Last updated on September 3rd, 2025 at 02:53 pm
General Conference Applied
S5 E35 – Sunday, August 3, 2025 | “True to the Faith That Our Parents Have Cherished” by Elder Hans T. Boom; April 2025 General Conference
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Podcast Episode Outline
Introduction
As we begin this podcast episode, if you have not recently listened to or read Elder Boom’s April 2025 General Conference address, please pause this podcast episode and go review his address.
Bio
- “Elder Hans T. Boom was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2019. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a temple ordinance worker for the Hague Netherlands Temple and as an institute teacher. He currently serves at Church headquarters.
“Elder Boom has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the England London East Mission, counselor in a branch presidency, branch president, stake Young Men president, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president, and Area Seventy in the Europe Area.
“Hans Theodorus Boom was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on July 13, 1963. He married Ariena Johanna Broekzitter in 1984. They are the parents of three children.” - This was Elder Boom’s second general conference address. His most recent address was “Knowing, Loving, and Growing” from the October 2019 General Conference.
Invitations
- “As a family we went through some hardships, just like any other family. These have only made us stronger and have deepened our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
- In our own words: When you experience hardships, allow them to strengthen and deepen your faith in Jesus Christ.
- Application Idea #1: With your spouse, be sure to reframe family struggles (whether current or past) as opportunities that led to learning, especially spiritual growth. This is how meaningful family legends and faith are established.
- Application Idea #2: Establish a family slogan. For the Boom family, it was “just carry on”. There is another family I know whose family slogan is: “We are [last name], and we do hard things”.
- Mitch Application: In our next family council, I will discuss with my wife and children what we will establish as our family slogan.
- “Their decision to become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a great impact on their lives as they were shunned by the villagers and by their family. It took many years, loving notes to family members, and service to the community before they were finally accepted.”
- In our own words: Love and serve others, even when they shun you for your beliefs.
- Application Idea #1: Watch The Fighting Preacher – story about “Willard Bean becomes the world middleweight boxing champion in 1905, but when Joseph F. Smith asks him to step away from the limelight and serve a five-year mission in upstate New York, the Beans immediately pack their bags and travel to the East Coast. Once there, they find the hatred that existed 90 years earlier is still alive and very present.”
- Application Idea #2: Following the example of Elder Boom’s wife’s family, ponder and journal about the Savior’s admonition to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”. (Matthew 5:44)
- “Even when this might not be the case, as my mother experienced as a child, you can become one of those ‘goodly parents who love the Lord’ and provide a righteous example to others.”
- In our own words: No matter what you experience in childhood, you can become a parent who loves the Lord and provides a righteous example to others.
- Application Idea #1: Find and spend time with people you want to model yourself after. Ask lots of questions, observe, correspond, get their advice on how they’d handle something.
- Application Idea #2: If you are someone who has experienced abuse, ponder and journal about the following statement from Elder Quentin L. Cook’s October 2022 General Conference address, “Be True to God and His Work“: “Please make up your mind that regardless of whether your parents did or did not abuse you, you will not physically or verbally or emotionally abuse your spouse or children.”
- “To those of the rising generation wherever you are and in whatever situation you may find yourself, please learn and receive strength from the faith and testimonies of those who came before you. … All of us, whether we are the first generation in the gospel or the fifth, should ask ourselves, What stories of faith, strength, and celestial commitment will I pass on to the next generation? … Let us be ‘true to the faith that our parents have cherished, true to truth for which martyrs have perished, to God’s command, soul, heart, and hand, faithful and true we will ever stand.'”
- In our own words: Be true to the faith by learning about your ancestors’ faith and sacrifices and consider “what stories of faith, strength, and celestial commitment [you] will pass on to the next generation”.
- Application Idea #1: Consider what your biographer would have to work with from your life so far. Ponder what you’d like him or her to be able to write about you. Can write your own ideal obituary to get inspired about the kind of person you want to become.
- Application Idea #2: Complete the following exercise (“Begin with the End in Mind”) from Stephen R. Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change“, but alter it so that it answers the question: ‘What stories of faith, strength, and celestial commitment will I pass on to the next generation?’:
“Please find a place to read these next few pages where you can be alone and uninterrupted. Clear your mind of everything except what you will read and what I will invite you to do. Don’t worry about your schedule, your business, your family, or your friends. Just focus with me and really open your mind.
“In your mind’s eye, see yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car, and getting out. As you walk inside the building, you notice the flowers, the soft organ music. You see the faces of friends and family you pass along the way. You feel the shared sorrow of losing, the joy of having known, that radiates from the hearts of the people there.
“As you walk down to the front of the room and look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is your funeral, three years from today. All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life.
“As you take a seat and wait for the services to begin, you look at the program in your hand. There are to be four speakers. The first is from your family, immediate and also extended—children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who have come from all over the country to attend. The second speaker is one of your friends, someone who can give a sense of what you were as a person. The third speaker is from your work or profession. And the fourth is from your church or some community organization where you’ve been involved in service.
“Now think deeply. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of friend? What kind of working associate?
“What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you like to have made in their lives?
