SALT LAKE CITY — The suffering caused by COVID-19 surpassed 1.2 million cases on Saturday and the climbing death toll reached 64,667. Against that global backdrop, millions of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scattered throughout the world gathered in houses, apartments, shacks and shanties to hear their prophet leader point the world toward Jesus Christ with a simple invitation: “Hear him.”

President Russell M. Nelson asked that global audience and other believers to join him in calling on the powers of heaven with a day of fasting and prayer this week on Good Friday, a Christian holy day leading into Sunday’s Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

“During times of deep distress, as when illness reaches pandemic proportions, the most natural thing for us to do is to call upon our Heavenly Father and his Son — the master healer — to show forth their marvelous power to bless the people of the Earth,” he said.

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The invitation came during the last address of the third session of the church’s 190th Annual General Conference, which itself was reshaped dramatically by the coronavirus pandemic. The speakers addressed an empty auditorium in the Church Office Building off of Temple Square rather than 21,000 people per session in the Conference Center. They sat in chairs spaced more than 6 feet apart.

The day-ending talk by President Nelson was a bookend to his opening address in the morning, when he announced a solemn assembly and Hosanna Shout celebration to be conducted at the end of Sunday’s morning session of conference.

The purpose of the solemn assembly and shout, he said, is to “express in global unison our profound gratitude to God the Father and his Beloved Son by praising them in this unique way.”

The ceremony and the fast will ensure the Lord will “hear us” even as Latter-day Saints focus this weekend on celebrating the bicentennial of the First Vision, which they honor as the spring 1820 event that launched the Restoration of the fulness of Christ’s gospel, when Heavenly Father appeared with his Son and told Joseph Smith to “hear him.”

The juxtaposition of the pandemic and the celebration of the Restoration was a crystal clear indication of Latter-day Saint faith that while life is difficult, peace is found in Christ and his restored gospel.

The new symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | IRI

“The purpose of this and every general conference is to help us to hear him,” President Nelson said. During his morning talk, he invited all people to commence a lifelong quest to hear Christ. In the evening, he announced a new official symbol for the church that is unmistakably centered on Christ.

The symbol consists of an image of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s marble Christus statue standing in an arch over a cornerstone bearing the name of the church, with the words “Jesus Christ” larger than the rest.

“This symbol will now be used as a visual identifier for official literature, news and events of the church,” President Nelson said. Within an hour, the image became part of the church’s official Twitter account. “It will remind all that this is the Savior’s church and that all we do, as members of his church, centers on Jesus Christ and his gospel.”

The 20 talks delivered Saturday centered squarely on Christ, the First Vision and the Restoration of the gospel and priesthood. The pandemic was omnipresent because of the unusual nature of the broadcast from an empty auditorium relatively few of the church’s 16.5 million members had seen before, and use of recordings by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

Temple Square and the Conference Center grounds usually teem with tens of thousands of people on a conference Saturday. This time, the gates on Temple Square were closed. The Conference Center was a ghost town.

The church campus that sprawls to the east of the temple and includes the Church Office Building tower was open, but only a handful of visitors walked the site even between sessions.

Impact of coronavirus

President Nelson immediately acknowledged the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the church. Its 168 temples are closed, its missionary program has been interrupted and some of its congregations haven’t been able to gather for 10 weeks.

“Little did I know,” he said, “when I promised you at the October 2019 general conference that this April conference would be memorable and unforgettable, that speaking to a visible congregation of fewer than 10 people would make this conference so memorable and unforgettable for me.”

Based on social media, many of the millions sequestered at home did find the first day memorable.

Preparing for this conference by focusing on the First Vision, Restoration and Book of Mormon — as prescribed by President Nelson last fall — was “a hinge point in my personal history,” said President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency. “I felt changes in my heart. I felt new gratitude. I felt filled with joy at the prospect of being invited to participate in this celebration of the ongoing Restoration.”

