Preparing for General Conference

Close your eyes and bring your attention to your body. Let go of any tension you are holding in your face, jaw, head, neck, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, hands, fingers, chest, stomach, hips, seat, thighs, calves, feet, and toes. Lean your torso slightly from front to back and side to side until you rest into a comfortable posture where you feel centered, balanced, and relaxed.

Now bring your attention to your breath. Inhale deeply, hold for two seconds, now breathe out all the tension, stress, or negativity you might be feeling. One more time. Breathe in deeply, hold, exhale slowly all the way.

As your breathing returns to normal, gently turn your thoughts and attention toward the topic of general conference.

Before Conference

As is the case with anything in life, the more you prepare for General Conference, the more you will get out of it. 

Ask Questions and Listen for Answers

Conference can be a great time to receive personal revelation. As Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us, “[r]evelation almost always comes in response to a question.”[1] Do you have any specific questions on your mind that you can seek answers to at General Conference? Questions could be related to doctrinal topics, challenges you are experiencing, or decisions you are facing. Take a moment and ponder your stage of life, your challenges, and your goals, and try to identify any questions that you could bring with you to General Conference and listen for answers.

The Church website has General Conference Notebooks for both teens and children. In the teen notebook, the youth are invited to listen for answers to the following general questions as they listen to Conference:

What am I doing now that I need to stop doing?
What in my future do I need to be preparing for?
What can I do about the challenges I am facing?
What Christlike attributes could I work on developing?
What am I not doing that I need to start doing now?[2]

Take a moment to take mental note of, or write down, any questions, whether specific or general, that you would like to hear answers to as you listen to General Conference.

Increasing Your Sensitivity to Personal Revelation

Another way to prepare for General Conference is to increase your sensitivity to the spirit, which will in turn increase your sensitivity to personal revelation.

How are you doing with your scripture study? What can you do to make it more regular or more meaningful?

How are you doing with your personal prayers? What can you do to say your prayers more regularly or make them more meaningful?

Have you received any personal revelation today? This week? This month? Have any promptings, thoughts, or questions come to your mind? What were the circumstances that led to you receiving that revelation?

And finally, if possible, consider spending more time in or around the temple as General Conference approaches.

Learn More about the Speakers

The next way to prepare for General Conference is to get to know the speakers by learning more about, memorizing, or even just reviewing the current church leadership.[3] Sometimes learning about the personal lives and experiences of the apostles and other leaders can deepen our appreciation for their messages.

Are there certain speakers that seem to resonate with you more than others? What can you do to learn more about the leaders you do not feel as connected to?

After Conference

The personal revelation that is available to us during General Conference is not limited to the live sessions. After Conference has ended, we can continue to read and listen to the talks and find revelation for our lives. One way to increase your ability to receive revelation is by acting on revelation you have already received.[4] With this in mind, you can prepare for an upcoming General Conference by reviewing the talks from the last General Conference.

You could “pick one quote, lesson, principle, or talk that inspired you,”[5] share it with someone, write it down,[6] and keep it somewhere where you will see it every day. Make a goal for how you will apply the principle in your life. Find an accountability partner and report your progress—both failures and successes—to that person.

Neil L. Andersen has promised that “as you hear the voice of the Lord to you in the teachings of this general conference, and then act on those promptings, you will feel heaven’s hand upon you, and your life and the lives of those around you will be blessed.”[7]

Take a last few moments to ponder your past experiences with General Conferences. What things have you done that have helped you get the most out of your experience? What things have you done that were not helpful?

What will you do to prepare for and fully partake in the upcoming opportunity you have to hear the voice of the Lord through his prophets and apostles?

When you are ready, take a final deep breath and slowly turn your awareness back to your body. As you open your eyes and return to your surroundings, take a moment to jot down any thoughts, promptings, or questions that came to mind while you were pondering. And, if necessary, make a plan to act on those things.

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[1] Jeffrey R. Holland, “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,” Ensign, Mar. 2000, 9.

[2] General Conference Notebook (ldscdn.org)

[3] General Church Leadership (churchofjesuschrist.org)

[4] David A. Bednar, “Quick to Observe,” BYU Devotional, May 10, 2005.

[5] 5 Steps for Making Conference Stay with You (churchofjesuschrist.org)

[6] Richard G. Scott, “How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life,” General Conference, April 2012, pg. 46 (“Inspiration carefully recorded shows God that His communications are sacred to us. Recording will also enhance our ability to recall revelation. Such recording of direction of the Spirit should be protected from loss or intrusion by others.”).

[7] Neil L. Andersen, Oct. 2017 General Conference (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 126).