President Russell. M Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints surprised attendees by arriving in-person for the last session of the 195th Annual General Conference.
After watching the other four sessions from home, President Nelson arrived at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City for the Sunday afternoon session on April 6.
President Nelson's fellow apostles appeared overjoyed in being able to greet him face-to-face for the last session.
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an address related to modern times, providing counsel on using Artificial Intelligence without falling into temptation.
“As followers of Christ, we need to be careful not to weaken our connection with God and His Son by using AI-generated content and images inappropriately,” Elder Soares said.
Elder Patrick Kearon spoke about appreciating and understanding Heavenly Father's precious gifts.
“Imagine you are hearing this for the first time! You really are His cherished daughter. You really are His precious son,” Elder Kearon said.
Olga Mendez is a conference attendee from the Dominican Republic. Mendez had gone to the Conference Center without having tickets but was gifted two upon arrival for herself and her friend.
“Jesus Christ is a beautiful gift for everybody, and I wish that everybody can say that Jesus is our Savior,” Mendez said.
The culminating event of the conference was President Nelson's message about charity as the key to confidence in Christ.
“Brothers and sisters, we can do this! Our confidence truly can wax strong in the presence of God, right now," President Nelson said.
Conference attendee Ellie Thomas felt particularly touched by President Nelson's words.
“The whole room changed when the prophet spoke…His talk gave me a lot of hope. I’m really excited for the Savior to return,” Thomas said.
The end of President Nelson's message revealed 15 new temples to be built across the world, an announcement that Saints had long awaited.
President Nelson, Apostles and their wives waved at the congregation as the session ended and they exited the stand.
Conferencegoers resonated with President Nelson's messages at every conference. This one set a high standard and left comfort for all to hear through its message about Jesus Christ.