“Before you read further, take a few minutes to jot down your impressions. It will greatly increase your personal understanding of Habit 2…
“Although Habit 2 applies to many different circumstances and levels of life, the most fundamental application of ‘begin with the end in mind’ is to begin today with the image, picture, or paradigm of the end of your life as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined. Each part of your life—today’s behavior, tomorrow’s behavior, next week’s behavior, next month’s behavior—can be examined in the context of the whole, of what really matters most to you. By keeping that end clearly in mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on any particular day does not violate the criteria you have defined as supremely important, and that each day of your life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole.
“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
“It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective.” - Clay Application: I was consistent at journaling for a couple years as a teen and it changed my behavior. Knowing I was going to have to write about my day at its end often led me to take bolder, better, or more interesting action because I wanted to have a story to tell. My application is to return to that state by journaling at least 3x per week and increasing from there. I will set a journal reminder on my calendar in the morning to get me thinking about what story I want to be able to tell. I’ll experiment with writing in the evenings or mornings.
- “Thinking about a sacrifice that will truly bless your life, please consider and pray about the invitation of our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, when he asked ‘every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission. For Latter-day Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility. … ‘For … young and able sisters, a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity.'”
- In our own words: Consider and pray about President Nelson’s invitation to prepare for and serve a mission.
- Application Idea #1: No matter who you are, give thought and prayer to a mission. Figure out when you can serve and what you need to do to make yourself available (spiritually, financially, physically, etc.). Just because I can’t go now doesn’t mean I’ll automatically be ready in the future without effort now.
- Application Idea #2: Church News Podcast Episode 247: Messages from the 2025 Seminar for New Mission Leaders — Missionary purpose and personal conversion: [Elder Dale G. Renlund] “Missionaries are taught in ‘Preach My Gospel‘: ‘Your ability to resist temptation will increase as you study and apply the scriptures, the words of the living prophets [and] ‘Preach My Gospel.'” Commit to an in-depth study of ‘Preach My Gospel’. Create a schedule to study the entire resource between now and the next general conference. (See General Conference Applied S5 E33 for additional insights from the 2025 Seminar for New Mission Leaders).
- “Remember, ‘for how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?'”
- In our own words: Remember that the only way to know the Savior is to serve Him.
- Application Idea #1: Learn more about your calling. Be faithful, prayerful, and creative in magnifying it.
- Application Idea #2: Track your time for one week. At the end of the week, look back and determine which master you are serving. If you are interested in tracking your time, Laura Vanderkam’s book “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think” is an excellent resource.
- “In both types of service [serving as a service missionary or a teaching missionary], you will show the Lord you love Him and that you want to get to know Him better. … Let us all continue in our efforts to get to know our Savior, Jesus Christ, better and to make Him the center of our lives. He is the rock upon which we must build.”
- In our own words: Get to know the Savior better and make Him the center of our lives.
- Application Idea #1: President Nelson’s Jesus Christ Topical Guide challenge
- Application Idea #2: President Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again“, October 2024 General Conference: “I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
Discussion Questions
- What is the Lord, through Elder Boom, inviting us to do? And how do we intend to take action?
- Elder Boom shares that his mother and father’s lifelong slogan is “just carry on”. Do you or your family have a lifelong slogan?
- Elder Boom states: “As a family we went through some hardships, just like any other family. These have only made us stronger and have deepened our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Looking back on your life, what hardships have you experienced that have “deepened [your] faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”?
- Here is a fantastic discussion question in Elder Boom’s own words: “Why is it that some of us take for granted the faith and testimonies of our parents who through all their hardships have remained faithful? Do we think that they do not have a clear understanding of things?”
- Here is a fantastic discussion question in Elder Boom’s own words: “What stories of faith, strength, and celestial commitment will I pass on to the next generation?”
External Resources Referenced In This Episode
- Elder Christofferson The Testimony of Jesus
- The Fighting Preacher
- Elder Cook Be True to God and His Work
- Stephen Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Saints volumes
- June 2025 GC+ episode
- Church News Podcast Episode 247
- Preach My Gospel
- Elder Uchtdorf April 2025 address
- 168 Hours Laura Vanderkam
- President Nelson Jesus Christ topical guide challenge
- AI hallucinating
- Chat GPT
- Claude AI
- Google Docs
- Unbroken book
- Under the Java Moon by Heather Moore
- Elder Maxwell drink the bitter cup without becoming bitter
- Edward Partridge Glenn Rawson
- The Chosen
- Hymn 254 True to the Faith
- Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration
- Unshaken Saints Podcast Jared Halverson
What will you do?
How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?
Conclusion
The focus of our next podcast episode will be the April 2025 General Conference Applications – Return and Report: President Johnson, Sister Runia, and Sister Wright.
As we conclude this episode, we would invite you to refer to the podcast episode details for this podcast episode where we have provided important information for connecting with us and further supporting the General Conference Applied Podcast. The best ways to help us are to like and subscribe to the podcast, to share the podcast with others, to like and share our content on social media, to share your own experiences with us on social media, and especially to contact us on our website.
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Thank you for joining us in this effort to become doers of the word and to take action on general conference invitations.
Tags
Endurance | Faith | Family | Missionary Service | Parents | Sacrifice | Testimony