Discover the truths of Christ now, said Russell Nelson, leader of Latter-day Saints, "time is running out".

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After two consecutive LJS General Conferences, full of major changes and more than a year of revisions, turnarounds and reforms under President Russell M. Nelson, we will remember more of this weekend's meeting of the words spoken measures taken.

The 94-year-old "prophet, seer, and revelator," and other leaders spoke of preparing the world for the Second Coming, warning those who have left Mormonism, or have never seriously considered joining the Church. to not have enough time.

No significant announcement has been made of the pulpit – aside from the designation of eight new temples to be built, virtually a staple of the conference in recent decades for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Days.

Thousands of church members at downtown Salt Lake City's giant conference center – and millions of others watching on television, on the Internet or in chapels around the world – have been " educated and edified, "said Nelson in his conclusions. They heard sermons about God's judgment, eternity, family ties, repentance, the search for the light of Christ, and the importance of making life commitments.

Nelson, who also addressed the faithful Sunday morning, spoke fondly of his daughter, Wendy, who died of cancer at the age of 67.

"Our daughter is sorely missed," he said. "However, because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we do not worry about it. As we continue to honor our covenants with God, we live in expectation of our presence again with her. "

Everyone aspires to be with loved ones after death, he said, and some "mistakenly believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a promise that all people will be with loved ones after death."

This is not true, said the leader of Latter-day Saints.

"The Savior Himself has made it clear that even though His resurrection assures that all who have lived will be resurrected and live forever," said Nelson, "it takes much more if we are to have the high privilege of living. "exaltation" and live. like families in the afterlife.

He said that he was crying for his friends and family who, despite their contributions to the world, chose not to enter into an alliance with God or to receive the ordinances that "would bind their families forever".

As President of the Church of Christ, Nelson said, "I plead with you who have gone away from the church and with you who have not yet really sought to know that the Church of the Savior has been restored . Do the spiritual work to find out for yourself, and please, do it now. Hurry up. "

(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake Tribune) Sharon Eubank, First Counselor to the Relief Society General Presidency, Addresses the Morning Session of the 189th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days in Salt Lake City April 7, 2019.
(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake Tribune) Sharon Eubank, First Counselor to the Relief Society General Presidency, Addresses the Morning Session of the 189th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days in Salt Lake City April 7, 2019.

Other sermons have emphasized the redeeming power of mercy, the importance of love in missionary work and temple rites by proxy, as well as the ability of faithful to activate the heavenly blessings through faith, repentance and good works.

Sharon Eubank, Senior Advisor to the Women's Relief Society, explained how Christ is a light for the world.

"One of the basic needs we have to grow is to stay connected to our light source – Jesus Christ," said Eubank, one of only two speakers during the two-day meeting. . "He is the source of our power, the light and the life of the world. Without a strong bond with him, we begin to die spiritually. "

Eubank, director of LDS Charities, the global humanitarian organization of the faith, acknowledged that some believers felt overwhelmed by modern life, overwhelmed with grief, grief, obligation or exhaustion. They feel unacceptable, unworthy or out of mainstream society.

In any case, she said, Jesus joins them and helps them to pull their personal yoke. He heals wounds. He provides rest.

"Our mortal brain is designed to seek understanding and meaning in tidy packages," she said. "I do not know all the reasons why the veil on mortality is so thick. This is not the stage of our eternal development where we have all the answers. This is the stage where we develop our assurance (or sometimes our hope) to the evidence of unseen things. Insurance is in a way that is not always easy to analyze, but there is light in our darkness. "

For those who feel their faith faltering, Eubank was reassuring. "Take courage. Keep your promises to God. Ask your questions. … Turn to Jesus Christ, who still loves you. "

It can be difficult to "turn on the lights by yourself," she said. "We need friends. We need each other. "

Dallin H. Oaks, Nelson's first adviser and former Utah Supreme Court Justice, spoke of the difference between mortal and divine judgments.

This was a message of hope for everyone, including "those who lost their church membership by excommunication or by striking their name," Oaks said. "We are all sinners who can be cleansed by repentance."

In recent years, more and more Latter-day Saints have resigned from the faith, especially since the enactment of the highly controversial 2015 LGBTQ policy, which the church abandoned last week.

As part of the gospel plan, Oaks said, "We are accountable to God and his chosen servants, and this responsibility involves both mortal and divine judgments."

In the church, leaders seek "divine guidance" on how to judge "members or potential members," he said. "It is their responsibility to judge those seeking to go to Christ to receive the power of His Atonement on the path of the covenant that leads to eternal life."

They must decide if a person deserves a recommendation to go to the temple. Has a person whose name was removed from church records repented of having been readmitted by baptism?

"The ultimate responsibility, including the ultimate purification effect of repentance," said Oaks, "lies between each of us and God."

The Apostle of the Latter-day Saints, who was later to lead the faith, reassured his hearers that Jesus "opens his arms to welcome all men and women, under the conditions of love and He has prescribed, to enjoy the greatest blessings that God has for his children. "

(Trent Nelson Salt Lake Tribune) D. Todd Christofferson spoke at the morning session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday 7 April 2019.
(Trent Nelson Salt Lake Tribune) D. Todd Christofferson spoke at the morning session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday 7 April 2019.

Apostle D. Todd Christofferson emphasized the need to prepare for the return of Christ.

The Utah-based faith is "especially empowered and charged with making the necessary preparations for the second coming of the Lord," said Christofferson. "Indeed, it has been restored to this end."

