Lessons of 2025
Lesson No. Thirty-Four

The Caravan Moves On

A parable from Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “Now, I have what every true disciple has. It is called the testimony of Jesus. In our day it includes the revealed knowledge that the earthly kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—will triumph. In this connection may I set before you this illustration:

“The Church is like a great caravan—organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place.

“What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or that predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on.

“Is there a ravine to cross, a miry mud hole to pull through, a steep grade to climb? So be it. The oxen are strong and the teamsters wise. The caravan moves on.

“Are there storms that rage along the way, floods that wash away the bridges, deserts to cross, and rivers to ford? Such is life in this fallen sphere. The caravan moves on.

“Ahead is the celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest. Thank God that the caravan moves on!” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Caravan Moves On, Conference Report, October 1984, emphasis added).

Since 1984 when Elder McConkie gave this sermon The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has dramatically moved forward at an ever accelerating pace:

- Total members: 5,650,000 in 1984; 17,510,000 in 2024

- Stakes world-wide: 1,507 in 1984; 3,608 in 2024 in most countries in the world

- Convert baptisms: 196,640 in 1984; 308,682 in 2024 which was the highest in 30 years, and a 22.6% increase over 2023

- There are many critics that bark and snap as the Church moves forward. Living prophets and apostles don’t contend with these critics and neither should we. The Church teaches correct doctrine and we can choose whether to believe or not believe. Interestingly, the most vocal of these critics are apostates who terminate their membership, but they can’t terminate their involvement with the Church.

In 2025 retention is a challenge in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and most other religions. As the Caravan moves on, Satan and his followers, primarily through the use of social media, are able to peel off travelers who are unprepared for the journey. These predators attack the teachings of modern prophets and apostles, primarily over social issues. Nephi wrote of this over 2,600 years ago as recorded in 1 Nephi 14:7-14, my comments are in italics:

Vs 7: “For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.”

The restoration of the Gospel is the great and marvelous work of the latter days, and it is the sieve that separates those who are prepared for the journey from those who are not.

Vs 10-11: And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”

The two churches spoken of are (1) the church of the Lamb of God is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and (2) the church of the devil is the world and the worldly, and the devil has power over them. The issue is not where our membership records are, but where our heart is. There are many members of record in the Lord’s Church whose hearts are in the world. Conversely, “there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12).

Vs 12: “And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.” (Emphasis added)

Elder Boyd K. Packer taught: “The Book of Mormon makes it clear that we will never dominate by numbers. But we have the power of the priesthood….While it may be said…that we are but a handful in comparison with…the world, yet we may be compared with the leaven of which the Savior spoke, which will eventually leaven (or lift) the whole world” (Ensign, April 2010).

Vs 13: “And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.” Satan and his followers continually fight against the Lord and His Church.

Vs 14: And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”

The covenant people of the Lord are those who keep their temple covenants. Temples and temple worthiness is the best indicator of the kind of growth that matters to the Lord. In 1984 there were 31 operating temples world-wide. In 2025 there is 382 temples in various phases of development, and the 201 temples that are operating are well used and busy. And the Caravan moves on!

With Elder McConkie I testify: “Ahead is the celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest.”

Released on September 8th. 2025.