April 2025 General Conference Discussion

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

LETS GOOOOOOO!

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

  On 4/5/2025 at 3:43 PM, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

LETS GOOOOOOO!

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A friend of mine was just made a seventy. Very cool

[SilentOne]

I'm getting the impression we should center our lives on Christ. Also, maybe we should go inside those temples that are being built every once in a while. Even after the tours and dedications.

[HaggisShuu]

Neil L Andersens talk was a breath of fresh air. Only seen Saturday morning and afternoon sessions due to being in the wrong time zone to enjoy it all live. 
 

But I've noticed lots of references to oil in lamps, the parable of 10 virgins and spiritual preparedness and some reference temporal preparedness. 
 

Elder Andersen, Elder Holland and Elder Uchtdorf my favourite talks so far. 

Edited April 6 by HaggisShuu

[Jersey Boy]

In my considered opinion, I believe every address I’ve heard thus far in this session of conference is inspired of God enough to be included in the Standard Works of the church. It’s also very evident to me that that the Lord has a very “deep bench” of dynamic spiritual leaders who could be called upon to become apostles.

[mikbone]

I was on vacation last week in Utah.  We went to Temple Square.

The new sculptures are worth the visit.  

We enjoyed the 5 virgins.  But the first vision sculpture left an impression.

[laronius]

The way everybody is aging we could see a lot of changes in the first presidency over the next ten years. Of course, there's no guarantee of anything but just based on the visible effects of aging there could be a rather rapid succession of succession at the earthly helm of the Church going forward. Not that it matters, just interesting.

[mikbone]

I must have it!

[mikbone]

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/april-2025-general-conference-new-temples

[NeuroTypical]

It's so humbling to see 60% of the announced temples going up outside of the US.

Even more humbling, how soul-crushingly poor some of these countries are.  

Temple	Per-capita GDP
Reynosa, Mexico	13790
Chorrillos, Peru	6553
Rivera, Uruguay	22565
Campo Grande, Brazil	10642
Porto, Portugal	22292
Uyo, Nigeria	1621
San Jose del Monte, Philippines	3800
Nouméa, New Caledonia	32818
Liverpool, Australia	64821
Caldwell, Idaho	81695
Flagstaff, Arizona	81695
Rapid City, South Dakota	81695
Greenville, South Carolina	81695
Norfolk, Virginia	81695
Spanish Fork, Utah	81695

 

 

 

 

 

[SilentOne]

Quite a few new hymns. I was keeping mental count for a while, but lost track. Probably should have made tally marks.

[HaggisShuu]

I think the most interesting talk for me was Elder Soares, warning us about AI, and I quite enjoyed his phrase "covenant confidence" a good companion talk to the prophets all about building confidence in God. 
When the prophet shared that he is feeling prompted to warn about the second coming I was quite surprised. It'll he good to see what happens soon. 

[HaggisShuu]

  On 4/6/2025 at 10:03 PM, NeuroTypical said:

It's so humbling to see 60% of the announced temples going up outside of the US.

Even more humbling, how soul-crushingly poor some of these countries are.  

Temple	Per-capita GDP
Reynosa, Mexico	13790
Chorrillos, Peru	6553
Rivera, Uruguay	22565
Campo Grande, Brazil	10642
Porto, Portugal	22292
Uyo, Nigeria	1621
San Jose del Monte, Philippines	3800
Nouméa, New Caledonia	32818
Liverpool, Australia	64821
Caldwell, Idaho	81695
Flagstaff, Arizona	81695
Rapid City, South Dakota	81695
Greenville, South Carolina	81695
Norfolk, Virginia	81695
Spanish Fork, Utah	81695

 

 

 

 

 

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I feel like Mexico, the Philippines and Utah have a temple announced almost every conference. I'm wondering if these are where the Church is currently experiencing the strongest growth.

[mikbone]

  On 4/7/2025 at 2:17 PM, HaggisShuu said:

I feel like Mexico, the Philippines and Utah have a temple announced almost every conference. I'm wondering if these are where the Church is currently experiencing the strongest growth.

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[NeuroTypical]

  On 4/7/2025 at 2:13 PM, HaggisShuu said:

I think the most interesting talk for me was Elder Soares, warning us about AI, and I quite enjoyed his phrase "covenant confidence" a good companion talk to the prophets all about building confidence in God. 

