You Were Prepared for Conference, but Your Questions Weren’t Answered Yet. Now What?
What do you do if you mindfully prepared questions for general conference but they weren’t answered?
We are often encouraged to prepare for general conference by thinking of heartfelt questions we’d like answers to. Many of us study diligently to determine the questions of our souls to offer up for direction. General conference can be a revelatory experience, and we are taught to expect answers and miracles.
But what happens when our questions aren’t answered?
I remember the first time I came to conference genuinely prepared and listened for the answer that I thought I was guaranteed to receive—only to reach the end of the weekend with even more questions!
Did God not want to answer me? Was I not faithful enough? Does revelation not work for me?
First, remember that God loves you.
If you left conference with unanswered questions, take a step back and remember one of the fundamental truths of the gospel: God loves you.
Elder Karl D. Hirst of the Seventy said:
“You are wrong to think that you have put yourself beyond the reach of God’s love. …
“When we don’t feel the warmth of divine love, it hasn’t gone away.”
Whatever you may be feeling in this moment, know that you are loved. As you move forward with questions in your heart, remember that God loves you and always fulfills His promises. Find hope in that knowledge as you wait for answers and further knowledge to come.
Next, continue to act.
But how do you move forward?
Do not lose the momentum you gained from preparing for and listening to general conference. Continue to act.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“Don’t despair if you have trials of faith or unanswered questions.
“We should not expect to understand everything before we act. … If we wait to act until all of our questions are answered, we severely limit the good we can accomplish, and we limit the power of our faith.”
Here are several suggestions for continuing to act in faith to find answers to your questions:
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Review the conference talks. Perhaps there were answers that you didn’t hear or recognize the first time.
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Study the scriptures prayerfully.
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Attend the temple.
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Make attainable goals to apply the teachings from conference to your life.
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Ask for a priesthood blessing of counsel and comfort.
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Find moments to be still and let the Spirit speak to you.
Remember the power of your faith.
You might be tempted to think that your faith is simply not strong enough to receive revelation from God. Thankfully, President Russell M. Nelson put this fear to rest:
“We may wonder if we can possibly muster enough faith to receive the blessings that we so desperately need. …
“… If we ‘have faith as a grain of mustard seed,’ we shall be able to ‘say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto [us]’ [Matthew 17:20].”
We can all continually increase our faith, but the amount of faith we do have does not always determine when or how God answers us. If you are doing all you can to invite revelation into your life, remember to trust Him and His timing. Right now, trusting Him might just mean waiting on Him.
It might be difficult at times, but as you do so, you will find your will aligning with His. You will develop patience to receive the answers God has for you.
Finally, do not “shrink.”
In the scriptures, the Savior describes the suffering He experienced in Gethsemane, saying, “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“I know one of the greatest blessings of mortality is to not shrink and to allow our individual will to be ‘swallowed up in the will of the Father’ (Mosiah 15:7).
“… As you press forward in your lives with steadfast faith in Christ, you will have the capacity to not shrink.”
As you move forward with faith in Christ, do not shrink! You will be guided as you allow God’s will to take precedence over your own. He will bless you with the answers you need.