Ready to Listen, Ponder, and Record: Your General Conference Journaling Guide
General conference can pass quickly. One talk leads into the next, a hymn opens space in the heart, a phrase catches your attention, and then the moment is gone unless you have somewhere to place it.
That is why a journal matters.
A General Conference journal is more than a notebook for favorite quotes. It becomes a place to notice patterns, write questions, capture promptings, and return later to what the Lord helped you feel. When you come ready to listen, ponder, and record, conference becomes less like something you watched and more like something you received.
You do not need a perfect system. You do not need to write down every sentence. You only need a prepared heart, a willing hand, and a place to keep the inspiration that comes.
Prepare your heart before conference begins
The best conference notes often begin before the opening prayer.
Preparation does not have to be complicated. A few quiet minutes before the first session can help you move from busy thoughts to ready listening. If the week has been full, that small pause can make a real difference.
Start by asking yourself what you are bringing to conference. Maybe it is a decision, a worry, a family concern, a question about discipleship, or a desire to feel closer to the Savior. Write it down in your journal before the session starts.
Try prompts like these:
What do I need help understanding right now?
What am I hoping to feel during conference?
Where do I need greater faith, patience, or courage?
What has the Lord been teaching me lately?
Who do I need to pray for as I listen?
These questions do not force revelation. They simply open a door. They help you listen with purpose.
You might also choose one or two simple goals for the weekend. For example, you could decide to notice every invitation to act, every mention of Jesus Christ, or every impression related to your current calling or family role. A focused mind can catch things a distracted mind might miss.
If you are using our General Conference journal, set it out early. Put a pen beside it. Create a calm space if you can. If you will be watching with children, traveling, or fitting sessions into a full weekend, preparation still counts. Even a journal tucked into a bag or opened on the couch can become sacred space when your heart is ready.
Listen for the message beneath the words
Taking notes during conference is not the same as making a transcript. You are not trying to capture everything. You are trying to recognize what the Lord is helping you hear.
Some talks may feel immediately personal. Others may seem less connected to your present life until a single phrase settles in your mind. Pay attention to those moments. They may come as peace, clarity, correction, hope, or a quiet thought you did not expect.
A helpful way to listen is to divide your notes into three simple kinds of writing.
What was taught
This is where you write doctrine, principles, invitations, and ideas that stand out. Keep it short. Use your own words when that helps you remember.
What I felt
This is where you record the impression behind the message. Maybe you felt comforted, invited to repent, reminded of someone’s needs, or strengthened in a truth you already knew.
What I will do
This is where inspiration becomes direction. Write the next step while it is still fresh.
For example, your notes might look like this:
What was taught | What I felt | What I will do |
Faith grows when I act on small promptings. | I need to stop waiting for the perfect time. | Reach out to the person I have been thinking about. |
The Savior knows individual pain. | I felt peace about a burden I have carried. | Spend time in prayer tonight and write what I feel. |
Covenants connect us to divine help. | I want to be more intentional at the sacrament table. | Prepare for Sunday by reading a sacrament hymn. |
This kind of note-taking keeps you from collecting words without direction. It also gives you something meaningful to review later.
Make room to ponder instead of rushing to the next thing
General conference is filled with messages, music, prayers, and spiritual invitations. It can be tempting to move straight from one session into meals, chores, messages, or errands. Real pondering often happens in the quiet spaces between.
Pondering means you give an impression time to breathe.
After a session, pause before closing your journal. Read over what you wrote. Circle one thought that feels most important. Then write a few lines about why it matters.
You might ask:
Why did this stand out to me?
What does this teach me about Jesus Christ?
Is this answer connected to a question I brought?
What would change if I lived this truth more fully?
Is there someone I should remember, forgive, serve, or call?
This is where your journal becomes personal. A quote may inspire you, but your reflection will help you understand what the Spirit is teaching you through it.
If you watch conference with family, you can make pondering part of the experience without making it formal or forced. Invite each person to share one thing they noticed. Let children draw what they heard or felt. Ask simple questions at mealtime. Keep the mood gentle. The goal is not to quiz anyone. The goal is to make space for spiritual noticing.
If you watch alone, you can still create a pattern. Step outside for a few minutes. Sit quietly. Pray over one message. Write a sentence that begins with, “I think the Lord may be inviting me to…”
That sentence can uncover more than pages of rushed notes.
Record inspiration in a way you will actually revisit
A journal is most helpful when you can return to it. That means your notes should be clear enough for your future self to understand.
You do not have to write beautifully. You do not need perfect handwriting or complete sentences. But a little structure helps. As you record, look for patterns and mark them in a simple way.