President Nelson counseled members that life is full of trials beyond the pandemic and urged them to remember that Christ told them in Latter-day Saint scripture that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”

“Of course we can store our own reserves of food, water and savings, but equally crucial is our need to fill our personal spiritual storehouses with faith, truth and testimony,” he said.

Leader after leader spoke about applicable lessons of the First Vision, when in the midst of a religious tumult, God’s counsel was to hear Christ. For months leaders have used the hashtag #HearHim to prepare members for this conference.

Several also strung a thread from the Restoration through today to the Second Coming of Christ, calling the Restoration an ongoing process.

A key continuing lesson of the First Vision is the power of personal prayer, said President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“Joseph came to realize that the Bible did not contain all the answers to life’s questions; rather, it taught men and women how they could find answers to their questions by communicating directly with God through prayer,” he said.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also said Joseph Smith’s experiences with deity have parallels to the individualized experiences all people can have with God.

”We hear him in our prayers, in our homes, in the scriptures, in our hymns, as we worthily partake of the sacrament, as we declare our faith, as we serve others and as we attend the temple with fellow believers,” he said. Those experiences build powerful bulwarks in times of trouble.

“Along with the peaceful direction we receive from the Holy Ghost, from time to time, God powerfully and very personally assures each of us that he knows us and loves us, and that he is blessing us specifically and openly. Then, in our moments of difficulty, the Savior brings these experiences back into our mind.”

Remember the sacrifice

Several messages touched on other visions, visitations and events of the early Restoration. President Ballard spoke using four primary accounts of the First Vision and about the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, who is President Ballard’s great-great-grandfather.

“As we celebrate this joyous occasion, the 200th anniversary of the First Vision,” he said, “we should always remember the price Joseph and Hyrum Smith paid, along with so many other faithful men, women and children, to establish the church so you and I could enjoy the many blessings and revealed truths we have today. Their faithfulness should never be forgotten.”

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the visitations of the Angel Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon, to Joseph Smith in 1823.

“Following the First Vision, the miraculous coming forth of the Book of Mormon is the second fundamental milestone of the unfolding restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this dispensation,” Elder Soares said.

He said it is the book of scripture is a keystone of his personal faith and encouraged members to make it theirs, too.

Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé tied the Christus that is now part of the church’s official symbol and a statue at many of the visitors’ centers at its temple to the Book of Mormon’s message of Christ.

Thorvaldsen sculpted the Christus in 1820, the same year as the First Vision, and Bishop Caussé said it “presents the living Christ, who gained victory over death and, with open arms, invites all to come unto him,” and that is the reason it is loved by Latter-day Saints.

“The climax of the Book of Mormon,” he said, is when Christ visits the people of the Americas after his resurrection and “is contained in this image of the Savior tenderly extending his ‘arms of mercy’ to invite each individual to come unto him and receive the blessings of his Atonement.”

Christ taught that the transformation he asks from his disciples begins with being drawn to him, said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve.

“What does it take for you to be drawn to the Savior?” Elder Renlund asked. “Consider Jesus Christ’s submission to his Father’s will, his victory over death, his taking upon himself your sins and mistakes, his receiving power from the Father to make intercession for you, and his ultimate redemption of you. Are these things not sufficient to draw you to him? They are for me.”

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, made a similar point using the Salt Lake Temple renovation that began in January. The renovation is scheduled to last four years and include the installation of a base isolation system under the massive stone landmark to protect it from earthquakes.

“How could this extensive renewal of the Salt Lake Temple inspire us to undergo our own spiritual renewal, reconstruction, rebirth, revitalization or restoration?” he asked.

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He suggested members consider their personal foundations, the cornerstones on which their testimonies rest.

“What are the foundational elements of my spiritual and emotional character that will allow me and my family to remain steadfast and immovable, even to withstand the earthshaking and tumultuous seismic events that will surely take place in our lives?” he said.

The priesthood

Four speakers addressed the authority, restoration of, power and use of the priesthood and how it blesses young women, young men and women.

President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, and Sister Jean B. Bingham, the Relief Society general president, spoke about the priesthood and men and women.

