General Conference Applied is a podcast and newsletter focused on building faith in Jesus Christ.
Every six months, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather to share world-wide messages and invitations in a General Conference. It is inspiring and beautiful, but Latter-day Saints often find it challenging to remember or know how to act on the dozens of invitations. General Conference Applied is here to help.
We dive into each speaker’s background, teachings, invitations, and promises in order to assist fellow “saints” become “doers of the word” and come closer to Christ. We create short-form podcasts and brief newsletters to allow even the busiest of us to know exactly what church leaders are asking us to do, and our longer-form podcast episodes go deep into conference messages to increase understanding and provide a resource for your church talks and/or lesson prep. In our newsletter, we even aggregate church leaders’ weekly invitations from beyond conference (social media, devotionals, etc.), giving you the core messages while saving you hundreds of hours each year.
The hosts are Mitch Peterson and Clay Soelberg, both of whom are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’re busy husbands, fathers, avid readers, and students of personal development seeking to become better disciples of Jesus Christ. We hope you’ll join us!
The views expressed are those of its creators.
Why Mitch Started General Conference Applied
Four Impactful Quotes:
“President Russell M. Nelson has testified that “God’s long-established pattern of teaching His children through prophets assures us that He will bless each prophet and that He will bless those who heed prophetic counsel.” So the key is to follow the living prophet. Brothers and sisters, unlike vintage comic books and classic cars, prophetic teachings do not become more valuable with age. That is why we should not seek to use the words of past prophets to dismiss the teachings of living prophets.”Elder Allen D. Haynie; “A Living Prophet for the Latter Days” – April 2023 General Conference
“We, like the ten virgins, have lamps; but do we have oil? I fear there are some who are just getting by on a thin skiff of oil, too busy with worldly pressures to properly prepare. Oil comes from believing and acting on prophecy and the words of living prophets, President Nelson in particular, his counselors, and the Twelve Apostles.”Elder Ronald A. Rasband; “Hosanna to the Most High God” – April 2023 General Conference
“My dear brothers and sisters, for two days we have been well taught by servants of the Lord who have sought diligently to know what He would have them say. We have been given our charge for the next six months. Now the question is, how will we be different because of what we have heard and felt?”President Russell M. Nelson; “Make Time for the Lord” – October 2021 General Conference
“The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet… God’s revelations to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark. Noah needed his own revelation. Therefore, the most important prophet, so far as you and I are concerned, is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us… Our marching orders for each six months are found in the general conference addresses… Beware of those who would pit the dead prophets against the living prophets, for the living prophets always take precedence.”Elder Ezra Taft Benson; “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet” – BYU Devotional, February 26, 1980
- The Covid-19 pandemic changed the world, but not all of those changes were negative. I, along with many others, have benefited from the Come, Follow Me podcasts that started during the pandemic. In early 2023, I had the thought to look for General Conference-related podcasts, and I found General Conference Review, which I have enjoyed. The REVIVAL podcast was also recently recommended to me, and I have enjoyed that as well. My hope is that General Conference Applied can add value to your life, just as these other podcasts have added value to my life.
- The scriptures are important, and I strive to make time every day to study them. That being said, the most important prophet for us is the current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The four quotes I shared above speak to this importance.
- In addition to the four quotes, I listened to the following section in Saints Volume 1 Chapter 40 in July 2023: “Reluctantly, Brigham agreed to preach, and he walked home with the prophet. They found Hyrum standing beside the fireplace, speaking to a full house. He held the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants in his hand and declared that they were the law God had given them to build up His kingdom. “Everything more than these,” Hyrum said, “is of man and is not of God.” Brigham listened to Hyrum’s sermon, his emotions rising. Beside him, Joseph sat with his face buried in his hands. When Hyrum finished, Joseph nudged Brigham and said, “Get up.” Brigham stood and picked up the scriptures Hyrum had set down. He laid the books in front of him, one by one, so everyone in the room could see. “I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for these three books,” he declared, “without the living oracles of God.” Lacking a latter-day prophet, he said, the Saints were no better off than they were before God revealed the gospel through Joseph Smith. When he finished, Brigham could tell his sermon had moved Hyrum. Rising to his feet, Hyrum humbly asked the Saints to forgive him. Brigham was right, he said. As valuable as the scriptures were, they were no substitute for a living prophet.”
- Two verses in the book of Acts sum up what I am attempting to accomplish with General Conference Applied. In Acts 2:37 and Acts 9:6, individuals asked an important question: what should I do? General Conference talks make us feel good, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I believe our leaders are inviting us to do something. Thus, in General Conference Applied, we will attempt to answer two questions:
- First, what is the speaker inviting me to do?
- Second, how might I consider taking action?
- These questions are summarized nicely in Doctrine & Covenants 131:3 – “And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.”
Mitch started General Conference Applied in July of 2023. Through a series of promptings on both sides and clear spiritual guidance, Clay joined as co-host in January 2025. Both feel uplifted and blessed by this work and love seeing others share that joy.