November 7, 2025, 4:00 AM MST
Editor’s note: To support individual and family gospel study, Church News is publishing articles about the October 2025 general conference messages. In addition to checking out these resources, we encourage you to listen and read the entire address.
About this lecture
Click here for the full message. Click here for a summary of Elder Cook’s message.
overview
Today can be considered the “worst of times,” but it can also be defined as the “best of times,” because the Lord is hastening His work. This is the day when the Lord’s followers are privileged to hear His voice. Thousands of people joined the church between 1837 and 1850 as some of the early apostles preached in England. The Lord directed these new members to gather in Utah. The Deseret News described one group that arrived in the Salt Lake Valley as “sunburned from walking and exposed to the elements, but in good spirits” and “looking happy.” Just as President Brigham Young welcomed these new members, today’s new and returning members can be assured: “We love you. We need you. The Lord needs you.” The Church is seeing a remarkable increase in converts and proselyte participation around the world. Nearly 900,000 converts have been baptized in the past 36 months. In the first six months of 2025, conversions increased by more than 20% year-on-year in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America. Converts no longer gather in a central location, and resources are now available to support congregations around the world. Latter-day Saints everywhere have a sacred obligation to accept and welcome new and returning members. To new or returning members: Be patient with yourself, focus on the covenants necessary for exaltation, and remember that studying the scriptures and learning the doctrine of Christ is a lifelong pursuit. Church members are not perfect and we all make mistakes. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes daily repentance possible. In a world of constant turmoil, following the Savior is never easy. It wasn’t easy for the Savior in His mortal life, it wasn’t easy for early church leaders and members, and it wasn’t easy for Latter-day Saints today. Fortunately, living prophets have the guidance we need especially on this day.
reflection questions
In what ways would today be considered the “worst of times” and the “best of times”?
What do you think of the statistics Elder Cook listed regarding church growth?
Think back to a time when you were the “new guy” somewhere, perhaps at work, school, or a community event. What made you feel welcome and comfortable?
What can our congregations do to better accommodate and welcome new and returning members? What exactly can we do?
What counsel would you give to new or returning members to strengthen their faith?
speaker’s words
“To all the new converts and those returning to the Lord’s Church, we affirm once again: We love you. We need you. The Lord needs you. Although we may not be able to welcome you with a marching band, we pray that the blessings of heaven will respond to your efforts to advance along the covenant path that leads to God the Father and Jesus Christ in the celestial kingdom.” “Following the Savior and His doctrine and teachings in a world of constant turmoil has never been easy. It has not been easy in a world of instability during the Savior’s sojourn on earth. And fortunately, living prophets provide the guidance we especially need in our time.”
Reference scripture
“That the fulness of my gospel may be preached by the weak and the simple, to the end of the world, and before kings and rulers.” “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and spirit, and lived in righteousness; and there was not one poor among them. ” “Therefore you must go forward in a perfect brightness of hope and in love for God and for all men, steadfastness in Christ. Go forward enjoying the words of Christ and endure to the end, and behold, thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life.”
invitation and promise
“The Lord is truly accelerating His work in our time, and we should be truly grateful for that acceleration that has been and is occurring despite these difficult times. We are privileged to hear His followers hear His voice and respond with open hearts. “Our sacred duty is to receive and welcome new and returning members. As the Lord hastens His work, we must love, nurture, and serve those who embrace His gospel. We can help build up the people of Zion.” (Moses 7:18) To be one with the Lord, all members of the Church, regardless of the date of baptism, must share the responsibility of welcoming others. ”Although he also lived in turbulent and violent times, he was focused on the perfection of the saints rather than the political agenda of the time.
story
In 1852, many converts from England and Wales arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. The First Presidency, accompanied by Captain Pitt’s band, met the converts at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. The Deseret News said of the group, “They were walking, sunburned and exposed to the elements, but they were not depressed. Their hearts were light and cheerful, and this was evident in their happy and joyful faces.” President Brigham Young said to them, “We have been praying continually for you.”
From footnote
2. One of (Charles) Dickens’ themes was the idea of personal transformation in times of social unrest. 10. Most of these (early) converts were from working class backgrounds. Charles Dickens observed some of them preparing to travel to the United States on the Amazon. He was positive in his evaluation. He described them as “in that degree the pick and flower of England” (‘The Uncommercial Traveler’, ‘All the Year Round’, 4 July 1863, p. 446). See also 1 Corinthians 1:26–28.17. By the 1890s, church leaders began encouraging members to remain in their hometowns rather than congregating in Utah. The first stakes outside the Intermountain West were established in the 1920s, and the first stakes outside the United States and Canada were established in New Zealand (see Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History, edited by Brandon S. Proulx, 2014, pages 184–85).
additional resources
Recent Conference Talks on Affiliation
Who is Elder Cook?
Elder Quentin L. Cook was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 6, 2007. He worked as a lawyer and businessman in California. At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy in 1996, Elder Cook was vice president of the Sutter/California Health System.
