Hello, Doer of the word! Welcome to General Conference+!
GC+ is a special weekly edition of the GCA newsletter, saving you hours of work by bringing you invitations from the 1st Presidency and Quorum of the 12 found anywhere outside of Conference. We look at social media, magazines, devotionals, temple dedications, YouTube, press releases, and more to identify exactly what church leaders asked us to do last week.
Here we go!
Invitations
We focus on new invitations, not repeats from Conference or content where we didn’t spot an invitation. Some are direct calls to action; others are implied. GC+ usually includes many more invitations than our standard newsletters, so we won’t provide application ideas…unless we can’t resist! Find an invitation that inspires you, check out the linked source, and share it with somebody.
Note that the church cross-posts both long videos and shorter excerpts of the same content on multiple platforms. We’ll feature only one instance of an invitation if it appeared in multiple places and social media links will be to Instagram, though you can easily find the same thing on Facebook or X, if you prefer.
President Oaks
Instagram - If married, make sure your spouse is your “favorite person in the world.”
YouTube -
“Most recently we've been led by a magnificent prophet of the Lord, President Russell M. Nelson. We have much work to do to fulfill the challenges he has given us, and there is more yet to come”
“There is much to be done, for our ministry is a ministry of all the children of God on the face of the earth. We pray for all, we seek to serve all, and we invoke the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ upon all who seek to serve Him, to do so in worthiness and commitment and optimism.”
“We do not have the answers to all of the world's problems. They've not been revealed, but what we do know is that we are all children of heavenly parents, and that we are called to serve all of the children of God in this wonderful restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
YouTube - (Message to the rising generation) “Trust in the Lord. Come and enjoy His blessings with us.”
President Eyring
Instagram - Faithfully sustain the new 1st Presidency
“I’m so grateful for the people whose faith I know will sustain us in this great work….I bear you my testimony…that President Oaks is the perfect one to do the things that I know the Lord will want done.”
YouTube - (Message to the rising generation) "Congratulations! The Lord saved you for the most exciting time in the history of His work in this world, and they can be optimistic if they'll trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be His servants as much as they can be. I promise them a glorious future, and I think that it's already emerging."
President Christofferson
Instagram - Recognize that none of us are called to be honored—but called to serve.
YouTube - (Message to the rising generation) "Well, you do live in a unique time, and technology is part of that uniqueness, and I'm so gratified to see so many taking advantage of whatever they have in the way of technology, sometimes quite limited, to improve themselves, to progress, to grow, to reach out and bless others. But remember, you have to be the master. It doesn't master you, or you shouldn't let it master you. You are the master, and you use this tool that no other generation has had (presumably AI) to be able to march forward more rapidly, to make more progress, to accomplish more of the Lord's work in greater speed and velocity…. And I believe it is a very unique and exciting time. I would say simply remember this, there is no substitute for the Holy Ghost. No technology, no other recourse or source can replace the Spirit."
President Holland
Instagram - “We unequivocally sustain President Oaks as the prophet, seer, and revelator leading this Church for its next moment in time. We love him….I know beyond anything else I know that this is God’s Church.” GCA suggests that if you can’t yet say this wholeheartedly, put in the work to gain that testimony. Study the Book of Mormon, Pres. Oaks’ life and teachings, then seek confirmation in prayer.
Elder Stevenson
Elko, NV Temple Dedicatory Prayer - Note: there is value in applying truth from any temple dedicatory prayer to your own temple worship, wherever it may be.
“Please bless each patron who will worship here with spiritual insight into the meaning and blessings associated with the ordinances of baptism, washing and anointing, the endowment and the sealing, for themselves and for their deceased ancestors.” (Let’s reverently seek such insight).
“We pray…that Thou wilt bless each member and family with the time, a desire and circumstances to worship here often.”
“We especially pray that the hearts of the rising generation will be filled with a desire to always be worthy to hold a temple recommend and to use it often. That they be drawn to walk the covenant path to this Thy holy house, for their own endowment and sealing, and that the power of godliness will be manifest unto them.”
Elder Kearon
Instagram - “I'm grateful for our shared striving beyond the walls of temples, churches, synagogues, and mosques to treat the space between us with the same sense of reverence and purpose. As we do, we build sacred spaces within our relationships. The spaces between us become sacred when we take the time to listen, when we replace judgment with compassion, and when we remember that what unites us is far greater than what might divide us. In this work, we honor the divine call to foster peace, mutual respect, and lasting fellowship for the whole human family.”
Time Well Spent
Abbreviated version (7 min)
Building the World We Hope to Live In - Elder Kearon speaking in Kazakhstan at VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions (8 min)
Take Action
Reply to this email and share how you’ll take action on one of these invitations (or one we may have missed!). Let us know if we can share your response in our newsletter, podcast, and/or on social media to bless others.
Michigan Shooting Victim’s Birthday. My sister-in-law shared this heart-breaking post from one of her friends. The little girl’s name is Piper. Her 6th birthday is today, Oct 22nd. If you’d like to mail her belated birthday wishes, reply to this email and ask for the address. I’d rather not post it online to respect their privacy.
Exciting things are happening at GCA! We’re loving all the podcast guests lately and can’t wait to introduce you to even more of them. We’ve even got a few lined up you might be familiar with. Subscribe to not miss out and please share GCA with your friends!