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His first sentence caught me napping, so I had to go back and review closely. 

  Quote

The absence of respect for the sacred produces an increasing casualness in attitude, and carelessness in conduct which can rapidly spiral one generation into apathy, and catapult the next generation into misery. 
...
We are very careful to avoid portraying elements that could distract from our primary focus on our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ and Their teachings, including how we apply advanced tools offered by technology, such as using AI to generate content and images.  
...
In a recent message for the young adults of the church, elder David A. Bednar taught: "To navigate the complex intersection of spirituality and technology, latter-day Saints should humbly and prayerfully identify gospel principles that can guide their use of artificial intelligence, and strive sincerely for the companionship of the Holy Ghost and the spiritual gift of revelation."

My dear brothers and sisters, as sophisticated as modern technology has become, it simply cannot simulate the wonder, awe, and amazement found in the kind of reverence born from the influence of the Holy Ghost.  As followers of Christ, we need to be careful not to weaken our connection with God and His Son by using AI generated content and images inappropriately. We should remember that relying on a modern technological arm of flesh is an inadequate and disrespectful substitute for the inspiration, edification, and witness that can be received only through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

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That italicized part has me thinking.  Last year I gave a talk in sacrament meeting, and I used AI to help me write a short poem which I gave at the conclusion of my talk.  I've probably given somewhere around 100 or more public talks or lessons in church, some fair, some ok, some good.  But holy heck I received more positive feedback from folks for that poem, than my next ten most popular talks put together.  People were coming up to me the week after to talk about it - that has never happened to me before.   So I'm paying attention to Elder Soares' comments. 

Did I weaken my connection with God or His Son?  I don't think so.  AI spit something out and I tinkered with it and made every word mine.  It was a spiritual exercise.  And plenty of people indicated it strengthened their connection. 

Did I "rely on a modern technological arm of flesh" as a "substitute" for the spirit?  No.  The whole talk was mine from start to finish.  I thought of the poem as 'icing on the cake', a way to perhaps broaden the reach of my message.   Very different than having AI write me a talk, and then deliver it without having even read it. 

So I guess maybe I pass the test here, and I'm keeping with both the letter and spirit of the counsel being given. 

 

I just looked for the poem, guess I didn't save it.  The prompt was something to the tune of "Write an eight stanza poem written by a repentant sinner who is deeply troubled by his sins, and wondering if he can ever be worthy to fully participate in church activities like taking the sacrament.  Specifically he is thinking about such sins as [I went to the online handbook and basically copied it's chapter headings for 'Policies on moral issues' like abortion/abuse/infidelity/pr0n/prejudice/self-harm/unaliving someone]."  Then I took it's output and hacked and slashed and added and changed until I had something I was willing to claim as mine, and something I figured would be appropriate for a sacrament meeting.  

Edited April 7 by NeuroTypical

[HaggisShuu]

  On 4/7/2025 at 3:02 PM, NeuroTypical said:

His first sentence caught me napping, so I had to go back and review closely. 

That italicized part has me thinking.  Last year I gave a talk in sacrament meeting, and I used AI to help me write a short poem which I gave at the conclusion of my talk.  I've probably given somewhere around 100 or more public talks or lessons in church, some fair, some ok, some good.  But holy heck I received more positive feedback from folks for that poem, than my next ten most popular talks put together.  People were coming up to me the week after to talk about it - that has never happened to me before.   So I'm paying attention to Elder Soares' comments. 

Did I weaken my connection with God or His Son?  I don't think so.  AI spit something out and I tinkered with it and made every word mine.  It was a spiritual exercise.  And plenty of people indicated it strengthened their connection. 

Did I "rely on a modern technological arm of flesh" as a "substitute" for the spirit?  No.  The whole talk was mine from start to finish.  I thought of the poem as 'icing on the cake', a way to perhaps broaden the reach of my message.   Very different than having AI write me a talk, and then deliver it without having even read it. 

So I guess maybe I pass the test here, and I'm keeping with both the letter and spirit of the counsel being given. 

