We were promised April 2020’s General Conference would be unforgettable if we prepared well.
I didn’t know beforehand how the Conference would be so unforgettable; the First Vision and the Restoration has always been very dear to my heart since joining the Church in my early 20’s.
At that time joining a church was the last thing on my mind; I did not want to join any social club or institution – I did not feel lost. But, once I heard about the First Vision and the Restoration I knew I had to find out for myself if it was true. And, once I had that confirmation, the new knowledge became key to my new chosen path. Knowing the First Vision and the Restoration was true, changed everything going forward.
On my mission the following year, as I studied and taught the First Vision and the Restoration, my testimony of them became even stronger.
Now, many years after my conversion, I listened to all the talks of the April 2020 conference and made notes. As I did so, I came up with a number of things I could change and refine, but I had not reached the ‘unforgettable’ stage.
But as I watched the Sunday morning session and listened to President Nelson, the same feeling and excitement I experienced the first time I studied the First Vision and the Restoration, suddenly came back to me. The reciting of the Bicentennial Proclamation and the following music were very powerfully felt by me.
Knowing that the First Vision and the Restoration are true is key to all of us. All the other details surrounding the First Vision, and the period of the Restoration of the Church and the gospel, are less important.
It is quite simple, either the First Vision happened, or it didn’t. That is what we need to work out. And if it happened then we need to act accordingly.