What to expect from the 2020 April general conference


Edspringer
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I was in Palmyra 4 weeks ago. Two senior missionaries, one at the Joseph Smith Farm Visitor's Centre, and another at the Peter Whitmer farm Visitor's Centre mentioned that a large number of General Authorities have been passing through the area over the last several months recording talks and presentations. 

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On 10/12/2019 at 2:35 AM, mordorbund said:

Follow up question:

What are you doing to prepare for the 2020 April General Conference?

We finished taking the first step in our preparations about 20 minutes ago. Instead of following the usual Come Follow Me lesson for this week, we focussed on aspects of the restoration. We started with watching again President Nelson's closing remarks during the Sunday afternoon session, starting the talk at the 7:30 mark where he begins to talk about the 2020 Conference. Then we started to do one of the things he specifically asked us to do - we read together about 40 verses from Joseph Smith History. Next we used Google Earth to look at some of the historical sites in and around Palmyra where the events President Nelson spoke about happened. Then we looked at some of the photos and videos that I took there last month, especially the videas of the tours where the Visitor Centre missionaries provide a lot of information. Finally, I finished by sharing my testimony of the truthfulness of the restoration of the gospel and of the events recorded in Joseph Smith - History. It took a little over an hour and a quarter and I think it was the best home gospel discussion we've had this year.

We've had a few brief family discussions about whether some or all of us should attend the next Conference, but I haven't finished paying for some overseas travel I'm planning in February, so I'm not sure yet if the family budget can sustain a US trip in April.  

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15 hours ago, askandanswer said:

I was in Palmyra 4 weeks ago. Two senior missionaries, one at the Joseph Smith Farm Visitor's Centre, and another at the Peter Whitmer farm Visitor's Centre mentioned that a large number of General Authorities have been passing through the area over the last several months recording talks and presentations. 

Now that sounds like a plausible scenario. I suspect that the amazing experience that is to be the next General Conference will have far more to do with how we prepare than what they actually do at conference. No different than before except we are being told in advance where to focus our preparation efforts. So in other words those with oil in their vessels will have an amazing experience and those without oil will see just another conference.

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On 10/15/2019 at 3:26 PM, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

Having a session at Adam Ondi Ahman every year could get the saints ready for the eventual day. Perhaps they will eventually build a small conference center there like the one at BYU Idaho.

James E. Faust's nephew, who I'm friends with, told me the Ancient of days already happened in 1995 under Howard W. Hunter. You can find in church history from John Taylor to Orson Pratt saying that when this day happened, very few members of the church would know about it. 

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38 minutes ago, Queolby said:

James E. Faust's nephew, who I'm friends with, told me the Ancient of days already happened in 1995 under Howard W. Hunter. You can find in church history from John Taylor to Orson Pratt saying that when this day happened, very few members of the church would know about it. 

In which case the keys no longer reside in the Church as at the great gathering Adam would have all those who had the keys given to them and then he receives them and delivers them to the Lord.  In this, the Lord has now Stewardship over ALL the keys on the Earth and as such we would not have them among the General Authorities as it were, but it would be held as in Stewardship directly by the Lord.

Governments of men are supposed to be thrown down and the Lord then reigns directly.

This would be seen as preceding the Second Coming and hence many see it thus as being unknown to the general population.  However, this also ignores when the 30 minutes of silence came. 

Personal thoughts on the 30 minutes of silence is when the church is most likely to stray or apostasize as during that period there will be silence in heaven...indicating that revelation will actually cease for a period of time (in accordance with our timetables would be around 20 years of it) for those who are stricter scriptorians...OR that there will be another form of silence that we do not know of from the scriptures that will ensue [some think it will simply be no problems with the atmosphere, but normally the scriptures don't work like that in regards to symbolic revelation].  I have thought that perhaps we may actually be in that period currently (and have had it start perhaps around 2008-2010 thus extending until near 2030??? or later).

