President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, spoke during the Saturday morning session of April 2024 general conference. He testified of the importance of temple covenants and urged all to qualify and become eligible to attend the temple. The following is a summary of what he said.
President Eyring’s talk summary
As Saints attend the temple, they can be reminded of their eternal nature, relationship with the Father and His Son, and desire to return to their heavenly home. The acceleration of temple building under President Russell M. Nelson’s leadership will allow all God’s children the opportunity to receive the ordinances of salvation and exaltation and to make and keep covenants.
Frequent participation in temple ordinances can create a pattern of devotion to the Lord and invite the Holy Ghost to strengthen and purify. Trials, challenges and heartaches will come to all. One can prepare to receive personal direction from the Lord by attending the temple and remembering covenants.
“I bear witness that there is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you make, or may make, in the temple. No matter where you are on the covenant path, I urge you to qualify and become eligible to attend the temple. Visit as frequently as circumstances will allow.”
After the Teton Dam collapsed in 1976, when the Eyrings were away from their children at the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, President Eyring assured his wife all would be well with their family because of covenants. “I can assure you of the same truth.”
Watch his message
Notable quotes
“Brothers and sisters, I humbly testify that as we attend the temple, we can be reminded of the eternal nature of our spirits, our relationship with the Father and His divine Son, and our ultimate desire to return to our heavenly home.”
“Trials, challenges, and heartaches will surely come to all of us. … Yet, as we attend the temple and remember our covenants, we can prepare to receive personal direction from the Lord.”
“My dear brothers and sisters, I bear witness that there is nothing more important than honoring the covenants you make, or may make, in the temple.”
See the full text of President Erying’s talk: ‘All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants’
Who is President Eyring?
- President Henry B. Eyring has been a general authority for almost four decades, called in 1985. He served as a counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley from 2007 to 2008, then to President Thomas S. Monson from 2008 to 2018. Now he is serving as second counselor to President Russell M. Nelson.
- While studying at Harvard, he met his wife, Sister Kathleen Johnson Eyring, when she enrolled in a Harvard summer program, and he “was immediately impressed by the goodness she radiated.” They were married in the Logan Utah Temple in July 1962 and are the parents of four sons and two daughters.
- He served as the 10th president of BYU–Idaho — then Ricks College — from 1971 to 1977. Forty years later, his son Henry J. Eyring was inaugurated as the 17th president of BYU–Idaho in September 2017.
What has President Eyring done recently?
- During the October 2023 general conference, he spoke on receiving the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
- Following the death of his wife, Sister Kathleen J. Eyring, in October 2023, President Eyring shared on social media that he had hope for the future.
- In March, President Eyring dedicated the Red Cliffs Utah Temple, sharing his hope that the southern Utah Latter-day Saints will express their appreciation of it through their attendance
Read more of President Eyring’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
