2025-BYU-Women's-Conference
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles concludes the 2025 BYU Women's Conference at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on Friday, May 2, 2025. Photo by Kristin Murphy, courtesy of Church News.Copyright 2025 Deseret News Publishing Company.Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles closed the 2025 BYU Women’s Conference on Friday, May 2, 2025, praising women who “walk with Jesus Christ” and “have their hearts in tune with the music of faith” and as they progress on the “covenant pathway.”
“Our doctrine is clear; we are to be positive and of good cheer. We emphasize our faith, not our fears. We rejoice in the Lord’s assurance that He will stand by us and give us guidance and direction. We are safe when we walk with Jesus,” he said.
Addressing a capacity crowd in the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and more who watched the live stream online, Elder Cook reiterated his 2011 general conference message that “[Latter-day Saint] women are incredible.”
“[They] are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life and their commitment not only to have faith in Jesus Christ, but also to walk with Him,” he said. “Despite the challenges and tests life has to offer …, they remain remarkably strong and immovable and true to their faith in Jesus Christ and His Church.”
Elder Cook’s and other select talks are available on Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the Church’s YouTube Inspiration channel.
Watch Elder Cook’s full address.
The Apostle shared examples of faithful women in his life, including his wife, Mary, his mother, and his great-great-grandmother, Amanda Polly Savage Cook, a midwife who delivered a baby in a side room of the Salt Lake Temple immediately following an April 1893 dedication session.
He said his mother and her righteous example “taught me to pray to Heavenly Father and love the Savior.”
Because of his wife, Mary, he learned to love the message, “Have your heart in tune with the music of faith.”
Those with hearts in tune “love the Lord and His gospel” and “are in harmony with the promptings of the Spirit, awakened to the power of God’s word and diligently try to live Christlike lives as His disciples,” he explained.
Elder-Cook-BYU-Women's-Conf-2.jpg
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles concludes the 2025 BYU Women's Conference at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on Friday, May 2, 2025. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Elder Cook said the scriptures refer to hearts that are changed, broken, healed and turned, and hearts that are full of love, gratitude, joy and peace, which represent stages along the covenant pathway.
In contrast, those with hardened hearts are proud, vain, foolish and only interested in the “wisdom of the world” (1 Nephi 11:35). Some are interested in God’s word but become ashamed and fall away (see 1 Nephi 8:28).
Acknowledging that some Church members are less interested in and less faithful to some gospel teachings, Elder Cook said, “Our desire is for these members to awaken fully to faith and increase their activity and commitment and walk with Jesus Christ. God loves all His children. There are no race, gender or ethnicity requirements. The Book of Mormon makes it clear that all are invited to partake of the Lord’s goodness,” he taught.
2025-BYU-Women's-Conference
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles concludes the 2025 BYU Women's Conference at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, on Friday, May 2, 2025. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Because “the message, ministry and Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is our essential curriculum,” he counseled listeners to “make the Book of Mormon part of your lifelong study. It contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Elder Cook explained that testimonies of the restored gospel must be based on faith, not external or scientific proof. “Obsessive focus on things not yet fully revealed … will not be efficacious or yield spiritual progress. These are matters of faith. Moroni’s counsel is to read and ponder and then ask God in all sincerity of heart with real intent to confirm scriptural truths by the witness of the Spirit, which is the answer” (see Moroni 10:4-5).
“A dividing line between those who hear the music of faith and those who are tone deaf or off key is the active study of the scriptures,” he said, emphasizing that “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments is and always will be the defining test of mortality.”
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