If this gathering at Adam Ondi Ahman has occurred it would indicate that several things have also occurred already and certain items should have also occurred since then.  As I said, it also indicates that the General Authorities no longer have the keys as well (though I suppose they could operate under them if held by someone higher?).

This would have interesting ramifications.

Does the nephew have anything else on this to back him up other than what he has heard?

Edited by JohnsonJones
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2 hours ago, Queolby said:

James E. Faust's nephew, who I'm friends with, told me the Ancient of days already happened in 1995 under Howard W. Hunter. You can find in church history from John Taylor to Orson Pratt saying that when this day happened, very few members of the church would know about it. 

I highly doubt that he is right on this. Many earth changing prophecies would need to have happened that have not. Nope, I don't think this is true.

 

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3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Personal thoughts on the 30 minutes of silence is when the church is most likely to stray or apostasize as during that period there will be silence in heaven...indicating that revelation will actually cease for a period of time 

Respectfully, I stand unconvinced this has or ever will occur.  Whether Gileadi, Rowe, Snuffer, Spencer, a close friend, or relative believes so, my stance is firm.  The answers to the following are either "yes" or "no".

-Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

-Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
-Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators?

 

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14 hours ago, Wilderland said:

Respectfully, I stand unconvinced this has or ever will occur.  Whether Gileadi, Rowe, Snuffer, Spencer, a close friend, or relative believes so, my stance is firm.  The answers to the following are either "yes" or "no".

-Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

 

-Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
-Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators?

 

 

To address your response, it would seem you are indicating that we should always follow no matter what...with that idea...

I have a testimony.  However, the entire cult of the Prophet is infallible is one that is built upon superstition and current tradition.  Ironically, we've been warned in the past NOT to follow blindly and in fact, were told repeatedly in the 60s-80s that it was worse to follow without question than to ALWAYS expand our knowledge and to question.  If the church was true, it would be able to stand our scrutiny. 

Interestingly enough, there is even a process to remove the Prophet and excommunicate the Prophet.  It is because we do NOT believe the Prophet is infallible, nor apostles. In the past several apostles were excommunicated.  We have not had this process really occur recently in our time though.  The last apostle excommunicated was some time ago.  However, there IS a process.  We are not to follow blindly.  We do not believe they are infallible.

This is not to say that we should do this either, but that the reason this process exists is that we are not to follow blindly, we do not feel our leaders are infallible, and they are human beings just as we are.  I bring this up because your response to my post seems to indicate that I am mistaken (or that we disagree) because of...the Prophet???

Does that mean I do not believe in the Prophet today or that Nelson is the Prophet, Seer and Revelator...

No. I believe he is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, that he has the keys today, and I sustain him as such.

However, I think you misunderstand how a church strays or goes into apostasy if you are making comparisons to Snuffer or Rowe with my post.

My thoughts are not specific to the Prophet, so though I expand on my thought we should not follow blindly above, my actual phrasing is FAR darker than what you imply.  I will expand below as it seems a greater explanation in greater detail is needed lest people mistake that I am making accusations against Church leadership instead of what I am speaking in regards to straying and apostasy.

Revelations 8:1 talks about this silence when the Seventh Seal is opened.  There are many different interpretations, some feel it is simply a silence of the skies.  However, many feel that it is the entirety of heaven that is silent in respect for the Lord and his judgment that is about to come upon the Earth.  Many in other churches feel this is a time when Saints will be given a respite...but that does not seem to fit with me if we read the Book of Mormon.

In the Book of Mormon we have a type and shadow of what will be coming for us in the Second Coming.  Right after the Birth of the Savior we had many that were baptized and came to the Lord.  However, we also find within 30 years that the church is practically non-existent.  This does NOT mean that there was not an organization or that there was not a Prophet, but that many at that time had fallen astray or left the church entirely.

