President Russell M. Nelson announced plans Sunday for a record-setting 20 locations for new temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — 11 of them outside the United States — crowning an unforgettably international end to the faith’s 191st Annual General Conference.
A day after leaders called for the church to become the inclusive inn of Jesus Christ, a unique Easter morning session featured another first — nine speakers from nine different countries. In all, talks, prayers and music provided for the session came from a total of 13 countries — Australia, Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong (China), Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, the United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
President Nelson finished the day with the news of additional temples in 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America.
“Truly the blessings of the gospel are for every race, language and people,” President Nelson said. “The Church of Jesus Christ is a global church. Jesus Christ is our leader.”
Church leaders focused on the message of Easter morning, calling it central to all Christianity and saying that Christ’s resurrection offers purpose, peace, healing and hope in the face of heartbreak and grief. President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, made strong declarations about the church’s belief in the U.S. Constitution as divinely inspired and addressed several political questions.
“The atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed each of our lives forever,” President Nelson said in his morning talk. “Each of God’s children deserves the opportunity to hear and accept the healing, redeeming message of Jesus Christ. No other message is more vital to our happiness — now and forever. No other message is more filled with hope. No other message can eliminate contention in our society.”
The church’s prophet invited viewers of the last general conference to spend the past six months studying the gathering of Israel. On Sunday, he issued a call to begin to increase faith immediately. He set it in the context of the coronavirus pandemic — this was the church’s third pandemic-era conference.
“I marvel at your resilience and spiritual strength in the face of illness, loss and isolation,” President Nelson said, referencing COVID-19 specifically. (Saturday afternoon, he asked members to “do all you can to bring COVID numbers down in your area so that your temple opportunities can increase.”) “I pray constantly that, through it all, you will feel the Lord’s unfailing love for you. If you have responded to your trials with a stronger discipleship, this past year will not have been in vain.”
Margaret Ann Ballard listens to a prayer with parents Chris and Melanie Ballard as they watch the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their home in Taylorsville on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Church Office Building and the Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, are pictured during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
The Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, is pictured during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Conference Center is pictured during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, conducts the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Chris and Melanie Ballard watch the the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with children Sarah and David at their home in Taylorsville on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder Timothy J. Dyches, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Flowers bloom on Temple Square in Salt Lake City during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Anna Ballard listens to aprayer during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at her home in Taylorsville on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A visitors looks over the Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Chris and Melanie Ballard watch the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with children Jacob, Sarah, David, Anna and Margaret Ann at their home in Taylorsville on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Visitors walk near the Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder Alan R. Walker, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Visitors look over the Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson greets members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Sunday afternoon session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
He offered five suggestions for developing faith and trust in Jesus Christ, which he called the greatest power available in life, one that allows people to “turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity”:
- Study: Internalize the truth that the Atonement of Jesus Christ applies to you.
- Believe: Choose to believe and stay faithful. Take your questions to the Lord and to faithful sources. Study with the desire to believe rather than with the hope that you can find a flaw in the fabric of a prophet’s life or a discrepancy in the scriptures. Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters. Allow the Lord to lead you on your journey of spiritual discovery.
- Act in faith.
- Partake of sacred ordinances worthily.
- Ask Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for help.
Some speakers in Sunday’s sessions delivered their messages by prerecorded video from their international areas of service.
Calling this a troubled time, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, used his Sunday afternoon talk to speak of the importance of the U.S. Constitution and its , principles that have been emulated throughout the world. The former Utah Supreme Court justice and law professor and clerk to the U.S. Supreme Court said the church believes the U.S. Constitution is divinely inspired because it guarantees freedom for people to exercise moral agency. He listed five principles in the Constitution that he believes are divinely inspired:
- The people are the source of government
- The division of delegated power between the nation and its subsidiary states
- The separation of powers
- The guarantees of individual rights and specific limits on government authority in the Bill of Rights.
“Without the Bill of Rights, America could not have served as the host nation for the restoration of the gospel, which began three decades later. There was divine inspiration in the original provision that there should be no religious test for public office, but the addition of the religious freedom and anti-establishment guarantees of the First Amendment was vital. We also see divine inspiration in the First Amendment’s freedoms of speech and press and in the personal protections in other amendments, such as for criminal prosecutions.”
- The rule of law and not individuals:
“Our loyalty is to the Constitution and its principles and processes, not to any office-holder ... None of the three branches of government should be dominant over the others or prevent the others from performing their proper constitutional functions to check one another.”
President Oaks said some amendments to the Constitution are divinely inspired, too, specifically naming those that abolished slavery and gave women the right to vote.
He said Latter-day Saints should trust God and remain positive about the future of the United States despite efforts to substitute what he called current societal trends for the reason for the Constitution, instead of liberty and self-government.
