Talk Summaries from the April 2024 Sunday Afternoon Session

Individual Talk Summaries

• Elder D. Todd Christofferson: ‘The Testimony of Jesus’
• Elder Taylor G. Godoy: ‘Call, Don’t Fall’
• Elder Gary E. Stevenson: ‘Bridging the Two Great Commandments’
• Elder Mathias Held: ‘Opposition in All Things’
• Elder Neil L. Andersen: ‘Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth’
• President Mark L. Pace: ‘It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon’
• President Russell M. Nelson: ‘Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys’ 

Session Summary

The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has for all of His children, said President Russell M. Nelson at the close of the Sunday afternoon session of the April 2024 general conference before he announced the locations of 15 new temples. 

“Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod (see 1 Nephi 8:30) than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit,” President Nelson said.

The temple is the only place on earth where individuals may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham. Those blessings wouldn’t be possible without the priesthood keys conferred by ancient prophets to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple in 1836.

Priesthood keys govern “how the priesthood of God may be used to bring about the Lord’s purposes and bless all who accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“Priesthood keys distinguish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from any other organization on earth,” he said.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the three kingdoms of glory and what it means to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ.
 
The testimony of Jesus is “the witness of the Holy Spirit that He is the divine Son of God, the Messiah and Redeemer,” he said. For the inheritors of the celestial kingdom, this testimony is manifest in what they are and what they are becoming, as their priorities and choices are governed by the principles and truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Being valiant in the testimony of Jesus includes nurturing and strengthening that testimony; being open and public about one’s witness; heeding His messengers; pursuing personal holiness; and encouraging others to be valiant, especially one’s family members. “My invitation is to act now to secure your place as one who is valiant in the testimony of Jesus,” he said.
 
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that across the world — where temples are “coming closer” to Latter-day Saints — “there is a growing feeling drawing us to the house of the Lord.”

“Amid the turmoil and temptations of the world, the Lord has promised to strengthen and bless His covenant saints,” he said.

Those who come worthily and prayerfully to the Lord’s house “will be armed with His power, His name will be upon you, His angels will have charge over you, and you will grow up in the blessing of the Holy Ghost.”

“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,” he said.
 
Elder Gary E. Stevenson likened Jesus’ two great commandments — to “love the Lord” and “love your neighbor” — to the two towers of a bridge.

Just as bridge towers depend on each other, so do God’s two great laws. A person’s ability to follow Jesus Christ depends upon their power to live both laws with equal devotion.

“To love the Lord centers first on your heart — your very nature,” he said. “The  Lord asks that you love with all your soul — your entire consecrated being — and finally, to love with all your mind — your intelligence and intellect. Love for God is not limited or finite. It is infinite and eternal.”

Loving your neighbor means loving all of God’s children regardless of gender, race or other differences, he said.

 
Elder Taylor G. Godoy, General Authority Seventy, encouraged listeners to faithfully turn to Heavenly Father in prayer then take action.

“Praying, ‘calling,’ can be a sign of our hope; but taking action after praying is a sign that our faith is real, faith that is tested in moments of pain, fear or disappointment,” he said.

Prayers are always heard. “As we pray, we can feel the embrace of our Heavenly Father, who sent his Only Begotten Son to relieve our burdens, because if we call out to God, I testify we will not fall.”

“It is our attitudes and choices that define us much better than our challenges,” said Elder Mathias Held, General Authority Seventy.

Heavenly Father gave each person agency so that they could learn from making choices. And although we can’t always choose our circumstances, we can choose how we react. How we choose to respond to those trials will help us grow and draw closer to God.

 “We can seek to learn from the experience and ask for our Lord’s help and support, or we can think that we are on our own in this trial and that we must suffer it alone,” he said. “We can ‘adjust our sails’ to the new reality, or we can decide not to change anything. In the darkness of night, we can turn on our lights; in the cold of winter, we choose to wear warm clothes; in seasons of sickness, we can seek medical and spiritual help.”

April 2024 General Conference Talk Summaries, News and Announcements

Sunday School General President Mark L. Pace testified that “as we study the Book of Mormon and follow the living prophet, there will be no personal apostasy in our lives.”
 
President Pace, who will complete his service on August 1, said that we study the scriptures so the Holy Ghost can deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Two questions that could improve learning at home and teaching at Church are: “What has the Holy Ghost taught us this week during our study of the Book of Mormon?” and “How does this bring us closer to the Savior?”

The opening prayer was offered by Elder Carlos G. Revillo, a General Authority Seventy, and the closing prayer was given by Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor in the Primary General Presidency. Elder Quentin L. Cook, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, conducted the meeting.