Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday afternoon session

If you’re coming to this after the conference has ended, this may be the first of these entries you see, so for those new to this or who’ve forgotten, here’s how to read them: Blogs run—going against millennia of best practice in reading and writing, i’ll note—in reverse chronological order, so this one’s at the top of the page, followed by the entry for the previous session, followed by the previous one, and so on. Therefore, to make it easier to follow this whole thing chronologically, speakers are arranged within each session’s entry in reverse chronological order, as well—so the opening speaker for this session is at the bottom of this post, preceded by the next speaker, preceded by the next one, and so on.

So now it’s time to scroll down and read upwards, or start here and go backwards in time:

Closing thoughts

• My favorite address? It’s a toss-up between David P. Homer and Sharon L. Eubank. I think i’m going to go with the latter, but i’m still uncertain of whether that’s the right call.
• And also, no huge policy change announcements! I have to admit, it did my bitter little heart good to see all the rumors of Big Changes Indeed to the missionary program or the word of wisdom or whatever come to precisely naught.

Russell M. Nelson, president of the high priesthood

• God wants us all to choose to return home.
• The pioneer-era temples will all go through renovation and restoration over the coming years.
• New temples announced for: Pago Pago, American Samoa; Okinawa, Japan; Neiafu, Tonga; Tooele Valley, Utah; Moses Lake, Washington; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Antofagasta, Chile; Budapest, Hungary.
• And just like that, it’s over!

Ronald A. Rasband, of the quorum of apostles

• [I can’t be the only one who has a good enough memory of either 1990s politics or early 2000s police procedural dramas that every time i see Ronald A. Rasband, the first thought i have is “Oh, look! It's former United States senator and dramatic actor Fred Thompson!”]
• Our homes should be a fortress against the attacks of Satan.
• Satan often works with subtlety in the shadows—but God works from a position of strength.
• Obedience builds strength against Satan’s wiles.
• We should focus on the temple, and take refuge there.
• We should strive to develop a spirit of discernment, so that we don’t have to continually determine anew what is right and what is wrong.
• We can go forth with confidence in the Lord, and take safety in the fortress than is the gospel and bring others to it, as well.

Kyle S. McKay, of the quorums of seventy

• When the Lord (or the Lord’s servants) say “soon” or :not many days hence” or such, it doesn’t always mean soon in the way we usually think about it.
• However, God gives immediate hope for eventual deliverance.
• “Above all, God’s love is immediate.”
• It may take a lifetime or longer for your deliverance to arrive, but you will still have access to the immediate goodness of God.

David A. Bednar, of the quorums of apostles

• Our commitment to live and learn according to truth is increasingly important—we can’t expect to just participate in church programs and get all the spiritual strength we need.
• We cannot rely entirely on other people for spiritual strength, even those we know and love.
• The “ultimate missionary training center”, the most important Sunday school classes, our family history centers should actually be our homes.
• Two basic guidelines can help us obtain an understanding of the temple ordinances: Because we love the Lord, we should always speak about the temple with reverence; and we should know that the temple is the house of the Lord, and everything in it is designed to point us toward the Lord.
• There is a lot of information about the temple available from authorized sources, in a lot of different formats—use it.

Gerrit W. Gong, of the quorum of apostles

• Jesus Christ as the good shepherd calls us in his voice and by his name; as we do what we are supposed to, we hearken to that call.
• The savior reaches out to the one and to the ninety and nine, often at the same time.
• Jesus exemplifies how shepherds are to minister and love.
• The savior will gently lead us an carry us, as our needs require.

Juan Pablo Villar, of the quorums of seventy

• Our muscles will only grow if we use them—and spiritual gifts work the same way.
• [I can’t do it justice here, but he told a great story about his brother, who was a full-time missionary at the time, being really, really smart in the way he taught his little brother.]
• Life is a marathon, not a sprint—so don’t forget those small experiences that will strengthen our faith.
• If you want faith, do things that require faith.

Dallin H. Oaks, of the first presidency

• The laws of man and the laws of God are different.
• Under the laws of man, a sentence of life without parole is possible; under the laws of God, forgiveness is available to all who are willing to do what is necessary to receive it.
• All must repent—repentance is a necessary part of God’s plan.
• Mortal judgments determine whether someone is ready for baptism, or to receive a temple recommend, or to have repented enough to be rebaptized—that doesn’t absolve sins, because forgiveness can only come from God.
• The final judgment comes from Jesus Christ, and we will confess that his judgment is just—so we must repent before the final judgment.
• If the wicked turn to God, God will “have mercy and abundantly pardon”.