"Receive His Gift" - General Conference Applied

Last updated on June 12th, 2025 at 10:42 pm

General Conference Applied

S5 E17 – Sunday, June 8, 2025 | “Receive His Gift” by Elder Patrick Kearon; April 2025 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Bio

“Messages of Love“, BYU Devotional, February 14, 2012: “My parents loved me dearly—of that I had no doubt. But when I was ten years old, I had to attend boarding school in England while my parents continued to live thousands of miles away in Saudi Arabia. The separation was an enormous wrench for me.

“On the long flight to England, I remember feeling queasy in the pit of my stomach as I left behind the heat and sunshine of Arabia, flew across the miles, and descended through multiple layers of cloud into the cold, gray scene of London’s Heathrow Airport. The rain droplets on the airplane window shot past, and I felt so very, very far from home.

“I arrived at the school in my uniform of gray shorts, sweater, tie, and cap, pulling my great, green trunk of belongings behind me. The loneliness was overwhelming.

“I slept in a dormitory with about fifteen other boys. It was a very foreign experience, complete with rickety, metal-framed beds and the occasional pillow fight. Every morning after making our beds, we boys would stand aside while our bed-making skills and ‘hospital corners’ were graded. There were unfamiliar smells, unfamiliar foods, and very unfamiliar teachers. My Latin master would walk around the room and peck our heads with the tip of his ballpoint pen if we didn’t know an answer. And I was very well pecked.

“Out on the fields during our sports time, on a rare clear day, if a plane was flying high overhead, leaving a vapor trail, I would study its course to see if that plane might be heading back to Arabia—feeling a deep pang if it was. I longed, somehow, to jump aboard and go back home to my parents.

“The brightest spot in any week came during breakfast time when mail was delivered. I would look anxiously for the telltale blue airmail letter that my mother sent faithfully every week. As the teachers came around the tables with letters to hand out, I would literally be on the edge of my bench waiting to see if one was for me. In so many senses this was Hogwarts, but without the owls and with none of the magic.

“The blue airmail letters were often the highlight of my week, particularly in those early days when my loneliness was most acute. I would receive letters from home with such happiness and relief. I would wait until I could be alone to carefully unseal them and then eagerly read the messages of love, reassurance, and advice from my parents. I savored every line and felt, for those moments, closer to home and closer to my parents’ love, and I received the courage I needed to continue on for another week.”
This was Elder Kearon’s 6th general conference address. His most recent address was “Welcome to the Church of Joy” from the October 2024 General Conference.

Invitations

“Think of a time when you found—or made—the perfect gift for someone you love.”
- In our own words: Think of a time when you found—or made—the perfect gift for someone you love.
- Clay Application:
- Mitch Application: I will become a much more intentional and thoughtful gift giver.
“Imagine you are hearing this for the first time! You really are His cherished daughter. You really are His precious son. And the path you are on is His plan of happiness. With His omniscient love, He knows exactly who you were before you were sent to earth and what you have experienced so far in your mortal life, and He has mercifully planned for your every tomorrow. And oh, how He yearns to one day have you return to Him, to receive the supreme intent of all His beautiful gifts, eternal life with Him.”
- In our own words: Imagine you are hearing the following for the first time: you are a child of God, He knows you perfectly, He has a plan for you, and He wants you to become like Him.
- Clay Application:
“I invite you to receive, either for the first time or to a greater extent than ever before, the magnificent realisation that you truly are God’s beloved child. You must undo the bow, tear off the wrapping paper, open the box, and actively receive with grateful humility a true, pure understanding of this foundational truth. The Holy Spirit can bear witness to your heart that you are indeed a child of the Most High. … Please, will you pray to understand if you are truly receiving this transformative knowledge deep in your soul? Will you please accept the gift? Will you do so more deeply, more freely, more abundantly than you ever have before—and in so doing be showered with all of those other gifts that come with it?”
- In our own words: Please pray to truly understand, deeper than you ever have before, that you are a child of God.
- Clay Application:
“You may be wondering, ‘What do I have to do to receive this gift from God?’ Well, actually, nothing. It is a gift from the Giver. It is simply a fact. Just let it in. You are His child. You are beloved of Him. Do not complicate it. Do not block the receiving of this gift with thoughts that you are somehow undeserving. The reality is none of us is ‘deserving’—all the Father’s gifts are received only through the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, but how His generous heart longs for each of His children to receive them! Then, as your new or renewed understanding dawns on you, rejoice in thanking the Giver of this gift. … You are a child of God. This is not just a nice song we sing. Will you please accept, open, and receive this gift of knowledge and understanding from Him? Will you hold it close as the precious treasure it is? Re-receive this gift, or perhaps truly receive it for the very first time, and let it transform every aspect of your life.”
- In our own words: Accept the simple truth that you are God’s child, whether you feel you are deserving of that distinction or not, be grateful for it, and let it transform every aspect of your life.
- Clay Application:

Discussion Questions

What is the Lord, through Elder Kearon, inviting us to do? And how do we intend to take action?
Elder Kearon taught: “Receiving a gift is not passive but an intentional and meaningful process that goes far beyond merely opening a package. To receive is to appreciate and connect with both the gift and the heart of the giver in a way that strengthens the bonds between the giver and receiver.” Based on this standard, how do you feel you could improve?
Elder Kearon stated that the truth “that we really are God’s children” is “one all-encompassing gift of eternal truth that underpins our ability to receive all else our Father desires to endow us with.” Why is that eternal truth so important?
As we “receive … the magnificent realisation that [we] truly are God’s beloved [children]”, Elder Kearon promises: “You can feel His love, hear His voice, and recognise His hand, no matter what is happening, or not happening, in your life.” Do you believe that promise is true?
Elder Kearon said: “Just let it in. You are His child. You are beloved of Him. Do not complicate it. Do not block the receiving of this gift with thoughts that you are somehow undeserving.” Thinking about your own life, what are things, or who are people, that cause you to complicate this gift from Heavenly Father?

External Resources Referenced In This Episode

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 address that was delivered by President Camille N. Johnson and was entitled “Spiritually Whole in Him.”

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.

Please remember that General Conference Applied is meant to be a supplement for your review of General Conference Addresses. We promise that you will get more out of each General Conference Applied episode when you study the General Conference address first.

Thank you for joining us in this effort to become doers of the word and to take action on general conference invitations.

Additional Content

Previous Podcast Episode (“Reverence for Sacred Things” by Elder Ulisses Soares)

Next Podcast Episode (“Spiritually Whole in Him” by President Camille N. Johnson)

All Podcast Episodes