Sister Michelle D. Craig, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, spoke during the Saturday evening session of October 2022 general conference. She taught Latter-day Saints about keeping covenants, acting in faith and finding joy. The following is a summary of what she said.
Sister Craig’s conference talk summary
An 1857 newspaper article describes a group of Latter-day Saint women “dragging handcarts like beasts” across the Plains. One woman fell in the black mud.
“I’ve thought a lot about this mud-drenched woman. Why was she pulling alone? Was she a single mother? What gave her the inner strength, the grit, the perseverance to make such a wrenching journey through mud, pulling all her possessions in a handcart to an unknown desert home, at times being mocked by observers?”
To be such men and women is the call of our day — “disciples who dig in and find the strength to keep pulling when called to walk through the wilderness, disciples with convictions that have been revealed to us by God, followers of Jesus who are joyful and wholehearted in our own personal journey of discipleship.”
Disciples of Jesus Christ can believe and grow in three important truths:
- We can keep covenants, even when it is not easy.
- We can act in faith.
- We can be wholehearted and joyful in our devotion.
“When I stumble I will keep getting up, relying on the grace and enabling power of Jesus Christ. … This is my path of discipleship.”
Notable quotes from Sister Craig’s conference talk
“When your faith, your family or your future are challenged — when you wonder why life is so hard when you are doing your best to live the gospel — remember that the Lord told us to expect troubles. Troubles are part of the plan and do not mean that you’ve been abandoned; they are part of what it means to be His.”
“The point of walking the covenant path is to approach the Savior. He is the point, not our perfect progress. It is not a race, and we must not compare our journey to others. Even when we stumble, He is there.”
“When hard times come, I try to remember that I chose to follow Christ before I came to earth and that challenges to my faith, my health and my endurance are all part of the reason I’m here. … Trials do not mean that the plan is failing; they are part of the plan meant to help me seek God.”
See the full text of Sister Craig’s talk: ‘Wholehearted’
Who is Sister Craig?
- Sister Michelle D. Craig has served as the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency since March 31, 2018.
- Sister Craig served a full-time mission in the Dominican Republic only six years after the country was opened to the Church.
- Sister Craig last spoke in general conference about having eyes to see others as Christ does in October 2020.
Read more about Sister Craig in the Church News
- Sister Craig celebrated her birthday in July.
- She spoke about “less conspicuous gifts” becoming holy gifts that bless others during the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional last year.
- In June 2021, Sister Craig offered five ways to protect against the “lurking dangers of spiritual complacency” at BYU-Hawaii.
Read more of Sister Craig’s general conference addresses, or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
