Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from October 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “The Lord Is Hastening His Work”
- Elder Quentin L. Cook | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Saturday afternoon session of October 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Latter-day Saints have a sacred duty to welcome new and returning members.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Cook’s message here.
Outline
- Though today can be seen as “the worst of times,” it can also be defined as “the best of times” because the Lord is hastening His work. It is a day when the Lord’s followers are privileged to hear His voice.
- Thousands joined the Church between 1837 and 1850 as some of the early Apostles served missions in the United Kingdom. The Lord directed these new members to gather to Utah. The Deseret News described one group who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley as “walking, sunburnt and weather-beaten, but not forlorn” and with “joyful countenances.”
- Just as President Brigham Young welcomed those new members, new and returning members today can be assured: “We love you; we need you; the Lord needs you.”
- The Church has seen a remarkable increase in converts and convert participation worldwide. Nearly 900,000 converts were baptized in the last 36 months. In the first six months of 2025, conversions have risen by more than 20% over the previous year in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.
- Today, converts no longer gather to a central location, and resources are available to support congregations around the globe. Latter-day Saints everywhere have a sacred duty to accept and welcome new and returning members.
- To those who are new or returning: Be patient with oneself, focus on the covenants necessary for exaltation, study the scriptures, and remember that learning the doctrine of Christ is a lifelong pursuit.
- Members of the Church are not perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. Jesus Christ’s Atonement allows for daily repentance.
- Following the Savior has never been easy in a world constantly in commotion. It was not easy for the Savior during His mortal life, it was not easy for early Church leaders and members, and it is not easy for Latter-day Saints today. Fortunately, living prophets provide guidance specifically needed for this day.
Reflection questions
In what ways can today be seen as “the worst of times” and “the best of times”?
How does it make you feel to hear the statistics Elder Cook listed about Church growth?
Think about a time when you were “new” somewhere, perhaps at a job, school, community event, etc. What made you feel welcome and comfortable?
What are some things our congregation can do to better accept and welcome new and returning members? What are some things you specifically can do?
What counsel would you give to a new or returning member to help strengthen their faith?
Speaker quotes
- “Let me once again assure all new converts and those returning to the Lord’s Church: We love you; we need you; the Lord needs you. We may not welcome you with marching bands, but we pray the blessings of heaven will attend your efforts to progress along the covenant path that leads to God the Father and Jesus Christ in the celestial kingdom.”
- “The Lord’s work continues to move forward in powerful ways. These rising numbers are a clear witness that the gospel is touching hearts and changing lives everywhere.”
- “Following the Savior and His doctrine and teachings has never been easy in a world that is constantly 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.”
Reference scriptures
- “That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.”
- “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.”
- “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
Invitations and promises
- “The Lord is truly hastening His work in our time. We should be profoundly grateful for the hastening, which has occurred and is occurring despite these challenging times. We live in a day when the Lord’s followers are privileged to hear His voice and respond with open hearts and minds.”
- “Our sacred duty is to accept and welcome new and returning members. As the Lord hastens His work, we should love, nurture and serve those who accept His gospel. We can help build a Zion people, where we are ‘of one heart and one mind, and [dwell] in righteousness’ (Moses 7:18). To be one with the Lord, we must be one before the Lord. All members, regardless of baptism date, share a responsibility to welcome others. My counsel to the members of the Church is to wrap our arms around these precious, elect people who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
- “As we contemplate the challenges of our day, 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.”
Stories
- A large number of converts arrived to the Salt Lake Valley from England and Wales in 1852. The First Presidency, accompanied by Captain Pitt’s Band, met the group at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. The Deseret News described the group as “walking, sunburnt and weather-beaten, but not forlorn; their hearts were light and buoyant, which was plainly manifest by their happy and joyful countenances.” President Brigham Young addressed them and said, “We have prayed for you continually.”
From the footnotes
- 2. One of [Charles] Dickens’ themes was the idea of individual transformation in a time of social unrest.
- 10. Most of these [early] converts came from the working classes. Charles Dickens observed some of them as they prepared for their journey to the United States on the ship Amazon. He was favorable in his appraisal. He described them as “in their degree, the pick and flower of England” (“The Uncommercial Traveller,” in “All the Year Round,” July 4, 1863, p. 446). See also 1 Corinthians 1:26–28.
- 17. By the 1890s, Church leaders began encouraging members to remain in their native lands rather than gathering to Utah. The first stakes outside of the Intermountain West were created in the 1920s, and the first stake outside of the United States and Canada was created in New Zealand (see “Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History,” edited by Brandon S. Plewe, published in 2014, pages 184–85).
Additional resources
- Related image: “Sister Missionaries Teach a Family”
- Related video: “Nurturing Those New and Tender in the Gospel”
- Related hymn: No. 1027, “Welcome Home”
Recent conference talks on belonging
- Elder Gerrit W. Gong: “No One Sits Alone” (October 2025)
- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples” (April 2025)
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson: “The Doctrine of Belonging” (October 2022)
Who is Elder Cook?
- Elder Quentin L. Cook was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 6, 2007. He worked as an attorney and business executive in California. At the time of his calling as a General Authority Seventy in 1996, Elder Cook was vice chairman of Sutter/California Healthcare System.
