yourself, and you NEED to do so. One of the best ways to perpetuate problems and mess things up is to continue to do exactly what's been done in the past. If someone did something wrong in the past, continuing to do those same things will continue the wrongs.

Go back to the Handbook and carefully review what you are supposed to do. I know it sounds radical, but you do need to read the instructions. The Handbook contains the instructions for your calling.

4. Review other online guidance

In case you hadn't noticed yet, the Church doesn't "print" much of anything in hard copy anymore. It puts it online and it expects us to use our initiative to digitally access it.

There is a great deal of guidance for callings online. A good place to start is the Church's homepage, where you can select "Serve" and then "Callings." A page entitled "Callings and Training" will provide you with links to most of the standard things we think of as callings.

However, there are glaring omissions. For example, I'm a Ward Building Representative. There is not an obvious link on that page to "Meetinghouse Care" like there needs to be. I had to go looking for it. It's under the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums, which is a bit of a puzzle.

Another puzzle is where you can find information about being an Interpreter, unless you specifically search the term. Unfortunately, most people call them translators, which makes it impossible to find the instruction and training. This underscores the necessity to use proper terms.

I served as a Ward Website Administrator, now referred to as the Email Communication Specialist (as of the official letter from June 2020). Currently, there is virtually nothing on that calling. My institutional knowledge could supply a great deal if anyone would rely on me, ask me, or believe me if they did.

When my calling/title was discovered by a prior stake Communications Director, she tried to conscript me, probably reacting to the "communications" term. I resisted because I knew my calling was different and under a different authority. Apparently, I offended some people with my reaction. However, I discovered official confirmation in the following:

The responsibilities of the communication council differ from the role of a ward email communication specialist, who helps bishops and branch presidents send messages to members of their units. 

5. Reason things out!

The Church is global. Increasingly, it is supplying us with principles instead of details. We need to reason things out for ourselves based on the unique needs of where we reside and live. Use your own good sense to figure out what is needed. Construct your own details from the principles.

Too often, people are assuming that no initiative is needed, that unless specifically instructed to do something, they don't need to do much of anything. This viewpoint is incredibly damaging and limited. We are instructed to use our initiative:

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

Actions, activities and events need to be guided by the principles that the Church has laid down. We are expected to internalize these principles and think things through on our own. 

6. Intent versus result 

I've never forgotten this guidance from Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

Sometimes, unintentionally, even certain extracurricular Church activities, insensitively administered, can hamper family life.

I have a little saying for myself that I use to guide what I do. If you are going to take people away from their families and away from their homes, you need to make people more effective when they are with their families and in their homes.

Some of the mindless, social, and craft activities/events at Church fail to follow this little saying's guidance or help bring us closer to Jesus Christ.

Bring People to Christ!

One thing you must remember no matter what calling you have is that the purpose of Church and all church callings is to bring people to Christ.

In a recent address by Elder Renlund, he reinforced what the Relief Society leaders taught:

As President Johnson, Sister Dennis, and Sister Yee just taught us, this organization was not intended to be merely a social club or charitable group. Its purpose was and still is divine. It is to help God’s children return to His presence.

Elder Soares reinforced this in a South American address:

The goal of every activity in the Church should be to help members build faith in the Savior. “We do not operate entertainment centers,” Elder Soares said.

Conclusion

These simple suggestions would solve so much of the confusion, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and ineptness that we deal with in the Church.

The guidance to be effective and efficient in our church administration efforts is there for us to access and implement.

Let's do it!

by Maddie Christensen

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are frequently invited by Church leaders to attend the temple regularly. For instance, in the April 2024 general conference, Elder Neil L. Andersen advised, “My beloved friends, if we are able and have not already increased our attendance at the temple, let us regularly find more time to worship in the house of the Lord.”

Even though we know temple attendance is a good thing, sometimes it can be hard to understand why attending regularly is fundamental.

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Every worthy, baptized member is entitled to receive a patriarchal blessing, which provides inspired direction from Heavenly Father. The Church has not set a specific minimum age for receiving a patriarchal blessing. The person should be young enough that many important decisions in life are still ahead. Older adults are also encouraged to receive their patriarchal blessings.

