This article is the first in our Countdown to Conference series, created to help you prepare your heart for October 2025 General Conference. Each week, we’re sharing exclusive resources including downloadable freebies, inspiring guides, and uplifting quotes. Join us in the journey and make this conference more meaningful than ever—sign up here!
General conference is a gift from God—an opportunity to hear His voice through living prophets and apostles. For many, it feels like a spiritual feast, a time of renewal and joy. The music uplifts, the testimonies inspire, and the Spirit confirms eternal truths in deeply personal ways. Hearts are lifted, and lives are redirected with new hope.
At the same time, each of us comes to conference carrying different circumstances. Some arrive rejoicing, others arrive weary, distracted, or uncertain. The Lord knows both places well, and He honors every effort to come closer to Him. Preparing for conference doesn’t mean having it all together—it means offering what you have and letting Him meet you there.
This article offers simple, spiritually focused ways to do just that. It begins with reflection—taking time to understand your heart and your needs—before moving into practical steps that open you to the Spirit and help you trust that God has something meant for you this conference.
Begin With Reflection
Before diving into preparation, take a few moments to reflect and pray. These questions can help you honestly assess where you are and invite the Lord to guide your preparation:
- Where am I spiritually right now?
- What is at the forefront of my mind as conference approaches?
- What do I most hope to hear or feel during conference?
- What doubts, struggles, or distractions keep me from being fully open to the Spirit?
- Where would I like to be in my faith journey six months from now, when the next conference arrives?
- What am I willing to do now to invite greater revelation into my life?
Write down your impressions and keep them somewhere you’ll see often—in your scriptures, on your bathroom mirror, or even as a reminder on your phone. These reflections will anchor your preparation in honesty and faith.
1. Bring Your Desires to the Lord
One of the simplest and most powerful ways to prepare for conference is to be honest with God about what you hope for. He invites you to bring Him your real questions, your needs, and even your longings for comfort or reassurance.
The Savior promised, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). Even when answers come in unexpected ways, the very act of turning to Him opens the door to peace.
As you pray in the days leading to conference, try telling the Lord what you most hope to receive—whether that’s comfort, clarity, or simply a deeper witness of His love. Trust that He treasures your willingness to come, and that He will guide you toward the blessings you need in His time and way.
2. Focus on God’s Love for You
Shifting your focus to God’s love changes how you hear conference. Talks become less like demands and more like reminders that you are known and cherished. Before each session, whisper to yourself, “God loves me. He wants me to hear something today.” That simple truth can soften your heart to feel His presence more fully.
Take encouragement from Sister Tamara Runia’s declaration that “Your worth isn’t tied to obedience. Your worth is constant; it never changes. It was given to you by God, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do to change it.”
As you ponder that message, consider your own circumstances and replace the word “obedience” with one that applies more personally to you. No matter what word you choose, you’ll arrive at the same truth: God loves you, regardless of what you feel or do.
3. Believe That Every Talk Has Something for You
It’s tempting to tune out when a message doesn’t seem to apply to your life. But President Henry B. Eyring testified, “If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference, you will find it.”
Even if only a single phrase stands out, it can be the Lord’s way of answering your prayers. Try jotting down one word or sentence from each talk that resonates, even if you don’t understand why yet. Later, those small notes may come together to form a clear picture of what God wants you to know.
Trust that there will always be something—however small—that is meant just for you.
4. Turn to Scripture Stories for Perspective
The scriptures are full of people who longed for answers. Enos went into the forest to hunt, but instead he wrestled in mighty prayer and received forgiveness and direction (Enos 1:3–5). Like him, you may enter conference weighed down by everyday concerns but leave with heaven’s perspective.
In your scripture study over the weeks leading up to conference, look for individuals in scripture who sought guidance or deliverance—Nephi in the Book of Mormon, Hannah in the Old Testament, Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. Their stories remind us that God speaks to those who sincerely seek Him.
Look for ways to emulate their righteous and inspired choices, and let their examples encourage you that your own prayers, however simple, matter to God and can open the way to revelation.