He also spoke about threats to the Constitution’s place in the American life. For example, he said efforts to substitute what he called current societal trends as the reason for the Constitution, instead of liberty and self-government, diminish the Constitution.
“The authority of the Constitution is trivialized when candidates or officials ignore its principles,” President Oaks added. “The dignity and force of the Constitution is reduced by those who refer to it like a loyalty test or a political slogan, instead of its lofty status as a source of authorization for and limits on government authority.”
Then he turned to voters and political parties. The church’s long-held position is that gospel principles can be found in both American political parties. President Oaks said no voter’s preferences can be satisfied by a single party, platform or candidate, and he encouraged members to seek inspiration as they make political decisions. He frankly said that process may require a voter to change parties or candidates from election to election.
“We also insist,” he said, “and we ask our local leaders to insist, that political choices and affiliations not be the subject of teachings or advocacy in any of our church meetings.
Three other apostles spoke on Sunday afternoon.
A family in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Antananarivo, Madagascar, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Antananarivo, Madagascar, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Antananarivo, Madagascar, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Coimbatore, India, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Coimbatore, India, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Munich, Germany, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on April Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Munich, Germany, participates in a session of theThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Manilla, Philippines, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Oslo, Norway, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Tonga participates in the priesthood session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A girl in Naku’alofa, Tonga, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A family in Lagos, Nigeria, participates in a session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference, broadcast on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said Christ’s atonement, including his resurrection after three days in a borrowed tomb, “stands as the greatest miracle in human history.”
He said miracles continue today, and abound among Christ’s followers.
“Many of you have witnessed miracles, more than you realize,” he said, adding that “Miracles are divine acts, manifestations and expressions of God’s limitless power and an affirmation that he is ‘the same yesterday, today and forever,’” he said.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles counseled listeners to choose to walk the covenant path, receiving the ordinances and covenants the church provides leading to salvation.
“Following the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ day by day is the happiest and most satisfying course in life,” he said. It also helps avoid what in tennis are known as unforced errors, the result of a blunder instead of the opponent’s skill.
“Too often our problems or challenges are self-inflicted, the result of poor choices, or we could say, the result of unforced errors,” Elder Christofferson said. “When we are diligently pursuing the covenant path, we quite naturally avoid many unforced errors. We sidestep the various forms of addiction. We do not fall into the ditch of dishonest conduct. We cross over the abyss of immorality and infidelity. We bypass the people and things that, even if popular, would jeopardize our physical and spiritual well-being. We avoid the choices that harm or disadvantage others and instead acquire the habits of self-discipline and service.”
He said the covenant path provides special blessings because those following it engage in committed obedience, are bound to God by covenants, receive divine help via the Holy Ghost, inherit the covenant promises made to Abraham and gain from divinely appointed gatherings in weekly worship and in the temple.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said members can better follow Jesus Christ on the covenant path by learning to identify and apply the principles of his gospel, which he defined as doctrinally based guidelines for the righteous exercise of moral agency.
“Gospel principles are for me and you what a helm is to a ship,” he said. “Correct principles enable us to find our way and stand firm, steadfast and immovable so we do not lose our balance and fall in the raging latter-day storms of darkness and confusion.”
He listed some principles recently identified by church leaders, for example, President Nelson’s 2015 explanation that how one approaches keeping the Sabbath is a sign one gives to God.
“Learning, understanding and living gospel principles strengthen our faith in the Savior, deepen our devotion to him and invite a multitude of blessings and spiritual gifts into our lives,” Elder Bednar said. Principles of righteousness also help us to look beyond our personal preferences and self-centered desires by providing the precious perspective of eternal truth as we navigate the different circumstances, challenges, decisions and experiences of mortality.”
A children’s choir from South Korea performs “I Love to See the Temple,” which was broadcast during the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seated in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seated in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seated in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, conducts the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, conducts the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Ulisses Soares, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A children’s choir from South Korea performs “I Love to See the Temple,” which was broadcast during the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A children’s choir from South Korea performs “I Love to See the Temple,” which was broadcast during the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A children’s choir from South Korea performs “I Love to See the Temple,” which was broadcast during the Sunday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder S. Mark Palmer, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder S. Mark Palmer, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Sister Reyna Isabel Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Sister Reyna Isabel Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Edward Dube, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Edward Dube, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder José A. Teixeira, of the presidency of the Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Michael John U. Teh, a General Authority Seventy, speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the Sunday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 4, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A uniquely international Easter Sunday morning session
President Russell M. Nelson capped a uniquely international session — contributions were made by speakers and choirs from 13 countries — of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by declaring “Jesus Christ is our leader.”
