President Lorenzo Snow on blessings from general conference

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"Pray for the Brethren at conference time. When the Brethren arise to speak you should ask the Lord to let them say something that you want to know, that they may suggest something to you that will be of some advantage. If you have any desire to know certain matters that you do not understand, pray that these brethren in their talks may say something that shall enlighten your mind in reference to that which troubles you, and we will have a grand and glorious conference, a better one than we have ever had before. Strange as it may appear, our last conference always seems the best, and may this be the case; and you brethren and sisters, let your hearts rise up to the Lord and exercise faith while our brethren are talking to you. We will not be disappointed, and you will not go home, you will not retire from this conference, without feeling you have been greatly and abundantly blessed."

- Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, 5 October 1900, p. 5

General conference offers many blessings to willing listeners. President Snow points out the shared responsibility of speaker and listener; we are invited to bring our problems and questions to the setting, and allow the Lord to inspire us with answers and direction. As we humbly seek for help, the Spirit "will enlighten your mind" with help and guidance, "and we will have a grand and glorious conference."

I have often felt that sentiment, that this was the best conference ever! And we each have the opportunity to feel it again. If we contribute our part of the efforts, it will be the best conference for each of us personally.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2022)
September 29, 2017

President Lorenzo Snow on our gradual growth towards perfection

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"Let us be faithful and keep the commandments of God. Let us never allow our prospects to become dimmed; let them be fresh before us by day and by night, and I will assure you that if we will do this our growth from day to day and from year to year will be marvelous.

"We can look back new and we can see that we have advanced. We have not stood still, but we have been moving along and gradually increasing our growth. The child grows from childhood to boyhood, and from boyhood to manhood, with a constant and steady growth; but he cannot tell how or when the growth occurs. He does not realize that he is growing; but by observing the laws of health and being prudent in his course he eventually arrives at manhood.

"So in reference to ourselves as Latter-day Saints. We grow and increase. We are not aware of it at the moment; but after a year or so we discover that we are, so to speak, away up the hill, nearing the mountain top. We feel that we have faith in the Lord; that His providences are always beneficial; that we are connected with Him; that He is actually our Father, and that he leads us along in life."

- Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, Apr. 1899, 2

President Snow challenged his listeners to keep their "prospects" in the eternal sense bright and "fresh" so that they could continue to grow and prosper. We can do much to influence those prospects in our lives as we strive to follow the Gospel path, obey the commandments, and remain faithful to our covenants. We will see that continual, steady growth is the result:

Our physical growth is very gradual, so as to be imperceptible when viewed from moment to moment or day to day. But as we compare over time, we see that much has changed. President Snow suggests the same is true in the life of a faithful disciple. Our spiritual growth should be always occurring, and over time, we will not profound and significant changes.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)

President Lorenzo Snow on preparing for general conference

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"I suppose that many of the audience now before me have come from a long distance to meet with us in this general conference; and that all have been moved to gather here by pure motives—by a desire to improve and perfect themselves in matters that pertain to their usefulness in the kingdom of God. In order that we may not be disappointed in this, it becomes necessary that we prepare our hearts to receive and profit by the suggestions that may be made by the speakers during the progress of the Conference, which may be prompted by the Spirit of the Lord. I have thought, and still think, that our being edified does not so much depend upon the speaker as upon ourselves."

- Lorenzo Snow, 6 October 1898, Conference Report p. 1

President Lorenzo Snow had been president of the Church for less than a month when he offered this counsel. He was 84 years old, and would lead the Church for the next 3 years.

We are blessed in our day to have general conference available to us, in most cases, with very little effort and sacrifice. The need to "come from a long distance" to participate and receive instruction has long passed. With Internet streaming available, anyone with a device and a reliable connection can participate live in scores of languages.

But one thing has not changed, and can't be fixed by technology. The benefit from general conference requires "a desire to improve and perfect" ourselves as we listen in humility and and eagerness to be taught.

