Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday morning session

Sunday morning, the big leagues!

(Well, or at least it used to be, before all the crazy announcements of policy started happening on Saturdays.)

As with the other posts in this series, the start of the session is at the bottom, so scrolling there and then running upward will take you through the session chronologically…

Russel M. Nelson, president of the high priesthood

• Talking about the name of the church.
• We have unwittingly acquiesced to non-divine influences when we omit the name of Jesus Christ from the church.
• We are not Mormon’s disciples, we’re the Lord’s disciples.
• Why does the church have such a long name? Because it was given by divine, not mortal inspiration.
• If we use the actual, divinely given name of the church, we will be blessed as individuals and as a church.

Neil L. Anderson

• Starting out with the Brussels Airport bombing, where church members were horrifically injured. So why do such things happen to faithful members?
• God gives us blessings, but intermingled with this will be times, some lengthy, during which our souls will be wounded.
• Along with the bright colors of happiness and joy, the darker colors of tragedy and unhappiness are also woven into God’s plan.
• “Never give up, however deep the wounds of your soul…You are not meant to perish spiritually. You are meant to survive spiritually and blossom in your faith in trusting God.”
• “Your dark night will pass, because the Son did rise with healing in his wings.” [I want to know how the translators handled that pun!]
• For the righteous, the healer of our souls will heal all your wounds, no matter how deep those wounds might be.
  
  

Shayne M. Bowen, of the quorums of seventy

• The Book of Mormon has converting power.
• Our personal conversion deepens as we understand the Book of Mormon better.
• Our mission is to take Moroni’s promise to heart, and then share that message in both word and deed.
  
  

Jeffrey R. Holland, of the quorum of apostles

• Don’t be immobilized trying to figure out how to minister—just do it.
• The negative consequences of one event can echo through the years.
• Jesus has asked that we live together in love, with no disputations among us.
• “Our relationship to Christ will be determined or at least affected by our relationship to each other.”
• We may have old grievances, but they are old grievances—we need to not let them weigh down our souls any longer.
• Forgiveness doesn’t mean doing things like staying in an abusive relationship, or placing us in emotional difficulty—but it does mean that we can rise above even the most terrible of offenses and progress in the Lord’s work.
• If you are delaying forgiveness, go and do it instantly. [Great phrasing on who this is directed to: “You who are keeping wretched quarrels alive…”]
• “If you know of an old injury, repair it.”
  
  

Bonnie H. Cordon, general president of the young women organization

• We all want to be recognized—to matter, to be noticed, and to be loved.
• Our job is to make sure everyone feels the love of God as we provide service to them that blesses their lives, and thus also ours.
• We need to be aware of the less visible needs of those around us.
• Get to know those around you, and reach out to them.
• The teenagers in the church, male and female, are needed in this effort.

M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the quorum of apostles

• Starting with a mention of his wife’s recent death, and thanks for the condolences.
• Joseph F. Smith faced a great deal of tragedy in his life, from the assassination of his father (Hyrum Smith) to the deaths of many other relatives, including several children.
• The comfort he had long prayed for came in a vision in 1918—a year that was particularly painful for him, both from world events (World War I, the flu pandemic) and deaths of those close to him through disease and misadventure.
• Joseph F. Smith saw his father in the vision now canonized as section 138—74 years after he had last seen them in life.
• This is the 100th anniversary of this revelation, and everyone should go back and read it.
• A mention of its particular personal poignancy with the death of his wife, and the comfort it gives.