Have you ever wondered what the modern church leaders have said about a particular scripture verse or story? Now you have no reason to be curious. Two BYU faculty members, Richard C. Galbraith and Stephen W. Liddle, have created an online citation database that links scriptures to Conference talks. This web site can further enhance your daily scripture study, or help you prepare for lessons or talks.
Galbraith and Liddle brought their site online a few years ago and have been working constantly to improve it. Rather than searching for a General Conference talk by subject, you can click on one of the scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price), then on the book name (Matthew, 1 Nephi, D&C 55, etc), the appropriate chapter, and the right verse or span of verses. You will be linked to a General Conference talk that cites that scripture.
The site is not fully comprehensive; for instance, talks from the early days of the church are not available. At present, Ensign talks covering 1971 to 2006 and Improvement Era talks covering 1949 to 1970 are available. They are working on uploading talks from 1942 to 1949 at present.
You can also utilize the filter and search for talks by speaker. For instance, suppose you only want to hear what President Spencer W. Kimball said. By clicking on the ‘speakers’ tab and then scrolling down and clicking on his name, you will be shown only talks by the prophet.
Since finding this website, I have been doing my scripture study with my laptop on the desk beside my quad. I read over the scripture verse by verse and check the footnotes; then I check the website to see what the leaders of the church have said. Sometimes they refer to historical information that I did not know; they might talk about the Greek interpretation of the word or a Hebrew practice. They might make a modern day connection that I would have otherwise have missed.
Do I read the entire Conference talk for every scripture? No – that would take me a very long time. Instead, I read the paragraph before and after the reference. Sometimes this intrigues me enough that I go through and read the entire talk (the result, by the way, is a list of about 30 talks for my ‘General Conferences From the Past’ blogs, LOL). I make note of any quotes or references that intrigue me or that I might apply to my life. In this way, I combine studies of scriptures with teachings of modern-day prophets and church leaders.
You can similarly use this great resource for talks or lessons you have to give in church. Suppose you were giving a lesson on a parable in the New Testament. You can search out Conference talks and find various latter-day quotes to reference.
All in all, this is an absolutely fantastic resource that I love to utilize. It has helped me grow in my scripture study and make connections I would have otherwise have missed. I hope that you will be able to make use of this great tool.
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