“Priesthood is not those who have been ordained to a priesthood office or those who exercise its authority,” President Oaks said. “Men who hold the priesthood are not the priesthood. While we should not refer to ordained men as the priesthood, it is appropriate to refer to them as holders of the priesthood.”

Men and women both officiate in priesthood ordinances under the keys and direction of a priesthood holder.

“Though women do not hold an office in the priesthood,” he said, “they perform sacred temple ordinances under the authorization of the president of the temple, who holds the keys for the ordinances of the temple.”

He gave additional examples. Women and men exercise priesthood authority in missionary callings and leadership positions in Latter-day Saint congregations when set apart by priesthood leaders.

Also, when a father is absent, a mother is the family leader and presides in her home. She “is instrumental in bringing the power and blessings of the priesthood into her family through her endowment and sealing in the temple,” President Oaks said. “While she is not authorized to give the priesthood blessings that can only be given by a person holding a certain office in the priesthood, she can perform all of the other functions of family leadership. In doing so she exercises the power of the priesthood for the benefit of the children over whom she presides in her position of leadership in the family.”

Sister Bingham spoke about the need for men and women, husbands and wives, to work unitedly in accomplishing God’s work.

“Are we ready?” she asked. “Will we strive to overcome cultural bias and instead embrace divine patterns and practices based on foundational doctrine?”

She added, “One of the keys is to understand that when women and men work together we accomplish a great deal more than we do working separately. Our roles are complementary rather than competitive. Although women are not ordained to a priesthood office, as noted previously, women are blessed with priesthood power as they keep their covenants and they operate with priesthood authority when they are set apart to a calling.”

The vital role of women

Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president, said women have vital continuing roles in the Restoration and a distinctive place in our Heavenly Father’s plan.

“Our prophet’s words are continually with me as I contemplate women’s ability to step forward,” she said. “He pleads with us, which indicates priority. He is teaching us how to survive spiritually in a sin-sick world by receiving and acting on revelation.”

She said the preeminent role of women in the ongoing Restoration is “to hear him, to follow him, to trust him and to become an extension of his love.”

Two teenage speakers also addressed the subject of priesthood. Sister Laudy Ruth Kaouk, 17, and Brother Enzo Serge Petelo, 15, spoke about how the it blesses youth.

Kaouk, who attends the Spanish-speaking Slate Canyon 14th Ward in the Provo Utah Stake, said she asks for priesthood blessings when she needs extra guidance. She also connects to God by regularly attending the temple and reading her patriarchal blessing.

Petelo, a priest in the Meadow Wood Ward of the Provo Utah Edgemont Stake, said serving in and with the priesthood can unite youths, help strengthen them and place them “in joint service with John the Baptist, Moroni, Joseph Smith, President Nelson and other diligent servants of the Lord.”

The last time a youth spoke in conference was April 1997, when three young women spoke during the women’s session.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve tied Sunday morning’s collective Hosanna Shout to Good Friday and Easter.

“With hosanna and hallelujah, we celebrate the living Jesus Christ at this season of continuing Restoration and Easter,” he said. “... In both, we rejoice in the return of Jesus Christ. He lives, not only then, but now; not just for some, but for all. He came and comes to heal the brokenhearted, deliver the captives, recover sight to the blind, and set at liberty those who are bruised.

“That’s each of us. His redeeming promises apply, no matter our past, our present, our concerns for our future.”

He said the church is also celebrating the Restoration and the resurrection, especially with Palm Sunday tomorrow and Easter next Sunday.

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“The sacred events between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the story of hosanna and hallelujah,” Elder Gong said. “Hosanna is our plea for God to save. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah, we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration.”

President Nelson’s closing address put the day’s message in perspective by calling for action.

“As followers of Jesus Christ, living in a day when the COVID-19 pandemic has put the world in commotion, let us not talk of Christ or preach of Christ or employ a symbol representing Christ,” he said. “Let us put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ into action.”

During the fast, he said, “Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic. I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened and life normalized.”

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