The World Needs General Conference

I'm slowly transitioning from the academic world to the business world. I know I need to pay closer attention to how I express my religion beliefs in the business world than ever before. Hiding my beliefs is new to me because my academic world has included spiritual learning with its secular learning because I attend a school funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The business world, in comparison, has many amazing people with a plethora of ethnic and religious backgrounds all with a common goal: success in one's chosen profession. These people offer unique perspectives on how to succeed in every aspect of business. I enjoy scrolling through online magazines and LinkedIn just to see if I can be successful just like everybody else.

Although I have learned a lot through reading business media, I've realized that the world doesn't have every secret to a successful career. I'm confident that my spiritual learning has made a difference. One main way I learn how to be successful is the church's semiannual General Conference. There, prophets, apostles and leaders of the church speak to the public. These men and women have proven successful in their professions (though they typically don't mention them). If the world needed to have a conference with successful professionals from a wide array of disciplines, the world should choose the speakers from General Conference. For example, look at the following professions of just a few of the speakers from the April 2017 General Conference:

• Gary R. Stevenson: Founder and COO of the world's largest manufacturer of sports equipment, ICON fitness
• Dallin H. Oaks: Law professor at University of Chicago Law School and Chairman of the Board of Directors for PBS
• Russell M. Nelson: A recognized authority on coronary artery disease
• Gary B Sabin: CEO and Chairman for Excel Trust, a real estate firm

These speakers are truly successful people. With the gospel at the center of their lives, they became successful in business. I've noticed that much of their advice applies to situations everybody faces. Their lessons teach us how to be kind, honest, hardworking, and grateful people. I don't want to impose my religious beliefs on anybody I'll meet in my professional life, so I won't typically bring this up in a professional setting. Nevertheless, I'm confident that if the world listened to their lessons taught in General Conference, we'd have better employees, coworkers, and bosses.