Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Cherishing Life”
- Elder Neil L. Andersen | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Saturday afternoon session of April 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Life is a precious part of Heavenly Father’s perfect plan, and members of the Church should cherish and preserve it.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Andersen’s message here.
Outline
- The Savior taught, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
- A teenage girl who had recently returned to the Church found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend asked her to get rid of the baby, but she declined.
Care for those in need
- This young woman received an overwhelming amount of love from her ward family. She welcomed her baby boy in February 2025.
- In April 2018, President Russell M. Nelson said that a hallmark of the Lord’s true and living Church will always be an organized, directed effort to minister to the one as He did.
Helping righteous choices
- A myriad of concerns can lead a thoughtful woman to take steps that will bring deep pain and regret. Remember: God can heal the past, and forgiveness can come through His atoning grace.
- Members of the Church cherish life and treasure the gift of moral agency. Listeners can help expecting families feel the Savior’s love.
The doctrine of mortal life
- The word of the Lord concerning the unborn, given voice through the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has never varied. The Church opposes elective abortion except in rare situations, and God has commanded that “the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.”
- Nurturing and protecting unborn life is not a political position. It is a moral law confirmed by the Lord through His prophets.
Speaking more openly
- Listeners are encouraged to speak more often with faith and compassion about the Lord’s law of chastity and the sanctity of life.
- A 17-year-old found out she was pregnant, with little to no support from her boyfriend. She decided to place her daughter for adoption rather than terminate the pregnancy.
- A young couple discovered their unborn child had Down syndrome. They found comfort and trust in God’s plan through prayer and excitedly welcomed their baby girl.
A remarkable example of faith
- A member of the Church was unfaithful to his wife, and a single woman became pregnant. The single woman wanted an abortion, but the man’s wife pleaded with the woman to have the baby and promised that she would raise the child.
- The diminishing love for unborn children is a grave concern. Listeners are invited to share their love more abundantly with those who need it.
Reflection questions
How can you show greater love to those in your life who may be struggling?
What might it look like to speak about the law of chastity and the sanctity of life with faith and compassion?
What examples of “undaunted faith and remarkable courage” do you have in your life?
How have you felt the gift of forgiveness through the Savior’s grace?
How do you feel knowing how greatly God values all life — including yours?
Speaker quotes
- “Life is a most precious part of our Father’s perfect plan, and by His decree we cherish and preserve life; and we choose the continuation of life once conceived.”
- “Nurturing and protecting life that is yet unborn is not a political position. It is a moral law confirmed by the Lord through His prophets.”
- “Undaunted faith and remarkable courage are hallmarks of disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Reference scriptures
- “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
- “The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.”
- “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”
Invitations and promises
- “For any listening who have experienced the deep pain and regret from having or participating in an abortion, please remember: Although we cannot change the past, God can heal the past. Forgiveness can come through the miracle of His atoning grace as you turn to Him with a humble and repentant heart.”
- “When a woman and a man are in such a fragile time, facing a crucial choice, our words, our hands, our hearts — spiritually, emotionally and financially — can bless them to feel the Savior’s love.”
- “Let us speak more often with faith and compassion to our youth in our homes, and with each other in our Relief Society and elders quorum meetings, about the Lord’s law of chastity, the sanctity of life and the care of the unborn and their mothers.”
Stories
- A teenage girl who had been distant from the Church determined to more fully live the commandments, and she began the repentance process. Soon after, she found out she was pregnant. Her boyfriend asked her to get rid of the baby, but she declined. She recalled receiving an overwhelming amount of love and support from her ward family and seeing the Lord’s hand guiding her and her family. She and her family, and her ward family, welcomed her baby boy February 2025.
- A 17-year-old girl found herself pregnant with little to no support from her boyfriend. She felt ashamed and alone, but she never considered an abortion. She met regularly with her bishop, studied the scriptures, prayed and found strength through the Savior and the repentance process. This young woman received an undeniable and heartbreaking answer that she would be placing her daughter for adoption. A loving couple adopted the baby girl and taught her the gospel. She is now married with a family of her own.
- A couple found out that their baby had Down syndrome when the wife was 10 weeks pregnant. A few weeks later, they found out that their baby had multiple congenital heart defects — one of which could be fatal — and that she would require multiple surgeries during her first year of life. At each doctor’s appointment, doctors asked the couple if they wanted to terminate the pregnancy. As they prayed for divine help, the couple received revelation that their daughter is an elite child of Heavenly Father and that He has a perfect plan. They welcomed their baby girl a week before the address was given.
- Elder Andersen once interviewed a man on behalf of the First Presidency for the restoration of his priesthood and temple blessings. The man had been unfaithful to his wife and his sacred covenants, and a single woman became pregnant. The single woman wanted an abortion, but the man’s wife pleaded with the woman to keep the baby and promised that she would raise the child with her own children. The single woman agreed, and the wife loved the boy as her own.
From the footnotes
- 17. Another example of the blessing of adoption is the story of Sherilyn Stinson and her daughter, Allison, along with Allison’s birth mother, Jill Morgensen (see Mary Richards, “Navigating the Journey of Adoption Reunification,” Church News, Nov. 18, 2024, thechurchnews.com).
- 18. With the help of the Lord and our outstretched arms, many are blessed to find their way. See Amanda Becker, “Finding Hope as a Single Expectant Mother,” Liahona, July 2022 (digital only); “The Adoption Decision,” New Era, March 2006, 28-33.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Christ and the Book of Mormon Children” by Del Parson
- Related video: “Unplanned Pregnancy, Adoption and the ‘Best Gift Ever’”
- Related hymn: No. 301, “I Am a Child of God”
Recent conference talks on abortion
- Elder Neil L. Andersen: “The Personal Journey of a Child of God” (April 2021)
- President Dallin H. Oaks: “Protect the Children” (October 2012)
- President Gordon B. Hinckley: “What Are People Asking about Us?” (October 1998)
Who is Elder Andersen?
- Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 2009. He had served as a General Authority Seventy since 1993, during which time he managed development of the film “The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd” and supervised the initial launch of Mormon.org, now ComeUntoChrist.org.
