Teachings of Church Leaders: Lesson 205

Preparing for General Conference

Hearing the Savior’s Words in General Conference

The Lord speaks to each of us through His servants in general conference. Intentionally preparing for conference can help us receive personal revelation. This lesson can help students prepare to receive messages from the Savior in general conference.

Student preparation: Invite students to ponder the blessings that could come from watching the next general conference and how they could prepare for it.

Possible Learning Activities

Preparing for events

Note: Because general conference occurs twice each year, you may need to teach this lesson twice. For other ways to teach this lesson, see the Supplemental Learning Activities section of this lesson in the Gospel Library on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

To help prepare students to learn, consider beginning class by drawing something like the following on the board:

Invite students to recall a message they received that was meaningful to them. Some examples are a note from a parent, a text from a friend, a compliment from a neighbor or Church leader, or counsel from a grandparent.

Consider sharing an example of a message you received that was meaningful to you. Ask students the following question:

• Why was the message you received meaningful?

Imagine that the Lord was going to send you a message. Take a moment to write in your study journal what you hope He would include in His message, for example, guidance for your life, a message of hope and reassurance, a confirmation of truth, or an answer to a question.

How God sends us messages

Read several of the following verses, looking for one way the Lord sends His messages and phrases that show why it is important:

• 2 Chronicles 36:15

• Jeremiah 7:25

• Amos 3:7

• Doctrine and Covenants 1:38

• Doctrine and Covenants 21:4–6

Invite students to share what they found and encourage them to mark phrases they hear from their peers they would like to remember.

During general conference, prophets, seers, and revelators, along with other inspired Church leaders, share messages from the Lord.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

I give you my witness that Jesus is the Christ, that He guides the affairs of this sacred work, and that general conference is one of the very important times He gives direction to His Church and to us personally. …

The teachings of general conference are the considerations the Lord would have before us now and in the months ahead. (“The Voice of the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 122, 124)

• How would you summarize what Elder Andersen taught?

  One truth that students may mention is that, in general conference, the Lord gives direction to His Church and to us personally through His servants, the prophets.

• What do you know about Jesus Christ that would make a message from Him meaningful?

To help students reflect on their preparation for general conference, consider displaying the following self-assessment questions.

Ponder and answer the following questions in your study journal:

• How confident are you that you can recognize the Lord’s personalized messages for you in general conference? Why?

• What might you do to prepare for the upcoming general conference so you can better receive the Lord’s messages for you?

Preparing for general conference

Write the words Before and During on the board. Invite students to list what they could do before and during general conference to better receive the Lord’s messages.

Afterward, consider inviting students to look for additional ideas, using the handout “Getting the Most out of General Conference.” Here are some ways using the handout could be effective:

• Study in small groups and answer the questions together.

• Arrange students in groups of four and assign each student one of the quotes and the accompanying questions. After reading and pondering their section, each student shares with their group.

• Give a different statement to four students before class and invite them to come prepared to share it with the class and answer the accompanying question or questions. Alternatively, they could use the questions to lead the class discussion.

Instead of, or in addition to the handout, you could share the video “The Blessings of General Conference” (2:24), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

After students have had time to study the handout and ponder the following question, invite them to answer.

• When have you, or someone you know, received a message from general conference you felt was from the Lord? How did it affect you or them?

Prepare for general conference

Write a goal of what you would like to do to receive the Lord’s messages during general conference.

Pass out a sticky note or piece of paper to each student and invite them to write the phrase “Just for You” at the top. Students could also use their study journal or a notebook, if they prefer.

Ask them to write down any messages they feel the Lord sent them during general conference. Encourage them to come back to class after general conference ready to share what they did to prepare. If it is not too personal, they could also share what messages they heard from the Lord.

In a future class after general conference, consider taking several minutes to have students report about their experience.

General conference review activity

In the next seminary class after general conference, consider giving students an opportunity to review and share what they learned. You could write several questions on the board, such as:

• What made you laugh?

• What talk are you excited to study?

• What messages did you feel were just for you?

• What did you learn or feel about the Savior?

You could invite students to write on the board answers to any of the questions. Alternatively, they could write their name on a sticky note or small piece of paper and place it near a question they are willing to answer. Have a class discussion by inviting willing students by name to share their answers to the questions. You could also share some of your answers.

Additional Resources

What is the focus of general conference messages?

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

The General Authorities and General Officers of the Church who speak will focus their messages on our Savior, Jesus Christ, His mercy, and His infinite redeeming power. There has never been a time in the history of the world when knowledge of our Savior is more personally vital and relevant to every human soul. Imagine how quickly the devastating conflicts throughout the world—and those in our individual lives—would be resolved if we all chose to follow Jesus Christ and heed His teachings. (“Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 6) (time code 1:41 to 2:26)

What is one way to take notes during general conference?

Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

When I take notes at conference, I do not always write down exactly what the speaker is saying; I note the personalized direction the Spirit is giving me.

What is said is not as important as what we hear and what we feel. ( “General Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 6) (time code 5:00 to 5:19)

Supplemental Learning Activities

An opportunity to speak with the Lord

Another way to begin the lesson is to ask students, “If you could have the opportunity to speak with anyone for counsel and help with your life, who would it be and why?”

Display a picture of the Savior teaching. Invite students to imagine that in several days, they were going to have the opportunity to speak with the Lord Jesus Christ. They could ask Him for counsel and direction with their life.

Students could then answer the following questions in their study journals:

• What direction or help might you seek from Him?

• What might you do to prepare for your visit with Him? Why?

The Lord counsels us through His prophet

If teaching this lesson for the second time of the year, consider beginning with the supplemental idea above and doing the following:

Read several of the following verses, looking for how the direction the Lord gave through His prophet Moses helped His people in different times.

Exodus 3:15–17. When the people were enslaved.

Exodus 12:21–23, 27. When the Lord promised an angel of death would kill the first born in Egypt.

Exodus 14:13–14, 21. When the people were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea.

Exodus 16:4. When the people had no food.

Exodus 17:5–6. When the people had no water.

Exodus 25:1-2, 8. When the people were in the wilderness. (Note: the word sanctuary referred to the tabernacle, or portable temple.)

Numbers 21:8–9. When the people were bitten by venomous snakes.

• How were these messages different? Why?

• What did you learn?

• How did these messages show the love of the Lord?

Consider writing the following on the board: Through His prophet, the Lord gives us direction for our challenges and situations.

Invite students to recall any reasons they would like direction or counsel in their life. Discuss ways they can prepare to hear the word of the Lord in general conference. For example, students could write their reasons and, as they watch general conference, take notes of anything they hear that may help with those situations.

Seeking to develop Christlike attributes through general conference

Another way to prepare for general conference is to think of one or two Christlike attributes students would like to develop (such as charity, humility, diligence, patience, and so on). Then listen for guidance in general conference on how to become more like the Savior in that way.