It was bad enough that they killed those with power and authority.  Nephi 7 discusses the dissolution of governments and how secret combinations now ruled over many, that each divided into tribes and families.  In verse 14 we see that they turned away from the Lord and stoned the prophets and cast them out from among them.  Thus, Nephi eventually baptized many, indicating he kept the religion going, but we also see a great deal of distress.

Without the coming of the Lord, the eventual way this normally seemed to lead was the people continued to gain traction in their wickedness until we see the end of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, or the End of the Jaredites in Ether.  Luckily, on this occasion in 3rd Nephi, the Lord came and the most wicked among them destroyed.

Which leads us back to Revelations 8.  Here we have the opening of the Seal.  It will depend on your interpretation of the scripture.  If you are a strict scriptorian it means that there will be silence in heaven.  ALL of heaven will be silent.  What does this mean for those who believe in Revelation?  A VERY strict thought on this would be that it would be impossible at this point.  Another thought that does not follow this line as strictly would be that the Holy Ghost will still visit people, but we might not have heavenly messengers as they are holding in respect for the coming of the Lord.  Some simply feel that it will be time that the Saints are not persecuted (and this could also fit within the BoM narrative, as in Nephi 7 they had peace due to very strict laws after they divided, but it did not engender them to faith or belief).

I believe that the Seventh Seal has been opened at this point.  This means that sometime the 30 minutes of Silence has to occur.  This would also mean the Second coming is near.  We KNOW (well if you see the BoM as a type and shadow of our time as well) that the world will have great tribulation.  We also can see that the church will be in dire straits and to me it speaks of a great deal of falling away and strife.  In fact, we already see the vestiges of it starting in our time.  The number of baptisms and converts is down comparatively.  We can hear often of those who are falling away and now fighting against the Church, or even Christianity in general.  I recently saw a statistic that up to 26% of the younger generation now has NO BELIEF in Christianity.  These things are coming to pass before our eyes.

This does NOT mean there will not be a Church, but that many will fall away.  The Church, as long as it does not lose all of it's authorized Priesthood holders with the Keys of the Kingdom SHOULD remain on the Earth.  Even during the Lord's time, while they had fallen to many traditions, the Jews and their religion were STILL the true religion on the Earth.  Remarkably, though a High Priest had been killed, the Rightful High Priest was STILL on the Earth at his mortal ministry and baptized the Lord with authority.  If it could withstand that type of apostasy then, it stands that our organization should still be able to survive in our modern times unless some great disaster comes to destroy ALL our General Authorites (first presidency, quorum of the 12, quorum of the 70).  I do not think that will  happen and hope it will not, but I do not know.  Great wickedness is predicted as per my interpretation of the scriptures.  If the religion of the Jews was still true in the Lord's time, our gospel should remain for our time.

However, we also know that later on, after the Lord's resurrection, a great apostasy occurred.  This is not because Peter was not the Prophet, nor John was not an apostle.  They were Prophets and apostles, but the people themselves destroyed them in many instances, and in others simply left. When enough of them had left and persecuted the righteous Saints, a Great Apostasy was started.

In this, we must always be on our Guard lest the same thing happen to us today. 

But, lest I stray again, we go back to the Silence in Heaven.  How strict should our interpretation of it be?  I believe the Holy Ghost will still be active, I believe that we can still receive revelation through it.  However, whether we will be able to get messengers from heaven itself during this time period...I suspect that this will be more limited if we get them at all.  What would this mean for the Church in an instance like this?

It's hard to say.  Traditionally the Prophet had to go to the Mountain of the Lord to receive revelation when one was available.  Instead, the form that has been told to us about when the prophet (President Russell M. Nelson) receives revelation seems more from the Holy Spirit in many instances than a direct visitation of the Son or the Father in the Holy of Holies in the Temple.  He discusses more about sleeping and than getting up and writing thoughts and inspirations down.  This seems more in line with receiving it through the Holy Ghost rather than direct visitation.  That does not mean it is not happening, he may get daily visitations in the Holy of Holies or maybe daily visions in his sleep.  I'm not privy to his private conversations with the Lord.

