there is more than enough guidance available to each of us if we will listen.

 It is not surprising that in the face of tremendous evil and temptation the Lord does not leave us to find our way on our own. In fact, there is more than enough guidance available to each of us if we will listen. You have received the gift of the Holy Ghost to direct and inspire you. You have the scriptures, parents, Church leaders and teachers. You also have the words of the prophets, seers, and revelators who live in our day. There is so much guidance and direction available that you won’t make major mistakes in your life unless you consciously ignore the guidance you receive.

Paul V. Johnson, The Blessings of General Conference, October 2005

Following the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ day by day is the happiest and most satisfying course in life

Following the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ day by day is the happiest and most satisfying course in life. For one thing, a person avoids a great many problems and regrets....We sidestep the various forms of addiction. We do not fall into the ditch of dishonest conduct. We cross over the abyss of immorality and infidelity. We bypass the people and things that, even if popular, would jeopardize our physical and spiritual well-being. We avoid the choices that harm or disadvantage others and instead acquire the habits of self-discipline and service.

Why the Covenant Path

April 2021

General Conference

D. Todd Christofferson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/54christofferson?lang=eng&verse=#p

When light is present, darkness is vanquished and must depart. … When the spiritual light of the Holy Ghost is present, the darkness of Satan departs.”

The unexpected loss of light was designed to show that without electricity, the darkness of the cavern was impenetrable. It succeeded; we “felt” the darkness. When the lights did return, the darkness instantly surrendered, as darkness must always surrender, to even the faintest light. My sons and I have been left with a memory of a darkness we had never known, a greater appreciation for light we will never forget, and the assurance that we are never all alone in the dark.

....

Because “light cleaveth unto light,” the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost will lead you to make choices that will tend to keep you in the light; conversely, choices made without the Holy Ghost’s influence will tend to lead you into shadows and darkness. Elder Robert D. Hales taught: “When light is present, darkness is vanquished and must depart. … When the spiritual light of the Holy Ghost is present, the darkness of Satan departs.”

....

You are never beyond the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Light Cleaveth unto Light

April 2021

General Conference

Timothy J. Dyches

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/53dyches?lang=eng&verse=#p

We should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.

 Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism wherever we live. We should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.

What else are faithful Latter-day Saints to do? We must pray for the Lord to guide and bless all nations and their leaders. This is part of our article of faith. Being subject to presidents or rulers of course poses no obstacle to our opposing individual laws or policies. It does require that we exercise our influence civilly and peacefully within the framework of our constitutions and applicable laws. On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify.

Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution

April 2021

Dallin H. Oaks

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/51oaks?lang=eng&verse=#p

It Takes Faith!

 A nonbeliever might say that faith is for the weak. But this assertion overlooks the power of faith. Would the Savior’s Apostles have continued to teach His doctrine after His death, at the peril of their lives, if they had doubted Him? Would Joseph and Hyrum Smith have suffered martyrs’ deaths defending the Restoration of the Lord’s Church unless they had a sure witness that it was true? Would nearly 2,000 Saints have died along the pioneer trail if they did not have faith that the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored? Truly, faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.

Do not minimize the faith you already have. It takes faith to join the Church and remain faithful. It takes faith to follow prophets rather than pundits and popular opinion. It takes faith to serve a mission during a pandemic. It takes faith to live a chaste life when the world shouts that God’s law of chastity is now outmoded. It takes faith to teach the gospel to children in a secular world. It takes faith to plead for the life of a loved one and even more faith to accept a disappointing answer....

Please know this: if everything and everyone else in the world whom you trust should fail, Jesus Christ and His Church will never fail you. The Lord never slumbers, nor does He sleep. He “is the same yesterday, today, and [tomorrow].” He will not forsake His covenants, His promises, or His love for His people. He works miracles today, and He will work miracles tomorrow.

Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/49nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters.

