Last updated on February 16th, 2025 at 10:46 pm
General Conference Applied
S4 E20 – Sunday, February 9, 2025 | “Seeking Answers to Spiritual Questions” by Sister Tracy Y. Browning; October 2024 General Conference
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Podcast Episode Outline
Introduction
Bio
- “Sister Tracy Y. Browning was sustained as Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2022. At the time of her call, she was serving on the Relief Society General Advisory Council.
“She has also served as a ward and stake Relief Society presidency counselor, as a Relief Society and Sunday School teacher, and in the Young Women organization.
“Sister Browning studied at St. John’s University. She has worked in financial services for 15 years and is now an account services director in the Church’s Publishing Services Department. Sister Browning has also volunteered with various community and civic organizations.
“Tracy Yeulande was born October 9, 1976, in New Rochelle, New York, in the United States. She grew up in Jamaica in the West Indies, and in New Jersey and New York. She married Brady Browning on May 2, 1997. They are the parents of two children.” - This was Sister Browning’s second general conference address. Her most recent address was “Seeing More of Jesus Christ in Our Lives” from the October 2022 General Conference.
Obedience Leads to Revelation
- “Our fidelity to the knowledge and wisdom we have already inherited through our faithful adherence to gospel principles and sacred covenants is crucial preparation for our readiness to receive and be stewards of communications from the Holy Spirit.” -Sister Browning
Invitation One
What is the speaker inviting me to do?
- “Seek answers to our spiritual questions.” -Sister Browning
- In my own words: Write down your spiritual questions, and then seek answers to those questions.
Why does it matter, or why is it important? (Doctrines, Principles, Christlike Attributes)
- Christlike Attribute: “I seek to understand the truth and find answers to my questions. (Doctrine and Covenants 6:7) (Knowledge)
- “[7] Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.”
What’s in it for us? (Promises)
- “Our sincere gospel questions can provide Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with opportunities to help us grow.” -Sister Browning
- “Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me” by President Russell M. Nelson: “Many years ago, I was asked to operate on a little girl, gravely ill from congenital heart disease. Her older brother had died of a similar condition. Her parents pleaded for help. I was not optimistic about the outcome but vowed to do all in my power to save her life. Despite my best efforts, the child died. Later, the same parents brought another daughter to me, then just sixteen months old. She, too, was born with a malformed heart. Again, at their request, I performed an operation. This child also died. This third heartbreaking loss in one family devastated me.
“I went home grief-stricken. I threw myself upon our living room floor and cried all night long. Dantzel stayed by my side, listening as I repeatedly declared that I would never perform another heart operation. Then, around 5:00 in the morning, she looked at me and said, ‘Are you finished crying? Then get dressed. Go back to the lab. Go to work. You need to learn more. If you quit now, others will have to painfully learn what you already know.’
“How I needed her vision, love, and determination! I went back to work and learned more. If it were not for Dantzel’s inspired prodding, I am not sure that I would have pursued open-heart surgery further. Thus, I would not have been prepared to perform the operation in 1972 that saved the life of President Spencer W. Kimball.” - “The Faith to Ask and Then to Act“, President Henry B. Eyring, October 2021 General Conference: “The way to receive revelation from God has not changed from the days of Adam and Eve. It has been the same for all called servants of the Lord from the beginning to the present day. It is the same for you and me. It is always done by exercising faith.
“The teenage Joseph Smith had faith sufficient to ask a question of God, believing that God would answer his heartfelt need. The answer that came changed the world. He wanted to know what church to join to be cleansed of sin. The answer he received encouraged him to keep asking ever-better questions and to act on the continuing flow of revelation that had just begun.” - “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller: “You may be asking, ‘Why focus on a question when what we really crave is an answer?’ It’s simple. Answers come from questions, and the quality of any answer is directly determined by the quality of the question. Ask the wrong question, get the wrong answer. Ask the right question, get the right answer. Ask the most powerful question possible, and the answer can be life altering.
“Voltaire once wrote, ‘Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.’ Sir Francis Bacon added, ‘A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.’ Indira Gandhi concluded that ‘the power to question is the basis of all human progress.’ Great questions are clearly the quickest path to great answers. Every discoverer and inventor begins his quest with a transformative question. The scientific method asks questions of the universe in hypothesis form. The more than 2,000-year-old Socratic Method, teaching through questions, is still embraced by educators from the heights of Harvard Law School to the local kindergarten class. Questions engage our critical thinking. Research shows that asking questions improves learning and performance by as much as 150 percent. In the end, it’s hard to argue with author Nancy Willard, who wrote, ‘Sometimes questions are more important than answers.’
“I first became aware of the power of questions as a young man. I read a poem that affected me profoundly and I’ve carried it with me ever since.
“MY WAGE
“By J. B. Rittenhouse
“‘I bargained with Life for a penny,
“‘And Life would pay no more,
“‘However I begged at evening
“‘When I counted my scanty store.
“‘For Life is a just employer,
“‘He gives you what you ask,
“‘But once you have set the wages,
“‘Why, you must bear the task.
