PROVO, Utah — Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson told sisters gathered at BYU Women’s Conference in Provo, Utah, on Thursday how they can have more Jesus Christ in their lives.
The Savior promised in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
To open the door to him, President Johnson suggested six areas one can focus on more to “throw the door wide open to the Savior.”
“I am not suggesting you add something more to your to-do list to strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said.
President Johnson spoke about how to be more intentional and purposeful with “what you are already doing.”
“To have Jesus Christ in my life, I need prayer, scripture study, covenant making and keeping — including weekly participation in the sacrament; I need temple worship, repentance, forgiveness and service,” she said.
President Johnson pointed to the story of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Mary chose to sit at the Savior’s feet and learn from him. President Johnson described this as choosing the best part.
“For more Jesus Christ in your life, what are you willing to do, see and hear less of?” she asked. “Will you sit with that question for a moment and commit to less of something for more Jesus Christ in your life?”
Prayer
President Johnson referenced a talk at RootsTech 2025, when the late President Jeffrey R. Holland, then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke on two lessons he learned during a hospital stay.
“We are to pray more often, and in more places, than we do. And if you have prayed a lot, pray more,” President Holland said. “The other lesson was to testify, to be a witness. However much you testify, testify more.”
Said President Johnson, “Sisters, I believe we can be more intentional with the prayers we are offering to Heavenly Father to have more of his Son, Jesus Christ, in our lives.”
She also shared how she has been blessed by trying to pray more, with specific expressions of love and gratitude.
“In those prayers, always offered in the name of Jesus Christ, I am opening the door to having the Savior in my life.”
Scripture study
President Johnson again shared how she has been blessed in her own life by opening the door wide to Jesus Christ in her life by studying the scriptures.
“My days are best when I study the scriptures, searching for connections, patterns and themes,” she said. “We can be more purposeful in looking for types and symbols of Jesus Christ. I have learned important lessons from women whose stories are told in scripture. They poignantly make the point that when choosing Jesus Christ in difficulty, we discover increased strength and purpose and enjoy spiritual growth.”
Sacrament meeting
President Johnson said “all of us can make more of our sacrament experience by conscientiously preparing to take the emblems of the Savior’s death” during sacrament meetings.
This will require some advance work, President Johnson added.
“Because of my desire, I can choose to prioritize a Sabbath day atmosphere that invites self-reflection and softens my heart. I can joyfully repent in anticipation of partaking of the sacrament so that my covenant making is worthy.”
Temple worship
The lessons applied to enhance sacrament meeting worship can also apply to temple worship.
“It is celebratory worship in the house of the Lord,” President Johnson said. “Covenant making and keeping — on Sunday during the sacrament and when we joyfully worship in the house of the Lord — reflect our desire for a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ through covenant, we invite him to help us, and he will."
Forgiveness
Pointing to the Savior’s teachings in Matthew 6:14-15, President Johnson said forgiving others is a profound act of faith in Jesus Christ and his promises.
“Forgiving others is an elegant way to invite more Jesus Christ into our lives,” she said. “Accepting both sides of his Atonement — that His power pays for our sins and sorrow, and for the sins and sorrows of others — is throwing the door wide open to the Savior.”
Serving
Serving in the way the Savior would deepens and strengthens one’s relationship with him, President Johnson said.
“When I act as his hands and feet, or His kind speaking lips or patient ears, I draw closer to Him, become more like Him and prepare to live with Him,” she said.
In conclusion, President Johnson invited women to be “the holy women whose lamps are full of the oil of conversion and who let their light shine.”
