General Conference Applied
Mitch Peterson and Clay Soelberg
Every six months, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather to share messages in general conference. This podcast consists of an in-depth look at each of these messages. In particular, the hosts identify the invitations that were extended by the speakers, and then discuss ways that listeners can become "doers of the word" and take action on these invitations.
The hosts for this podcast are Mitch Peterson and Clay Soelberg, both of whom are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of its creators.
The hosts for this podcast are Mitch Peterson and Clay Soelberg, both of whom are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of its creators.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 28, 2024 • 42min
"God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home"
7/28/2024: Elder Patrick Kearon, April 2024 General Conference, "God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home".
Mitch identified the following invitation and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Does this mean anything goes with regard to how we live our lives? That the way we choose to use our agency doesn’t matter? That we can take or leave God’s commandments? No, of course not. Surely one of Jesus’s most consistent invitations and pleas during His mortal ministry was that we change and repent and come unto Him. Fundamentally implicit in all of His teachings to live on a higher plane of moral conduct is a call to personal progression, to transformative faith in Christ, to a mighty change of heart. God wants for us a radical reorientation of our selfish and prideful impulses, the eviction of the natural man, for us to 'go, and sin no more.'"
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
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Jul 21, 2024 • 56min
"Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ"
7/21/2024: Elder Ulisses Soares, April 2024 General Conference, "Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Preparation isn’t just for those going to the temple for the first time. We all should be perpetually preparing to go to the house of the Lord. One stake I know has adopted the motto ‘Home centered, Church supported, and temple bound.’ Bound is an interesting word in that it means focused on a direction, but it also means fastened to or secured by, resolved and determined, sure. So being temple bound secures us to the Savior, giving us proper direction and stability while ensuring we have covenant confidence through Jesus Christ. Therefore, all of us should intentionally enhance such binding by having our next appointment scheduled with the Lord in His holy house, whether the temple is near or far away."
2. "We also know from the temple that if we want the Spirit of the Lord to be unrestrained in our lives, we simply cannot and must not have unkind feelings toward anyone. Giving place in our hearts or minds for unkind feelings or thoughts will produce unkind words and actions, whether on social media or in our homes, causing the Spirit of the Lord to withdraw from our hearts. Therefore, please cast not away your confidence, but rather, let your confidence wax strong."
3. "My dear friends, if there is one thing we could possess—and one thing we could pass on to our children and grandchildren that would help each in the tests and trials ahead—it would be confidence in the covenants made through Jesus Christ."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
To subscribe to Mitch's 'What? Eye. Read. Newsletter', utilize the subscribe field here
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Jul 14, 2024 • 53min
"All Things for Our Good"
7/14/2024: Elder Gerrit W. Gong, April 2024 General Conference, "All Things for Our Good".
Mitch identified the following invitation and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "When trials come, often what we most want is for someone to listen and be with us. In the moment, cliché answers can be unhelpful, however comforting their intent. Sometimes we yearn for someone who will grieve, ache, and weep with us; let us express pain, frustration, sometimes even anger; and acknowledge with us there are things we do not know.”
2. "A father assigned with his teacher-age son as ministering companions explained, 'Ministering is when we go from being neighbors who bring cookies to trusted friends, spiritual first responders.'"
3. "As temples come closer to us in many places, a temple sacrifice we can offer is to seek holiness in the house of the Lord more frequently. For many years, we have saved, planned, and sacrificed to come to the temple. Now, as circumstances permit, please come even more often to the Lord in His holy house. Let regular temple worship and service bless, protect, and inspire you and your family—the family you have or the family you will have and become someday. Also, where your circumstances permit, please consider the blessing of owning your own temple clothes."
4. "When life is cluttered and purpose isn’t clear, when you want to live better but don’t know how, please come to God our Father and Jesus Christ. Trust They live, love you, and want all things for your good."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
To subscribe to Mitch's 'What? Eye. Read. Newsletter', utilize the subscribe field here
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Jul 7, 2024 • 1h 9min
"The Powerful, Virtuous Cycle of the Doctrine of Christ"
7/7/2024: Elder Dale G. Renlund, April 2024 General Conference, "The Powerful, Virtuous Cycle of the Doctrine of Christ".
Mitch identified the following invitation and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "I invite you to live the doctrine of Christ repeatedly, iteratively, and intentionally and help others on their way."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
To subscribe to Mitch's 'What? Eye. Read. Newsletter', utilize the subscribe field here
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Jun 30, 2024 • 1h 11min
"Bridging the Two Great Commandments"
6/30/2024: Elder Gary E. Stevenson, April 2024 General Conference, "Bridging the Two Great Commandments".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "I invite you to look at this stately bridge [the Golden Gate Bridge]—with its ascending twin towers built on a strong foundation—through a gospel lens. ... In the days ahead, when you pass over a majestic suspension bridge or even when you see a picture, with its soaring towers, I invite you to remember the two great commandments, described by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. May the Lord’s instructions inspire us. May our hearts and minds be lifted upward to love the Lord and turned outward to love our neighbor.”
2. "Let’s examine each of the two great commandments, revealed and recited in Jesus Christ’s response. As we do so, let the image of the magnificent suspension bridge resonate in your mind’s eye.”
3. "So the question for each of us is, How do we build our own bridge of faith and devotion—erecting tall bridge towers of both loving God and loving our neighbors? Well, we just start. Our initial efforts might look like a plan on the back of a napkin or an early-stage blueprint of the bridge we hope to construct. It might consist of a few realistic goals to understand the Lord’s gospel more or to vow to judge others less. No one is too young or too old to begin.”