5. Create Space for Revelation
Busy schedules, noisy homes, or heavy emotions can make it hard to notice spiritual impressions. Revelation often comes quietly, after the words are spoken. As conference draws closer, make sure that you are not rushing through prayers or moving on to the next part of your day before the Spirit has had a chance to speak.
As you listen to conference, try making space for stillness—even for just a few minutes after each session. Keep a notebook nearby and jot down one phrase, question, or impression. If you’re watching later, don’t be afraid to pause and ponder. Peace often comes in the pauses.
When revelation feels slow to come, remember the times when the Lord’s answer was clear, trusting that you will find that certainty again. Recall His words to Oliver Cowdery: “Cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart…Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:22-23)
6. Seek Forgiveness and a Fresh Start
Repentance is one of the most hopeful gifts we have. Sometimes we fear that too much time has passed or that our mistakes put us beyond His patience. Repentance, however, is not a punishment—it is the Savior’s invitation to return to Him.
King Benjamin’s people discovered this when they pleaded for mercy and then felt a “mighty change…in [their] hearts” (Mosiah 5:2). Forgiveness didn’t just remove their guilt—it transformed them, filling them with joy and clarity.
The same promise is available to us. A prayer of repentance, however simple, invites the Savior’s grace. If needed, seek support from your bishop. Every step toward Him creates more space for inspiration and peace.
7. Fast With a Purpose
Fasting is more than going without food—it is a spiritual gift that draws us closer to heaven. When combined with prayer, fasting sharpens our ability to hear the Spirit and opens us to blessings that might otherwise be missed.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught, “Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit.” By setting aside physical needs for a time, we create space for greater spiritual sensitivity. For those with medical constraints, a different sacrifice—such as fasting from social media or another distraction—can still invite the Spirit in powerful ways.
The Lord promised that a true fast will “undo the heavy burdens” (Isaiah 58:6), “guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought” (Isaiah 58:11). As conference approaches, consider choosing a purpose for your fast—seeking strength in a trial, clarity for a decision, or simply a deeper witness of God’s love.
8. Pray for the Speakers
Prophets, apostles, and leaders are disciples who also carry human weaknesses and burdens. They are authorized to deliver God’s word, yet they depend on His Spirit just as we do.
The Lord has promised, “Speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; for it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say” (Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-6).
When you pray for the speakers, you join your faith to that promise. Ask the Lord to strengthen their voices and prepare your own heart to receive. That prayer blesses them—and it prepares you to hear with clarity and humility.
9. Commit to Act on Impressions
The true power of conference is unlocked when inspiration turns into action. The Spirit may whisper clear invitations, but without follow-through, those promptings fade. Acting, even in small ways, shows the Lord your willingness to follow Him.
Nephi modeled this kind of faith when he declared, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7).
As you prepare for general conference and seek Heavenly Father’s guidance in prayer, focus on cultivating real intent, committing to follow through on the promptings that you receive—now, and during conference. The Lord magnifies effort, and as you act, His guidance continues long after the final session ends.
A Parting Word of Hope
As you look over these invitations, pause and ask which are the most needed for you right now. You don’t need to take on all of them, just begin where the Spirit nudges you. Then, set specific goals to work towards—perhaps one each week—between now and the beginning of general conference.
Remember Elder Uchtdorf’s inspired insight: “We all know how hard it is to remember every message of general conference, and I’m confident that we need not be embarrassed if we don’t remember everything. Nevertheless, there are messages in each general conference given as a gift and a blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations.”
Hold on to that promise. The Lord has something prepared for you, and as you open yourself to Him, He will help you recognize it and feel His love more deeply.
What will you be doing to prepare for October 2025 General Conference? Share in the comments below!
Holly Wallace is a writer and storyteller drawn to meaningful questions and overlooked details. Her work explores Latter-day Saint life and culture through faithful inquiry, inviting readers to pause, consider, and engage more deeply with what matters most.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. I hope to gain clarity to my deepest concerns and questions as I bring them to the Lord. Thank you for sharing these very helpful insights as we prepare for General Conference.
So timely right now. I appreciate the helpful suggestions on making general conference the gift to us it is intended to be.