Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference,
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent General
Conference talks. This is Abbey. And Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today we get to discuss the talk
right before our eyes by Elder Ronald A. Rasband,
Cormorant of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Rasband
speaks to us about the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter -day Saints being one that is growing
in numbers and in families and missions, missionaries,
meeting houses, and temples. And he listed all
of those things, and I thought, I've seen that
myself. It's so exciting. And he started out
by quoting our prophet from October conference,
saying that he asked this very question. And
it sparked something in him enough to ponder
on it for the last six months, see what he's
seen from his own eyes, and then be ready and
prepared to do this conference address on the
own things that he's witnessed. What the prophet's
words were, were, do you see what is happening
right before our eyes? I pray that we will not
miss the majesty of this moment. The Lord is
indeed hastening his work. And isn't that the
truth? Things can be... happening around us.
And we can totally miss it if we don't have the
right eyes to see that. Especially if we're focusing
on like the garbage that's happening too, because
that's for sure there as well. Yeah. It's definitely
a task of ours to have to sort out the important
from the non -important and to see the signs
that are there. You think, you know, we've been
told what the signs of the second coming of our
Savior Jesus Christ will be, but it's totally
possible to miss that. to not be aware, not know
what we're looking for, not see them when they
come, making you think like back to his birth,
like, did people miss that star? Were they totally
ready for it? You know, tell me what stood out
to you, anything that you'd like to share from
that quote. So first off, I love the way the
elder Raz Ben speaks. He speaks right to my heart.
It resonates with me. First, I feel like he's
so real. And he also. He's also such a tenderhearted
soul because he sees the one. That's how I feel
when he's talking. So right here, I love the
words he chooses. He says, hastening is a word
that matters. He said that phrase before, a word
that matters and words matter, which I love.
So he grabs our attention. Yes, it plays back
on. Yes, an idea that he already talked about.
Words matter. Hastening matters. Hastening is
the right word for what's going on right now.
Seriously. So he essentially says, this is something
that's important. This is worth your attention.
He goes on to say, hastening suggests moving
quickly, accelerating, and even urgency. In the
growth of the church and the plan of Christ,
hastening is happening, and we are all part of
it. Something I would love to point out is this.
There is a difference between quickly accelerating
and urgency, like Elder Rasband described, and
then on the other side, opposite end, hurried,
rushed, and frantic. The first one is how our
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ move. There's
focus. There's much work to be done. We all need
to do our part. However, there is not a feeling
of hurry, rush, and being frantic. That's the
adversary's MO, not our Father in Heaven. So
if there's ever a point where we hear the things
that are expected of us and we get the feelings
of hurry, rush, and being frantic, we can stop
right there and be like, that is not how Heavenly
Father wants me to feel about this work. And
really, that's something that can drive you into
the ground, bring guilt or shame or whatever,
and it's not how He operates. And I've talked
about this before, but I love living by a river.
It's right outside my window. I watch the ebb
and the flow over time or through the seasons.
It's always flowing, even in the winter when
everything else freezes. It slows and the waters
recede, but it keeps on going. Right now, there's
a spring melt off of the snow. So the water level
is rising every day and the flow is increasing
in speed. So just like nature, God steadily.
moves forward around and through any obstacles
that arise. And right now with this whole hastening,
the time of hastening, it's kind of like spring
where things really are picking up in speed.
And I just love that. I enjoy your river view
too. And I love that. Like sometimes there's
seasons where we're moving forward and it's directional,
but it's not like time doesn't fill up the essence.
But then other times, like you're saying that
spring, that springtime, there's an abundance.
So that's what we're living in right now. We
are living in a time where things are hastening.
Think of like how many members that we started
the church with back in that little cabin, April
6th. Just a handful. And I think he pointed out,
like, we can really say that saints fill the
earth or they dot the earth for sure. For sure.
And they are right now filling the earth. with
the missionary work. Another thing that I liked
how Elder Rasband tells us is from personal experience,
why his words are getting more exciting is he's
going on some great assignments and he's seeing
this firsthand from these different assignments
around the world. He said, in my assignments
this year, I had a front row seat to the Lord
hastening his work. I feel the humility in his
words when he says that. He seems to be in awe
about what he's able to witness from his own
eyes. And he's seeing Firsthand, how the work
is moving along, it's strengthening his testimony
firsthand. He goes on to say three things that
are a focus of where he's seeing the church growing
today. He mentioned the building of temples at
an unprecedented pace. He said missionary work
is gathering record numbers to the fold of the
Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And third, he said
church education in many configurations is at
new heights. new high and teaching those who
seek this Jesus. And he posed a great question.
