By Elder Ronald A. Rasband
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Brothers and sisters, I am so grateful to be with you. We love you, we are grateful for you, and we feel blessed by your prayers.

President Russell M. Nelson said at our last conference: “Do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is indeed hastening His work.”

Hastening His work. “Hastening” is a word that matters. It suggests moving quickly, accelerating, and even urgency. In the growth of the Church and the plan of Christ, hastening is happening. And we are all a part of it.

In April 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith gathered all who held the priesthood into a little schoolhouse about 14 feet (4.3 m) square. We could fit dozens of those schoolhouses in this Conference Center, with room to spare. Joseph Smith said, “It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.”

That prophecy is being fulfilled “right before our eyes.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing in members and families, missions and missionaries, meetinghouses and temples, and in enrollment in our seminaries, institutes, and universities all around the world.

We are grateful to be on earth when the Church is increasing in numbers and influence, but more importantly in the hearts and lives of its members. We are known as disciples of Jesus Christ. We share our testimonies of Him, His Church, His ways, and His covenant path. We are His people, and He is our Savior.

I marvel at what President Nelson calls the “majesty of this moment” and express profound gratitude to the Lord for His work. I encourage us to stand tall as His disciples, eyewitnesses of the fulfillment of prophecy, both ancient and modern.

There are naysayers who shout, “‘Lo, here!’ and … ‘Lo, there!’” just as they did in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s time. However, they are and will be but mere footnotes in this noble work. Remember the words of Joseph Smith: “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, … but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

In my assignments this year, I have had a front-row seat to the Lord hastening His work. The Church is building temples at an unprecedented pace, giving more members an opportunity to worship in the house of the Lord. Second, missionary work is gathering record numbers to the fold of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And third, Church education in many configurations is at a new high in teaching those who “seek this Jesus.”

Today the Church has 367 temples in various stages of design, construction, or operation. And for what purpose? The answer is proclaimed on each temple: “Holiness to the Lord.” The temple opens the way to the highest blessings our Father in Heaven has for each one of us. Brothers and sisters, we are hastening our holiness as we live temple worthy, as we worship in the house of the Lord, and as we make covenants with God for ourselves and on behalf of our ancestors on the other side of the veil.

President Nelson has said: “The assaults of the adversary are increasing exponentially, in intensity and in variety. Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time.” In His house we can feel the Lord’s hallowed presence and transcendent peace.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/04/15rasband?lang=eng

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