Watch the full women’s session now.

“You have not only the numbers but the spiritual power to change the world. I have watched you doing just that during this pandemic. … Once again, you have proven that you are literally the hope of Israel!”

Statements such as this from President Russell M. Nelson to women of the Church were shared during the women’s session of general conference on Saturday, October 3, for women and young women ages 11 years and older.

President Nelson added, “Sisters, you have all been absolutely heroic! I marvel at your strength and your faith. You have shown that in difficult circumstances, you bravely carry on.”

Acknowledging the challenging times in which we live, President Nelson encouraged women to embrace the future with faith by seeking to become more prepared temporally, spiritually and emotionally.

“I promise that as we create places of security, prepare our minds to be faithful to God, and never stop preparing, God will bless us,” testified President Nelson. “He will ‘deliver us; yea, insomuch that he [will] speak peace to our souls, and [will] grant unto us great faith, and … cause that we [can] hope for our deliverance in Him’” (Alma 58:11).

Watch or read President Nelson’s full address from the women’s session here.

Build Unity with Others

Sister Sharon Eubank, also spoke of the power women have to “remove prejudice and build unity,” and invited women of covenant to “be part of a collective force that changes the world for good.”

“The women of this Church have unlimited potential to change society,” said the first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency. But that change will come “less by activism and more by actively trying every day to understand one another.”

A sense of unity despite differences comes first by having mercy, not judging each other or letting “our words bite,” she said. Next, women can work to ensure their efforts are in-sync with others, where no one is more valuable than another and each adjusts “to the needs and capabilities of the others.” And last, they can draw upon the Lord’s power as they bestow the same mercy on others that they seek for themselves.

Watch or read Sister Eubank’s full address here.

‘Be of Good Cheer’

President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, encouraged women “not to despair but to be of good cheer,” assuring them that “the Lord has special love and concern for His precious daughters. He knows of your wants, your needs and your fears. The Lord is all powerful. Trust Him.”

The Lord’s promises of blessing and joy following tribulation — found throughout the Doctrine and Covenants and “given in the midst of persecutions and personal tragedies” to Saints in the early years of the Church — “apply to each of you in your troubling circumstances today,” Elder Oaks said.

“Unshakeable faith” in the “boundless power in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” will guide women, give joy, enlighten minds and give strength and confidence to their actions. Understanding and conforming their lives to that doctrine, combined with repentance, women can be “be of good cheer as we keep ourselves on the path toward our eternal destiny—reunion and exaltation with our loving heavenly parents,” he said.

Watch or read President Oaks’ full address here.

Have Faith in the Atonement to Heal “Brokenness”

The world has dealt with many unexpected disasters this year, including a pandemic affecting millions. According to Sister Cristina B. Franco, these events “have left people feeling helpless, hopeless, and brokenhearted, wondering if their lives will ever be the same.”

The second counselor in the Primary general presidency reminded women that “as we come unto Jesus Christ by exercising faith in Him, repenting, and making and keeping covenants, our brokenness—whatever its cause—can be healed.”

Quoting a doctrinal resource on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, she said, “Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him — trusting in His infinite power … and love. It includes believing His teachings. It means believing that even though we do not understand all things, He does.”

Sister Franco concluded with her testimony that “if we turn to [Jesus Christ], He will heal us and make us whole again.”

Watch or read Sister Franco’s full address here.

Change for the Better

Through Jesus Christ, women can change their habits, alter their thoughts, and refine their character to become more like Him, said Sister Becky Craven, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency.

“Jesus Christ has given us a continuous pattern for change. He invites us to exercise faith in Him which inspires us to repent, ‘which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart’ (Helaman 15:7).” As we repent and turn our hearts to Him, we gain a greater desire to make and live sacred covenants and endure to the end. “Enduring to the end means changing to the end,” she said.

“Small but steady, deliberate changes will help us improve,” she added, as well as the power of the Atonement, the Holy Ghost, priesthood blessings, prayer, fasting, attending the temple, and the support of trusted family members, leaders and friends. “The Savior can help you heal and change while surrounded by those who love you,” she said.

Watch or read Sister Craven’s full address here.

Prepare for the Second Coming

President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, said that women will be “at the heart” of creating a Zion society like the city of Enoch (see Moses 7:19) before the Second Coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

“You sisters, your daughters, your granddaughters, and the women you have nurtured will be at the heart of creating that society of people who will join in glorious association with the Savior. You will be an essential force in the gathering of Israel and in the creation of a Zion people who will dwell in peace in the New Jerusalem.”

President Eyring said that women have “a gift to allay contention and to promote righteousness with their love of God and with the love of God they engender in those they serve.” Their “spiritual capacity to nurture others and to lift them higher toward the love and purity” and having charity will qualify them to live together in a Zion society, he said.

“It is faith in Him and the full effects of His infinite Atonement that will qualify you, and those you love and serve, for the supernal gift to live in that sociality of a long-looked-for and promised Zion. There you will be sisters in Zion, loved in person by the Lord and those you have blessed.”

Watch or read President Eyring’s full address here.