Conference and Gospel Topics Essays

[Oliblish]

Did anyone else notice the reference to the Gospel Topics essays during general conference?  Sunday Afternoon Elder Ian S. Ardern said this in his talk entitled "Seek Ye Out of the Best Books:"

 

Quote

The home is an ideal place for families to study and share valuable insights from the scriptures and the words of the prophets and to access Church material at LDS.org. There you will find an abundance of information about gospel topics such as the First Vision accounts. As we study from the best books, we protect ourselves against the menacing jaws of those that seek to gnaw at our spiritual roots. (emphasis mine)

 

This is the first reference to the essays that I have heard in conference as far as I know.  Did anyone else notice this?  It seems to be worded such that if you are not already aware of the essays it will not draw attention to them.  Is this the first step towards openly talking about these essays in conference in the future?

[Buckeye]

The Sunday afternoon session is where they bury stuff. Most people are asleep by then. 

[Rivers]

40 minutes ago, Buckeye said:

The Sunday afternoon session is where they bury stuff. Most people are asleep by then. 

They could announce women receiving the priesthood and nobody would notice.

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, Buckeye said:

The Sunday afternoon session is where they bury stuff. Most people are asleep by then. 

The subject matter of the Conference sermons is not set out ahead of time.  The speakers are free to speak on any subject.  Burying under such circumstances would require prophetic foresight.  

[Robert F. Smith]

2 hours ago, Oliblish said:

Did anyone else notice the reference to the Gospel Topics essays during general conference?  Sunday Afternoon Elder Ian S. Ardern said this in his talk entitled "Seek Ye Out of the Best Books:"

This is the first reference to the essays that I have heard in conference as far as I know.  Did anyone else notice this?  It seems to be worded such that if you are not already aware of the essays it will not draw attention to them.  Is this the first step towards openly talking about these essays in conference in the future?

Here are some other references to the Essays:

Richard Maynes in Ensign & Liahona, June 2017, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/06/the-first-vision-key-to-truth?lang=eng . 

Bethany Bartholomew in Liahona & New Era, April 2017, https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/04/youth/personalize-your-gospel-study?lang=eng 

Bethany Bartholomew in Liahona, Oct 2017, online at https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/digital/april/5-tips-for-personalizing-your-gospel-study?lang=eng . 

Elder M. Russell Ballard in Ensign, Dec 2016, online at https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/12/by-study-and-by-faith?lang=eng . 

Elder M. Russell Ballard, broadcast & transcript, Feb 26, 2016, online at https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/evening-with-a-general-authority/2016/02/the-opportunities-and-responsibilities-of-ces-teachers-in-the-21st-century?lang=eng . 

The Essay content is being inserted into lesson manuals for seminaries and institutes, and probably into other church curriculum materials.

[Oliblish]

10 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Here are some other references to the Essays:

Richard Maynes in Ensign & Liahona, June 2017, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/06/the-first-vision-key-to-truth?lang=eng . 

Bethany Bartholomew in Liahona & New Era, April 2017, https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/04/youth/personalize-your-gospel-study?lang=eng 

Bethany Bartholomew in Liahona, Oct 2017, online at https://www.lds.org/liahona/2017/digital/april/5-tips-for-personalizing-your-gospel-study?lang=eng . 

Elder M. Russell Ballard in Ensign, Dec 2016, online at https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/12/by-study-and-by-faith?lang=eng . 

Elder M. Russell Ballard, broadcast & transcript, Feb 26, 2016, online at https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/evening-with-a-general-authority/2016/02/the-opportunities-and-responsibilities-of-ces-teachers-in-the-21st-century?lang=eng . 

The Essay content is being inserted into lesson manuals for seminaries and institutes, and probably into other church curriculum materials.

Thanks for the list.  Some of these I had seen and others I had not.  But none of these are from General Conference.  I think the talk on Sunday by Elder Ian S. Ardern is the first talk in General Conference to reference the essays that I have found.  

[Robert F. Smith]

1 hour ago, Oliblish said:

Thanks for the list.  Some of these I had seen and others I had not.  But none of these are from General Conference.  I think the talk on Sunday by Elder Ian S. Ardern is the first talk in General Conference to reference the essays that I have found.  

Possibly, but you will have to make a more than cursory examination.  The Gospel Topics Essays began coming out in 2013.  So you will need to go at least that far back.

[Bernard Gui]

5 hours ago, Oliblish said:

Did anyone else notice the reference to the Gospel Topics essays during general conference?  Sunday Afternoon Elder Ian S. Ardern said this in his talk entitled "Seek Ye Out of the Best Books:"This is the first reference to the essays that I have heard in conference as far as I know.  Did anyone else notice this?  It seems to be worded such that if you are not already aware of the essays it will not draw attention to them.  Is this the first step towards openly talking about these essays in conference in the future?

Kinda like the first kiss...it's gotta start somewhere.

[Calm]

Using "gospel topics" with the "general conference" limitation on LDS.org search function, it appears to be the first and only direct reference to the essays in GC.  " Essays" didn't bring up any relevant references.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Calm