He said, what is the purpose of 367 temples in
various stages of completion? And answered his
own question by saying, what is written above
the door of every temple? Holiness to the Lord.
I love that part, Abby. He reminds us that the
temple opens the way for the highest blessing
our Father in heaven has for each one of us.
He takes us back to the hastening of the work
again. Brothers and sisters, we are hastening
our holiness as we live temple worthy, as we
worship in the house of the Lord, and as we make
covenants with God for ourselves and on behalf
of our ancestors on the other side of the veil.
So Amy, what about the next point on this list?
Let's spend some time talking about missionary
work as he sees it. Thanks, Abby. I like how
he does start out with numbers. And they're quite
impressive, actually. He said in 2024, 80 ,000
missionaries were serving in 450 missions. 36
of those are new missions. So again, growth.
Last year, missionary work brought over 308 ,000
new members into the church. And then he concluded,
and this is one reason I love his approach, because
he sees people. He said more than numbers, the
Spirit So that part touched my heart because,
again, he sees the people. He understands, yes,
it's good to have growth. We do need to keep
track of what's happening because this is a church
of order, just like God is a church of order.
However, he puts the focus. on gathering souls
to Jesus Christ. I love the story he tells of
the early church missionaries, Heber C. Kimball
and a young Brigham Young. They were sick and
going by wagon to their mission. He shares this,
the two climbed into a wagon and while still
in sight of their loved ones who were waving
to them, Heber said, let's rise up and give them
a cheer. The two struggled to their feet and
shouted hurrah, hurrah for Israel. Love that.
Then, And to put that into perspective of what
he just witnessed in Lima, Peru, he met with
a bunch of missionaries at the MTC. And then
he talks about Lima. Holy cow. There are seven
missions in the city of Lima alone. My own son
recently returned from Lima, and his mission
was about 10 square miles. It's a huge city.
It was tiny. I've been there. It's huge. And
he always said, everyone lives on— Alex said?
How many missions? Yeah, there weren't quite
the seven yet, right? Or have there been seven?
I think there were seven yet because that's also
his mission president. When I talked to him one
time on the phone, he said that was when it was
the temple was not completed yet, the Lima one.
He said, we are the only place outside of Utah
that has two temples. That's a big deal in one
city. Now, others have been announced. Others
are in the works now, but that was what he said
then. Oh yeah, and my son said, everyone lived
on top of each other, up the mountains using
every square inch of land. And it was a little
bit difficult to find an address because you'd
get to one and you're like, well, which one is
it? Is the one here or up the mountain five,
you know, whatever, a bunch of steps. So anyway,
this is to say that the missionary group must
have been quite large that he talked to. And
taking a cue from Heber C. Kimball and Brigham
Young, the missionaries rose up and cheered hurrah
for Israel for Elder Rasband. And again, Abby,
I know I've said this before, but I just feel
this woven throughout the words that Elder Rasband
speaks. This is where his humility and connection
with people comes in. He drew me right in when
he said this, I will never forget that moment.
I wish all of you could have been there right
before my eyes were missionaries who had set
aside the things of this world to serve the Lord
and help hasten his coming. I just love that
he had a very strong spiritual experience. He
witnessed, he had firsthand witness of the hastening
of the work. And the first thing he says is,
I wish you all could have been there. The emotion
in his voice and the tears in his eyes kind of
helped me feel like I could experience that moment.
Yeah, like the Spirit said, wow, that was a grand
moment. So thank you for sharing that, Amy. He
is a powerful speaker and he connects with his
audience. And I appreciate his approach as well,
because the third point that I had talked about
before, the third and final point he made was
about church education. We do see the Lord hastening
educational opportunities for our members and
even those not of our faith around the world.
And I've told you before, my husband works in
this area, the church educational system. So
it's close to my heart and it does play a big
role in our lives. He said currently more than
800 ,000 students worldwide are enrolled in seminary
and institute the highest enrollment in the history
of the church. And I love this, the BYU pathway
worldwide. has an enrollment that's 75 ,000 and
continues to grow rapidly. Amazing. Most are
members and more than a third are in Africa.
