Summary Of 183rd Annual LDS General Conference, Sunday Afternoon General Session: Faith, Fidelity, And A Rebuttal Of Trinitarianism

The Sunday Afternoon General Session of the 183rd Annual General Conference was dominated by the two power hitters in the apostolic lineup, Elders Jeffrey Holland and Dallin Oaks. Elder Holland talked about faith, wanting to drive home the message that all things are possible to those who believe, and Elder Oaks talked about fidelity, condemning "cafeteria Christianity" and political correctness, calling for LDS members to stand tall for our values. But there was also useful counsel given by three members of the Seventy who, as far as I know, gave their first Conference talks ever. Elder Christoffel Golden Jr. delivered a powerful rebuttal of trinitarianism, and we also received useful counsel on how to find acceptance of the Lord and a reminder that we will always find sanctuary in the stakes of Zion no matter how bad things get. For the second time during this conference, a woman gave a prayer: Sister Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, offered the invocation. The Salt Lake Tribune has a good secular-oriented story on the session.

Video and audio archives and written transcripts of the talks are now available HERE. Mormon Newsroom provides a gallery of photos.

Summaries of Other Conference Sessions:

-- Saturday Morning General Session
-- Saturday Afternoon General Session
-- Saturday Evening Priesthood Session
-- Sunday Morning General Session

Summaries of the talks are available through both the LDS Church News Portal Page and the Deseret News. Clicking on the speaker's name will take you directly to the Deseret News story about the speech (after the jump):

Summary Of 183rd Annual LDS General Conference, Sunday Morning General Session: Rewards Through Obedience And More Calls For Missionary Outreach

In the end, the primary theme of the Sunday Morning General Session of the 183rd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned out to be obedience. Obedience not only can bring greater liberty, but can also minimize painful experience and bring rich rewards in the end. Counsel was also given to not wait for the God's light to come to us, but to affirmatively seek God's light. Counsel was also given to communicate with children in a manner more reminiscent of that exhibited by the Savior, using that "still small voice" that at times can pierce one to the very center just as it did the Nephites after the post-Crucifixion cataclysm which affected their homeland. And, of course, there was another call issued for more vigorous missionary work, particularly a member-missionary outreach, but in a manner that shows we don't look upon non-members are merely being potential investigators.

Video and audio archives and written transcripts of the talks are now available HERE. Mormon Newsroom provides a gallery of photos.

Summaries of Other Conference Sessions:

-- Saturday Morning General Session
-- Saturday Afternoon General Session
-- Saturday Evening Priesthood Session
-- Sunday Afternoon General Session

Summaries of the talks are available through both the LDS Church News Portal Page and the Deseret News. Clicking on the speaker's name will take you directly to the Deseret News story about the speech (after the jump):

Summary Of 183rd Annual LDS General Conference, Saturday Evening Priesthood Session: Will We Have To Become A "Peculiar People" Once Again?

The Saturday Evening Priesthood Session of the 183rd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints raised the question in my mind as to whether or not we will find ourselves becoming a "peculiar people" once again after one Apostle pointed out that the world is moving further and further away from our standards with each passing day, and the young people of today are facing moral and ethical challenges never dreamed of by their fathers and grandfathers. There was also a reminder that although we are all united in our testimony of the restored gospel and our commitment to keep God's commandments, we are diverse in our cultural, social and political preferences. We are not clones of one another and should avoid judging someone's worthiness adversely merely because they may look different than us.

Video and audio archives and written transcripts of the talks are now available HERE. Mormon Newsroom provides a gallery of photos.

Summaries of Other Conference Sessions:

-- Saturday Morning General Session
-- Saturday Afternoon General Session
-- Sunday Morning General Session
-- Sunday Afternoon General Session

Summaries of the talks are available through both the LDS Church News Portal Page and the Deseret News. Clicking on the speaker's name will take you directly to the Deseret News story about the speech (after the jump):

Summary Of 183rd Annual LDS General Conference, Saturday Afternoon General Session: Worldwide LDS Membership Now 14,782,483

The Saturday Afternoon General Session of the 183rd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began with the traditional litany of housekeeping announcements, to include changes in the leadership structure (releases and accessions). Specifically, the entire Young Women's General Presidency has been honorably released from their posts, and their replacements are Bonnie L. Oscarson (President), Carol McConkie (First Counselor), and Evelyn Marriott (Second Counselor). Many Mormons are expressing their dismay on Twitter over Sister Dalton's release; she touched the hearts and earned the admiration of many. Former BYU quarterback Gifford Nielsen has been called to the First Quorum of the Seventy. The annual membership report now shows 3005 Stakes, 347 Missions, 591 Districts, 29,014 Wards, and 14,782,483 Members worldwide. The latter figure represents an increase of 341,137 over the total of 14,441,346 reported in April 2012, and since the same definition of membership was used both years, it is a genuine increase.

The session also featured a fervent defense of the Church's position on sexual morality, as well as exhortations for everyone to catch the wave on missionary work. A report about the Church in Africa was quite encouraging; it appears a steady stream of Africans are joining the Church.

Video and audio archives and written transcripts of the talks are now available HERE. Mormon Newsroom provides a gallery of photos.

