As members of the Church, we’ve been taught to expect personal revelation during general conference.
“Your needs are great and varied. Each of you is a unique child of God,” teaches President Henry B. Eyring. “God knows you individually. He sends messages of encouragement, correction, and direction fitted to you and to your needs” (“Trust in God, Then Go and Do,” Oct. 2010 general conference).
What can we do now to better prepare personally to receive the guidance and inspiration the Lord has specifically in mind for each of us? Living prophets and apostles suggest we:
- Review past general conference messages.
- Ponder questions you need answers to in your life.
- Prepare as the prophets do.
- Plan to listen with intent, then go and do.
Review past general conference messages.
Before general conference, take time to read through past conference messages. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf explains that “the more we treasure the words of the prophets and apply them, the better we will recognize when we are drifting off course—even if only by a matter of a few degrees.”
The newly redesigned general conferencepages on ChurchofJesusChrist.org make it easy for you to find general conference topics, talks, and speakers you are looking for. TheGospel Library app and the Ensign magazine in print, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, in audio podcasts, and more all make it easy to access conference messages so that you can view, listen to, or read them almost anywhere, anytime.
President Monson reminds us that messages shared during general conference not only teach and inspire us, they give us a “renewed determination to live the gospel and to serve the Lord.”
Ponder questions you need answers to in your life.
“There are messages in each general conference as a gift and a blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations," says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. “As you prepare for general conference, I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered. For example, you might yearn for direction and guidance by the Lord regarding challenges you are facing” (“General Conference—No Ordinary Blessing,” Ensign, Sept. 2011).
Prepare as the prophets do.
“We prepare to receive personal revelation as the prophets do,” Elder Robert D. Hales teaches, “by studying the scriptures, fasting, praying, and building faith. Faith is the key.”
“Prophets receive personal revelations to help them in their own lives and in directing the earthly affairs of the Church. Our responsibility is to seek personal revelations for ourselves and for the responsibilities the Lord has given us” (“Personal Revelation: The Teachings and Examples of the Prophets,” Oct. 2007 general conference).
Elder Hales teaches that as a result of our sincere spiritual preparation, we might expect “tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, ideas, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to bear disappointments and sorrow” (“Personal Revelation: The Teachings and Examples of the Prophets”).
Plan to listen with intent, then go and do.
“You show your trust in [God] when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks, President Eyring teaches. “If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference, you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you” (“Trust in God, Then Go and Do”).
