General Conference

General Conference inspired, encouraged, and instilled listeners with happiness, but not only the members of the LDS church.

The 186th General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took place in Salt Lake City, October 3. The conference had 6 sessions, 22 talks, around 21,000 visitors listening to each session, and was broadcast to millions around the globe.

Lara Liguda, a communication major, and Alicia Theisen, a journalism major, are German exchange students at UVU. Liguda is protestant, and Theisen is catholic. This was the first year that they both attended conference.

“It was great. I felt excited and honored to be there. There were so many people of the church who wanted to go, and I had the opportunity. It did not feel weird, because we are all the same, and we believe in the same God,” Liguda said, who also took the message of serving to heart. “Serving, any kind of serving, means believing in God. Serve anybody, and you serve God.”

She admired the talk of K. Brett Nattress, who spoke about his experiences with the scripture in his early childhood.

“He was brutally honest, admitting that you cannot understand everything about the scriptures at once, and that that is ok,“ Liguda said.

“People just learn when they are ready to learn and not just when you are ready to teach. We can not impose our will and our views on other people just because it is what we believe. Everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow, when they are ready to learn and grow. I think he explained that really well in his talk,” said Dillan Whyte, a student at UVU.

Whyte and his friend Hayden Crowell have been to Gerenal Conference a few times before. For them, it is a good opportunity to get questions answered and modern day guidance.

They were asked what they think of people of other religions coming to General Conference.

“It’s great when people of any faith come and listen cause we don ?t believe that the prophet is just the prophet of our the LDS church but the prophet of the earth. Whether they take something away or not, I think that anyone who comes can feel the spirit, and when you feel that, that is God’s love for you,” Crowell said.

“I actually was standing outside with people who were not members of the church and I almost gave them my tickets. That is what our church is all about. Invite people to come as they are, and leave better. I love when people go who are not members of the church,” Whyte said.

Theisen was impressed by the talks of the General Conference and the apostels. She found herself hearing a similar message as her own church.

“They did a great job,” Theisen said. “We all share the same message, of coming to God, forgiveness and love.”