And so the burden is on each of us, to "prepare our hearts" in anticipation of an upcoming conference in order that we may be blessed by inspired messages that will speak to our minds and hearts.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)

President Lorenzo Snow on rewards that follow trials

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"The sacrifices you have made, the hardships you have endured and the privations you have suffered will … sink into insignificance, and you will rejoice that you have obtained the experience which they have furnished.… Some things we have to learn by that which we suffer, and knowledge secured in that way, though the process may be painful, will be of great value to us in the other life....

"I know that your lives have not been all sunshine; you have doubtless passed through many a trial, and perhaps have come up through much tribulation; but by continued integrity you will soon emerge from the shadows into the glorious sunshine of the celestial world."

- Lorenzo Snow, Deseret Evening News, July 2, 1901, 1

This is a message of hope and testimony. President Snow reassured his listeners that he was aware of the challenges and struggles many of them had faced. But in an eternal perspective, such things "sink into insignificance" in due time after they have provided us with the needed experience for which they are designed. There are, apparently, some things which must be learned in that way, and the benefits of those lessons extend not only through this life but into eternity.

The powerful image of returning to sunlight is always a blessing to us. When we seem to be in shadows and darkness, we must cling to these promises that we "will soon emerge... into the glorious sunshine."

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)

President Lorenzo Snow on blessings from general conference

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"Pray for the Brethren at conference time. When the Brethren arise to speak you should ask the Lord to let them say something that you want to know, that they may suggest something to you that will be of some advantage. If you have any desire to know certain matters that you do not understand, pray that these brethren in their talks may say something that shall enlighten your mind in reference to that which troubles you, and we will have a grand and glorious conference, a better one than we have ever had before. Strange as it may appear, our last conference always seems the best, and may this be the case; and you brethren and sisters, let your hearts rise up to the Lord and exercise faith while our brethren are talking to you. We will not be disappointed, and you will not go home, you will not retire from this conference, without feeling you have been greatly and abundantly blessed."

- Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, 5 October 1900, p. 5

General conference offers many blessings to willing listeners. President Snow points out the shared responsibility of speaker and listener; we are invited to bring our problems and questions to the setting, and allow the Lord to inspire us with answers and direction. As we humbly seek for help, the Spirit "will enlighten your mind" with help and guidance, "and we will have a grand and glorious conference."

I have often felt that sentiment, that this was the best conference ever! And we each have the opportunity to feel it again. If we contribute our part of the efforts, it will be the best conference for each of us personally.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)

President Lorenzo Snow on gradual and steady progress in life

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"Do not expect to become perfect at once. If you do, you will be disappointed. Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today. The temptations that perhaps partially overcome us today, let them not overcome us so far tomorrow. Thus continue to be a little better day by day; and do not let your life wear away without accomplishing good to others as well as to ourselves."

- Lorenzo Snow, Improvement Era, July 1901, 714.

We are often in a hurry to become perfect—to overcome our challenges and limitations and feel like we are making rapid progress. President Snow reminds us that growth and change often occur more slowly and gradually.

The key is to make our growth and progress "slow and steady" by ongoing small increments. If we are doing just a little better each day, by and by we will achieve the significant growth we seek. That includes dealing with our "temptations" or shortcomings; it is far better to be making small, incremental gains than to just be wishing for dramatic changes that continue to fail and fall short. This is a wise and measured perspective that will bless us as we grow in our discipleship. "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33).

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)

President Lorenzo Snow on finding happiness through eternal perspective

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"God bless you, by brethren and sisters, and let us try and be as perfect as we possibly can from day to day. No religion has in it such prospects as has the religion of the Latter-day Saints. Nothing was ever introduced to man equal to it in its grand and glorious advantages. We ought to enjoy our religion to such an extent as to be happy most all the time. We should never allow ourselves to get into a position where we cannot secure some happiness.