I was going to say that. The growth of the church
in Africa is going to astound us like in a handful
of years. It's amazing. It's amazing what it's
doing for our brothers and sisters there. In
fact, Elder Rasband shared that he visited Uganda.
He met with a stake presidency there and learned
that all the members of that presidency were
enrolled in the Pathway Program. I love that
picture with all of them smiling. And it was
just like that. That's what this is about. You
know, 20 years ago, I took a little trip to Peru.
It was a service mission doing some dental work.
And we worked pretty close with these students
and in talking, getting to know them a little
bit better. They invited us to a young single
adult activity. Oh, wow. They didn't know our
religious affiliation. Oh, gotcha. We weren't
there as church members. We were there as a dental
community. I happened to be a member of their
same church. And to know that they were utilizing,
like they were practicing up and they were going
to get some of the best jobs that there can be
in that country. They were going to be dentists.
And then, I mean, I just kind of quickly thought
of that when I thought of these. brethren that
were serving in the state presidency and also
trying to tackle the school thing. What a great
message that they'll be able to share with their,
you know, their flock. That they're busy probably
with their callings and their lives and they're
also furthering their education. Yeah. And it's
touching to see how the Lord values that. He
doesn't, not everybody can come to BYU. BYU,
Idaho has expanded. greatly. Like so many kids
are going there and that's to BYU Hawaii. What
a service that provided to our brothers and sisters
that were, you know, Islanders and be able to
kind of keep their culture and be, you know,
significant. But I mean, it's kind of still far
away from home when you look at how, you know,
all of these like micro islands and stuff, but
with the pathways program, they really know none
of his children are out of the reach of education
and the opportunities that it can provide because
to the Lord, all things are spiritual and temporal.
They're the same to him. For sure. And so maybe
if you're listening to this and you've been toying
with the idea of furthering your education, and
maybe overwhelmed with what adjustment that's
going to make to your life, maybe you just sit
for a moment and you think, you know, be in his
hands, be willing to do, and stop and think maybe
there's something that you've been wanting to
do, but in your mind you put it off and you'll
think about it later when the time's right. You
know, maybe ask if now's the right time. And
it doesn't have to be pathways. I'm just saying
that is an opportunity. He doesn't really care
what we delve into because all grows the same
to him and he can use all of the things that
we do for his purpose, I think. Absolutely. I
will just say I love that he kicked off this
talk with the word hastening. I love that you
shared kind of the vocabulary terminology with
this. But when we think about hastening the work,
it's really special. I love that he pointed out
just a few main ideas that we can think about
that we can say with our own eyes, have we been
witnessing that ourselves too? That's true. And
the whole talk just focused around this idea
of hastening. Totally agree, Abby. There's one
more thing he shared that really struck me. Listening
to the wording here, because I really wasn't
expecting it. He quotes our Savior in D &C 636,
Let God do me in every thought, doubt not, fear
not. Faith in Jesus Christ can lift you up and
heal your wounded soul, he says. And then he
says these words, trust him and you will hasten
your return to the arms of his love. Elder Rasband
is a master teacher. He turns the hastening to
each one of us. He puts the key into our hands
right where it always was if we were being proactive
with our agency. We hasten our own return to
Jesus. We partner with him in hastening his work.
And the Father's work. I felt like the whole
talk, I was kind of framing the hastening as
something the Lord is doing and then something
the Heavenly Father is doing. Like you're a spectator
just watching this happen. Exactly. And I was
like, man, this is great. And it switched. Yes.
And that's exactly, yeah, look what they're doing.
And I get to have a front row seat just like
he is to this hastening. happening, a miracle.
And now the focus is turned to each one of us.
I think it's a beautiful and great reminder of
the role that each one of us play. And I'm grateful
for that teaching. And you know what? Maybe people
listening to this are like, well, duh, that was
the whole point of the talk. But when I heard
those words, that's the point where I got it.