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
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Jun 23, 2024 • 59min
"Words Matter"
6/23/2024: Elder Ronald A. Rasband, April 2024 General Conference, "Words Matter".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "We ‘hear Him’ in the words of scripture, but do we let them just sit on the page, or do we recognize He is speaking to us? Do we change?”
2. "Elder George Albert Smith, long before becoming President of the Church, spoke of sustaining the prophet and heeding his words. He said: ‘The obligation that we make when we raise our hands … is a most sacred one. … It means … that we will stand behind him; we will pray for him; … and we will strive to carry out his instructions as the Lord shall direct.’ In other words, we will diligently act upon our prophet’s words.”
3. "Our words on the internet, texting, social media, or tweets take on a life of their own. So be careful what you say and how you say it. In our families, especially with husbands, wives, and children, our words can bring us together or drive a wedge between us.”
4. "Let me suggest three simple phrases that we can use to take the sting out of difficulties and differences, lift, and reassure each other:
“‘Thank you.’
“‘I am sorry.’
“And ‘I love you.’
“Do not save these humble phrases for a special event or catastrophe. Use them often and sincerely, for they show regard for others.”
5. "Let me share a personal example. Husbands, take heed. Sisters, this is going to help you too. Before my full-time assignment in the Church, I traveled widely for my company. I was gone a fair amount of time to far reaches of the world. At the end of my day, no matter where I was, I always called home. When my wife, Melanie, picked up the phone and I reported in, our conversation always led us to expressing ‘I love you.’ Every day, those words served as an anchor to my soul and my conduct; they were a protection to me from evil designs. ‘Melanie, I love you’ spoke of the precious trust between us.”
6. "We are Heavenly Father’s children and He is our God, and He expects us to speak with ‘the tongue of angels’ by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
To subscribe to Mitch's 'What? Eye. Read. Newsletter', utilize the subscribe field here
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Jun 16, 2024 • 1h 2min
"Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth"
6/16/2024: Elder Neil L. Andersen, April 2024 General Conference, "Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Regularly performing ordinances for our ancestors in the temple brings a sweet and sure confirmation that life continues beyond the veil."
2. "Each week as we worthily partake of the bread and water in remembrance of our Savior, we are promised His Spirit will always be with us."
3. "My beloved friends, if we are able and have not already increased our attendance at the temple, let us regularly find more time to worship in the house of the Lord."
4. "Let us pray for the temples that have been announced, that properties can be purchased, that governments will approve plans, that talented workers will see their gifts magnified, and that the sacred dedications will bring the approval of heaven and the visit of angels."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
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Jun 9, 2024 • 52min
"The Testimony of Jesus"
6/9/2024: Elder D. Todd Christofferson, April 2024 General Conference, "The Testimony of Jesus".
Mitch identified the following invitation and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "My invitation is to act now to secure your place as one who is valiant in the testimony of Jesus. As repentance may be needed, 'do not procrastinate the day of your repentance,' lest 'in an hour when ye think not the summer shall be past, and the harvest ended, and your souls not saved.' Be zealous in keeping your covenants with God. Do not be 'offended [by] the strictness of the word.' 'Remember to retain the name [of Christ] written always in your hearts, … that ye [may] hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.' And finally, 'settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which [Jesus] shall teach, and command you.'"
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
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Jun 2, 2024 • 1h 6min
"Be One with Christ"
6/2/2024: Elder Quentin L. Cook, April 2024 General Conference, "Be One with Christ".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Given our 'likeness' before God, it makes little sense to emphasize our differences. Some have wrongly encouraged us 'to imagine people to be much more different from ourselves and from each other than they actually are. [Some] take real but small differences and magnify them into chasms.'"
2. "In this extremely competitive world, there is a constant effort to excel. Striving to be the best we can be is a righteous and worthwhile endeavor. It is consistent with the Lord’s doctrine. Efforts to diminish or deprecate others or create barriers to their success are contrary to the Lord’s doctrine. We cannot blame circumstances or others for a decision to act contrary to God’s commandments."
3. "In today’s world, it is easy to focus on material and occupational success. Some lose sight of eternal principles and choices that have eternal significance. We would be wise to follow President Russell M. Nelson’s counsel to 'think celestial.'"
4. "The most significant choices can be made by almost everyone regardless of talents, abilities, opportunities, or economic circumstances. An emphasis on putting family choices first is essential."
5. "We should strive to include others in our circle of oneness. If we are to follow President Russell M. Nelson’s admonition to gather scattered Israel on both sides of the veil, we need to include others in our circle of oneness."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
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May 26, 2024 • 1h 7min
"'Be Still, and Know That I Am God'"
5/26/2024: Elder David A. Bednar, April 2024 General Conference, "'Be Still, and Know That I Am God'".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. “Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, our Mediator, and our Advocate with the Eternal Father and the rock upon which we should build the spiritual foundation of our lives."
2. "Every Sunday, if we will, we can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior."
3. "If we will, we can 'be still' in our holy places of worship and know ever more surely that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior."
4. "In His holy house, if we will, we can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior."
5. "Today I repeat a principle I previously have emphasized. Our homes should be the ultimate combination of both sacred time and holy place wherein individuals and families can 'be still' and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are His children, and Jesus Christ is our Savior. Leaving our homes to worship on the Sabbath and in the house of the Lord certainly is essential. But only as we return to our homes with the spiritual perspective and strength obtained in those holy places and activities can we then sustain our focus upon the primary purposes of mortal life and overcome the temptations so prevalent in our fallen world."
Show notes for the episode are located here
To access show notes for previous episodes, visit here
To subscribe to Mitch's 'What? Eye. Read. Newsletter', utilize the subscribe field here
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