PROVO, Utah — As women make sacred covenants with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the house of the Lord, they will have the capacity to face whatever challenges and trials they face, taught Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on the first night of BYU Women’s Conference.
The three-day conference, which began April 30, will include keynote addresses from Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Primary General President Susan H. Porter and Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, first counselor in the Young Men general presidency.
Speaking on the conference theme, “Behold my Spirit is upon you … and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me” (Moses 6:34), Sister Dennis expounded upon what it means to walk with the Lord.
Hundreds of young women were also in the Marriott Center on Wednesday night, April 30. These future members of the Relief Society will join a divinely inspired organization with millions of women throughout the world, Sister Dennis said.
They are a special generation of women who were saved to come to the earth at this time — every one of them is important, noble, needed and vital to the work of the Lord.
“Don’t allow Satan and the world to tell you that you are nothing and that you don’t matter. You do matter,” she said.
Like in her own life, Sister Dennis said she is sure there have been times when those listening have felt incapable of what the Lord was asking them to do — whether it was a calling, a trial or challenge, or even making the decision to get married and have children.
Enoch in the book of Moses was hesitant and unsure. He didn’t know why he was asked to cry repentance to the people, especially when he felt too young, unliked and slow of speech. But the Lord’s response to Enoch is an invitation to all — He invited Enoch to walk with Him.
“We cannot of ourselves do all that we are called to do in our lives,” Sister Dennis said.
Because Enoch chose to abide in God and walk with Him, God abided in Enoch. Enoch became a powerful prophet and leader of his people. The city of Enoch became so holy it was taken up into heaven (see Moses 7:21).
This incredible story shows what God was able to do with an imperfect human being. “Imagine what He can do in your life as you choose to trust Him and walk with Him,” she said.
Sister Dennis said she hoped young women and young adults in particular would listen carefully. “As you choose to abide in the Savior, He will abide in you, and you need never walk alone no matter where you go or what you do in this life. You do not need to fear the future because the Savior will be with you.”
In October 2024 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson spoke about how his decision to follow Jesus Christ has made all the difference in his life, saying, “There is no limit to the Savior‘s capacity to help you.”
Said Sister Dennis: “A Prophet of God is telling us that there is no limit to the Savior‘s capacity to help us. He’s telling us that the Lord can comfort us and strengthen us and bless us with peace even in the middle of the storms of life, even in the middle of chaos. But for the Savior to be able to do that, we need to choose to put our faith and trust in Him. We need to choose to walk with Jesus.”
Learning from the story of the Jaredites
One of Sister Dennis’ favorite stories in the Book of Mormon is of the Jaredites crossing the sea to the promised land.
In Ether 2, the brother of Jared was commanded to build eight small, airtight barges. He didn’t know how the people would breathe, have light or steer the vessels. The Lord instructed him how to get air when they needed it and gave them His light for the journey by touching 16 stones for the boats.
Now they had light and a way to access air, but they would have to completely depend on the Lord to steer them across the water. They needed great faith and trust to board those boats. Without the Savior, the chances of surviving that voyage and arriving together were impossible, Sister Dennis said.
The Lord had told the brother of Jared that it would not be smooth sailing (see Ether 2:24). Indeed, Ether 6 says a “furious wind” blew upon the face of the waters, and they were “tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.” There were great and terrible tempests caused by “the fierceness of the wind,” and “the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land.”
Sister Dennis said: “In the middle of life’s storms, we must remember that our Father loves us, that He knows what He’s doing, that everything is in His hands and that He would not have us go through difficult challenges just to see us suffer. That is not His character, nor is it His plan.”
Without the wind, the Jaredites would never have reached the promised land. And even when they were buried in the deep, no water could get in because they had followed the Lord’s instructions to build airtight vessels.
“The most important way that enables the Lord to abide in us so that our vessels will be ‘airtight’ for our journey through mortality is through a covenant relationship with Him, which more deeply connects us to Him,” Sister Dennis said.
Sister Dennis quoted President Nelson’s teachings that all will need God’s power in the days ahead — and that all who make and keep covenants with God in the house of the Lord have direct access to His power.
Said Sister Dennis, “This is how our ‘vessels’ can become airtight and how we can more deeply abide in Christ and He in us, so that the winds and waves and storms of life don’t destroy us, so that the world doesn’t take us off course, so that the adversary doesn’t have power over us and so that we can access the power of God and have angels help us.”
She invited all those who are 18 or 108 or any age in between to pray to find out if it is time for them to go to the temple and receive their own endowment. Young women can begin preparing now, she said.
‘Don’t fear the future’
When the Jaredites were buried in the water, they cried unto the Lord, and He brought them forth again to the top (see Ether 6:7).
“The Lord can also bring us back up on top of the water after we have been buried under the mountain waves, but it will be in His time and in His way. If we are abiding in Him and He in us, we won’t sink, no matter how much we are buried and tossed and blown around,” Sister Dennis said.
While they were crossing the sea, the Jaredites thanked and praised the Lord. During the storms of life, people can thank and praise Him as well. When the Jaredites arrived, they bowed themselves down and “did shed tears of joy before the Lord” (Ether 6:12).
Sister Dennis said one day people will understand how involved the Savior was in their lives in helping them through difficult times.
Her last words were directed to the young women and young adults, including her granddaughters. She told them to remember the lessons of the Jaredites’ ocean voyage and the lessons of Enoch — to put themselves in the Lord’s hands and walk with Him.
“Please don’t fear the future,” she said. “Satan will try to put fear in your hearts, but don’t listen to him. There is no need to fear. Our Savior is more powerful than the adversary and his minions. I promise that you can trust Him.”
Sister Dennis said that as they look down the road and think about the decisions ahead of them, including decisions about getting married and having a family, they should not allow outside voices to tell them what to do. Instead, they should seek the Lord’s direction and remember there is no limit to the Savior‘s capacity to help them.
“I testify that because of our dear Savior and His infinite atoning sacrifice, you really will never walk alone if you choose to abide in Him so that He can abide in you,” she said.
