The Importance of General Conference

Harold B. Lee
A man came in to see me and said that he had heard that some man appeared mysteriously to a group of temple workers and told them, "You had better hurry up and store for a year, or two, or three, because there will come a season when there won't be any production." He asked me what I thought about it, and I said, "Well, were you in the April conference of 1936?" He replied, "No, I couldn't be there." And I said, "Well, you surely read the report of what was said by the Brethren in that conference?" No, he hadn't. "Well," I said, "at that conference the Lord did give a revelation about the storage of food. How in the world is the Lord going to get over to you what He wants you to do if you are not there when He says it, and you do not take the time to read it after it has been said?"

The Lord is going to keep His people informed, if they will listen. As President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., said in a classic talk, "What we need today is not more prophets. We have the prophets. But what we need is more people with listening ears. That is the great need of our generation."
(Conference Report, October 1948, p. 82) – Stand Ye In Holy Places: Selected Sermons and Writings of President Harold B. Lee. SLC, Utah: Deseret Book, 1988. p.159.


Spencer W. Kimball
Talk about conference messages. As we return to our homes, brothers and sisters, I hope we will not close the door on the conference. Take it with us. Take it home with us. Tell our families about it, perhaps some to report in sacrament meetings of it. But take it to your families and give them the benefit of any inspiration that might have come to you, any determinations to change your lives and make them more acceptable to your Heavenly Father.

Three men went to a sermon. One of them said, "That was a good sermon." The second man said, "That was a good sermon; I will tell some of my neighbors to live it." The third person said, "I will go straight home and put it all into my life."

That, of course, is the proof. We hope that every family in Tahiti will gather together and discuss all the things that have happened this past week.

Study conference messages. I hope you young people all heard the messages of the ages delivered last week. I hope you will get your copy of the Improvement Era and underline the pertinent thoughts and keep it with you for continual reference. No text nor volume outside of the standard works of the Church should have such a prominent place on your personal library shelves, not because of their rhetorical excellence, nor the eloquence of delivery, but for the content which points the way to eternal life.
– Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Bookcraft, SLC, 1982, p. 523.

Another historic conference became history. It will have been lost motion, a waste of time, energy, and money if its messages are not heeded. In the seven two-hour sessions and in the several satellite meetings truths were taught, doctrines expounded, exhortations given enough to save the world from all its ills-and I mean all its ills. A rather complete education in eternal verities was given to millions with a great hope that there were ears a-hearing and eyes a-seeing and hearts a-throbbing, convinced of truth. ...

Let no conceited, self-assured, self-styled intellectual discard the truths taught and the testimonies borne. Let every one humble himself and accept the messages.

We hope that the leaders and the members of the Church who have attended and listened to the conference have been inspired and uplifted. We hope you have made copious notes of the thoughts that have come to your mind as the Brethren have addressed you. Many suggestions have been given that will help you as leaders in the perfection of your work. Many helpful thoughts have been given for the perfection of our own lives, and that, of course, is the basic reason for our coming.

While sitting here, I have made up my mind that when I go home from this conference this night there are many, many areas in my life that I can perfect. I have made a mental list of them, and I expect to go to work as soon as we get through with conference.
– Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Bookcraft, SLC, 1982, p. 522.


Ezra Taft Benson
I commend my Brethren of the General Authorities for the excellent addresses they have given. My humble prayer is that all of us will follow the counsel and instruction we have received.

As we have felt the Spirit and made new and sacred resolves, may we now have the courage and fortitude to carry out those resolves.

For the next six months your conference edition of the Ensign should stand next to your standard works and be referred to frequently. As my dear friend and brother Harold B. Lee said, we should let these conference addresses "be the guide to [our] walk and talk during the next six months. These are the important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this day."
(CR April 1946, p. 68.) (CR April 1988, Ensign 18 [May 1988]: 84.) – Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Bookcraft, SLC, 1988, p.333.

The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet. The living prophet has the power of TNT. By that I mean "Today's News Today." God's revelations to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark. Noah needed his own revelation.

Therefore, the most important prophet, so far as you and I are concerned, is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us. Therefore, the most important reading we can do is any of the words of the prophet contained each week in the Church section of the Deseret News and any words of the prophet contained each month in our Church magazines. Our marching orders for each six months are found in the general conference addresses, which are printed in the Ensign magazine. ("Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet," in 1980 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo: BYU Press, 1981], p. 27.)
– Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Bookcraft, SLC, 1988, p.335.


Gordon B. Hinckley
It's unlikely that we will remember very many of the words that we've heard during the meetings of this conference. But I hope that we shall be able to "hum" the spirit of this conference and that we shall carry with us a great feeling of uplift because of our participation together. It has been a glorious time. The Spirit of the Lord has been with us. We have every reason to be grateful. We have been refreshed in our testimonies and strengthened in our faith.

We have heard sound counsel from the brethren who have spoken to us. Having heard it, I hope we will read it when the proceedings of the conference are published, and again savor to our benefit that which has been said. ("Let Us Go Forward!" Ensign, November 1983, p. 74.)
– Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Deseret Book, SLC, 1997, p.236.


Paul V. Johnson
"In order for the messages of general conference to change our lives, we need to be willing to follow the counsel we hear. The Lord explained in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith 'that when ye are assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other, that ye may know...... how to act upon the points of my law and commandment.' But knowing 'how to act' isn't enough. The Lord in the next verse said, 'Ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me.' This willingness to take action on what we have learned opens the doors for marvelous blessings."
—Paul V. Johnson, "The Blessings of General Conference," Ensign, Nov. 2005, 50