You might use symbols like these:
A star for something you want to remember
A check box for something you feel invited to do
A heart for a truth about the Savior
A question mark for something you want to study more
A name in the margin when you feel prompted to pray for or contact someone
Follow-up matters. Sometimes the most important part of conference happens weeks after the closing prayer, when you act on something you wrote down.
Set a time to review your journal after conference. It could be the next Sunday, the first family night after conference, or a quiet evening that week. Look for invitations you wrote. Choose one or two to focus on. Too many goals can fade fast. A small, Spirit-led step has staying power.
Use your journal before, during, and after conference
The strongest journaling practice covers more than the live sessions. Think of your journal in three parts: before, during, and after.
Before conference
Use your journal to get spiritually ready. Write your questions, concerns, and hopes. Pray over them. Leave space for answers that may come in unexpected ways.
You can also prepare by reviewing the last conference. Look at what you wrote six months ago. What did you act on? What did you forget? What still feels unfinished? This kind of review can soften your heart and help you see how the Lord has been patient and steady with you.
During conference
During each talk, write only what helps you listen. If your note-taking becomes stressful, simplify. Write key words. Write one sentence. Write what you felt.
A good conference note might be as simple as:
“I felt invited to trust the Lord with timing.”
That one sentence may matter more than a full page of copied phrases.
Stay flexible. Some sessions may bring many impressions. Others may feel quiet. Quiet does not mean nothing happened. Sometimes conference plants seeds you recognize later.
After conference
After conference, choose what you will carry forward. Do not let your journal close for six months without one more visit.
Make a short “next steps” list. Keep it realistic. For example:
Study one talk each week.
Choose a Christlike attribute to practice.
Put one prompting on your calendar.
Share one message with your family.
Pray daily about one question that remains.
You can also use your journal during the weeks between conferences. As you study talks again, add new impressions. A message that touched you once may teach you something different later because your circumstances have changed.
Let your journal become a record of the Lord’s care
One of the quiet blessings of keeping a conference journal is that it becomes evidence. Over time, you begin to see how the Lord teaches you line upon line.
You may notice repeated themes. Trust. Repentance. Temple worship. Peace in Christ. Service. Forgiveness. Family. Covenant living. When those themes appear across multiple conferences, they can help you recognize the Lord’s patient instruction in your life.
You may also notice growth. A question that felt heavy one conference may look different by the next. A prompting you acted on may become a testimony builder. A hard season may still be hard, but your record may show moments when heaven helped you keep going.
This is why writing matters. Memory can blur spiritual moments. A journal safeguards them.
It can also bless future generations. Your notes do not have to be polished to matter. A child, grandchild, friend, or future version of yourself may one day find strength in seeing what you believed, what you asked, and how you tried to follow the Savior.
A conference journal says, in a quiet way, “I was listening. I wanted to remember. I believed the Lord could speak to me.”
Simple ways to make conference journaling feel natural
If journaling feels new, start small. A habit that feels peaceful is more likely to last than one that feels demanding.
Try one of these approaches.
The one-sentence method
After each talk, write one sentence about what stood out. This works well when life is busy or when you are watching with young children.
The three-word method
Choose three words that summarize what you heard or felt. Later, use those words to write a fuller reflection.
The question-and-answer method
Write one question before the session. During conference, note any ideas that connect to it. The answer may come directly, or it may come as comfort, direction, or a change in perspective.
The invitation method
Listen for invitations to act. Write each one as a simple next step. This keeps your notes focused on discipleship.
The testimony method
Write what the message taught you about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, covenants, or the restored gospel. This turns note-taking into a record of belief.
None of these methods needs to be permanent. Use what helps. Change what does not. The best system is the one that helps you receive and remember inspiration.
Carry conference with you after the last session
When the final session ends, your journal can help conference keep teaching you.
Begin by reading through your notes prayerfully. Do not try to do everything. Look for the one prompting that still feels alive. Mark it. Write what you will do next and when you will do it.
Then keep your journal where you can see it. Place it near your scriptures, on a nightstand, in a church bag, or wherever you usually study. Visibility helps memory. Memory supports action.
You might choose one talk to study again each week. As you study, add new notes to the same pages. Write how your understanding has changed. Record ways you have seen help come. If you acted on an impression, write what happened. If you struggled to act, write honestly and begin again.
A journal is not a record of perfect discipleship. It is a record of sincere seeking.
General conference offers a sacred chance to hear counsel, feel the Spirit, and turn toward Jesus Christ with renewed faith. When you come ready to listen, ponder, and record, you give those moments a place to stay.
Bring your questions. Bring your pen. Bring a willing heart. Then let your General Conference journal help you remember what heaven teaches you.
Here at Wildflower and Ivy, we have designed a beautiful General Conference Journal to help you record your thoughts and impressions during conference. Now available in hardback, paperback and also a printable digital download option. Order yours today so you can be ready to Listen, Ponder, and Record.
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