At a time when record numbers of converts are finding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world, several Church leaders during October 2025 general conference offered messages about belonging.
Speakers during the Saturday sessions spoke about being needed in the Lord’s Church, spiritual gifts, seeing oneself in the family of God, not sitting alone, and cheering each other on.
To new converts and returning members: ‘The Lord needs you’
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Saturday afternoon session about how the Lord is hastening His work despite challenging times. He noted the increase in converts being baptized and participating in church.
“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,” Elder Cook said.
Elder Cook said in the last 36 months nearly 900,000 converts have joined the Church. These converts constitute approximately 5% of the total Church membership, and they come from every part of the world.
“In the first six months of this year, conversions have risen by more than 20% over the previous year in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America,” he said. “In North America we have seen a 17% increase.”
To those who are new or returning to the faith, “Be patient with yourself. … Focus on the covenants necessary for exaltation,” Elder Cook encouraged. Gospel knowledge is not a saving ordinance; it is a blessing obtained incrementally over time.
“Learning the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ is a lifelong pursuit, both in understanding doctrine and living a Christlike life,” he said.
Elder Cook reminded new and returning members that Church members are not perfect and everyone makes mistakes. The Savior’s Atonement allows for daily repentance.
To those who feel untalented: ‘You are gifted’
To those who feel they may not have any valuable gifts or talents, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered a reassuring message at the conclusion of the Saturday morning session.
“Oh, how I wish I could embrace you and help you understand this great truth: You are a blessed being of light; the spirit child of an infinite God. And you bear within you a potential beyond your own capacity to imagine. … You are anything but ordinary. You are gifted,” he said.
In Doctrine and Covenants 46:11-12, God declared: “There are many gifts, and to every [person] is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.”
Spiritual gifts are not always flashy, but they are important, Elder Uchtdorf explained. Such gifts include noticing people who are overlooked, finding reasons to be joyful, being a peacemaker, giving sincere compliments, explaining things simply, connecting with children and helping others know that they belong.
“You might not see these gifts displayed at the ward talent show,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “But I hope you can see how precious they are to the Lord’s work and how you might have touched, blessed or even saved one of God’s children by your gifts.”
To those who feel they don’t fit in: ‘Everyone belongs to a family’
In his message about the 30th anniversary of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talked about belonging to a family.
“Everyone belongs to a family, whether you are a mother, father, daughter, son, grandchild, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister or cousin,” he taught during the Saturday afternoon session. “Most importantly, each of us is, as the proclamation states, ‘a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents ... [with] a divine nature and destiny.’”
Elder Rasband acknowledged there are some who may feel like they don’t fit with the truths taught in the proclamation or the proclamation isn’t working for them. He reminded those with concerns that they are part of God’s family.
“For those with concerns, know that you are a child of heavenly parents, part of your Heavenly Father’s family,” Elder Rasband said. “No one knows you better or cares more deeply about you than He does. Turn to Him, pour out your heart to Him, trust Him and His promises. You have family in your Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves you.”
Elder Rasband assured them that the Lord’s Apostles are praying for them. “Stay with us. You live in challenging times when the adversary seeks to make you his. Do not be drawn off. And if you are, come back.”
To those who struggle emotionally or spiritually: ‘No one sits alone’
Also in the Saturday afternoon session, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that covenant belonging deepens as Latter-day Saints come to the Lord and each other in “His inn.”
He observed that every Sunday, Church members and friends from 195 birth countries and territories gather in 31,916 Latter-day Saint congregations. Today, those invited to the Lord’s inn come from every place and culture, he said.
“When you come to church, if you see someone alone, will you please say hello and sit with him or her?” Elder Gong asked.
No one should sit alone emotionally or spiritually, he said. “It is precisely because we have been hurt and have hurt others that Jesus Christ brings us all to His inn. In His Church and through His ordinances and covenants, we come to each other and to Jesus Christ.”
Elder Gong continued: “In His restored Church, we are all better when no one sits alone. Let us not simply accommodate or tolerate. Let us genuinely welcome, acknowledge, minister to, love. May each friend, sister, brother not be a foreigner or a stranger but a child at home.”
Zion is not created in a day, he added. “But each ‘hello,’ each warm gesture, brings Zion closer. … The Lord blesses us all when no one sits alone.”
To those who feel it is hard to attend church: ‘We cheer each other on’
Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, taught during the Saturday evening session that Latter-day Saint congregations and families can be gathering places where “we cheer each other on.”
Sister Dennis shared a personal experience from her late 20s when she battled depression and it became hard for her to attend church. She said what she needed during that time was to feel genuine love, understanding and support, not judgment.
“Only the Lord fully knows the actual level of difficulty with which each of us is running our race of life — the burdens, the challenges and the obstacles we face that often cannot be seen by others,” Sister Dennis said. “Only He fully understands the life-changing wounds and trauma some of us may have experienced in the past that are still affecting us in the present.”
Sister Dennis encouraged all to cheer each other on in their journey of discipleship no matter the circumstances.
“There will be times in each of our lives when we will be the ones who need help and encouragement,” she said. “Let’s commit now to always do that for each other. As we do, we will develop greater unity and facilitate a space for the Savior to do His sacred work of healing and transforming each of us.”
