President Dallin H. Oaks, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, opened the October 2025 general conference on Saturday morning, Oct. 4, by acknowledging the collective grief of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the recent death of President Russell M. Nelson.
Immediately afterward, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stood to address the global membership and noted the violence and tragedy experienced by many around the world in the weeks leading up to conference. “I speak from my heart, realizing that many of your hearts are burdened by what you, your families and our world have undergone since last general conference,” said Elder Stevenson.
Some speakers offered brief tributes to President Nelson. Among other tragedies and experiences noted specifically throughout the two-day conference were the recent shooting deaths of four Latter-day Saints during a sacrament meeting in Grand Blanc, Michigan, as well as the June bus crash in Lesotho, Africa, which killed several Latter-day Saint young women and their leaders.
In each of the five sessions of the 195th Semiannual General Conference, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints noted the uncertainty, loss, suffering and tribulation experienced by individuals, families, communities and nations; but they also bore powerful witness of the peace, comfort and strength that can come through Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Purpose in tribulation
Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles assured listeners in the Sunday morning session that there is purpose in trials and challenges. He spoke of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who cried out in the depths of anguish in Liberty Jail, “O God, where art thou? … How long shall thy hand be stayed?” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-2).
Said Elder Eyring, “The Lord saw in Joseph’s suffering the sanctifying effect of his enduring it well when He replied, ‘My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes’ (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8)."
Because of the Savior’s “glorious” Atonement, Jesus Christ can strengthen individuals in their times of trial, Elder Eyring taught. “He knows how to succor us because He has felt all the challenges that we will ever feel in mortality.”
Trials and challenges “are not evidence that the Lord has abandoned you,” Elder Eyring assured listeners. “Rather, they are evidence that He loves you enough to refine and strengthen you. He is making you strong enough to carry the weight of eternal life.”
Guidance of prophets
Like the classic novelist Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,” noted Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in his Saturday afternoon address.
“We live in a turbulent time when the ‘whole earth [is] in commotion’ (Doctrine and Covenants 45:26)," said Elder Cook. President Nelson’s admonition to followers of Jesus Christ to be peacemakers is an essential part of fostering unity, peace and healing for “the worst of times.”
As individuals contemplate the challenges of today, “we must remember that the Savior, during His earthly ministry, also lived in turbulent and violent times. His focus was not on the political challenges of the day; it was on the perfection of the saints,” Elder Cook said.
Following the Savior and His doctrine has never been easy in a world that is in commotion. “It was not easy for the Savior in the volatile world during His mortal sojourn, it was not easy for our early leaders and members, and it is not easy for us. Fortunately, living prophets provide the guidance we specifically need for our day. President Dallin H. Oaks will continue that spiritually powerful legacy,” Elder Cook said.
Look to God
In the Maputsoe Branch of the Church in the southern African nation of Lesotho, 15 people — including six young women, two Young Women leaders, and the branch president and his wife — were killed in a terrible bus crash, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said.
During a joint funeral service, a branch Young Women president, Mampho Makura, invited, “Turn to the Lord, and find the strength to accept His will. Jesus Christ is ‘the author and finisher of our faith.’ (Hebrews 12:2) Don’t look away but look to Him.”
Elder Christofferson testified, “In looking to God, we can find peace in difficulty and our faith can continue to grow even in times of doubt and spiritual challenge. We can receive strength in the face of opposition and isolation. We can reconcile the ideal with present reality.”
Looking to God means making Him the highest priority. “I call to mind again that awful crash in Lesotho last June,” said Elder Christofferson. “From her hospital bed, one of the Young Women leaders who survived, who did not believe in God before joining the Church, said that her purpose is now to discover why her life was spared. ‘Constantly serving God is how I will come to an answer, if I come to an answer,’ she stated. ‘I used to think that I love God, but now I really, really, really, really love Him. Now He is the No. 1 priority in my life.’”
‘Beauty from the ashes’
To those who have been unfairly injured by the serious sins of others, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said he longed to share the Savior’s love and compassion, His comfort and peace.
“The sadness you have felt, the heartbreak, the loss, the suffocating feeling of betrayal, the upending of your life as you imagined it to be — I give you my absolute assurance the Savior knows you and loves you,” said Elder Andersen.
When will victims’ pain be gone, grief subdued, the unwanted memories forgotten? “I do not know,” Elder Andersen said. “But this I do know: He has the power to bring beauty from the ashes of your suffering.”
The Apostle spoke of those impacted by the deadly mass shooting that took place at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse on Sunday, Sept. 28, in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
“Our dear brothers and sisters in Grand Blanc, Michigan — with their undaunted faith in Jesus Christ, with their courage and unselfishness — have and will in the weeks and months ahead abundantly receive of the Savior’s incomparable love and grace,” Elder Andersen assured.
As individuals continue to place trust in the Savior, “your clouds of darkness and sobbing in the night will be transformed into cascading tears of joy and peace in the morning’s light. ‘Your sorrow shall be turned into joy, … and your joy no [one] taketh from you’ (John 16:20, 22). That moment will come. I testify that it will come,” Elder Andersen said.
Peace starts in the heart
In one of the first addresses of the conference on Saturday morning, Elder Stevenson noted that today’s rising generation faces a culture of conflict and tension — polarization, secularization, retaliation, outrage and social media pile-ons.
Although the hearts of today’s Latter-day Saint youth are filled with a testimony of Jesus Christ and a hope for the future, they too ask, “Can I truly become a peacemaker when the world is in commotion, my heart is filled with fear and peace seems so far away?”
The answer is “yes,” Elder Stevenson said. “We embrace the words of the Savior: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27)."
Peacemaking begins first in individuals’ hearts then spreads to homes and families. “As we practice there, peacemaking will spread into our neighborhoods and communities,” Elder Stevenson said.
Other principles of peace
In his Sunday morning address, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles extended “an earnest invitation” to Latter-day Saints to “adorn our minds and hearts with the Christlike virtue of temperance.”
He testified, “The constant pursuit of temperance purifies our soul and sanctifies our heart before the Savior, gently drawing us nearer to Him and preparing us, with hope and peace, for that glorious day when we shall meet Him at His Second Coming.”
On Saturday morning, Elder Kelly R. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy, spoke about being reconciled to God, or aligning one’s will and actions with God’s will.
This reconciliation brings not only relief from feelings of guilt, “but also peace within ourselves and with others. It heals relationships, softens hearts and strengthens our discipleship, bringing increased confidence before God,” said Elder Johnson.
In sharing the biblical account of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish, Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy, said, “Whatever the cause or degree of disaster we face, there is always dry ground for hope, healing and happiness.”
Elder Holland said he remembers where he was when he discovered the scripture where Jonah speaks of those who “forsake their own mercy” (Jonah 2:8). “My plea, inspired by Jonah, is: Forsake not your own mercy,” said Elder Holland. “You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ.”
