Elder Ryan K. Olsen, General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of October 2022 general conference. He has learned that throughout life, no matter how difficult or confusing, the answer is simple. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Olsen’s conference talk summary
His 6-year-old nephew, Nash, helped come up with a solution to a project. Elder Olsen asked, “How did you get so smart?” Nash confidently said, “Jesus.” This is a simple yet profound teaching. The answer to the simplest questions and most complex problems is Jesus Christ. “Every solution is found in Him.”
At the end of Elder Olsen’s mission, he was troubled about not being a full-time missionary any more. His mission president pointed to a picture of Jesus Christ and said it would all be OK because it is His work. “I felt reassured knowing that the Savior will help us, not just while we are serving but always, if we will let Him.”
While serving as a mission president, a sister missionary told him she did not feel good enough. He asked her what she would tell someone else who felt the same way. She answered: “I would tell her that the Savior knows her perfectly. I would tell her that He lives. He loves you. You are good enough and you have got this!” She realized it applied to her, too.
The adversary is the architect of confusion; the Savior is the Master of simplicity. He is the answer.
Notable quotes from Elder Olsen’s conference talk
“The answer to the simplest questions, and to the most complex problems, is always the same. The answer is Jesus Christ. Every solution is found in Him.”
“The Savior taught His disciples that He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the answer to the question of how to come unto Heavenly Father.”
“This is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and this is where we belong. Everything that President Nelson lovingly encourages us to do will lead us closer to the Savior.”
See the full text of Elder Olsen’s talk: ‘The Answer is Jesus’
Who is Elder Olsen?
- Elder Ryan K. Olsen was called as a General Authority Seventy in the April 2022 general conference.
- He met his wife, Sister Julie Olsen, on a blind date and they have four children. Both of them served Spanish-speaking missions, and when they were newly married, they served as stake missionaries in a Spanish-speaking ward.
- He was called to be a bishop at age 25, and two years later as president of the Salt Lake Sugar House Stake.
- In 2016, the Olsens were called to lead the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission.