So what should modern day Latter-day Saints do before the coming of the Christian Savior?

"We can prepare ourselves as a people; we can gather the people of the Lord's Covenant; and we can help redeem the promise of salvation "made to fathers", our ancestors, he said. "All this must happen to a substantial degree before the Lord comes back."

This last dispensation "regularly rises to its peak – Zion on earth, joining Zion from above to the glorious return of the Savior." Christofferson said. "The Savior's return will accomplish all that His resurrection has promised for humanity. This is the ultimate guarantee that everything will be settled. Let's be on the brink of building Zion to hurry that day. "

Gerrit W. Gong, the first and only American apostle of Asian origin, explored the notion of Jesus as "good shepherd" and "lamb of God."

These two titles and symbols "are powerfully complementary," said Gong. "Who better could rescue every precious lamb than the Good Shepherd, and who could be our best Shepherd than the Lamb of God?"

As a shepherd, Jesus "reaches the one and the ninety and nine, often at the same time," said the apostle. "As minister, we recognize the 90s and the nines that are unshakable and irremovable, even though we yearn for the one who has gone astray."

Shepherds should not "slumber, scatter or lead sheep to go astray or look our own way for our own benefit," said Gong, but rather "strengthen, heal, bind what is broken, bring back what was hunted, look for what was lost.

(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) David A. Bednar speaks at the afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.
(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) David A. Bednar speaks at the afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.

Apostle David A. Bednar focused his remarks on recent changes to Sunday School's school curriculum – intended to complement the focus-focused study and discussions on the school. Family Gospel – and the importance for members to prepare at home to visit one of the temples of faith and participate in the celebration. most sacred rites.

"Our personal responsibility is to learn what we should learn, to live as we know we should live and to become what Master would want us to become," he said. "And our homes are the ultimate place to learn, live and become."

Bednar encouraged members to use the information provided by the church on the temples of faith, while offering guidance on how, when and where to discuss information about holy ordinances outside the temples.

The symbols or specific promises associated with covenants made during temple ceremonies are too sacred to be described or discussed outside of these buildings, said Mr. Bednar, but members can and should discuss with family members, including including children, goals and basic principles associated with these alliances.

"A rich resource pool exists in print, audio, video and other formats to help us learn more about introductory orders, endowments, marriages and other sealing ordinances," Bednar said. "Information is also available on how to follow the Savior by receiving and honoring covenants that respect the law of obedience, the law of sacrifice, the law of the gospel, the law of chastity and the law of consecration. "

His comments come just three months after the church changed its temple rituals to focus more on women and use more sexist language.

"Imagine," he says, "that your son or daughter is asking," Someone at school told me that strange clothes were being brought to the temple. Is it correct? & # 39; A short video is available on temples.churchofjesuschrist.org titled "Sacred Temple Clothes". This excellent resource explains how, since ancient times, men and women have embraced sacred music, different forms of prayer, symbolic religious clothing, gestures, and rituals to express their deepest feelings of devotion to God. "

(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke at the morning session of the 189th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the United States. Last Days in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.
(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke at the morning session of the 189th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the United States. Last Days in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.

Apostle Dale G. Renlund compared heavenly blessings to the construction of a large fire, with firewood and wood chips covered by ever larger logs.

The pile of wood may be ready to burn, Renlund added, but it still takes a person to hit a match, light the firewood and have a constant supply of oxygen for grow and maintain the fire.

"I invite you to faithfully activate the heavenly power to receive specific blessings from God," he said. "Use faith to hit the match and start the fire. Provide the necessary oxygen while you wait patiently for the Lord.

He added that God's blessings are not received by collecting "good deeds" or meanwhile helpless to win a divine lottery.

"You do not win a blessing; this notion is wrong, but you have to qualify, "said Renlund. "Our salvation comes only through the merits and grace of Jesus Christ."

Apostle Quentin L. Cook urged parents to limit the use of distraction mounts at home and to ensure that the content their children meet is healthy, age-appropriate and compatible with a loving atmosphere.

"An adjustment that will benefit almost every family is to make the Internet, social media and television a servant instead of being a distraction or, worse, a master," Cook said. "The war for all, but especially for children, is often at home."

His fellow Apostle Ronald A. Rasband also warned that humanity was fighting with the devil.

"Satan knows his days are numbered and his time is getting shorter," he said. "As cunning and cunning as he is, he will not win. However, his battle for each of our souls is raging.

A testimony of the gospel, as well as belonging to the family and the church, said Rasband, can act as a fortress against "the power of the evil one".

(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) Juan Pablo Villar to Speak at the Afternoon Session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.
(Trent Nelson | Salt Lake City Tribune) Juan Pablo Villar to Speak at the Afternoon Session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.

Juan Pablo Villar, a seventy of the general authority, spoke of his conversion.

As a teenager, Villar said, he visited his older brother, who converted to Mormonism and was on a mission at the time.

Unfamiliar with such a service, Villar hoped to spend the day at the beach, but rather accompanied his brother and his brother's missionary companion in their proselytizing lessons for the day.

Villar, in tears, said he witnessed changes in teaching and how they "received a spiritual light in their lives". He also learned that he had learned, even though he had never received lessons from his brother.

"Looking back, I realize that my faith grew that day because my brother gave me the opportunity to put it into action," Villar said. "I exercised it by reading the scriptures, looking for people to teach, giving testimony [and] served the others. "

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square during the afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square during the afternoon session of the 189th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7th, 2019.

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