Sermon to Scripture

As the beginning of April approaches, I always find myself reminiscing about general conferences past. Images of my family all sitting together on the couch in our sweats, munching on chips and dip, playing conference bingo, taking notes and eating delicious Sunday morning Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, come rushing into my mind. I also vividly remember the times where I have been lucky enough to attend a session of conference in person. I recall getting all dressed up, making the drive up to Salt Lake, walking past the crazy picketers shouting at me that I am damned, sitting in the conference center, hearing the crowd go silent and standing when the prophet walks in, watching the Mormon Tabernacle choir perform, and seeing all the apostles sit on the stand in their big red velvet armchairs.

            While all of these memories are certainly fond ones, by far my favorite part of General Conference twice a year is getting to hear the words of the prophet. During those four sessions of conference, I sit in wonder and am utterly amazed at the opportunity to hear direct messages from my Father in heaven that apply to our lives today. The prophets and apostles I am privileged enough to hear speak for hours, reminding me of what is truly important and give me renewed dedication to more faithfully live the commandments of God. After General Conference has concluded I wait anxiously during the next month for the conference issue of the Ensign to come. Once it arrives, I love dedicating time over the next six months to carefully studying the talks, as modern day revelation and scripture, and applying the counsel to my life.

            I imagine the early saints of the church felt in a very similar way to hearing the prophet Joseph Smith speak, as we feel about general conference today. During the Nauvoo Period of the church between 1839 and 1846 there is a huge decline in “thus saith the Lord” direct revelations and an increase of sermons given by the prophet Joseph.  This decline came from the fact that all of the big questions of the church had already been answered and therefore institutional revelation decreased. At this time however, there was an increase of sermons given by Joseph, along with a greater number of detailed descriptions of them. Many of these sermons were canonized and became scripture for the church. Just as the talks given by prophets and apostles today become modern day scripture, the talks given by Joseph became scripture for the whole church. I am so grateful for the fact that our church is like this, a living church, where we are continually receiving revelation from our Heavenly Father for our lives and that we have prophets, like Joseph Smith and Thomas S. Monson who are worthy to be these mouthpieces of God.