October 2024 General Conference Deep Dive
HOPE!
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk entitled, “The Triumph of Hope.“1 Elder Andersen starts his talk with this statement as part of his opening statement. “We will hear the voice of the Lord through His servants; we will feel the “guiding, directing, [and] comforting”2 influence of the Holy Ghost, and our faith will be strengthened. Elder Anderson continues, “The word hope is used for many things we want to happen. For example, “I hope it won’t rain,” or “I hope our team wins.” My intent is to speak of our sacred and eternal hopes centered in Jesus Christ and the restored gospel and our “confident expectation[s] of … the promised blessings of righteousness.”3
He then gives us several topics to consider in relation to hope.
- Our Hope for Eternal Life
Hope for Eternal Life is secured through the grace of Christ as well as our own choices, he states, “Like a light whose brilliance grows, hope brightens the darkened world, and we see our glorious future.” - Hope Comes of God
“Since the beginning, our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son have eagerly blessed the righteous with the precious gift of hope… Just as the Holy Ghost brought hope to Adam, the power of the Lord’s Spirit enlightens the faithful today, illuminated the reality of eternal life.” - A Lesson of Hope
Elder Andersen continues, “My brothers and sisters, hope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.”4 We build this substance—the evidence blocks of our faith—through prayer, temple covenants, keeping the commandments, continually feasting on the scriptures and the words of modern-day prophets, taking the sacrament, serving others, and worshipping weekly with our fellow Saints.” - A House of Hope
Elder Andersen reminds us that the House of the Lord (temples) are a good place to find Hope. “As we enter the Lord’s house, we feel the Spirit of God, verifying our hope.” - When Hope Is Discarded
“We shed tears of sorrow when we see the sadness and despair in those who have no hope in Christ.” - Hope in Heartbreaking Tragedy
Elder Andersen shares a story about the birth of his nephew’s son and how it the loss of his child caused deep despair. Ben, his nephew said the following about his son Trey. “The passing of Trey is so very painful, and I miss him so much. But the Lord does not leave us comfortless. … I look forward to a joyful reunion.”5 - The Promise of Hope
Elder Andersen concludes with this statement. “Brothers and sisters, the peace you seek may not come as quickly as you desire, but I promise you that as you trust in the Lord, His peace will come. May we nurture our precious faith, pressing forward with a perfect brightness of hope.6 I testify that our hope is our Savior, Jesus Christ. rough Him, all our righteous dreams will be realized. He is the God of hope—the triumph of hope. He lives and He loves you.”
During the October 2024 general conference there were a lot of other speakers that had great topics that can help foster hope in the present day. There were also a few themes that ran throughout the conference. Below are a few of the major themes, I encourage you to read the conference talks, but this could be a good list to start with.
The Importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Conference talks emphasize the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ in finding joy, overcoming challenges, and achieving eternal life. They highlight principles such as faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
“If we ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel, we are guaranteed Success.” – Elder I. Raymond Egbo Of the Seventy7
“As we remain bonded to the Lord, our lives will naturally reflect His light, and we will become the salt of the earth. The Savior taught that when we are “called unto [His] everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, [we] are accounted as the salt of the earth.” – Elder José A. Teixeira Of the Presidency of the Seventy8
The Role of the Holy Ghost
The speakers discuss the role of the Holy Ghost in providing guidance, comfort, and revelation. They explain that the Holy Ghost can help individuals understand spiritual truths, make righteous decisions, and draw closer to God.
Elder Hales of the Seventy gave the following example of the Holy Ghost working in someone’s life. “Despite the challenges we all face, our loving Heavenly Father has designed the plan of happiness such that we are not destined to fail. For several years I was assigned to home teach an older sister in my ward. She did not have an easy life. She had various health problems and experienced a lifetime of pain due to a childhood accident on the playground. Divorced at age 32 with four young children to raise and provide for, she remarried at age 50. Her second husband passed away when she was 66, and this sister lived an additional 26 years as a widow. Despite her lifelong challenges, she was faithful to her covenants to the end. is sister was an avid genealogist, a temple attender, and a collector and writer of family histories. Though she had many difficult trials, and without question she felt at times sadness and loneliness, she had a cheerful countenance and a gracious and pleasant personality. Nine months after her passing, one of her sons had a remarkable experience in the temple. He learned by the power of the Holy Ghost that his mother had a message for him. She communicated with him, but not by vision or audible words. e following unmistakable message came into the son’s mind from his mother: “I want you to know that mortality works, and I want you to know that I now understand why everything happened [in my life] the way it did—and it is all OK.” This message is all the more remarkable when one considers her situation and the difficulties this sister endured and overcame. Brothers and sisters, mortality works! It is designed to work! Despite the challenges, heartaches, and difficulties we all face, our loving, wise, and perfect Heavenly Father has designed the plan of happiness such that we are not destined to fail. His plan provides a way for us to rise above our mortal failures.”9 – Elder Book P. hales of the Seventy
The Power of Scriptures
They underscore the significance of sacred scriptures, particularly the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in strengthening faith, providing guidance, and facilitating conversion. They emphasize the need to study, ponder, and apply the teachings found in these scriptures.
We treasure these books for their profound role in documenting God’s direction to ancient prophets and people and the guidance they provide for our own personal lives. Combined with the teachings of living prophets, these sacred scriptures provide doctrinal direction for us in today’s world. ese scriptures are most powerful when they give instruction, correction10, comfort, and consolation to individuals and families who seek guidance from the Lord.”11 – Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Anderson, Neil L. “The Triumph of Hope” Lecture, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2024 ↩︎
- Russell N. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or
Liahona, May 2018, 96. ↩︎ - Ether 12:4 ↩︎
- Hebrews 11:1. In the Joseph Smith Translation it reads, “Faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (in the Bible appendix). . ↩︎ - Talk given by Robbie Andersen at the funeral of her son Trey Andersen, August 12,
2024. Trey had his surgery on July 31, 2024. He passed from this life on August 3,
2024. ↩︎ - See 2 Nephi 31:20. e hope Nephi speaks of is perfect and bright because it is
centered in Christ. He is perfect, and His Atonement, which offers this bright hope, is
also perfect. ↩︎ - Egbo, I. Raymond. “Focus on Jesus Christ and His Gospel” Lecture, Salt lake City, UT, October 2024 ↩︎
- Teixeira, Jose A. “Bonded to Jesus Christ: Becoming the Salt of the Earth” Lecture, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2024 ↩︎
- Hales, Brook P., “Mortality Works!” Lecture, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2024 ↩︎
- See 2 Timothy 3:16. ↩︎
- Cook, Quentin L. “Sacred Scriptures – the Foundations of Faith” Lecture, Salt lake City, UT October 2024 ↩︎
