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With 1,242 references to Jesus Christ by those who spoke, prayed and sang on Easter Sunday, the focus of Latter-day Saints worldwide was manifestly clear.
President Dallin H. Oaks confirmed in his brief concluding comments that Christ was the theme of the 196th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The Tabernacle Choir has just sung a musical prayer, ‘Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,’” he said. “What a suitable summary of the messages of these last two days. Soon we will close the conference with ‘Redeemer of Israel.’ Both hymns continue the focus of the two days of this conference.”
The first verse of the second of those hymns lists descriptions of Christ’s meaning to Latter-day Saints:
- “Our only delight.
- “Our shadow by day.
- “Our pillar by night.
- “Our king.
- “Our deliverer.
- “Our all.”
President Oaks said as much in bookend comments at the start and end of the general conference.
On Saturday morning, before the solemn assembly where church members sustained him as the new church president, President Oaks said, “I reaffirm our testimony of the Resurrected Lord and recognize that he is the head of this church.”
As he closed the conference on Sunday afternoon, he said, “Truly, Jesus Christ is the way to peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.”
In his one, full-length talk offered on Sunday morning, President Oaks said, “The spirit of the Lord has inspired all of us to concentrate our worship, focus our learning and unite our testimonies on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and his father’s plan for our eternal increase and joy.”
Here’s a look at the weekend’s conference by the numbers:
- 17,887,212 million Latter-day Saints, as of Dec. 31. (It’s possible the church surpassed 18 million members in the first quarter of this year, given its recent rate of growth.)
- 385,490 converts baptized in 2025. That’s a church record, as noted last night in ChurchBeat. It is 76,808 more convert baptisms than in 2024. It is also 54,000 more than the previous record year in 1990.
- 79,010 conference attendees for the four sessions, including overflow at the Tabernacle on Temple Square, according to Church Communications.
- 1,242 references to Jesus Christ on Sunday alone, by my count.
- 4 sessions of general conference instead of the five the church has held annually since 1977.
- 34 talks in the four sessions this weekend. (Eight talks per session on Saturday, nine talks per session on Sunday.)
- 33 talks in the October 2025 general conference that had five sessions.
- 3 solemn assemblies since 2018, one that year for President Russell M. Nelson, one for the Bicentennial Proclamation in 2020 and one on Saturday for President Dallin H. Oaks.
- 1 new Primary general presidency, including the first African president of a church general organization.
- 383 temples in various stages of planning, construction and operation.
- 8 new General Authority Seventies.
- 6 General Authority Seventies receiving emeritus status.
- 91 new Area Seventies called at the leadership meeting on Thursday.
- 73 released Area Seventies.
More from conference
- President Oaks concludes conference by saying ‘look to God and live’ (Sunday)
- In first full conference talk as prophet, President Oaks calls Resurrection a ‘pillar of our faith’ (Sunday)
- Latter-day Saint membership passed 17.88 million in 2025 as church’s growth accelerates (Saturday)
- Meet the church’s new Primary general presidency, including the first president from Africa (Saturday)
- Millions usher in new Latter-day Saint prophet, president at solemn assembly (Saturday)
Behind the scenes
Here are some of my favorite photographs from Sunday’s sessions of general conference. To pick out your own favorites, click here to the see the Deseret News photo galleries.