Talks, prayers and music focused on the meaning of Easter and Jesus Christ and were provided by speakers and choirs from Australia, Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong (China), Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, the United States, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
“On this Easter Sunday, just as the Savior came forth from his stone grave, may we awake from our spiritual slumber and rise above the clouds of doubt, the clutches of fear, the intoxicating pride and the lull of complacency,” said Elder Michael John U. Teh, a General Authority Seventy from the Philippines.
Read more about the morning session here.
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Scaffolding surrounds the spires of The Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Scaffolding surrounds the spires of The Salt Lake Temple, which is under renovation, during the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Russell M. Nelson speaks during the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Saturday, on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf speaks during the Saturday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seen before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seen before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seen before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seen before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are seen before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Brother Jan E. Newman, second counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, speaks during the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Joy D. Jones, general president of the Primary, speaks during the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Brother Jan E. Newman, second counselor in the Sunday School general presidency, speaks during the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Gary E. Stevenson speaks during the Saturday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Elder Gerrit W. Gong, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Saturday morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gather in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gather in the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City before the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, speaks during the Saturday morning session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City on April 3, 2021. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
‘We need each other’
President Russell M. Nelson opened the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday morning by calling the church “a great global family.”
He closed the three Saturday sessions 10 hours later by saying, “We need each other.”
Church leaders filled the day with poignant references to the hope of Easter morning, declaring that Jesus Christ’s suffering and resurrection are a remedy and healing balm powerful enough to conquer all of the challenges in a world they described as divided by pandemic, genocide, racism, loneliness, abortion, contention, death and more.
They also emphasized that the church has a critical role in helping people feel a sense of belonging and said its members are needed to help fashion it into Christ’s inn of refuge, inclusion, kindness and civility, with room for all.
Read an overview of the Saturday sessions here.
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A new Primary presidency
- Saturday’s morning session featured an address from President Joy D. Jones. Primary not only refers to the church’s organization for children and their earliest spiritual learning, President Jones said. “To our Heavenly Father, children have never been secondary — they have always been ‘primary.’”
- President Jones and her counselors, Sister Lisa L. Harkness and Sister Cristina B. Franco, were released during the Saturday afternoon session after five years of service. President Camille N. Johnson (president), Sister Susan H. Porter (first counselor) and Sister Amy Wright (second counselor) were sustained as the new Primary general presidency.
8 new general authorities
The eight new General Authority Seventies sustained during the Saturday afternoon session represent the United States, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines and Tonga. They are:
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- Elder Sean Douglas
- Elder Michael A. Dunn
- Elder Clark B. Gilbert
- Elder Patricio M. Giuffra
- Elder Alfred Kyungu
- Elder Alvin F. Meredith III
- Elder Carlos G. Revillo J.
- Elder Vaiangina “Vai” Sikahema
Elder Sikahema, who played football for BYU and in the NFL, was called as an Area Seventy in 2019. Elder Gilbert, who served as president of BYU-Idaho and BYU-Pathway Worldwide, was called as an Area Seventy in 2019. Elder Dunn has been the managing director of BYU Broadcasting, including BYUtv, since 2017.
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Membership growth
The worldwide membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was 16,663,663 as of Dec. 31, 2020, up from 16,565,036 at the end of 2019. The net increase of 98,627 church members was reflected in a statistical report issued during the Saturday afternoon session of the faith’s 191st Annual General Conference. Among the other statistics reported:
- 31,126 congregations, up 186 year over year.
- 3,463 stakes, up 27 from a year ago.
- 405 missions, up six from 2019.
- 537 districts, down five, replaced in part by the new stakes.
- 65,440 new children of record, down from 102,102 in 2019.
- 125,930 converts baptized, down from 248,835 a year earlier.
- 51,819 young, full-time proselyting missionaries, down from 67,021 in 2019.
- 130,527 church service missionaries, down from 31,333 the previous year.
Thomas and Mandi Godfrey and their family listen to the opening prayer as they watch the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
President Russell M. Nelson is pictured on a television in the home of Thomas and Mandi Godfrey, of Holladay, during the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Thomas and Mandi Godfrey and their son, Wyatt, watch the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elli and Maci Godfrey listen to the opening prayer of the morning session of the 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Thomas and Mandi Godfrey and their family watch President Russell M. Nelson during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Thomas and Mandi Godfrey and their family watch President Russell M. Nelson during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 191st Annual General Conference from their home in Holladay on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Talk summaries and photo galleries
Read summaries from each of the talks given during Saturday’s three sessions, plus photos from inside the Conference Center Theater, outside Temple Square and from members around the world.
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April 05, 2021 at 06:39AM
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General conference: President Nelson on new temples, COVID-19 safety - Deseret News
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