President Nelson told us that General Conference in April 2020 will be historic and memorable, like no prior conference that we had seen. It is going to be a hinge-point in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church sent out an email highlighting a few of the unique things that happened. I'm adding my own impressions.
Elements that were remarkable and unique to me from the past conference
1)Hosanna Shout performed at Conference for commemoration
2)Commemorative Proclamation of the Restoration
3)New Church Logo
4)Announcement of a new temple in the People's Republic of China
5)Announcement of worldwide fast
6)President Nelson blesses everyone with an apostolic blessing
7)Combined Youth and Adult Saturday Evening Session with Youth Speakers
8)Prerecorded message from remote location
9)Social distancing for speakers and no live congregation
Remarks about past the differences.
1)I think of Hosanna shouts of celebrations for temple dedications. The first ever recorded in
modern history was performed at the dedication of the Kirtland temple. However, it has been performed at a prior General Conferences.
2)Only 5 prior proclamations have been given in the church history. This most recent 6th proclamation centers on the direct restoration of the church from divine beings physically appearing to our early church leaders.
3)Continuing his focus on Christ as the leader of our church, the logo has now changed. It was nice to have an explanation of the symbols in the logo.
4)Having a temple in the PRC is a significant historical turning point considering political and cultural differences between Chinese and Western beliefs. Although The Church of Jesus Christ is for all people everywhere, Christianity has been brought about by Western civilization. From my own personal observations the Chinese are a deeply spiritual people but not necessarily religious in an organized manner. Eastern political rule has been a great stumbling block in promoting religion. It is wonderful to know that the members of the church in the PRC have grown large enough to support a temple locally. I don't think there is anything unique about reminding members that temples are not for tourists. The Church has always encouraged attendance at local temples as to not overwhelm local congregations when traveling abroad for short times. President Nelson heeded the call to learn Mandarin from President Kimball in 1979. His choice to learn Mandarin has greatly influenced his life. It's great to see his profound faith bring results during his presidency.
5)Jesus taught the importance of fast and prayer when asked to cast out devils. Sometimes prayer is all we can do to help. Sometimes prayer and fasting opens our hearts to receive inspiration and guidance how to help others. Prayer is a great motivator for action. His invitation is quoted in The Church's official newsroom article.
6)President Nelson's talk "Go Forward in Faith" end in an Apostolic Blessing. I think this is an example of his love and compassion for us.
I bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord.7
I bless you with a desire to repent and become a little more like Him each day.8
I bless you to know that the Prophet Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness.
Should there be illness among you or your loved ones, I leave a blessing of healing, consistent with the will of the Lord.
I so bless you, adding once more my expression of love for each of you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I think there is more that can be said about Apostolic Blessings in another conversation. My initial reaction and thoughts are that this is a divine way of leaders empathizing with the suffering of others and offering peace and comfort in turning toward the Savior.
7)At least 3 times in recent history youth have spoken in a General Conference Session. October 1982 Priesthood session, April 1983 Priesthood session, April 1997 Young Women session each had a youth speaker. It is fun and refreshing to see the youth give testimony at conference. I hope this reaches other youth especially.
8)Generally Conference is a live event. To have President Nelson pre-record a statement on location emphasizes his regard for the location The Sacred Grove. Modern talks have increasingly used photos, animations and other media during talks, but I personally believe this was done out of reverence for the event and location not for any cinematic effect or entertainment value.
9)There is a different atmosphere when speakers are talking to an audience. The ambiance, the background noises and shuffling, the eye contact, the audience reactions such as chuckles. All these were gone from the current conference. In some ways it made the conference talks seem a little canned or overly sterile, it is a lot harder to give a speech to a camera alone than a live audience! But in other ways it made the talks more personal, it was just you listening to the speaker alone through the camera.
I hope you enjoyed conference. I hope it brought you closer to Christ. Feel free to comment on anything you thought was unique about this conference. I will include some actionable items in the next post.
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