"The prospects that have been opened up to us are grand. In the next life we will have our bodies glorified and free from sickness and death. Nothing is so beautiful as a person in a resurrected and glorified condition. There is nothing more lovely than to be in this condition.... So long as we are faithful, nothing can prevent us from getting all the enjoyment that can be secured through prospects of this kind. Whether we are in prison, or whether we are in poverty, these prospects are always before us, if we live our religion. Now, brethren and sisters, be faithful, keep the commandments of God, and do not forget the teachings that you have had during the three days of this conference."

- Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, October 1900, p. 63
Click here to read the full talk

President Snow, speaking as an elderly man nearing the end of his life, describes the privileges of members of the Church to have peace and enjoyment in life. He claimed we should be "happy most of the time." It's interesting that he acknowledges there are occasional times of challenge where happiness is hard to retain. But he believed in the concept of our ability to choose a course of life in which happiness was always nearby:

Part of the key to happiness is understanding the eternal scope of our lives. Knowing what the future holds makes it easier to confront present difficulties. President Snow reminds us of the nature of resurrected, glorified beings; "nothing is so beautiful as a person" in such a state. We need only be faithful in life in order to secure those eternal prospects, and feel the strength they bring to us now.

Lorenzo Snow on knowledge and happiness in following the prophet

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"The design of the Lord in regard to ourselves, in regard to His people generally, is to bring them to that state and fulness of knowledge, and to that perfection which their spiritual organizations are susceptible of receiving or arriving at. There are certain laws established from all eternity for the purpose of effecting this object.

"The question is asked, 'Why are we under obligations to follow counsel?' Because that counsel possesses those qualities necessary to make us better here, and to exalt us to honor and glory hereafter. If it were not so, there would be no obligation on our part to follow counsel....

"No man can be more happy than by obeying [the living prophet's] counsel. You may go from east to west, from north to south, and tread this footstool of the Lord all over, and you cannot find a man that can make himself happy in this Church, only by applying the counsel of [the prophet] in this life; it is a matter of impossibility for a man to receive a fulness who is not susceptible of receiving and carrying out [the prophet's] counsel. An individual that applies the counsel of this Church is bound to increase in all that is good, for there is a fountain of counsel which the Lord has established. He has made it, has deposited that counsel, that wisdom and those riches, and it will circumscribe all that pertains unto good, unto salvation; all that pertains unto peace and unto happiness; all things that pertain to glory and to the exaltation of the Saints in this world and in the world to come."

- Lorenzo Snow, discourse in the Tabernacle, January 18, 1857; see JD 4:184
Click here to read the full discourse

President Snow spoke 159 years ago, admonishing the Saints of his day to heed the counsel of Brigham Young. I've taken the liberty of applying the principle to the currently living prophet.

It's interesting to consider the idea of a living prophet. Why would that be important to God, and important to us? President Snow proposes that God's purpose includes helping us attain a "fulness of knowledge" and to improve our current lives, as well as prepare us for eternal blessings. So following prophetic counsel in that spirit becomes a powerful blessing to us, as well as a vital need.

Ultimately, the assurance from President Snow is that our best chance at happiness in this life comes from carefully heeding the counsel of the living prophet. That's a great message to ponder, especially as we approach Conference weekend!

Lorenzo Snow on overcoming personal gloom by Christian love and service

Lorenzo Snow (1814-1901) was an early convert to the Church along with his sister Eliza R. Snow. He was called as an apostle by Brigham Young in 1849. He served as the 5th president of the Church from 1898 until his death in 1901.

"We should have before us a strong desire to do good to others. Never mind so much about ourselves. Good will come to us all right if we keep our minds outside of ourselves to a certain extent, and try to make others happier and draw them a little nearer to the Lord....

"When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated."

- Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, Apr. 1899, pp. 2-3

This is an expression of true Christianity: if we worry less about our own happiness and more about the happiness of those around us, blessings will follow and all will be right. Our desire should be to "do good to others" and to "try to make others happier," and even more importantly, to "draw them a little nearer to the Lord."

I appreciated the clarity of this teaching: it's the Spirit of the Lord that accompanies acts of kindness and love, and helps drive away the gloom and despair that can consume us. As we show charity and concern to others in the way the Savior would, we find His spirit is with us.