Well, conference is coming up.
Every six months,
members of The Church
of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints
gather for a very
special purpose.
Just from the semiannual
concept of gathering,
I think we always look
forward to the opportunity
to prepare to hear
the prophet's words.
At the end of this past
October general conference,
the Lawrence family
remembers well the words
of President Russell M. Nelson.
In the springtime
of the year 2020,
it will be exactly 200 years
since Joseph Smith experienced
the theophany that we
know as the First Vision.
God the Father and His
Beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
appeared to Joseph,
a 14-year-old youth.
That event marked the
onset of the Restoration
of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
General conference
next April will
be different from any
previous conference.
In the next six months,
I hope that every member
and every family will prepare
for a unique conference that
will commemorate the very
foundations of the restored
gospel.
Since then, President
Nelson has followed up--
In the scriptures, there are
very few sacred instances
in which the voice of God
the Father has been heard.
In this special year,
as we commemorate
the 200th anniversary
of the First Vision,
I invite you to think deeply and
often about this key question:
How do you hear Him?
--and offered words of hope
to everyone as COVID-19
continues to greatly impact
the entire human family.
These unique challenges
will pass in due time.
I remain optimistic
for the future.
I know the great and marvelous
blessings that God has
in store for those who
love Him and serve Him.
Through all of
this turmoil right
now, it brings
peace to my heart,
and it also reminds me that
our leaders are preaching,
that it really brings comfort.
In these times of uncertainty,
the need to distribute
the global faith leaders'
inspired messages of the gospel
of Jesus Christ from the
upcoming general conference has
never been greater.
While COVID-19 requires that
these chairs in the Conference
Center in Salt Lake City remain
empty to the thousands who
usually fill them during
conference sessions,
most aspects of this unique
worldwide broadcast to nearly
200 nations and territories
will not change--
In 3, 2, 1.
--such as the goal to share the
messages of the gospel of Jesus
Christ to the four
corners of the earth
through modern technology.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
We usually provide general
conference for 97 languages.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Our Church leaders
send their talks,
and they get them
ready for translation.
We want to make
sure that everybody
gets to hear what
President Nelson has
to say about this conference
and also about the First Vision.
We still get the message like
we would every conference.
We're still going to all
gather together and watch this
at home.
And you think about
stories like Moses,
the ancient prophets, and how
they were sent to be a guide.
It's just fascinating
to know that we
have that same opportunity
here in our days.
General conference next April
will not only be memorable.
It will be unforgettable.
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