The Church policy is found in the General Handbook, section 18.17:

Every worthy, baptized member is entitled to receive a patriarchal blessing, which provides inspired direction from Heavenly Father (see Genesis 48:14–16; 49; 2 Nephi 4:3–11). Parents and Church leaders encourage members to prepare spiritually to obtain their patriarchal blessings…
 
The person who issues a Patriarchal Blessing Recommend ensures that the member is mature enough to understand the significance and sacred nature of the blessing. Ideally the member should be young enough that many important decisions in life are still ahead. However, older adults are also encouraged to receive their patriarchal blessings. Priesthood leaders should not establish a minimum age for a member to receive a patriarchal blessing.
 
A new convert should understand the basic doctrine of the gospel before receiving a patriarchal blessing.
 
For information about patriarchal blessings in special circumstances, see 38.2.10.

Learn more about patriarchal blessings in the entry “Patriarchal Blessing” in Topics and Questions. Also use the associated study guide.

You can also read about the experiences of several youth who share how they knew the time was right in the article “Ready for My Patriarchal Blessing,” in the August 2023 issue of the For the Strength of Youth magazine.

If your ward or branch meeting times changed at the beginning of the year, the ward or branch clerk should update the meeting times so they display accurately in various Church systems, such as the meetinghouse locator at maps.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

A leader or clerk should log in to Leader and Clerk Resources and choose Unit Settings, where he can update the start time of the block and of sacrament meeting.

by Michelle Pack

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

Time is at a premium these days. Between school, homework, sports, jobs, and so much more, it seems like there isn’t extra time to do something like family history work. But what if doing family history work were easy or came with a blessing? Well, it can be, and it does.

Why is family history work important?

When we do family history work, we find names of our ancestors who need temple blessings. When we find those names, we can take them to the temple so their ordinance work can be done. It is our covenant obligation as members of the Church to give those who have not heard the gospel the opportunity to receive the ordinances necessary to live with God again.

CONTINUED HERE

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The difference in America’s divisive episodes is not demonstrated by disagreeing more vehemently or that our populace has stronger, more politically polarizing positions. The difference actually lies in how we now vilify, hate, and demonize the other. In modern, contemporary times, it seems that we now think that people on the other side cannot be truly good or rational; they are more than merely misled—they are mendacious and malicious. Indeed, there is a strong case to be made that we are living through a time that is somehow unprecedented in the history of our nation, with potential existential implications for the American experiment in liberal democracy.

As we, therefore, undergo once again “the times that try men’s souls,” how can members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reflect their commitment to Christian values and gospel ideals while still demonstrating that degree of toleration, taste, and tact in politics that is becoming of those who profess to be disciples of the King of Love and giver of the two great commandments? What should Latter-day Saints do differently in periods of extreme political polarization? Should we become more or less partisan?

Part of the problem is that some people seem to think it goes without saying which political party Jesus ‘would have belonged to’ and to which party we, therefore, ought to belong. The funny thing is that both sides tend to think along these lines, including members of the Church. We should remind ourselves of Abraham Lincoln’s words from his Second Inaugural Address at that time in our nation’s history in which divisiveness led to much violence and war: 

Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged.  The prayers of both could not be answered—that of neither has been answered fully.

For a church that lives and dies with continuing revelation, I think the answer is simple: we do as the living prophets are currently teaching us to do. At different times in dispensational history, the solution to such problems as we face may have been different. For example, the Saints of God have repeatedly been commanded to “flee out of the midst of Babylon” and probably shall again. Most currently, our charge is rather to be reconciled unto Babylon herself. President Dallin H. Oaks recently taught: “On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify” [emphasis added].  

In other words, we are still called to be peacemakers. We are not called to be the victors at all costs, not adamantly uncompromising in the name of righteous consistency, but moderators and unifiers and peacemakers. He did not even say to convince or persuade, a key aspect of the democratic marketplace of ideas! I believe this is implicitly a call to be anti-radicals or radical moderates; we cannot escape the implication of being moderate in President Oaks’ admonition that we moderate and unify. Could anyone other than a sincere moderate effectively moderate?

No matter what the issue nor how high the stakes, Jesus speaks unequivocally:

He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

We must humbly refuse to join in on the contention of our times. Even when it comes to matters impinging on fundamental religious tenets, it does not seem that the ends (true laws) justify the means (prideful contention). In April 1989, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson wrote, in words as unequivocal as those of the Savior before:

Certainly, no faithful follower of God would promote any cause even remotely related to religion if rooted in controversy, because contention is not of the Lord.

