In some ways, it feels like the October 2023 General Conference just happened, but it’s almost time for another general conference. I recently saw two YouTube videos where people made some April 2024 General Conference predictions. The one was fun to listen to and included predictions about who would speak based on which members of the different auxiliaries haven’t spoken at conference in a while. It was a mix of serious predictions mixed with a few fun ones. The other felt a bit too “conspiracy theory” for me. Just for fun, I’d like to provide my own April 2024 General Conference predictions.
At Least One Country Gets Their First Temple Announced
Since becoming the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson has announced 153 temples. He’s announced up to 20 temples in a single session.
As some perspective, when I was born in November 1983, there were 25 dedicated temples. One more was dedicated a few days after I was born. The 153rd temple was dedicated in 2016. That means that in the roughly six years since President Nelson became president of the church, he’s announced about the same number of temples as were built in the church’s first 185 years.
Over the last few years, we’ve come to expect a long list of announced temples at every general conference. Some of these temples are being announced in countries that are getting their first temples. I’m sure the April 2024 General Conference in a few days will not disappoint when it comes to the number of temples and the location of temples announced.
I’m rooting for Antarctica to get its first temple. It’s the only continent without one. Of course, there would have to be an LDS population to support the temple, so maybe I’ll have to go with something more plausible. Maybe, some more plausible options would be Uganda or the Czech Republic.
An Average of 2 Speakers Per Session Will Not Speak in Their Native Language
As a worldwide church, we are seeing more and more General Authorities whose native language is not English. Because of that, I’m going to guess that on average, we will have two speakers per session whose native language is something other than English. That’s a total of 10 speakers. That might be a bit low since even several apostles are not native English speakers.
Patrick Kearon Will Give His First General Conference Talk as an Apostle
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb with this one. You can pretty much count on at least one talk from each member of the First Presidency and the Twelve unless someone has a health issue. Still, it will be good to hear from our new apostle. I would also predict that we will hear from every other member of the Twelve and each member of the First Presidency at least once.
Many of the Messages Will Be Familiar
Most of the general conference messages’ topics are not completely new or groundbreaking. With few exceptions, similar messages have been given in previous sessions. You can count on talks about topics such as families, our eternal worth, sharing the gospel, obedience, the Savior, and other familiar issues.
April 2024 Will Leave Us With New Perspective
Even though many of the topics are the same, it feels like there’s always at least two or three talks that stand out each sesssion. Maybe, I’m just ready to accept that message now. Maybe, it’s presented in a way that I understand it better. Perhaps, it’s a phrase from that talk that sticks in my head.
I have a feeling that April 2024 will have some talks that will stick with each of us, hopefully encouraging change in our lives. One great thing about that is that I can almost guarantee that at least one or two of the talks that stick with me the most will not be on your list of talks that stick with you the most. To me, this is evidence of the importance of each of the speakers.
Stories Will Remind Us that Trials Don’t Mean We’ve Sinned
I feel like a disproportionately high number of General Authorities have endured serious trials. Many of them have lost a child (or children) to death at a young age. Some have suffered serious health issues or been badly mistreated. Their stories help me gain perspective in my life. When I’m struggling with a trial and wondering what I did wrong to have to endure that problem, stories of righteous people enduring trials can be comforting. That’s not to say that I’d wish those trials on anyone.
We’re All Going to Feel Called Out
For anyone who starts watching the April 2024 General Conference wanting to learn and grow from it, there will be at least one or two moments where you’ll feel like you need to change in a specific way. This might be a series of small changes. It could be one small thing that you need to change. It could even be a significant change that you need to make in your life. For some people, it might be exchanging something good for something better. Ideally, you should leave the final session as a better person than you were a day and a half earlier, even if that change is only in the desire to be better.
We Will Hear “God Be With You Till We Meet Again”
I might be taking a chance with this one, but it is a popular last song of general conference. I haven’t looked at the statistics, but it does seem to be the most common final song. It’s a good reminder to keep living the gospel and to keep the Spirit with us between general conference sessions.
My April 2024 Noncommital Prediction
I’ve been back and forth on this issue. Originally, I was leaning toward at least one more temple being announced for Utah. Then I thought about how there were still several in some stage of construction, so I thought they might not announce another yet. Here’s my completely noncommital prediction since I’m taking a middle ground, not real prediction.
There Will Not Be Another Utah Temple Announced
Utah has more temples than any other state. I was actually thinking about predicting another Utah temple announcement, especially since the last one announced was in October 2021. There are still several in the renovation or building stage right now, so after some thought, I’m going to guess that we won’t see another Utah temple announced until April 2025.
… Or Maybe There Will Be
Actually, it’s been a while since there was a temple announced in Utah, so maybe we’ll get another one. Okay, I’ve got it. If one is announced, it will be in Southeast Utah. Otherwise, there won’t be a new Utah temple announced. I know. That’s a bit noncommital when it comes to my prediction. I could still be wrong, though.
I attempted to stick to noncontroversial, not-too-wild predictions. We’ll see how many come true this coming Saturday and Sunday.
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