Grow in Confidence Before the Lord, President Nelson Invites at Conference

Download Photo

At the close of the April 2025 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, April 6, 2025, 100-year-old Church President Russell M. Nelson invited listeners to “grow in your confidence before the Lord” by diligently seeking to have charity and virtue, and to prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  

“The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be,” he said.

The Prophet also announced 15 new temples.

Grow in Confidence Before the Lord

President Nelson spoke of meeting a new great-granddaughter and feeling a desire to help her build her faith in Jesus Christ.

Download Photo

“She, like each of us, will face challenges. We all will experience illness, disappointment, temptation and loss,” he said. “These challenges can knock our self-confidence. However, disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence,” one that allows us to “wax strong in the presence of God.”

“I invite you to take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord,” he said. This means “having confidence in approaching God right now,” knowing that:  

•     “Heavenly Father hears us.”  
•     “He understands our needs better than we do.”
•     “He loves us more than we can comprehend.”  
•     “He sends angels to be with us and with those we love.”  
•     “He yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential.”

President Nelson said the Lord explained how to obtain such confidence when He taught, “Let thy bowels … be full of charity towards all men, … and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45; see also verse 46).

Charity

President Nelson called the current hostility in public dialogue and on social media “alarming” and said, “Contention prevents the Holy Ghost from being our constant companion.”  

Reiterating his 2023 general conference invitation to be peacemakers, he said, “True charity towards all men is the hallmark of peacemakers! It is imperative that we have charity in our discourse, both public and private. I thank those of you who took my previous counsel to heart. But we can still do better.  

“As followers of Jesus Christ, we should lead the way as peacemakers. As charity becomes part of our nature, we will lose the impulse to demean others. We will stop judging others. We will have charity for those from all walks of life.

“Let us plead with our Heavenly Father to fill our hearts with greater charity — especially for those who are difficult to love,” he said. “For charity is a gift from our Heavenly Father for true followers of Jesus Christ. The Savior is the Prince of Peace. We are to be His instruments for peace.”

Virtue

“The Lord tells us to garnish our thoughts unceasingly with virtue” (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:45), the Prophet said. “Virtue makes everything better and happier” and “will free you from anxious, troublesome thoughts. 

“Brothers and sisters, as the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure. Our thoughts, words, and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous, and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ towards all men.”

Prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

President Nelson said that even though we do not know the day or the hour of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, “I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that ‘Great and dreadful day’” (Malachi 4:5; see also Zephaniah 1:14–18).

“He is preparing to come again. May we likewise prepare to receive Him,” he said.

Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming, he taught, and it will increase our capacity for both charity and virtue and our confidence before Him.  

He concluded with a promise that “as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy and our faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”