Why Andy Reid says conducting the Tabernacle Choir was one of the highlights of his life

My wife and I were in France for a stake conference. During a new convert meeting, I noticed two young men in their mid-twenties sitting together. One of them stood and introduced himself. He said that he was a refugee from Russia. He had come to France to escape oppression and there had found the Mormon missionaries and joined the Church. When he sat down, the other young man got to his feet. Speaking in halting French, he told his story. The mission president, who was sitting beside me, translated for us. Here, as best as I can remember it, is what he said:

In celebration of the anniversary of the founding of the LDS Church on April 6, 1830, Harvard Divinity School published a video on Instagram featuring Latter-day Saint Natalie Campbell, who explains, "We have 16 million members now but we started with six."

In order to help us better understand our new Church leaders called this past general conference, lds.org has published a series of articles introducing us to our new Young Women general presidency, the new General Authority Seventies, and our new Primary general presidency counselor. We wanted to share these articles so you can learn more about these amazing men and women.

With his wife and children there to support him, Tony Finau said that his first experience with the Masters "was nothing short of a miracle."

Stake president of the Pleasant Grove Manila Stake, President Scott Livingston, posted on the stake's Facebook page asking "for your faith and prayers on behalf of Sister Jacie Robinson of the Manila 5th Ward."

In November 1997, an Isuzu trooper carrying two missionaries, a counselor in the mission presidency, and his wife traveled through the jungle of Suriname, 25 miles away from the nearest city, Paramaribo. Baby alligators crawled among the dense coconut trees that hung heavily with heat and humidity.

In the Bible, there is a story of two disciples who were discouraged and grieved. Their leader and exemplar and friend Jesus Christ had died and they thought he was gone forever. They were walking to a town called Emmaus when a stranger came up to them and they conversed and walked together. The stranger asked what troubled them, and they told them all about the horrific death of their beloved Jesus. The stranger quoted scripture and told them to not worry, that Jesus Christ would rise again. That stranger was Jesus Christ, but as it says in Luke 24:16, "Their eyes were holden that they should not know him."

Every six months, we have the opportunity to tune in to new sessions of general conference where we can receive powerful inspiration and counsel from our church leaders. As amazing as that opportunity is, we sometimes neglect to revisit conference talks after the weekend is over, never taking full advantage of all they have to offer. When we do this, we are missing out. Here are 25 suggestions for making the most of general conference, allowing it to power our lives every month, week, and even day, of the year:

On April 24, 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed over 100,000 members in 27 stakes on the islands of the southern Philippines. In a live broadcast originating from Salt Lake City, he spoke of the Church’s progress and the requirements to have a temple built in the Cebu City area. After acknowledging their desire for another temple, President Hinckley challenged all the adult members to qualify for a temple recommend. Then he said, “If enough of you can do this, we shall be obliged to build another temple in the Philippines more convenient to where you live.”