General Conference Applied
S5 E1 – Sunday, April 13, 2025 | General Conference Applied Season 5 Preview and April 2025 General Conference Recap
LiListen on Amazon Music [insert episode link] | Listen on Apple Podcasts [insert episode link] | Listen and/or Watch on Spotify [insert episode link] | Watch on YouTube [insert episode link]
Podcast Episode Social Media Posts
- Facebook | Instagram | X
Podcast Episode Outline
General Conference Applied Season 5 Preview
Schedule
- The schedule is set through Sunday, October 5, 2025.
Format
- 32 April 2025 General Conference Address Episodes
- Discussion Questions: If you’re ever asked to lead a discussion in Elders Quorum or Relief Society two minutes before the discussion is about to start (that would never happen, right?!), we will also include discussion questions in each of these podcast episodes and their corresponding show notes. These questions will also be great for Family Home Evening discussions!
- Non-General Conference Episodes
- These episodes will be focused on non-general conference invitations from the previous month. These are invitations that members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles extend in BYU devotionals, church magazine articles, on social media, in temple dedicatory prayers, in press releases, and in various other venues. *Note that many of these episodes will only be available on Patreon. See the link to Patreon in the podcast episode details for each podcast episode.
- Applications – Return and Report Episodes
- These episodes will include Clay, Mitch, and hopefully other guests (we’re talking to you – yes, you!) sharing updates on how they are taking action on the invitations shared in the April 2025 General Conference. *Note that many of these episodes will only be available on Patreon. See the link to Patreon in the podcast episode details for each podcast episode.
- We have also created a post to more easily track the invitations we have identified and the applications to which we have committed.
- Refocus on Christlike Attributes and the Christlike Attribute Activity from Preach My Gospel chapter six.
- In the April 2024 General Conference, Mitch identified 50 invitations just from the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This doesn’t count the invitations from the additional 17 addresses delivered in the Conference. Rather than trying to take action on all invitations (and thus, not taking action on any of them since that many applications could quickly become overwhelming), take action on those invitations which will help you become more like Jesus Christ.
- “How I Bring General Conference Insights into My Life Each Day” by Jani Eitelgeorge – September 2024 Liahona: “My process is not the only way to study conference. I offer it as a suggestion as you make your own plan to implement the teachings of general conference in your life. Here’s how it works for me:
“I listen to each talk and write the important insights that touch my heart, as well as thoughts I receive from the Spirit. At the end of each session, I listen to the Spirit as I highlight one or two things from each talk that I feel I need to work on or that will remind me how to become more Christlike.
“Then I choose 26 highlighted thoughts and assign one a week until the next general conference. I type the thoughts into a list and assign each a Sunday date. I place this list on my bathroom mirror as a reminder. I also assign these weekly thoughts on my phone calendar. Each Sunday I receive a reminder to start a new focus. This thought will be at the front of my mind as I pray each morning for help throughout the day. Each night, I review with Heavenly Father how I did that day.”
- “How I Bring General Conference Insights into My Life Each Day” by Jani Eitelgeorge – September 2024 Liahona: “My process is not the only way to study conference. I offer it as a suggestion as you make your own plan to implement the teachings of general conference in your life. Here’s how it works for me:
- We have created a post to more easily track the invitations we have identified and the Christlike attributes to which they pertain.
- In the April 2024 General Conference, Mitch identified 50 invitations just from the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This doesn’t count the invitations from the additional 17 addresses delivered in the Conference. Rather than trying to take action on all invitations (and thus, not taking action on any of them since that many applications could quickly become overwhelming), take action on those invitations which will help you become more like Jesus Christ.
- We will potentially be creating articles and a newsletter in the future – stay tuned!
Analytics – As of April 11, 2025
- 13,631 total all-platform plays
- 243 Apple Podcasts followers
- 90 Spotify followers
- Gender
- 72% female
- 26% male
- 2% unspecified
- Age
- 0-17: 0.2%
- 18-22: 5.5%
- 23-27: 6.4%
- 28-34: 19.5%
- 35-44: 21.5%
- 45-59: 24.8%
- 60+: 21.9%
- Gender
- Geographic Location (All Platforms)
- United States: 92.1%
- Canada: 1.9%
- Australia: 1.8%
- New Zealand: 0.6%
- United Kingdom: 0.5%
- Platforms
- Apple Podcasts: 67.5%
- Spotify: 17.9%
- Web Browser: 3.5%
- YouTube Music: 2.1%
- Other: 9.1%
- 78 plays per episode, on average
- 133 distinct devices that streamed any episode for at least 60 seconds, or downloaded an episode in the last 7 days
- Top 10 episodes – All-time Plays
- “Think Celestial!” – 448
- “Love Is Spoken Here” – 332
- “‘Be Still, and Know That I Am God'” – 279
- “All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants” – 253
- “The Powerful, Virtuous Cycle of the Doctrine of Christ” – 237
- “Covenants and Responsibilities” – 237
- “Motions of a Hidden Fire” – 220
- “Kingdoms of Glory” – 216
- “Bridging the Two Great Commandments” – 207
- “A Higher Joy” – 206
April 2025 General Conference Recap
- Meet the New Leaders Sustained at the April 2025 General Conference
- “At the opening session of the April 2025 general conference, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced 16 new General Authority Seventies and a new Young Men General Presidency.”