“‘I worked for a menials hire,
“‘Only to learn, dismayed,
“‘That any wage I had asked of Life,
“‘Life would have willingly paid.’
“The last two lines deserve repeating: ‘… any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have willingly paid.’ One of the most empowering moments of my life came when I realized that life is a question and how we live it is our answer. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our life.“
- “Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me” by President Russell M. Nelson: “Many years ago, I was asked to operate on a little girl, gravely ill from congenital heart disease. Her older brother had died of a similar condition. Her parents pleaded for help. I was not optimistic about the outcome but vowed to do all in my power to save her life. Despite my best efforts, the child died. Later, the same parents brought another daughter to me, then just sixteen months old. She, too, was born with a malformed heart. Again, at their request, I performed an operation. This child also died. This third heartbreaking loss in one family devastated me.
How will we take action? (Directives, Personal Revelation)
- “Our personal effort to grow in wisdom may lead us to examine our questions, complex or otherwise, through the lens of cause and effect, seeking out and recognizing patterns and then forming narratives to give shape to our understanding and fill in perceived gaps in knowledge. When we consider our pursuit of spiritual knowledge, however, these thoughtful processes may be helpful at times but on their own can be incomplete as we look to discern things pertaining to Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, Their gospel, Their Church, and Their plan for all of us.
“God the Father and His Son’s way of imparting Their wisdom to us prioritizes inviting the power of the Holy Ghost to be our personal teacher as we center Jesus Christ in our lives and in our faithful seeking for Their answers and Their meaning. They invite us to discover truth through devoted time spent studying holy scripture and to seek for latter-day revealed truth for our day and our time, imparted by modern-day prophets and apostles. They entreat us to spend regular, worshipful time in the house of the Lord and to take to our knees in prayer ‘to access information from heaven.'” -Sister Browning - Mitch: Just as I set goals in the six important areas of life (Financial, Intellectual, Physical, Professional, Social, and Spiritual) (see the December 1, 2024, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter), create a list of questions in each of these six important areas as well. Every time I attend Church, every time I serve in the Temple, every time I work with Clay on the General Conference Applied Podcast, every day, work on answering those questions.
Invitation Two
What is the speaker inviting me to do?
- “The Lord has told us that through our obedience and diligence, we may gain knowledge and intelligence. God’s laws and commandments are not designed to be an obstacle in our life but a powerful gateway to personal revelation and spiritual education.” -Sister Browning
- In my own words: The more obedient we become, the greater personal revelation and spiritual education we can expect.
Why does it matter, or why is it important? (Doctrines, Principles, Christlike Attributes)
- Christlike Attribute: “I strive to live in accordance with the laws and principles of the gospel. (Doctrine and Covenants 41:5)” (Obedience)
- “[5] He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple; and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple, and shall be cast out from among you.”
What’s in it for us? (Promises)
- “Placing your trust in Heavenly Father and in His prophets, whom He has sent, will help you to spiritually elevate and push you forward toward God’s expanded horizon. Your vantage will change because you will change. God knows that the higher you are, the farther you can see.” -Sister Browning
- My Patriarchal Blessing: “Pray that you will always find yourself in places where the spirit is present and you will not have to fight against the temptations of evil. Be obedient. … Obedience is a basic principle in the gospel. It is not a sign of weakness; rather, your obedience to the Lord’s commandments is your best way of showing love and respect for Him. Be obedient to Him, to the Savior, to the promptings of the Spirit, to your mother and father, and to those who are called to preside over you in righteousness.”
How will we take action? (Directives, Personal Revelation)
- “Adam’s obedience preceded his understanding and prepared him to receive the sacred knowledge that he was participating in a sacred symbol of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Our humble obedience will, likewise, pave the way for our spiritual discernment of God’s ways and His divine purpose for each of us. Reaching to elevate our obedience brings us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, because obedience to His laws and commandments is effectually reaching out to Him.
“Additionally, our fidelity to the knowledge and wisdom we have already inherited through our faithful adherence to gospel principles and sacred covenants is crucial preparation for our readiness to receive and be stewards of communications from the Holy Spirit.” -Sister Browning - Mitch: “Be obedient … to those who are called to preside over [me] in righteousness.” To me, one clear way to implement this in my life is to take action on the invitations that are extended to me in Church. I do a good job of writing these invitations down, but a poor job (so far) of following through and taking action on those invitations.
What will you do?
How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?
Conclusion
As we conclude this episode, we would invite you to refer to the podcast episode details for each podcast episode where we have provided important information for connecting with us and further supporting the General Conference Applied Podcast.
Please remember that General Conference Applied is meant to be a supplement for your review of General Conference Addresses. We promise that you will get more out of each General Conference Applied episode when you study the General Conference address first.
Thank you for joining us in this effort to become doers of the word and to take action on general conference invitations.
Tags
Answering Questions | Learning | Obedience | Patience | Spiritual Growth | Trust | Truth
Additional Content
Previous Podcast Episode (“The Joy of Our Redemption” by Sister Kristin M. Yee)