Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Saturday evening session

Time for the extra-special bonus session, this time for everyone! (I mean, everyone was watching them at home together anyway, might as well make it official, right?)

Russell M. Nelson, president of the high priesthood

• This church does a lot of temporal good, but its primary purpose is to bring the children of God to eternal life.
• Thanks for progress on using the name of the church rather than nicknames that don’t focus on Jesus Christ.
• Announced: New logotype and logo for the church.
• Let us not just talk of Christ, or use a logo of Christ, but rather show faith in Christ.
• God has all power, wisdom, and understanding—and so in times like the present, it is only natural that we call on the power of God.
• Asking for another fast for all whose health permits on Good Friday, to the effect that the pandemic will be controlled, caregivers protected, and the economy strengthened.
• What counts as a fast? Tradition is two meals, but ultimately it’s whatever constitutes a sacrifice for you.

Dallin H. Oaks, of the first presidency

• The priesthood is a divine power and authority held in trust to be used for the benefit of God’s children—it is not those who hold the priesthood.
• The power of the priesthood exists both in the church and in the family organization, though they function differently in each sphere.
• In the church, all ordinances are performed under the auspices of the leader who holds the keys to those ordinances.
• Though women don’t hold offices in the priesthood, they perform ordinances in the temple under the auspices of the one who holds keys for them (i.e., the temple president).
• Within the family, however, there is no need to have the direction or approval of one who holds keys to perform priesthood functions.
• A woman who presides in the home is not authorized to perform ordinances that require holding a particular office, but she can still exercise priesthood authority in all the ways a man presiding in the home would.
• It is better to be filled with light than with darkness; if we focus on the things of eternity rather than seeking for evil, we will be filled with light—our light or darkness depends on how we see/receive the truths of eternity.

Henry B. Eyring, of the first presidency

• This conference should be unforgettable—but whether it will actually be unforgettable will depend on each of us individually.
• God knows all of us, and teaches us without forcing us.
• The visions described in Doctrine & Covenants 110 are an example of the way God teaches us, when viewed in the context of the years leading up to them—God had a detailed step by step plan.
• Whenever we find an inspired solution to a problem, we open the door to greater solutions for other problems.

Jean B. Bingham, general president of the relief society

• Adam and Eve learned through the Fall that it was necessary to act in unity.
• Adam and Eve understood the interdependency of the roles of women and men, but that was lost over time—but the restoration brought back understanding.
• Women are just as able to receive revelation as men are, and have access to priesthood power just as men do.
• Men and women are to work together, and not to compete for primacy.
• [Then a brief video of Russell M. Nelson talking about the key roles of women in the very early church.]
• Men and women need to work together in the priesthood in their different but complementary roles.
• We are surrounded by “me first” messages, but we need to resist their pull.
• We need to resist cultural biases and embrace divine patterns—men shouldn’t be “pretend partners” [her words!], women shouldn’t feel like they need to do everything in a relationship.

Enzo S. Petelo, of his local priests quorum

• To serve as Joseph Smith did, we must qualify to be worthy of priesthood power.
• By exercising the priesthood worthily, we become fellow-laborers with all of the priesthood holders throughout history and the present day.
• Being worthy to use the priesthood requires us to be more careful and less casual in what we do.

Laudy R. Caouk, of her local ward’s young women organization

• Priesthood blessings can help us overcome challenges and feel peace.
• Through the priesthood, we have the opportunity to receive blessings of comfort, patriarchal blessings, the blessings of the temple…
• The priesthood is necessary for the work of God to proceed, and thus for the world itself to work as it should.

Gerrit W. Gong, or the quorum of apostles

• Anniversaries like this 120th anniversary year of the first vision, or the upcoming celebration of Easter, are opportunities to focus on events of great worth.
• Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which commemorates significant events, as does the following week leading up to Easter.
• In fulfillment of prophecy, on Easter (and the onset of Passover) 1836, Jesus Christ, Elijah, and others came to entrust the keys of this dispensation to the restored church.
• The Passover commemorates the release of the people of Israel from bondage and the safety provided by the blood of the lamb.
• This general conference, we celebrate restoration and revelation.
• In a very real way, we are all beginners in our gospel journey, progressing into the gospel adventure that God has prepared for us.