This illustrates how the gospel of Jesus Christ does indeed demand something radical of us, something unthinkable, the sort of thing that would cause many of His disciples to “[walk] no more with Him.” We are radically required to refrain from political radicalization, or from radical behavior against our fellow man in political society. Jesus said, “It is better to offer the other [cheek] than to revile again. … For it is better that thou suffer thine enemy to take these things than to contend with him.”

This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. … In a democratic society, we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election [emphasis added].

The prophets, seers, and revelators who constitute the First Presidency are clearly calling us to be moderate—or to exhibit the virtue of moderation, which is well-attested in modern revelation—in both our attitude and our methods while pursuing political change.

More demanding still, I believe we are invited to be moderate not only in our political attitudes and political behavior but also in our political beliefs. We must exhibit sufficient humility, recognizing that we approach objective truth only imperfectly and subjectively, to “consider it possible, in the bowels of Christ, that we may be mistaken.” If not mistaken about value-outcomes (such as the correctness of abortion), then at least about value-hierarchies (such as whether or not to make that issue the deciding issue of one’s vote or party identification). 

President Oaks teaches that the Church will at times “exercise its right to endorse or oppose specific legislative proposals” but that “each citizen [must] decide which issues are most important to him or her at any particular time. Then members should seek inspiration on how to exercise their [political] influence according to their individual priorities.” We are specifically called to become issue-voters rather than party-voters, which “will not be easy [and which] may require changing party support or candidate choices, even from election to election.” This is itself a form of moderation, and specifically a moderation of belief about the holistic goodness of one party and depravity of the other, including their political adherents. 

To put it simply, we cannot afford to believe that the other side is evil. Certainly, we should beware of secret combinations, but in a world chock-full of conspiracy theories, this is not where President Oaks has chosen to put any emphasis.

One other reason why we should be moderate in our beliefs is that the truth so often exists in the midst of apparent paradox and contradiction—better understood as balance. This is, I think, an interpretation of “opposition in all things” that is equally as necessary as that traditional interpretation, which focuses primarily on temptation and trial. This is the opposition of classic tragedy, of good against good, of truth against truth, of impossible choices and balancing acts. It is the opposition of opposites, but also of compliments—just as God embodies all contradictions: Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, eyes aflame and a voice as rushing waters, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world and the firstfruits of the resurrection, and male and female. Indeed, Joseph Smith remarked that “by proving contraries, truth is made manifest,” and Brigham Young similarly said that “all facts are proved and made manifest by their opposite.”

Moderation in belief may be the surest road to true belief because the truth exists in the tension and contradiction between opposing sides. Thus, neither side is always entirely true. This is a conception of our increasingly accurate approximation of truth as a narrowing sinusoid rather than a rational function monotonically approaching its limit. This is the “dialectic of enlightenment.” However, this is probably only true for us fallible humans, because there is no ideological moderation or equivocation in omniscience; rather, God exhibits the balance of simultaneous superlatives (Anselm’s definition)—the ultimate contradiction.

If one cannot abide the ideas that have been conveyed and still insists that we should be radical with a righteous zeal in our political beliefs, integralistically declining to distinguish between religious and political truth or between ontological and practical reality—even then, I think the teachings of the Church are unambiguous in one final respect: that we should not be partisan.

Beginning at least with Brigham Young, the Church has taught that members of the Church in good will and good standing can belong to any/either of the major political parties:

Are we a political people? Yes, very political indeed. But what party do you belong to or would you vote for? I will tell you whom we will vote for: we will vote for the man who will sustain the principles of civil and religious liberty, the man who knows the most and who has the best heart and brain for a statesman; and we do not care a farthing whether he is a whig, a democrat, … a republican, … or anything else. These are our politics.

President Oaks similarly insisted:

We should never assert that a faithful Latter-day Saint cannot belong to a particular party or vote for a particular candidate. We teach correct principles and leave our members to choose how to prioritize and apply those principles on the issues presented from time to time. We also insist, and we ask our local leaders to insist, that political choices and affiliations not be the subject of teachings or advocacy in any of our Church meetings.

Can it be any mistake that we had a doctor during the pandemic, and we could potentially have a juror during the coming constitutional crisis? Recall that President Kimball instructed President Gordon B. Hinckley to “[c]all Nelson and Oaks to the Quorum of the Twelve, in that order.”