Well, I want to jump back up to that quote from
Jesus Christ in his words. He's like, if you
trust me, I will hasten your return to the arm
of my love. Meaning, that we have the promise
that if we engage ourselves in that work, that
we get to fill his presence and we get to be
with him and link ourselves and do that work
with him. Maybe my first reading would be like,
oh, that means I'm going to die faster and be
with him. But that's not what he's saying. No.
Earthside, hear what we're doing. We can have
that loving presence and fill that. Yeah. I feel
like individually, that means that we can have
an earlier. Being reunited now, of course, it
isn't physical, but we can feel of his presence
more. We can live in his presence more. And that
would be preceding his second coming. So we've
talked about litmus tests, maybe as we're engaging
in different things where we only have so much
time. to do certain things and when we choose
what we're going to spend our time doing as we're
doing them maybe the litmus test is like do you
feel like you're partnered with jesus christ
in the work that you're doing very good on college
campuses you can certainly you can certainly
be a voice that it's a little different than
like than the norm my husband i've probably mentioned
this on here but My husband didn't try to make
enemies, but he put his values out there and
he stood by his beliefs and so comes out stronger
on the other end. But I don't think he really
created enemies. I think he demonstrated being
a witness of Jesus Christ in everything that
he was doing. He didn't have to put that on the
bookshelf and then pick it back up after his
college experience. Some colleges, you're kind
of expected to do that. What was an example?
You know, as you have to engage in different
student forums, like you have to interact with
people. If he had an opportunity to testify,
then he definitely would. Or if they were like,
introduce yourself, he put it out there that
he was a religious educator. You know, a lot
very different from what his other classmates
that were on there were doing. But he wasn't
like afraid to be like, well, just going to kind
of shrink away from that. He put it out there
so then they know. exactly like what kind of
person that they're going to be dealing with.
And then if he has a chance to testify that he's
going to, and he set limits on, you know, he
didn't want to use Sundays for school endeavors.
And so he would, he would just be very upfront.
Like if he doesn't have anybody to interact with
by Saturday night at midnight, then he'll take
the grade hit. But his teachers never punished
him for that, even though they definitely were
not affiliated with the church. So I think that
was, that was great. to witness. I don't know
that I did the best. I was very young when I
did my college experience. I'm sure that I was
like, well, for the test, I'm going to just get
through and do this thing. But you know, if I
could redo it, maybe I would be a different person.
I'm not embarrassed about the person I put on
display, but if I can say this to my children
before they go, when it's like, be true to yourself
and stand up for your beliefs and don't be afraid
about. you know, grades. If you're writing an
English paper, you don't skirt around your real
beliefs to appease an English teacher. That's
true. And I wouldn't say I did that. I'm just
saying, what if I had the opportunity to do it
again? Would I be a little bit braver and stronger?
Would I hasten his work rather than just get
through school is school, church is church? Could
I have integrated those a little bit differently?
That's a good point. Let me just ask you any...
Final thoughts in closing? I do, Abby. Elder
Rasband shared this. There are, oh, I love this
so much. There are naysayers who shout low here
and low there, just as they did in the Prophet
Joseph Smith's time. However, they are and will
be but mere footnotes in this noble work. Remember
the words of Joseph Smith. No unhallowed hand
can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions
may rage. but the truth of god will go forth
boldly nobly and independent till it has penetrated
every continent visited every clime swept every
country and sounded in every ear till the purpose
of god shall be accomplished and the great jehovah
shall say the work is done I really love how
he puts into perspective naysayers and those
who work against God and his work. Do they exist?
Absolutely. They do. Do we need to put our focus
on them? No. If we want to move forward unfettered,
then we don't put our focus on them. I see them
like the way I look at it is I see them in my
rear view mirror. They're there, but of no consequence
as I move past them and focus on what's important
to me in my life. which is being a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I feel like that's a great action
item, Ames. I think maybe each of us could pray
to be aware of what or who may be a naysayer
in our life or what those distractions look like
in this great work and then try to move our focus
from them back to our personal priorities and
to God's promise and blessings that he will build
his kingdom with us. We can do that job together
as we prepare for the return of our Savior, Jesus
Christ. Love that. I'm just going to finish with
his testimony and I echo his words. I emphasize
again the words of our living prophet. Do you
see what is happening right before our eyes?
I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this
moment. The Lord is hastening his work. May we
as disciples of our day shout hurrah for Israel
as we prepare for the return of our Lord and
Savior in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.