Latter-day Saints react to remarks from President Oaks at end of General Conference

SALT LAKE CITY — General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has wrapped up.

The two-day event on Saturday and Sunday featured many messages of hope and faith – and a surprise announcement at the end.

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President Dallin H. Oaks, who leads the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, broke with what’s become a tradition and said there would not be any new temples announced at this conference. He noted that the late church President Russell M. Nelson – who died last weekend at age 101 – personally announced 200 temples himself.

“With the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction,” President Oaks said, “it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”

Some visitors outside the Conference Center expressed some disappointment to that news. But others said they understood.

“It’s definitely new, but at the end of the day it’s not our choice, right?” said Brady Cook, a 17-year-old from Logan who attended conference with his family. “It’s God’s plan, and we’re going to see how it all turns out.”

His mother, Kim Cook, said perhaps those announcements will come later but for now, “they took the time today to let [President Oaks] talk.”

She called President Oaks’ remarks “phenomenal” and “inspired.” The church leader’s speech focused on the importance of the family, noting falling birth and marriage rates in the United States.

“The marriages and birthrates of our church members are much more positive, but they have also declined significantly,” President Oaks said. “It is vital that Latter-day Saints do not lose their understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of children.”

Historic conference

This was a historic General Conference as the entire two-day event was overseen by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the first time in nearly 75 years. That’s because after the death of President Nelson, there is currently no First Presidency.

That governing body is not expected to be reorganized until after President Nelson’s funeral, which is on Tuesday.

Denisa Taylor, who traveled from Richfield to attend the conference for the first time, told KSL TV it was “great to be there” as church leaders shared messages on a variety of topics.

Her 17-year-old daughter, Ella Holcomb, agreed.

“It felt very touching just to know that we still have someone who can lead us and just be here with us, even though our president just passed,” she said. “It was just nice to have someone who can still lead us and be there.”

Earlier Sunday, church members heard from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who has been open about his health challenges. The senior church leader referred to that again as he shared his testimony of the church and its origins, saying that like a blind man in the New Testament who was allowed to be heard because he was “of age,” so is he.

“I am two months away from my 85th birthday,” said Elder Holland. “I have been on the edge of death and back. I’ve walked with kings and prophets, with presidents and prophets and apostles. Best of all, at times I have been overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit of God.”

Elder Holland added, “I came to my whole-souled conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a true restoration of the New Testament church – and more – because I could not deny the evidence of that restoration.”

Music for both sessions of conference on Sunday was provided by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.