 

I just looked for the poem, guess I didn't save it.  The prompt was something to the tune of "Write an eight stanza poem written by a repentant sinner who is deeply troubled by his sins, and wondering if he can ever be worthy to fully participate in church activities like taking the sacrament.  Specifically he is thinking about such sins as [I went to the online handbook and basically copied it's chapter headings for 'Policies on moral issues' like abortion/abuse/infidelity/pr0n/prejudice/self-harm/unaliving someone]."  Then I took it's output and hacked and slashed and added and changed until I had something I was willing to claim as mine, and something I figured would be appropriate for a sacrament meeting.  

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I quite often rely on AI for scripture study. This talk made me consider if what I was doing is wrong. Especially for the old testament I quite often need verse by verse breakdown because king James language is basically unreadable for me. 
 

This is no different than using a textbook though in my opinion. 
 

There is a time the person assigned to do an EQ lesson just never turned up to Church so the president whipped up a lesson using AI during sacrament meeting and it was actually quite uplifting. 
 

I do know there have been some people who have been assigned a talk though and just used AI to write it and do that. I think these are the people to whom this message is targeting. 

[HaggisShuu]

  On 4/7/2025 at 2:57 PM, mikbone said:

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Yep. Definitely no growth in the UK. For a country supposedly lead by a man who inherited his position by "divine right" and is head of the church here, it's certainly a godless land. 

[Traveler]

  On 4/7/2025 at 4:02 PM, HaggisShuu said:

Yep. Definitely no growth in the UK. For a country supposedly lead by a man who inherited his position by "divine right" and is head of the church here, it's certainly a godless land. 

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There was a time that the UK was where the greatest growth was taking place.  And at the same time there was much apostasy in the Church.  If not for the converts from the British Isles – the Church many have dwindled away.  I believe the British Isles Saints were one of the largest groups among the pioneers that settled in the west (Utah).

 

The Traveler

[JohnsonJones]

Well, President Nelson want's us to love each other and to promote peace and love rather than hate and violence.  I think that's a good thing to keep in mind over the next few months as turmoil is all around us. 

[laronius]

  On 4/7/2025 at 4:00 PM, HaggisShuu said:

I quite often rely on AI for scripture study. This talk made me consider if what I was doing is wrong. Especially for the old testament I quite often need verse by verse breakdown because king James language is basically unreadable for me. 
 

This is no different than using a textbook though in my opinion. 
 

There is a time the person assigned to do an EQ lesson just never turned up to Church so the president whipped up a lesson using AI during sacrament meeting and it was actually quite uplifting. 
 

I do know there have been some people who have been assigned a talk though and just used AI to write it and do that. I think these are the people to whom this message is targeting. 

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D&C 45:56 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. 57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived

AI is likely to play a significant role in attempts at deceiving the saints in the last days. Easy intelligence can make for an intellectually and spiritually lazy people, prime for deception. That doesn't mean it can't be used for good but convenience is often the enemy of the spiritual work Pres Nelson continually reminds us is essential for the coming days.

[JohnsonJones]

  On 4/8/2025 at 4:19 AM, laronius said:

D&C 45:56 And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. 57 For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived

AI is likely to play a significant role in attempts at deceiving the saints in the last days. Easy intelligence can make for an intellectually and spiritually lazy people, prime for deception. That doesn't mean it can't be used for good but convenience is often the enemy of the spiritual work Pres Nelson continually reminds us is essential for the coming days.

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Of interest, the church unveiled a new statue of the 5  bridesmaids (virgins) found in the scripture recently on temple square (at least according to an article I read recently).

[SilentOne]

  On 4/9/2025 at 1:10 PM, JohnsonJones said:

Of interest, the church unveiled a new statue of the 5  bridesmaids (virgins) found in the scripture recently on temple square (at least according to an article I read recently).

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Didn't someone mention that in conference? Sister Johnson, maybe?

[mikbone]

It’s a nice sculpture.  

I overheard that we are planning to have 20 sculptures on temple square.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/01/09/new-temple-square-statues/

Edited April 10 by mikbone

[Ironhold]

Bumping - 

Got to checking the church website for some older Conference talks, and found that they have video of individual Conference talks going back to 1971. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1971/04/love-of-the-right?lang=eng

Curious now as to what audio or video recordings the church has managed to preserve in a state that they can be uploaded later on.

[NeuroTypical]

A few years ago my neighbor decided to start reviewing the old General Conference talks starting with the oldest.  I should see if he's aware the videos are there now.