Sunday School General President Mark L. Pace spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2022 general conference. He encouraged students of the gospel to utilize “Come, Follow Me” scripture study and the promptings of the Holy Ghost to strengthen their conversion. The following is a summary of what he said.

Notable quotes from President Pace

Summary of President Pace’s talk

The aim of “Come, Follow Me” and other gospel learning is to deepen one’s conversion to the gospel.

“That is the miracle we seek — when one person has an experience in the scriptures and that experience is blessed by the influence of the Holy Ghost. Such experiences are precious foundation stones for our conversion to the Savior.”

There is no substitute for the conversion power found in personally spending time with the scriptures and hearing the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. “Come, Follow Me” is a sacred conduit helping students of the gospel enrich their spiritual well-being.

Latter-day Saints are utilizing “Come, Follow Me” as part of their effort to “place the blood of the Lamb of God” on the entrances of their homes. “They are demonstrating their inward commitment to follow the Savior. Their faith precedes the miracle. It is the miracle of one person having an experience in the scriptures, and that experience being blessed by the influence of the Holy Ghost.”

In ancient times, God’s obedient people were blessed with freedom and safety. “Today, as we follow the Lord’s direction, given through our living Prophet, President Nelson, we are equally blessed with conversion in our hearts and protection in our homes.”

About President Pace

• President Mark L. Pace was sustained as Sunday School general president during the April 2019 general conference.
• President Pace and his wife, Sister Anne Marie Langeland Pace, were married on Nov. 21, 1978, in the Salt Lake Temple and are the parents of seven children.
• President and Sister Pace led the Spain Barcelona Mission from 2012 to 2015.

President Pace in the news

• With this year’s “Come, Follow Me” study focused on the Old Testament, President Pace said in a Church News interview that “For me and for many Latter-day Saints, this will be our finest year of study of the Old Testament — ever.” He and his counselors offered three ways to approach studying the Old Testament. 
• In the Church News podcast on Dec. 7, 2021, President Pace and counselors — Brother Milton Camargo, first counselor; and Brother Jan E. Newman, second counselor — reflected on the blessings of “Come, Follow Me.”
• During BYU Women’s Conference in April 2021, President Pace shared how burdens and trials are “an essential part of this mortal experience” and explored fundamental principles about the topic of trials.

President Pace’s recent social posts

• In a Jan. 15 post, President Pace explained two distinctions in this year’s “Come, Follow Me” curriculum from previous years: a feature called “Thoughts to Keep in Mind” that provides historical context on various topics, and suggestions for reading and learning from the most helpful chapters and stories.

• President Pace shared on Feb. 8 about how his Sundays have been different since President Russell M. Nelson promised four specific blessings “as we change our homes by studying the scriptures with ‘Come, Follow Me’” in 2018.

• On March 22, President Pace wrote about his experience discovering cancer in his right kidney, and how he found peace during the process of undergoing medical tests and discussing the possibility that his “stay in mortality would be a bit shorter than anticipated.” “There is a course of treatment, I am following it, and I trust that in a year or so I will be made whole,” he said. “‘But if not’ (Daniel 3:18), I am willing to accept the Lord’s will for me.”

Read more April 2022 general conference coverage