However, I would say that if the heavens are silent in several of the ways of our interpretation that there are going to be many, in fact the vast majority of the world, which will fall away and not just from the Church, but Christianity in general.  It may be that we will suffer a period of such great apostasy that any who remain faithful, including prophets and apostles, will need to worry about others actively seeking to kill us.  This will be similar to the Nephites before the Lord's coming to visit them.  It will be similar to what happened to John the Baptist and some of his followers.  A time of great wickedness seems to come prior to the Lord's arrival and I expect that this will be very similar.

The Church going astray is independent of whether there are Prophets and Apostles and the correct organization on the Earth today.  Every time the Church went astray in the scriptures there still was a prophet and apostles, it was simply that the people decided not to listen to them and in  many instances sought there death.  The pattern is that the Prophets and apostles are still on the earth.  The Church as an organization is on the Earth, but the members fall away and try to kill the leadership.  This is falling astray or apostasy.  Many already fall astray or apostatize currently and if the models in the scriptures are correct, I expect it to continue.

PS: This may be also why the Prophet is doing more homestudy programs.  It may be that he has foreknowledge of something similar coming for our church and leadership in times in the future.  Perhaps the leadership will need to go in hiding if the persecution gets bad enough and perhaps we will meet in our homes in private at such a time.  However, this is merely speculation on my part rather than anything I have read in the scriptures.  It could be though that there will come a time when the tribulation is so great that the only place of safety to discuss the gospel may be within our own homes.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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On 10/24/2019 at 2:23 PM, Queolby said:

James E. Faust's nephew, who I'm friends with, told me the Ancient of days already happened in 1995 under Howard W. Hunter. You can find in church history from John Taylor to Orson Pratt saying that when this day happened, very few members of the church would know about it. 

If this were intended to be public knowledge, I think it would have been shared by those who were present. If it was not intended to be publicly known, then your friend may have committed a damnable offense in sharing it with you. As a random person on the Internet, I counsel you not to make the same mistake and keep sacred things sacred.

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On 10/8/2019 at 9:23 AM, Traveler said:

I am thinking they might introduce the ordinance of "translation" to take place at the temple for worthy members as the next step in preparation for the Millennium. 😲 Which mean I must up my repentance game.

 

The Traveler

Don't you know, the Salt Lake Temple construction is to add booster rockets so it will be launched to heaven.

 

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12 hours ago, bytebear said:

Don't you know, the Salt Lake Temple construction is to add booster rockets so it will be launched to heaven.

 

That theory was launched with the syfi series "Expanse" and a Nauvoo temple - but it did not get out of our solar system let alone to heaven.  And of course - the whole thing ended up canceled.  Also the Higgs boson has been discovered that unlocks the force of gravity making booster rockets obsolete and a quantum well drive much more feasible for interstellar travel. 

 

The Traveler

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The Book of Lehi will be read for anybody watching or listening live. A pre-recorded choir hymn will be subbed in for streaming after the fact.

How many printed pages would those 116 lost ones translate to? Thinking it over, one hymn might not fill up enough time.

Edited by SilentOne
First time: adding paragraph. Second time: fixing misplaced punctuation.
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2 hours ago, SilentOne said:

The Book of Lehi will be read for anybody watching or listening live. A pre-recorded choir hymn will be subbed in for streaming after the fact.

How many printed pages would those 116 lost one's translate to? Thinking it over, one hymn might not fill up enough time.

It will be “A Poor Way Fairing Man if Grief” but the verses will repeat randomly

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  • 3 weeks later...

This thread kind of went off on a weird tangent, but I'll try to bring it back some.

I have it on good authority* that there will be no General Women'should Session in April 2020. Instead, that session will invite all Young Women, Relief Society, and priesthood holders.