Summaries of Other Conference Sessions:

-- Saturday Morning General Session
-- Saturday Evening Priesthood Session
-- Sunday Morning General Session
-- Sunday Afternoon General Session

Summaries of the talks are available through both the LDS Church News Portal Page and the Deseret News. Clicking on the speaker's name will take you directly to the Deseret News story about the speech (after the jump):

Summary Of 183rd Annual LDS General Conference, Saturday Morning General Session: New Temples For Cedar City And Rio, And Beware Of The "Tolerance Trap"

On April 6th, 2013, the Saturday Morning General Session of the 183rd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints kicked off with the announcement of two new temples, a condemnation of the enshrinement of the Tolerance Cult in our society that promotes such intolerance against social conservatives and other people of faith, and that the Atonement should not be viewed as a license to sin. The opening session also marked an organized counteroffensive against the feminism which is slowly infecting LDS ranks, but it was done in a spirit of love without condemning feminism or feminists. And, for the first time, a woman gave a prayer during a General Conference session; Jean Stevens, first counselor in the Primary Presidency, offered the benediction at the close of the session.

Video and audio archives and written transcripts of the talks are now available HERE. Mormon Newsroom provides a gallery of photos. Good secular-oriented coverage is provided by the Salt Lake Tribune.

Summaries of Other Conference Sessions:

-- Saturday Afternoon General Session
-- Saturday Evening Priesthood Session
-- Sunday Morning General Session
-- Sunday Afternoon General Session

Summaries of the talks are available through both the LDS Church News Portal Page and the Deseret News. Clicking on the speaker's name will take you directly to the Deseret News story about the speech (after the jump):

LDS General Young Women Meeting Expands On The 2013 Mutual Theme "Standing In Holy Places"

On March 30th, 2013, the General Young Women Meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, with 21,000 people in attendance. It was also broadcast to hundreds of thousands of other young women throughout the world. Although held a week before General Conference itself, it's generally considered to kick off Conference week. Archives and transcripts of the talks will be available HERE within the next few days. A special video shown during the meeting is available HERE. There are stories published in LDS Church News, and synopses are provided below, in the order in which the speakers appeared:

-- Sister Ann M. Dibb, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, discussed the instruction to “stand ye in holy places, and be not moved”, and noted it's found is three separate sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. She said that while a holy place can be a physical environment or a geographical location, like a temple, church building or a home, it can also be a distinct condition, position or state of mind. In the latter case, standing in holy places can include such seemingly mundane actions as walking out of a bad party or sharing a testimony with a friend.

“This means holy places can also include moments in time,” said Sister Dibb, “moments when the Holy Ghost testifies to us, moments when we feel Heavenly Father’s love, or moments when we receive an answer to our prayers. Even more, I believe any time you have the courage to stand for what is right … you are creating a holy place.”

In the final analysis, Sister Dibb concluded that standing in holy places confers protection, strength, and peace in unsettling times.

-- Sister Mary N. Cook, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, encouraged young women to stand in holy places for their ancestors, for themselves and their immediate families, and for their future families, telling them that their righteous choices will qualify them to make and keep sacred covenants that will bind their families together eternally. To drive the message home, she cited the example of a young lady named Kate, who lost her father to a stroke shortly after she got baptized at the age of 14. To cope, Kate tried to be as close to the Lord as possible by reading her scriptures, praying, and writing in her journal frequently. She kept her testimony vibrant by writing it down, and attended church and Young Women every week. Then, at age 21 as Kate was getting ready to serve a mission, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Kate had to decide whether to stay home and support her mother or go on her mission. Her mother received a priesthood blessing and, assured that her mother would survive her illness, Kate continued her plans to serve a mission. Today, she's in a temple marriage and raising a family, and credits this to the decisions she made when the first life crisis struck at age 14.

Sister Cook concluded by saying, “Decide now to do all you can to fill your lamps, that your strong testimony and example may be woven into the lives of many generations, past, present and future".

-- Sister Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women General President, discussed how young people are being prepared as missionaries. She said that when she heard the announcement of the change in missionary age during the October 2012 General Conference, she was thrilled and felt a sense that we must be ready whenever a prophet speaks. She reminded the young ladies that we must be worthy and respond to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. As more evidence that the announcement was the Lord's will, she said many youth expressed to her that they had felt stirrings within their hearts even before the announcement was made that they should increase their preparation. When the Lord gives direction to the Church, many people get a personal validating witness from the Holy Ghost.

But Sister Dalton directed much of her talk at parents. She stressed that homes can be missionary training centers, family history centers, and a refuge from the storms in the world. The Church can help, but parents do it best and most effectively. Sister Dalton suggested four things that can help the young women prepare for future roles and responsibilities:

1. Obtain a temple recommend and seek out family names and take them to the temple to perform baptisms.

2. Read the Book of Mormon.

3. Receive, recognize, respond to and rely on the Holy Ghost.

4. Be pure enough to hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

-- And finally, the Priesthood was there to show its support for the efforts of the Young Women in the person of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor to the First Presidency. President Uchtdorf wanted to let the young women know that they will find their way on their journey home and be an inspiration to others as they follow the map given by a loving Heavenly Father. He said that map is found in the sacred scriptures, the words of the prophets and apostles, and through personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. But simply having a map doesn’t do any good unless it is studied and used to navigate through life.

“You are not alone on this journey,” President Uchtdorf declared. “Your Heavenly Father knows you. Even when no one else hears you, He hears you. When you rejoice in righteousness, He rejoices with you. When you are beset with trial, He grieves with you. Heavenly Father’s interest in you does not depend on how rich or beautiful or healthy or smart you are. He sees you not as the world sees you; He sees who you really are. He looks on your heart. And He loves you because you are His child. ... Seek Him earnestly, and you will find Him. I promise you, you are not alone.”

In the end, President Uchtdorf promised the young women that as they honor and live true to the covenants, the principles and values of the gospel of Jesus Christ, at the end of their mortal journeys, Heavenly Father will be there. He will embrace them, and they will know once and for all that they have made it home safely.”