Enduring Love: Uplifting messages from the Lord

Every six months, nearly 7 million people around the world pause to listen to leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at general conference. On April 4 and 5, 2026, a “solemn assembly” was held, where members gathered to sustain the new prophet and presidency of the Church. My family and I had the opportunity to join them. This was a sacred and personal experience for me, as Elder D. Todd Christofferson, newly sustained counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, asked all young women to stand and sustain our leaders.

From this experience, I also noticed the repetition of certain scriptures and invitations. Even though the talks are written by many different speakers, I have found recurring messages throughout every conference I have attended or watched. In this conference, those recurring messages focused on some of the Savior’s most frequently emphasized teachings during His life on earth.

The most frequent of these was love. Although I only wrote it 11 times in my journal, research shows that love was mentioned 447 times in the talks from April’s conference alone. Elder David A. Bednar also directed us to insert the phrase “is possessed of the pure love of Jesus Christ” in place of “endure to the end.” This invites us to replace thoughts like “tolerate” or “survive,” with “nurture” and “growth.” Because “endure to the end” was mentioned so much, this change multiplies the mention of love even further.

In the New Testament, the word “endure” stems from the Greek roots “hypomonē” which is the state of “endurance,” and “hypomenō” which means “to endure” or “to remain under.” Historically these describe bearing up under a heavy weight or simply remaining in place after others have left. In fact, scholars often use the imagery of “weightlifters” to explain this—much like Aaron and Hur supporting Moses’ arms at Rephidim. This resolve lets someone “remain under” a trial with that same active determination.

So how can we be possessed of the pure love of Christ? Our family has used the phrase “it builds character” my entire life. Although we laugh about it, I think keeping that growth mindset in our everyday lives is an important skill to have. When we are pressed with challenging circumstances we can remember that God is giving us opportunities to grow. The point is, we don’t have to build character alone. God is always ready and willing to help us grow. In fact, I think it’s one of His favorite activities. But in all seriousness, our Heavenly Father wants to see us reach our full potential, which we cannot do without the refining trials of this life—and that’s exactly the point!

In my faith, we stand and raise our right hands as evidence of our commitment to help and support our leaders as much as we can. This reminds me again of the battle at Rephidim, where Aaron and Hur helped lift the hands of their leader. Sometimes, without even realizing it, God asks us to endure things so that others will not have to do it alone. I think this is a perfect example of being possessed of the pure love of Christ. The best way we can show the love of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, is by being there for and supporting those around us.

Whether we are raising our right hand or giving a high-five with that same hand, the invitation is the same. We aren’t here to only “tolerate” or “survive” life when it gets hard. We are here to learn and grow from those challenges. And I don’t think God wants any of His children to go through these situations alone. Maybe we send a text to an old friend, or maybe we just say “hi,” when we pass someone in the halls. Receiving texts from friends always helps me feel recognized by my Heavenly Father. There are always ways for us to act and share God’s love. His words and messages from General Conference remind me that He has asked us to endure, but He has not asked us to endure alone.

When Darla Petersen isn't dancing, she enjoys reading, writing and learning new things. She is 15 years old, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a loud-and-proud sister of six. Messages from conference are accessible online at www.churchofjesuschrist.org.