General Conference Applied
General Conference Applied is a podcast focused on building faith in Jesus Christ. 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, including the invitations and promises presented by the speakers.
The hosts for this podcast are Mitch Peterson (https://mitchellryanpeterson.com) 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.
Latest episodes
Aug 25, 2024 • 54min
"It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon"
8/25/2024: President Mark L. Pace, April 2024 General Conference, "It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Reading the Savior’s teachings in the scriptures helps us transform our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning."
2. "We study the scriptures so the Holy Ghost, the great teacher, can deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help us become more like Them.
"With these thoughts in mind, we could consider, 'What has the Holy Ghost taught us this week during our study of the Book of Mormon?' and 'How does this bring us closer to the Savior?'
"These are good questions for our scripture study at home. They are also excellent questions to start a Sunday class at church. We improve our teaching at church on Sunday by improving our learning at home during the week."
3. "I love Lehi’s example of intentional parenting. Sariah, Nephi, and Sam were living good, righteous lives. But the Lord had something better, something sweeter for them. They didn’t know where to find it, but Lehi did. So he called to them 'with a loud voice' to come to the tree of life and partake of the fruit for themselves. His direction was clear. There could be no misunderstanding."
4. "The invitation to come to the tree of life by holding fast to the word of God is not just an invitation from Lehi to his family, and it is not just an invitation from my mother for me to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. It is also an invitation from our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, to each one of us.
"'I promise,' he said, 'that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life.'"
Show notes for the episode are located here
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Aug 22, 2024 • 52min
"A Record of What I Have Both Seen and Heard"
8/22/2024: Elder Brent H. Nielson, April 2024 General Conference, "A Record of What I Have Both Seen and Heard".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "As the ancient prophet Mormon begins his record, he writes, 'And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.'"
2. "I honor the past and current missionaries of the Church and remind our rising generation of President Russell M. Nelson’s invitation to come and gather Israel."
3. "Under the direction of the Lord and the leadership of His prophets and apostles, we will continue to prepare missionaries, make and keep sacred covenants, establish Christ’s Church across the world, and receive the blessings that come as we keep the commandments of God. We are united. We are God’s children. We know Him and we love Him. I join all of you, my friends, as we unitedly testify that these things are true. We make a record of what we have both seen and heard. You and I are witnesses who testify."
Show notes for the episode are located here
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Aug 18, 2024 • 1h
"Faithful to the End"
8/18/2024: Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, April 2024 General Conference, "Faithful to the End".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "Everything changes when I know who I really am. When I doubt my abilities, I often repeat to myself in my mind or out loud, 'I am a daughter of God, I am a daughter of God,' as many times as I need until I again feel confident to keep going."
2. "Christ invites us to keep Him in our thoughts constantly; He tells us, 'Look unto me in every thought.' Thinking about the Savior gives us clarity of mind to make decisions, to act without fear, and to say no to what is contrary to God’s teachings. When my day is difficult and I feel like I can’t take any more, thinking about Christ brings me peace and gives me hope. How can we draw upon this power of Jesus Christ? Obeying our covenants and increasing our faith in Jesus Christ are key."
3. "Just as I chose stone number six, I invite you to meet with your class, quorum, or family and think about what other strengths you need to acquire to remain faithful to God and, therefore, overcome the world."
4. "I testify that there is joy in praying every day, in reading the Book of Mormon every day, in partaking of the sacrament every Sunday, and in going to seminary—even in the early morning!"
Show notes for the episode are located here
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Aug 11, 2024 • 56min
"Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ"
8/11/2024: Sister J. Anette Dennis, April 2024 General Conference, "Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "As my two youngest children were growing, I discovered books that were entertaining and engaging but also used symbolism in their stories. As we read together in the evenings, I loved helping my children understand the symbolism the author was using to teach deeper principles, even gospel principles."
2. "As we make covenants with God in the house of the Lord, we further deepen our relationship with Him. Everything we do in the temple points to our Father’s plan for us, at the heart of which is the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. The Lord will teach us line upon line through the symbolism of the ordinances and covenants as we open our hearts and prayerfully seek to understand the deeper meanings."
3. "In the New Testament book of Romans, we read: 'The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. … Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.'"
4. "If you have not yet done so, I invite you to choose a deeper relationship with God by making covenants with Him in the house of the Lord. Study the talks of our prophet (including the beautiful teachings in the footnotes of his talks, which most conference talks have). He has spoken repeatedly about covenants for years and especially since becoming President of the Church. Learn from his teachings about the beautiful blessings and increased power and capacity that can be yours through making and keeping covenants with God."
5. "If you have the desire to deepen your relationship with your Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ by making sacred covenants in the house of the Lord, I invite you to speak with your bishop or branch president and let him know of your desires. He will help you know how to prepare to receive and honor those covenants."
Show notes for the episode are located here
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Aug 4, 2024 • 57min
"Pray, He Is There"
8/4/2024: President Susan H. Porter, April 2024 General Conference, "Pray, He Is There".
Mitch identified the following invitations and shared ideas for taking action:
1. "I invite you to pray to know Heavenly Father is there."
2. "I invite you to pray to grow to become like [Heavenly Father]."
3. "I invite you to pray to show [Heavenly Father’s] love to others."
Show notes for the episode are located here
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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