Choose to believe in Jesus Christ. If you have doubts about God the Father and His Beloved Son or the validity of the Restoration or the veracity of Joseph Smith’s divine calling as a prophet, choose to believe and stay faithful. Take your questions to the Lord and to other faithful sources. Study with the desire to believe rather than with the hope that you can find a flaw in the fabric of a prophet’s life or a discrepancy in the scriptures. Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters. Allow the Lord to lead you on your journey of spiritual discovery.

Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/49nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

As we are increasingly coming to know the Savior, scriptural passages and the words of the prophets become so intimately meaningful to us that they become our own words.

 I am realizing that how intimately I know the Savior significantly influences my ability to hear Him as well as how I respond....We need to recognize that knowing the Savior is the most important pursuit of our lives. It should take priority over anything else....As we are increasingly coming to know the Savior, scriptural passages and the words of the prophets become so intimately meaningful to us that they become our own words. It is not about copying the words, feelings, and experiences of others as much as it is coming to know for ourselves, in our own unique way, by experimenting upon the word and receiving a witness from the Holy Ghost.

Our Personal Savior

April 2021

Michael John U. Teh

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/48teh?lang=eng&verse=#p

For that reason, they cannot prevail, and we cannot fall!

Please follow our living prophet President Nelson’s wise counsel. As recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 21:5–6:

“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

“For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.”

For that reason, they cannot prevail, and we cannot fall!

They Cannot Prevail; We Cannot Fall

April 2021

Chi Hong (Sam) Wong

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/47wong?lang=eng&verse=#p

Which of all the voices rise clearly and meaningfully above the fray? It is the voice of God’s prophets, seers, and revelators.

 Our current world is deluged in a “war of words and tumult of opinions” (Joseph Smith—History 1:10). Paul reminds us that “there are … so many kinds of voices in the world” (1 Corinthians 14:10). Which of all the voices rise clearly and meaningfully above the fray? It is the voice of God’s prophets, seers, and revelators.

God Loves His Children

April 2021

General Conference

Taniela B. Wakolo

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/46wakolo?lang=eng&verse=#p

It behooves each of us to measure up to the sacred ordination we have received.

 The future is bright for God’s covenant-keeping people. The Lord will increasingly call upon His servants who worthily hold the priesthood to bless, comfort, and strengthen mankind and to help prepare the world and its people for His Second Coming. It behooves each of us to measure up to the sacred ordination we have received. We can do this!

What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/36nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

to love our neighbor. We show our love by serving.

 The two great commandments can guide us: first, to love God and, second, to love our neighbor. We show our love by serving.

What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/36nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

I prayed that the people would feel the Lord’s love through my loving service. I have learned this is the key to serving and blessing others in His name.

 In my few moments this evening, I will speak to those of you who want to be even more effective in your personal priesthood service. You know of the charge that you are to magnify your call to serve. But you may wonder what to magnify your calling can mean for you.

I will start with the newest deacons because they are the most likely to feel uncertain about what magnifying their priesthood service might mean. Newly ordained elders might also want to listen. And a bishop in his first weeks of service might be interested too.

....I prayed that the people would feel the Lord’s love through my loving service. I have learned this is the key to serving and blessing others in His name.

Bless in His Name

April 2021

General Conference

Henry B. Eyring

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/34eyring?lang=eng&verse=#p

Please use your imaginations to increase faith in Christ, not ruin it.

 Of course, imagining lies harms faith. My friends, intentionally envisioning or viewing things that conflict with who you really are, especially pornography, will weaken your faith in Christ and, without repentance, could destroy it. Please use your imaginations to increase faith in Christ, not ruin it...The choice is yours! The Lord said of you, “The power [to choose] is in them.” Elder Neil L. Andersen explained, “Your faith will grow not by chance, but by choice.” He also said, “[Any] honest questions [you may have] … will be settled with patience and an eye of faith.”

You Can Gather Israel!

