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Chad Deens

Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald

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Bob Spiel

Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald

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Brandi Aviles

Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald

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Mikaela Stout

Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald

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Brian Thompson

Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald

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Editor’s note: U-Talk is a weekly feature in which we ask five local residents to tell us their thoughts about a particular issue. Responses may be edited for clarity and length.

“There always seems to be a talk that seems to be like it’s directed towards me, so it’s always something good I will get out of it. … Even with things going on in my life, thinking, ‘Why don’t they cover this, because that could really help me,’ they tend to cover something else that I didn’t know I needed, but yet, it still helped me. So there’s always something that is there that I feel like it’s directed towards me or would help me out I’m some way, but I never know what to expect. … When you’re done watching it, you always feel a little bit better when you listen to talks and kind of take it in and think about how it applied to your life. You always walk away with something. We usually walk away feeling better, you know, a little bit happier.” — Chad Deens, Lindon

“Yes, I will be watching general conference — all the sessions. I always look forward to President Nelson, OK, because of the light and the truth that comes from him and just the prophetic mantle that he has. He can see things ahead, and we really need his guidance right now because we are in a state that is getting worse. I think as a nation, as a society, we are more divided than we ever have been politically, socially, people leaving the church, etc. And just like with all prophets, he’s sincere and he knows things that we need to know now to get ready for the future. I’m super hopeful about the future. I’m super hopeful about the temples we’re building, you know, creation of Zion and the second coming. And I know everything he’s going to teach us will help lead us to that point.” — Bob Spiel, Lindon

“Yes, I will be watching general conference, and I’m most excited to be hearing from the prophet because he always has something to say that I need to hear. Just like I think when you’re going through, like, hard times or different things, he always hits it right on the head, whether it’s family issues, or money, or (something) spiritual, he always says exactly what we need to hear, and so that’s why. I just love to hear him. I just think he has an amazing spirit.” — Brandi Aviles, Pleasant Grove

“I always like hearing from the prophet. … He’s just special. He’s the leader. … I really like listening to him. I really like listening to Jeffrey R. Holland; he’s one of my favorite speakers. … We always have good food when we’re watching it, so that’s always good. … Messages about the temples — I know there were some changes recently. … I always like hearing about how many temples are coming up and things like that.” — Mikaela Stout, Pleasant Grove

“I will be watching the conference. I think probably the thing I look forward to the most is hearing the prophet talk about how members of the church can be more inclusive in helping members of their family rejoin their family and feel more open to talking about issues that keep people from growing together. I think that the biggest issues are, especially in families, is that people aren’t willing to forgive each other for things they think maybe have been done to them and maybe things that have been done for them. Obviously, we all suffer form being hurt and hurting other people in different ways. And when we don’t forgive, like the Savior taught us to, that create a rift between families and friends and everyone, the whole world.” — Brian Thompson, Lindon

Photos and interviews by Tiana Lao, Special to the Daily Herald.

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