This weekend members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered with friends, civic leaders, scholars and interested people from all over the world to be instructed by church leaders, apostles, and prophets.
It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for the Church. First with the loss of its prophet and President Russel M Nelson and then the tragic shooting in Michigan. But as members have turned those events into opportunities to minister, comfort and testify so too did the Church’s leaders.
Across two days and five sessions leaders taught, clarified, and testified. They spoke about building resilience, being charitable and how to build faith in Christ among many other topics.
"Your origin story is divine, and so is your destiny. You left heaven to come here, but heaven has never left you!" - Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"Sacred music can help write the doctrine of Christ into the soul and prepare us to receive His ordinances. It links the Savior’s doctrine to our memory and that memory to our discipleship in Him.” - Sister Tracy Y. Browning
"Applying the pure doctrine of Christ in a simplified and focused way will help us to find joy in our daily lives, give guidance in our callings, answer some of life’s most complex questions and provide strength to face our greatest challenges." - Elder Michael Cziesla
"We are all better when no one sits alone." - Elder Gerrit W. Gong
"New beginnings are for more than just our sins and mistakes. Through the goodness and grace of the Savior, we can have fresh starts that propel change in old mindsets, bad habits, grumpy dispositions, negative attitudes, feelings of powerlessness, and tendencies to blame others and avoid personal responsibility. You can actually change things about yourself that have been wearing you down for years. You can start again through the might of the Master of new beginnings. He never tires of giving those new beginnings to us.” - Elder Patrick Kearon
"Only the Lord fully knows the actual level of difficulty with which each of us is running our race of life—the burdens, the challenges, and the obstacles we face that often cannot be seen by others. Only He fully understands the life-changing wounds and trauma some of us may have experienced in the past that are still affecting us in the present.” - Sister J. Anette Dennis
"Parents, in this world where there are many voices and sometimes much darkness, God Himself has commanded us to raise our children in light and truth…If we fail to do so, the world will not do it." - Sister Andrea M. Spannaus
"The constant pursuit of temperance purifies our soul and sanctifies our heart before the Savior, gently drawing us nearer to Him and preparing us, with hope and peace, for that glorious day when we shall meet Him at His Second Coming." - Elder Ulisses Soares
"Perhaps the greatest sermons are the ones we never hear but those we see in the quiet, unassuming actions and deeds observed in the lives of ordinary people who, trying to be like Jesus, go about doing good." - Elder B. Corey Cuvelier
"The answer is always Jesus Christ." - Elder John D. Amos
"Our Savior Jesus Christ is our ultimate role model. We will be blessed if we model our lives after His teachings and self-sacrifice. Following Christ and giving ourselves in service to one another is the best remedy for the selfishness and individualism that now seem to be so common." - President Dallin H. Oaks