With General Conference coming up I thought it would be fun to talk about Mormon vernacular – you know, the quirky language we Mormons slip into whenever we walk through the church doors. So I’ve compiled 20 common phrases or sayings that Mormons can’t get enough of (in no particular order). Some of these may be indigenous to Utah, but some of them are surely known worldwide. Maybe you can use them for conference bingo this Sunday. Or not.

20. “I love my mom and dad” and/or “I love my family” – these are staples in the testimony of a youth or child (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

19. Read your scriptures, say your prayers, and go to church (aka the primary answers) – someone will be sure to mention these every Sunday, guaranteed.

18. “When the bishop called me last week…” – you will hear this (or something along these lines) at the beginning of a talk in Sacrament meeting 90% of the time. We love to tell the story of how the assignment came about!

I love you guys so much

17. “I know that I don’t know a lot of you, but I love each one of you so much, especially my roommates” – this is often heard in a singles ward talk or testimony.

16. “Apply this lesson to our daily lives…” – mostly said in prayers

15. “May we” or “may you” – this prayer language is used all the time and it’s often heard in the conclusions of conference talks (“may we apply this lesson to our daily lives”, “may we take what’s been said into our hearts”, etc.)

14. Okay, this one’s not really a phrase or saying, but isn’t it funny how we always use the middle initial when naming general authorities? I’m sure it originally started in an effort to distinguish all the Smiths.

13. “Without a shadow of a doubt” or “beyond a shadow of a doubt” – either way WIN!

12. “Please bless the food that it will nourish and strengthen our bodies…” – even donuts and cookies? Yes! CHOMP CHOMP!

11. “Please bless that we’ll return home in safety” – this has worked for me so far. Still alive!

10. “Even” (i.e. “…even the Son of God”; “…even Jesus Christ”) – usually in a general authority talk

9. “I’d like to bear my testimony” – who hasn’t said this?

8. “We’re grateful for the moisture we’ve received…” – you have your bases covered here: snow, sleet, rain, or hail.

7. “Tender mercies” – before April 2005 this phrase was never heard; but after Elder David A. Bednar’s conference talk in April, it spread like wildfire. Everything became a tender mercy!

What’s up ladies?

6. “My great, great, great, great, grandmother was the 30th wife to Brigham Young” – dropping pioneer lineage to get street cred

5. And then there are all the curses that aren’t curses: gosh, heck, hecka, shiz (my personal fav), what the fetch, what the freak, what the eff, and what the H.

4. “I would be ungrateful if I didn’t stand today and bear my testimony” – every first Sunday you will hear this. Every. First. Sunday.

3. “With every fiber of my being” – I remember the missionary guide told us specifically not use this language (but all good if you’re a GA!).

2. Quoting someone quoting someone else. You have to listen carefully for this one in General Conference.

1. I could actually only think of 19 phrases/sayings, so this last one is for our readers to fill in! Share your favorite Mormon lingo that you think should be on this list in the comment section!

***This has been one of our more popular post so we decided to add a little fun for this conference weekend. We Mormons in general try to keep our kids busy during conference, which is nearly impossible. In most cases we have to “keep our heads down and power through, you know, and sacrifice.” (Michael Bluth, Arrested Development, Episode Staff Infection) One of the ways we keep our kids busy is of course a game of conference bingo ready to go each session. We all have played it! So with some help from this post and the brilliant mind of Jerilyn Pool, we have the first ever Rational Faiths conference bingo game! Enjoy!! For the printable PDF format click here.

Born and raised in Northern California, Pablo received his education at Ricks College and BYU with a BA in Spanish, minor in PE Coaching. Pablo served his LDS mission during the years 94-96 in Rosario, Argentina. He now runs a skate shop and batting cages in Orem, UT. He's married and has 4 boys.

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