In President Oaks’ call for Latter-day Saints “to moderate and unify” is the fact that to sincerely and effectively moderate, we must be moderate—in attitude, behavior, and belief. Our role in doing so may very well prove indispensable to the preservation of the Constitution, the very passage of which President George Washington attributed to the Founders’ willingness to compromise with each other—even on fundamental moral issues like slavery—for the sake of union:

The Constitution, which we now present, is the result of a spirit of amity and of that mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable.

I do not think that a willingness to compromise politically requires compromising our convictions nor equivocating about absolute truth, but that is a topic deserving of an essay of its own. For now, suffice it to say that I think more of us should consider emulating Eugene England and becoming “radical middle-of-the-roader[s].”

The post The Radical Center: Why Latter-day Saints Should Embrace Political Moderation appeared first on Public Square Magazine.

Read the story “Eggs and Pennies.”

2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session

It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon

President Mark L. Pace
Sunday School General President

Main Points

• It is my prayer that reading the Book of Mormon this year will be a joy and a blessing for each of us.
• Study implies effort.
• We can have a personal experience with the love of God by prayerfully studying the Book of Mormon.
• We need the Book of Mormon every day.

Gospel Principles taught

 Jesus Christ, Agency, The Holy Ghost, Prayer, Scriptures, Second Coming

Gospel Doctrine taught

Prophets and Revelation, Prophets

Scriptures

Doctrine and Covenants 64:33, Doctrine and Covenants 11:13, Moses 5:12–16, Daniel 2:34–35, 44–45; Doctrine and Covenants 65:2, Doctrine and Covenants 50:22; see also verses 17–21, Jacob 1:3–4, Jacob 4:6, 1 Nephi 5:21–22, 1 Nephi 8:14–16,  2 Nephi 25:26, Doctrine and Covenants 6:22–24

Other Sources

• Topics and Questions, “Dispensations,” Gospel Library
• Conversion Is Our Goal,” Come Follow Me—For Home and Church: Book of Mormon 2024
• Ryan Jensen, “Church Distributes 200 Millionth Copy of the Book of Mormon,” Church News, Dec. 29, 2023
• Introduction to the Book of Mormon

Related talks: 

• Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints
• Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006
• Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Remarks,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018
• Kevin W. Pearson, “Are You Still Willing?,” Liahona, Nov. 2022
• Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017 

Look for Jesus Christ:

• Testimony of Christ.
  • Heavenly Father lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. The Book of Mormon contains His words and conveys His love. President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living prophet on the earth today. I know these things to be true because of the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost, which witness I first received while reading the Book of Mormon as a boy. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Inspiring Words & Phrases

• Your daily connection with God and His word has profound consequences.
• Now, today, we live in the dispensation of the fulness of times. This is the only dispensation that will not end in an apostasy. It is this dispensation that will usher in the Second Coming of the Savior Jesus Christ and His millennial reign. So, what’s different about this dispensation? What has the Lord provided us today, especially for our time, that will help us draw near to the Savior and never leave Him? One answer that comes to my mind is the scriptures—and particularly the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
• While God has promised there will never be another general apostasy, we need to be mindful and careful to avoid a personal apostasy—remembering, as President Russell M. Nelson has taught, “We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth.”
• Studying the Book of Mormon, as we are doing this year, always brings us closer to the Savior—and helps us stay close to Him.
• Sometimes reading the Book of Mormon is just about feeling connected to God today—nourishing the soul, being strengthened spiritually before heading out to face the world, or finding healing after a rough day out in the world.
• The great worth and spiritual power of the scriptures continue undimmed in our lives today.
• There has never been a people in history with the access to the Book of Mormon and other scriptures that we enjoy today.
• The most important copy of the Book of Mormon is our personal copy. It is the copy that we read.
• From the time I started reading the Book of Mormon, I felt that Heavenly Father was aware of my efforts. And I felt that I mattered to Him. As I read and prayed, comfortable, peaceful feelings rested upon me. Chapter by chapter, the light of faith was growing brighter inside my soul. In time, I realized that these feelings were confirmations of truth from the Holy Ghost. I came to know for myself that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
• Nephi said it right. It was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry the scriptures with us throughout our lives. The Book of Mormon is the “keystone” that makes this dispensation different from all previous dispensations.

