Elder Rafael E. Pino, a General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Saturday morning session of the October 2022 general conference. He encouraged Latter-day Saints worldwide to consider their customs and traditions and how those influence their families to stay on the covenant path. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Pino’s conference talk summary
Although customs and traditions may vary from country to country, the “normal” things of life should be those which keep Latter-day Saints moving forward on the covenant path.
“No country contains the totality of what is good or admirable. … Take a moment to meditate on our customs and the way they are influencing our families.”
Four “marvelous habits” that should be normal for Latter-day Saints include:
- Personal and family scripture study.
- Personal and family prayer.
- Weekly sacrament meeting attendance.
- Frequent participation in family history and temple work.
“How do we feel when we hear these four things? Are they part of our normal lives? There are many other traditions that could be part of the normality we have adopted, thus letting God prevail in our lives.”
Followers of Christ should focus on the Book of Mormon counsel to be “steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works” (Mosiah 5:15).
“I love these words because we know that the things that become normal in our lives are those that we repeat again and again. If we are steadfast and immovable in doing good, our customs will be in accordance with the principles of the gospel and they will help us stay on the covenant path.”
Notable quotes from Elder Pino’s conference talk
“Edifying customs and traditions are fundamental to our efforts to stay on the covenant path, and those that are an obstacle, we ought to reject.”
“It does not matter whether we are poor or rich, educated or uneducated, old or young, sick or healthy. He invites us to let the ‘normal’ things in our lives be those which help keep us on the covenant path.”
“If we are steadfast and immovable in doing good, our customs will be in accordance with the principles of the gospel, and they will help us stay on the covenant path.”
See the full text of Elder Pino’s talk: ‘Let Doing Good Be Our Normal’
Who is Elder Pino?
- Elder Rafael E. Pino has served as a General Authority Seventy since April 5, 2008.
- Elder Pino was born in Valencia, Venezuela, and joined the Church in 1972.
- Elder Pino last spoke in general conference about understanding the plan of happiness, in April 2015.
Read more about related topics in the Church News
- President Russell M. Nelson gave a talk titled “A New Normal” in October 2020.
