Once every six months, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a General Conference of the Church. I study each of the talks delivered by the speakers, and then I create a talk outline with the following sections:
- Invitations
- Directives (“an official or authoritative instruction”)
- Promises
- Doctrines
- Principles
- Christlike Attributes
- Most Important Quote (i.e., what I feel to be the most important quote)
- Powerful Stories
- The Best Footnote
- Questions for Reflection Asked by the Speaker
I discuss most, if not all, these sections in my weekly podcast, General Conference Applied. At the link I have just provided, I also provide detailed show notes for each podcast episode.
In a March 2024 Liahona article entitled “Our General Conference ‘Walk and Talk’“, adapted from a Church News Podcast episode, Elder David A. Bednar stated:
- “Knowing that even Presidents of the Church learn from the messages shared in general conference greatly impressed me as a young man. As I began to follow their counsel, I discovered three things:
“1. Church leaders emphasize fundamental doctrine and principles in their messages.
“2. Almost always, their messages include invitations to act related to the doctrine or principles taught.
“3. In accordance with the invitation, Church leaders offer promised blessings.
“I established a pattern of drawing three columns on a sheet of paper. I then tried to identify and briefly summarize the doctrine, the invitations, and the promised blessings in general conference messages. That, in essence, became my walk and talk for the next six months.”
Below, I have provided my talk outlines by General Conference. These are my “three columns on a sheet of paper” for each General Conference address. I have come closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ by learning from and taking action on General Conference address invitations.
April 2024 General Conference
- “___” by President Russell M. Nelson
- “___” by President Dallin H. Oaks
- “___” by President Henry B. Eyring
- “___” by President Jeffrey R. Holland
- “___” by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- “___” by Elder David A. Bednar
- “___” by Elder Quentin L. Cook
- “___” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
- “___” by Elder Neil L. Andersen
- “___” by Elder Ronald A. Rasband
- “___” by Elder Gary E. Stevenson
- “___” by Elder Dale G. Renlund
- “___” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong
- “___” by Elder Ulisses Soares
- “___” by Elder Patrick Kearon
- “___”