Lists

Reading the Savior’s teachings in the scriptures:

• Helps us transform our homes into sanctuaries of faith
• Helps us transform our homes into centers of gospel learning
• Invites the Spirit into our homes
• Enables the Spirit to fill our souls with joy
• Enables the Spirit to convert us into lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ

Reading in the holy books of scripture, we find the following pattern in every dispensation:

• God restores or reveals the gospel of Jesus Christ through His prophets. 
• The people follow the prophets and are greatly blessed. 
• Over time, some people stop heeding the words of the prophets and distance themselves from the Lord and His gospel. This is what we call apostasy. 
• We see a pattern of restoration and apostasy repeated in the dispensations of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others.

President Nelson’s promises to those who study the Book of Mormon prayerfully every day:

• You will make better decisions every day
• The windows of Heaven will open
• You will receive answers to your own questions
• You will receive direction for your own life

Invitations/Challenges

•  It is my prayer that reading the Book of Mormon this year will be a joy and a blessing for each of us and will draw us ever nearer to the Savior.

Warnings

• we need to be mindful and careful to avoid a personal apostasy 

Blessings/Promises

•  Studying the Book of Mormon, as we are doing this year, always brings us closer to the Savior—and helps us stay close to Him.
• We study the scriptures so the Holy Ghost, the great teacher, can deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help us become more like Them.
• “Heavenly Father wants you to know for yourself. But you must put in the effort. You need to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know by the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father will answer your prayers.”
• As we study the Book of Mormon and follow the living prophet, there will be no personal apostasy in our lives.

Stories:

• The story of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. This vision teaches us how important it is that we have a personal experience with the love of God. Lehi was an intentional parent – he led his children to partake of the fruit with clear directions so he couldn’t be misunderstood.
• President Pace had a similar experience with his mother, who instructed him to work to know for himself that the gospel is true. “Her question ignited in me a desire to know for myself.” He read from the Book of Mormon every night before going to bed, then knelt and prayer to know of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon

Equations:

• IF ‘we improve our learning at home’ THEN ‘we improve our teaching at Church’
• IF ‘it was wise for Lehi and his family to have the scriptures’ THEN ‘it is just as wise for us today’

Application Ideas

1. “What has the Holy Ghost taught us this week during our study of the Book of Mormon?” Write your answer in your journal or scripture journal.
2. Ask yourself, “How does what I studied this week bring me closer to the Savior?” Write your answers in your journal.
3. How can you have a personal experience with the love of God this week?
4. How can you increase your experience with the Book of Mormon this week?

The post Consider Conference: It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon appeared first on FAIR.

by Maddie Christensen

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

Sometimes paying a full tithe is overwhelming. With so many expenses mounting and the cost of living ever increasing, it can be daunting to give up 10% of our income. Even though we know that tithing is a commandment, recognizing why we should follow it can be difficult. 

David A. Bednar said, “The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty; it is an important step in the process of personal sanctification.”

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If your ward or branch meeting times changed at the beginning of the year, the ward or branch clerk should update the meeting times so they display accurately in various Church systems, such as the meetinghouse locator at maps.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

A leader or clerk should log in to Leader and Clerk Resources and choose Other in the menu, then select Unit Settings, where they can update the start time of the block and of sacrament meeting.

The For the Strength of Youth guide helps us understand that Jesus Christ has the power to help us resist pornography and repent. We should turn toward Him and turn away from darkness.

Pornography is a representation, in pictures or words, that is designed to arouse sexual feelings. Pornography comes in many forms, including videos, pictures, books, and music. It can also be messages or images sent between friends.

Pornography treats things that are sacred—our physical bodies and sexual feelings—with disrespect. If we come across pornography, we should turn away immediately. Intentionally viewing pornography is sinful and harms our ability to feel the Spirit. It weakens our self-control and distorts the way we see ourselves and others.

Read the section “Walk in God’s Light” to learn ways to respond to pornography, such as the following:

When you find yourself tempted to use media or technology in unhealthy ways—whether it’s driving away the Spirit or even just wasting your time— try the following:

1. Call it what it is. Acknowledge what you are tempted to do . You might even say it aloud—for example, “This image is pornography,” “This doesn’t feel right,” or “This could hurt someone’s feelings.”
2. Replace what you are doing with a better choice. Get away; move to another room or go outside. Focus on something good.
3. Connect with someone or something you love and respect— maybe a family member, a supportive friend, or your favorite scripture. Most of all, connect with your Heavenly Father, and pray for strength.

For more help, see “Media Safety” in the Gospel Library.

You can download your own copy of the For the Strength of Youth guide in PDF format or read it online.

Related articles:

• Resources in Overcoming Pornography
• Articles about pornography