* the First Presidency

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  • 2 months later...
9 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

Official Trailer has been released now General Conference 2020*. This will be a must see event.

*Okay, not official but still a neat trailer.

Though I'm a fan of NeedleinA, I'm not a fan of this "trailer". Somehow, even the idea of an anticipation trailer designed to pique interest, complete with sound bites and swelling music, seems to me to cheapen the reality of General Conference. From what I can tell, God doesn't use theatricality to sell the gospel. He depends not on swelling music, isolated bon mot phrases, and clever editing, but rather the still small voice audible to those who are Christ's sheep—and ONLY to them. This kind of thing seems fit for a Marvel superhero movie or a sci-fi thriller, but not for a sacred General Conference.

(Just my opinion. Then again, it was "just my opinion" that hooting and hollering cheers for temple announcements was utterly out of place during General Conference, and quite a large number of people told me how wrong I was, how I was a spoilsport and a prig, and how people were just "making a joyful noise", so why didn't I get off my high horse and loosen up? Then the prophet said basically the same thing. So one thing I have learned is that "just my opinion" doesn't mean it's wrong. Far from it.)

Edited by Vort
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13 minutes ago, Vort said:

This kind of thing seems fit for a Marvel superhero movie or a sci-fi thriller, but not for a sacred General Conference.

I see your point Vort, I do.
As a family we just finished our Sunday family lesson, with 4 boys/teenagers, preparing ourselves for the bicentennial conference. We had some serious and spiritual discussions.
Besides stumbling upon the above trailer, which honestly gave our 4 boys a little intrigue and 'help' capture their attention a little longer, we also watched an even better video:

 

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11 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

Besides stumbling upon the above trailer, which honestly gave our 4 boys a little intrigue and 'help' capture their attention a little longer

My point was certainly not to criticize you or your family. I just didnt' like the trailer, or for that matter the whole idea behind making it. It's as if our entire society has embraced ADHD as a cultural trait. As a people, we refuse to read or watch anything that is not sufficiently sexed up in entertainment value. I personally find it distasteful, though I'm certainly not untouched by such societal trends. I am sure that God does not feel any such disgust toward our cultural weaknesses, because he's, you know, God. But I am likewise sure that God feels sorrow at our collective regression in emotional maturity, of which our overall taste in movies and music and our insistence on external entertainment and the theatrical cues and tropes associated with that sort of thing is merely one example.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Scott
On 10/7/2019 at 12:56 PM, Edspringer said:

Hi, folks

I got astonished when President Nelson said that next general conference would be a "blast" . 

Any ideias on how great this event will actually be? Especulations are welcome!

Bumping this up.

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Guest Scott
On 10/7/2019 at 12:56 PM, Edspringer said:

Hi, folks

I got astonished when President Nelson said that next general conference would be a "blast" . 

Any ideias on how great this event will actually be? Especulations are welcome!

Bumping this up.

A blast?  I hope it isn't literal the way things are going.  Let's hope Mount Rainier or the Yellowstone Caldera doesn't go off or something.

Anyway, here are my predictions:

A lot will be said about the last days.

We will be told not to fear.

We will be told to have hope and to look for inspiration.  

There will be talks on the First Vision, Restoration and studying the Book or Mormon.

Perhaps even a joke about Moroni losing his horn. 

Pretty generic predictions; I know, but they all seem likely.  

Edited by Scott
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Between the focus on the restoration and Hearing Him I would say there will be a lot of talk about the need of and how to receive personal revelation while being told that times are quickly approaching where we will need to do just that. I could also see a shift in how some element of the Church functions with less detailed direction and more "go by the Spirit." Also when Pres Nelson mentioned in his message last week referencing the gospel restored in it's fullness that got my attention. The gospel restored and lived in it's fullness is Zion. Perhaps there will be discussion on the next step in that process. But if I'm completely wrong I will still be happy.

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