April 2021

General Conference

Ahmad S. Corbitt

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/32corbitt?lang=eng&verse=#p

Bishops, please know that a relatively short time spent with a young priest, young woman, or young adult can help them understand the power available to them through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

 Bishops, please know that a relatively short time spent with a young priest, young woman, or young adult can help them understand the power available to them through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Bishops—Shepherds over the Lord’s Flock

April 2021

General Conference

Quentin L. Cook

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/31cook?lang=eng&verse=#p

When we choose to follow Christ, we choose to be changed. A man or woman changed for Christ will be captained by Christ

 Jesus Christ is the light that we should hold up even during the dark times of our mortal life (see 3 Nephi 18:24). When we choose to follow Christ, we choose to be changed. A man or woman changed for Christ will be captained by Christ, and we will be asking, as Paul did, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). We will “follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). We will “walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). (See Ezra Taft Benson, “Born of God,” Ensign, July 1989, 2, 4; Tambuli, Oct. 1989, 2, 6.)

Ye Shall Be Free

April 2021

General Conference

Thierry K. Mutombo

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/27mutombo?lang=eng&verse=#p

When others receive benefits because of their diligent choices, we cannot rightly conclude that we have been treated unfairly when we have had the same opportunity.

 To begin to make some sense of it, let us explore various types of unfairness. Consider a family in which each child received a weekly monetary allowance for doing common household chores. One son, John, purchased candy; one daughter, Anna, saved her money. Eventually, Anna bought herself a bicycle. John thought it was totally unfair that Anna got a bike when he did not. But John’s choices created the inequality, not parental actions. Anna’s decision to forgo the immediate gratification of eating candy did not impose any unfairness on John, because he had the same opportunity as his sister.

Our decisions can likewise yield long-term advantages or disadvantages. As the Lord revealed, “If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” When others receive benefits because of their diligent choices, we cannot rightly conclude that we have been treated unfairly when we have had the same opportunity.

Infuriating Unfairness

April 2021

General Conference

Dale G. Renlund

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/25renlund?lang=eng&verse=#p

Focus on developing faith in Jesus Christ, that He has both the power to make everything right and yearns to do so.

 We can try to hold our questions about how and when for later and focus on developing faith in Jesus Christ, that He has both the power to make everything right and yearns to do so. For us to insist on knowing how or when is unproductive and, after all, myopic.

Infuriating Unfairness

April 2021

General Conference

Dale G. Renlund

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/25renlund?lang=eng&verse=#p

Easter, a time for the righteous principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Atonement to “pass over”—pass over conflict and contention, pass over despair and transgression, and ultimately pass over death

 Tomorrow is Easter, a time for the righteous principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Atonement to “pass over”—pass over conflict and contention, pass over despair and transgression, and ultimately pass over death. It is a time to pledge total loyalty in word and deed to the Lamb of God, who “[bore] our griefs, and carried our sorrows”

Not as the World Giveth

April 2021

General Conference

Jeffrey R. Holland

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/23holland?lang=eng&verse=#p

No one can employ a sharp tongue or unkind words and still “sing the song of redeeming love.”

 No one can employ a sharp tongue or unkind words and still “sing the song of redeeming love.”

Not as the World Giveth

April 2021

General Conference

Jeffrey R. Holland

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/23holland?lang=eng&verse=#p

No, for the truly difficult problems we need what the scriptures call “the powers of heaven,” and to access these powers we must live by what these same scriptures call “principles of righteousness.”

 Such help and hope are dearly needed because in this worldwide congregation today are many who struggle with any number of challenges—physical or emotional, social or financial, or a dozen other kinds of trouble. But many of these we are not strong enough to address in and of ourselves, for the help and peace we need is not the kind “the world giveth.” No, for the truly difficult problems we need what the scriptures call “the powers of heaven,” and to access these powers we must live by what these same scriptures call “principles of righteousness.” Now, understanding that connection between principle and power is the one lesson the human family never seems able to learn, so says the God of heaven and earth!

And what are those principles? Well, they are listed repeatedly in scripture, they are taught again and again in conferences like this, and in our dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith was taught them in response to his own version of the cry “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In the cold, uncaring confinement of Liberty Jail, he was taught that the principles of righteousness included such virtues as patience, long-suffering, gentleness, and love unfeigned. Absent those principles, it was certain we would eventually face discord and enmity.

