President Nelson promises next church conference will be different

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — As the 189th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to a close Sunday, church president Russell M. Nelson called upon members to begin preparing for their next they meeting,  in April of 2020.

“In the springtime of the year 2020, it will be exactly 200 years since Joseph Smith experienced the theophany that we know as the First Vision,” President Nelson said.

“God the Father and his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph, a 14-year-old youth. That event marked the onset of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness, precisely as foretold in the Holy Bible.”

With that anniversary in mind, President Nelson encouraged members to begin preparing for the Church’s next General Conference that will be held in April, a conference he promised would be unique.

“General conference next April will be different from any previous conference,” he said. “In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.”

President Nelson also focused on the Church’s temples. On Saturday night, President Nelson announced that there would be 8 new temples built across the world, bringing the total number of temples announced to 217 worldwide.

In the 21 months that President Nelson has led the church, he has announced 35 new temples.

During his closing remarks to the church, President Nelson also shared revisions that have been made to the worthiness interview given to members who wish to attend and worship in the temple.

He said that because the temple is the House of the Lord and is sacred, all that enter need to qualify to be there. As part of that qualification, every member who wishes to enter the temple needs to meet with ecclesiastical leaders to gain a recommend to the temple signifying their worthiness to enter.

President Nelson then read the revised 15 questions that he said clarify but do not change the requirements to enter a temple.

1. Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; his Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?

2. Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of his role as your Savior and Redeemer?

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

4. 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? Do you sustain the other general authorities and local leaders of the church?

5. The Lord has said that all things are to be “done in cleanliness” before him (Doctrine and Covenants 42:41). Do you strive for moral cleanliness in your thoughts and behavior? Do you obey the law of chastity?

6. Do you follow the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ in your private and public behavior with members of your family and others?

7. Do you support or promote any teachings, practices or doctrine contrary to those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

8. Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

9. Do you strive to be honest in all that you do?

10. Are you a full-tithe payer?

11. Do you understand and obey the Word of Wisdom?

12. Do you have any financial or other obligations to a former spouse or to children? If yes, are you current in meeting those obligations?

13. Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple, including wearing the temple garment as instructed in the endowment?

14. Are there serious sins in your life that need to be resolved with priesthood authorities as part of your repentance?

15. Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?

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