With the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in full swing, leaders of the Church shared messages of peace, love and belonging.
La Teo and his family came from St. George, Utah to attend the conference.
“This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the Church of joy. This is where the happy people go, and this is where we become close to each other, as families and as God’s children,” Teo said.
BYU students Ricale Joseph and Kimberley Theodore attended the Saturday evening session of general conference in person for the first time. Having grown up outside of the U.S., they expressed their gratitude for a global Church.
“Jesus Christ is the same in every country — in the Dominican Republic, in Haiti, in Brazil, in every country the Church is true,” Joseph said.
The Saturday evening session of general conference contained messages about divine forgiveness and testimonies of the Book of Mormon. There was even a lighthearted moment when Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve, delivered a few dad jokes, saying AI wrote them while trying to impersonate him.
“Why did the humble tree make people smile? Because it was rooted in love and reached out with branches of kindness. Like that tree, we too can find strength in our roots and joy in extending kindness to others,” Elder Gong said.
Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke about repentance and forgiveness.
Other leaders of the Church also shared their testimonies, including Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve.
The conference will continue through Oct. 6. The recorded messages will be available online.