In that regard, may I speak for a moment about the absence in some quarters of these principles of righteousness in our time. As a rule, I am an upbeat, cheerful kind of fellow, and there is so much that is good and beautiful in our world. Certainly we have more material blessings than any generation in history, but in 21st-century culture generally and too often in the Church, we still see lives that are in trouble, with compromises resulting in too many broken covenants and too many broken hearts. Consider the coarse language that parallels sexual transgression, both of which are so omnipresent in movies or on television, or note the sexual harassment and other forms of impropriety in the workplace about which we read so much these days. In matters of covenantal purity, the sacred is too often being made common and the holy is too often being made profane. To any who are tempted to walk or talk or behave in these ways—“as the world giveth,” so to speak—don’t expect it to lead to peaceful experience; I promise you in the name of the Lord that it won’t. “Wickedness never was happiness,” an ancient prophet once said. When the dance is over, the piper must always be paid, and most often it is in a currency of tears and regret.

Not as the World Giveth

April 2021

General Conference

Jeffrey R. Holland

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/23holland?lang=eng&verse=#p

You have to go there yourself

 So it is with the word of God. We can teach it, we can preach it, we can explain it. We can talk about it, we can describe it, we can even testify of it. But until a person feels the sacred word of God distill upon his or her soul like the dews from heaven through the power of the Spirit, it will be like looking at a postcard or someone else’s vacation photos. You have to go there yourself. Conversion is a personal journey—a journey of gathering.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

April 2021

General Conference

Jan E. Newman

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/14newman?lang=eng&verse=#p

Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becoming like our Savior will not happen randomly

President Henry B. Eyring taught: “We have the greatest opportunity with the young. The best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of [the] mortal enemy, and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles.” Such teaching will help them realize their divine identity, their purpose, and the rich blessings that await them as they make sacred covenants and receive ordinances along the covenant path.

We cannot wait for conversion to simply happen to our children. Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becoming like our Savior will not happen randomly. Being intentional in loving, teaching, and testifying can help children begin at a young age to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is essential to our children’s testimony of and conversion to Jesus Christ; we desire them to “always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them.”

Essential Conversations

April 2021

General Conference

Joy D. Jones

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/13jones?lang=eng&verse=#p

Testimonies are best cultivated in the home.

 Testimonies are best cultivated in the home. During this past year, many of you have dramatically increased the study of the gospel in your homes. I thank you, and your children will thank you.

Welcome Message

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/11nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

As I tried hard every day to do the things I knew I needed to do to invite the Spirit of the Lord into my life and kept doing them, I was no longer attracted to cigarettes and have not been since

By consistently applying the doctrine of Christ in our lives, we will overcome inertia that impedes change and fear that foils action. We will receive personal revelation, for the Holy Ghost “will show unto you all things what ye should do,” and “the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”

For 20 years, Brother Huang Juncong struggled with alcohol, cigarettes, and compulsive gambling. When introduced to Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, Brother Huang desired to change for the sake of his young family. His greatest challenge was smoking. A heavy chain-smoker, he had tried to quit many times unsuccessfully. One day these words from the Book of Mormon lodged in his mind: “with a sincere heart, with real intent.” Though previous attempts had failed, he felt perhaps he could change with help from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

The full-time missionaries united their faith with his and provided an action plan of practical interventions, along with heavy doses of prayer and studying the word of God. With sincerity and real intent, Brother Huang acted with faithful determination and found that as he focused more on the new habits he wished to develop, such as studying the Book of Mormon, he focused less on the habits he wanted to lose.

Recalling his experience from 15 years ago, he remarked, “I don’t remember when exactly I quit smoking, but as I tried hard every day to do the things I knew I needed to do to invite the Spirit of the Lord into my life and kept doing them, I was no longer attracted to cigarettes and have not been since.” Through applying the teachings of the Book of Mormon, Brother Huang’s life has been transformed, and he has become a better husband and father.

Huang Juncong Family

President Russell M. Nelson has promised: “As you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”

The Power of the Book of Mormon in Conversion, Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, April 2020 General Conference