PROVO, Utah — Arm in arm, Primary General President Susan H. Porter and Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, greeted attendees of the final day of the 2024 BYU Women’s conference. The leaders’ teachings and testimonies encouraged women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to find power, strength and comfort in their Savior and to use their experiences to uplift others.
God’s power is available to women
Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28 states: “Verily I say, [we] should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in [us].”
President Porter taught that being anxiously engaged does not mean being literally anxious but “moving forward placing our confidence in the Lord and in His power to bless us.”
Women may often feel that they don’t have much power or cannot bring to pass “much righteousness,” said President Porter. However, acting in faith can provide covenant women of God with access to His power, which makes His work possible.
“You can bring to pass much righteousness as you help even one person feel God’s love for them,” explained President Porter. Women throughout history and in the scriptures demonstrate the power God can give His disciples.
Urging the audience to reflect on God’s power in their own lives, President Porter highlighted how Eve acted with the power to choose, Ruth with the power to stay, Hannah with the power to pray and Mary with the power to accept God’s will for her. Like these scriptural sisters in Christ, President Porter ensured Latter-day Saint women that they, too, can act with God’s power.
God’s power comes through honoring covenants, relying on His plan for His children and having a hope centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, President Porter taught.
“It is Their power, not ours,” she said.
A clear, powerful impression sustained President Porter for eight years as her husband endured ongoing dialysis treatment. God’s power kept her hopeful, even when circumstances seemed to be getting worse.
“We will feel the power of God working in us as we do things we could never do on our own and will receive the joy of feeling ever closer to our wise, eternal Friend.”
Echoing the words of the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” President Porter bore witness that God will “strengthen thee, bless thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”
Healing through heartbreak
Through their experiences with infertility and adoption, Sister Spannaus and her husband, Brother Alin Spannaus, learned patience and trust in and through Jesus Christ.
Sister Spannaus described the sadness, disappointments and even doubts she endured through years of medical treatments and adoption processes. However, amid the heartache, her suffering was consecrated, and in the experiences “heaven tailored just for us,” she found Christ.
Each woman faces unique challenges, said Sister Spannaus, but “God has the power to make our suffering a sacred experience, and in our suffering, we come to know God and Jesus Christ better.”
Video messages from friends of Sister Spannaus demonstrated that loving friendships and words of modern-day prophets can also help provide Latter-day Saints with the comfort and acceptance needed to move through trials.
Moving through trials is not the end goal, however; becoming a better person is truly what Christ wants, taught Sister Spannaus.
“Every trial that we overcome or faithfully endure makes us more beautiful inside — a better person, a better child of God, a better friend, a better human being. This is the intention of God’s plan; these experiences will shape us if we let them.”
Concluding her message, Sister Spannaus bore testimony of the constancy of Jesus Christ’s help. “I realized that He was there, because He is always there.”
“Sisters, I invite you to find the Savior through your challenges, and with Him, love and peace. That you may be able to say, “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever” (2 Nephi 4:34). How powerful it is to trust our God.”
