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REFERRAL PROGRAM. Between now and Christmas Day 2025, for anyone who refers five people to the General Conference Applied Newsletter, we will send you (by the end of 2025) the following two general conference invitations files: 1) A Google Spreadsheet with a tab for every October 2025 General Conference address; 2) A PDF with a page for every October 2025 General Conference address. You receive these files one page at a time in each of our Invitations newsletters, but this will package the invitations into one file, and you won’t have to wait an extra five weeks to receive the invitations for all the addresses. To receive this gift, here are the steps:

  • Reply to any Newsletter email (or email us directly) and provide the email addresses for the five people who signed up for the General Conference Applied Newsletter because of your referral (i.e., this only applies to those who subscribed to the Newsletter after 9:00 p.m. MST on Thursday, December 4, 2025).

  • As long as those five people are still active subscribers as of Christmas Day 2025, we will email your gift to you.

Let's dive into the invitations from Elder Ronald M. Barcellos' October 2025 General Conference address, "The Lord Looketh on the Heart."

Invitations

1 - "[P]erform this spiritual assessment of your heart."

  • Application Idea: I will be creating a resource to make it easier to "perform this spiritual assessment of your heart," and I will add a link to that resource on the online version of this newsletter once it has been created. But until then, read through the 11 questions that Elder Barcellos included in the "Assessing Your Heart with Spiritual Tests" section of his address, and write your responses to those questions in your journal.

2 - "Here are some actions that can improve your heart’s spiritual strength. First, Strengthen Your Relationship with Christ. ... [D]edicate time daily to come closer to Christ. ... Daily study of the scriptures, accompanied by sincere prayer and regular fasting. ... [C]ontinue to nourish the seed of faith by our righteous desires and actions."

  • Application Idea: With the start of a new year approaching, it is a wonderful time to recommit to studying the Book of Mormon every day. Read this quote from a June 6, 1993, BYU Devotional address delivered by Elder Dallin H. Oaks ("Another Testament of Jesus Christ") and consider how you will allow the Book of Mormon to help you become "built on the rock of Christ" in 2026: [Quoting President Ezra Taft Benson] "'Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not.' [The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion, Ensign, November 1986, p. 7] That is the key: to use the Book of Mormon to become 'built on the rock of Christ'! This book is a testament of Jesus Christ. It explains the significance of his atonement and the content of our covenant relationship with him."

3 - "Second, Align Your Will with His. The Savior taught, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments⁠.' ... [D]emonstrate our love by making and keeping covenants with Him. ... [S]trive daily to keep His commandments, sincerely repent from our sins, and persevere in taking His name upon us and aligning our will with His will."

  • Application Idea: God's will is taught through living prophets. Thus, it is imperative for us to come to trust the prophet's voice. Learn more about prophets utilizing the Church's Topics and Questions resource: Overview | Gospel Study Guide | Church and Gospel Questions

4 - "Last, Serve God and Others with All Your Heart. ... [C]hoose to do each thing the Lord has asked us to do—such as keeping the commandments, partaking of the sacrament, worshipping in the temple, and serving others—with a sincere heart and with real intent."

  • Application Idea: I love this quote from Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment: "Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. ... In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present." The next time you're in the temple, set aside some time to be totally still, to clear your mind of all thoughts, to breathe slowly and deeply, and to simply embrace being close to God.

5 - "I invite you to give your whole heart to the Savior today. Let each act of worship and service be sincere and intentional. Set aside the distractions of the world and strive to have meaningful time for the Lord every day of your lives. Repent and return to Him with all your heart. ... Seek not the things of this world, but choose to have your eye single to His glory and seek the things of a better one."

LDS Scriptures in 40+ Colors! Lots of Personalization Options!

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Additional Resources

Download a copy of these invitations: Google Sheets | PDF. If you use these resources as a handout in Church, use the PDF (it prints prettier) and please invite the members of your ward to subscribe to the General Conference Applied newsletter and podcast!

General Conference Applied S6 E36. It's Time for a Spiritual Assessment of Your Heart - Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube. This short podcast episode is an audio / video version of this newsletter.

General Conference Applied S6 E37. A Check-up For Your Spiritual Heart—Elder Ronald M. Barcellos, "The Lord Looketh on the Heart" - Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube. Clay and Mitch were joined by Clay's Wife, Tristan Soelberg, a registered nurse and host of the nursing careers podcast, Still a Nurse (available on Spotify, Apple, any other podcast app or YouTube). We discussed Elder Barcellos invitations to assess your spiritual heart health, similar to how a nurse or doctor might assess your literal heart.

External Resources Shared In This Episode:

Take Action

Clay's Application: I want to do a better job at consistently "applying my heart to understanding" the scriptures, by devoting adequate time to prayer and quiet study as opposed to hurriedly reading them as a daily checklist to-do item.

Mitch's Application: I will not only perform this spiritual assessment (see invitation 1) for myself, but I will create a resource that I will add to our newsletter for Elder Barcellos' address.

Reply to this email and tell us how you'll take action on one of these invitations and whether we can share your response in our newsletter, podcast, and/or on social media.

Thanks for joining us in becoming a "Doer of the word!" Please help others do the same by sharing this newsletter with them.

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