- “President Oaks also announced that Elder Kevin R. Duncan has been called to serve in the Presidency of the Seventy, effective August 1, 2025. He will replace Elder José A. Teixeira, who has served in the presidency since 2018.”
- “In addition, President Oaks said that five General Authority Seventies (Elders David S. Baxter, Randall K. Bennett, Kevin S. Hamilton, Rafael E. Pino and Jorge F. Zeballos) will be released and receive emeritus status on August 1, 2025.”
Themes
32 Addresses, 82 Tags (these tags are presented at the end of each address in the Gospel Library app), here are the top five
- #1 – Jesus Christ (tagged 21 times)
- #2 – Love (tagged nine times)
- #3 – Discipleship (tagged six times)
- #4 – Faith (tagged six times)
- #5 – Service (tagged five times)
A Few Initial Thoughts
- President Russell M. Nelson, “Confidence in the Presence of God“, April 2025 General Conference: “Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not know the day or the hour of His coming. But I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that ‘great and dreadful day.'”
- Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, “My Love for the Savior Is My ‘Why’“, April 2025 General Conference: “Have you ever noticed that our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, continuously extends invitations to us? Not surprisingly, he has invited us to study and ponder the messages shared at the last two conferences. In April 2024, he said, ‘I hope you will repeatedly study the messages of this conference throughout the coming months.’ Then, in October 2024, he said: ‘I urge you to study [the speakers’] messages. Use them as a litmus test of what is true and what is not during the next six months.’
“These invitations can be added to prophetic invitations we have received throughout our lifetimes, including and especially those we have received in recent years. We may feel or think these invitations are another thing we need to add to our to-do lists, simply because we were invited or asked to do it. But could there be more to it?
“Pondering over this and all the invitations we had received, I recalled something that I learned and decided long ago. I am trying to do these things which are essential to me because I love Him; I love our Savior. This is the real and most powerful reason why I do what I do, and then connected with this is my love for you, my fellow brothers and sisters.
“As your brother, I hope you will consider my words as a sincere invitation to seek to understand the opportunity to link everything we do with our love for the Savior.” - Elder Steven D. Shumway, “Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return“, April 2025 General Conference: “Our covenant to always remember Christ is made individually, but this covenant is lived as we serve others. Callings surround us with opportunities to ‘bear … one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.’ When we serve because we love God and want to live our covenants, service that seems dutiful and draining becomes joyful and transformative.
“Ordinances don’t save us because they fulfill a heavenly checklist. Rather, when we live the covenants connected with these ordinances, we become the kind of person who wants to be in God’s presence. This understanding overcomes hesitations to serve or preferences not to serve. Our preparation to meet Jesus Christ accelerates when we stop asking what God will permit and start asking what God would prefer.” - Elder Gary E. Stevenson, “And We Talk of Christ“, April 2025 General Conference: “This year will be our third attempt to make Easter more Christ-centered. Like the Christmas nativity, our family Easter Day play includes rudimentary costumes, reading of scriptures from the New Testament and Book of Mormon, music, Easter pictures, palm fronds—and a little chaos, if I’m being completely honest. Children and grandchildren reading and reciting the Palm Sunday praises of ‘Hosanna … Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest’ and ‘This is Jesus … of Galilee’ seem as relevant as ‘Peace on earth, good will to men’ is at Christmastime.
“We now enjoy a mix of decorations. What was once almost exclusively bunnies and Easter eggs is now balanced with the Christus and images of the empty tomb, the resurrected Savior appearing in the garden outside the tomb, and the Savior’s appearance to the Nephites. We are also striving to make Easter a season rather than just a day. We are trying to be more conversant, thoughtful, and celebratory of Palm Sunday and Good Friday and of the sacred events that took place during all of Holy Week.
“Easter allows us to honor both the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the literal and joyous Resurrection of Him. Our hearts are heavy as we imagine the Savior’s suffering in the garden and upon Calvary, but our hearts rejoice as we envision the empty tomb and the heavenly decree ‘He is risen!'”
Additional Content
Previous Podcast Episode (“Focus on Jesus Christ and His Gospel” by Elder I. Raymond Egbo)
Next Podcast Episode (“Confidence in the Presence of God” by President Russell M. Nelson)