The Third Annual LDSFL Conference - Stand for Life with Love
October 10th marked our third annual Latter-day Saints for Life Conference!
This was the first conference I was able to attend in person, and I’m still in awe at the amount of miracles that occurred to get me there (traveling to the coast to take one of the last flights out before Hurricane Isaias hit was NOT part of my plan, but God knew was he was doing for me).
My journey wasn’t the only place where we saw the Lord’s hand on the conference though. While praying for help solving a problem for the setup of the conference, one of my team members had a distinct but unexpected spiritual impression to walk into a store—where he immediately met a new friend who wanted to support us and had a solution. Both of our keynote speakers (Jeremy Goff and Sarah Clark Vasion) were prompted to rewrite their remarks the very morning of the conference. Jeremy Goff’s wife had her fourth baby just a couple days before the conference, allowing him to attend (she even attended herself!).
The conference had over 100 attendees and took place in Provo, Utah. We opened with an introduction by our director of development, Merrilee Boyack, and then got to hear from our first keynote speaker, Sarah Clark Vasion.
Sarah Clark Vasion
Sarah is an LDS social media influencer with an Instagram following of 64K. She was a speaker at the 2026 Utah March for Life, and was recently married.
Sarah’s remarks centered around the need for a cultural shift in and out of the Church in the way that we speak of pregnancy, motherhood, and female bodies. After sharing a personal story of her own health challenges, Clark emphasized that there is no need to be unrealistic about the challenges that can accompany pregnancy, motherhood, and womanhood in general, however, we ought to speak more often of the miraculous capabilities of our bodies, and the joy that accompanies the experiences of womanhood and motherhood (even amidst challenges).
“To everyone within the sound of my voice and the women outside, please know your infinite, divine worth; your life is worth the blood and body of our Savior Jesus Christ.” - Sarah Clark Vasion
Following Sarah’s address, attendees got to choose two of three breakout rooms to attend. The options included:
Social Media
Service
Debunking
Social Media - With Jessica Spackman, Kiaya, Austin Falter
The Social Media room was headed by three content creators, each with different backgrounds and experiences.
Jessica Spackman - President of Latter-day Saints for Life and the primary creator and manager of the Latter-day Saints for Life social media pages. Jessica is also the host and writer behind the blog and podcast for Latter-day Saint young women ages 15-25, “Spack Chats.”
Kiaya - Kiaya shares on her page about her personal, unexpected pregnancy and a repentance journey back to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on her page along with overcoming trials and addictions and the sanctity of life and motherhood.
Austin Falter - Austin is the founder of a media company that helps Latter-day Saint creators grow, appears often on “Ward Radio,” and hosts his own channels, “Small and Simple Screens,” all about media and the gospel and “Brother Sunbeam,” a YouTube show that teaches kids gospel principles, including that life is sacred.
The three panelists answered questions about how to best engage in comment sections, overcome fear and discouragement when friends disagree, and how to choose the best messages to share online. Their attendees consisted of content creators, “normal” people with “normal,” personal social media pages, and even people who generally avoid social media. The overall conference theme - “Stand for life with love” - was echoed often. In other words, have courage, have faith in the Lord, and always show compassion for the people on the other side of the screen. When sharing true testimony, principles, and doctrine, and others still disagree, you can be sad but you don’t have to be upset. Trust that the Lord will take care of them and that you have said the words He wanted you to say.
Service - With Suzanne Mann, Keri Bushman, and Chip Whitmer
The Service room was headed by three pro-life advocates with experience serving women facing unplanned pregnancies.
Suzanne Mann - Suzanne is a cofounder of Latter-day Saints for Life and serves as the programs director. She managed a mobile clinic for Pro-Life Utah where she helped women going into abortion clinics choose life for their babies. She is always looking for ways to serve.
Keri Bushman - Keri is a homemaker and self-described “eternal student.” She has five children and is craft and service-oriented, enjoying sewing, crafts, woodworking, refinishing houses, gardening, building things, travelling, reading and spending time with family and friends.
Chip Whitmer - Chip is a former member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. He worked at Mastercard until the company declared it would fund abortions for employees, when he publicly said "I quit!" He has had a hand in saving many lives on the sidewalk of Salt Lake City as a Sidewalk Advocate for Life and driver of the Pro-Life Utah mobile clinic.
The panel members highlighted Elder Andersen’s message about blessing women and men in the fragile challenge of an unplanned pregnancy through “our words, our hands, [and] our hearts.” They shared experiences of when their words, spoken softly and kindly, helped women clearly see a path for choosing life. Chip Whitmer shared a miraculous story where he spoke to a mother in English, but she heard his message in Ukrainian (her native language) and chose life for her little girl.
The panel concluded with Chip and Keri singing the new hymn: “To Love Like Thee”
“None is so small, no soul so lost
That I should withhold my charity.
When I have served the least of these,
I have done it unto Thee.”
Debunking - With Merrilee Boyack and Stephani Evans
I was honored to participate in this Debunking breakout, where my partner and I got to share about good arguments for the pro-life position from both a doctrinal and secular perspective.
Merrilee Boyack - Merrilee helped found Latter-day Saints for Life and serves as the Director of Development. She created the Abortion-Free Utah Coalition to eradicate elective abortion in Utah. She also serves as Development Director for Pro-Life Utah. She is the author of several books and talks, including The Parenting Breakthrough and Strangling Your Husband Is Not an Option.
Stephani Evans (myself) - I’m a mother of two and currently very pregnant with number three. I have been writing pro-life content for Latter-day Saints for Life since 2024, and currently work as their Communications Manager, where I create and review social media and blogging content. I also serve as co-host on the Latter-day Saints for Life Podcast. I am passionate about good, logical pro-life arguments and pro-life apologetics.
Merrilee and I answered questions related to the Church’s policy on abortion, what the doctrine tells us, bodily autonomy, the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and whether pro-lfie laws are harmful to women. Short responses are included below:
What about the Church’s exceptions on abortion? - The Church’s default position is a pro-life one, and the exceptions are related to what merits Church discipline, not precise language of how members should vote
When does a spirit enter the body? - Not only do we not know, it actually doesn’t matter. We know when life begins, and we know that life is sacred.
What about agency? - We were gifted our agency in the premortal life; that does not mean we should advocate for using our agency in any way we want.
What was the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade? - This gave the question of the legality of abortion back to the states, some of which have passed laws prohibiting abortion in their state, and some of which have passed laws enshrining abortion in their state constitution. In some ways, the overturning of Roe v. Wade allowed pro-life work to really begin.
Are pro-life laws harming women? - ALL pro-life states allow for treatment of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancies, and if a woman’s life is in danger. NO OBGYN in any pro-life state (or any state) has been sued or prosecuted by pro-life groups for providing life saving care for pregnant women. Even if pro-life laws were creating some confusion, the solution would be to educate healthcare workers that they CAN treat women facing life threatening conditions, not make all abortions legal at almost any point, which is what the proponents of this claim support.
In addition, we emphasized the importance of listening to an abortion advocate before replying to them, in order to ensure a response to their actual argument. Merrilee also reminded listeners of three excellent references which all members should be aware of, including “Weightier Matters” by Dallin H. Oaks, “Abortion: An Assault on the Defenseless” by Russell M. Nelson, and “Cherishing Life” by Neil L. Andersen.
Steven Sharp Nelson
Following the breakout options and a service project, Steven Sharp Nelson, the cellist of The Piano Guys, spoke to the conference about the unique and eternal bond that exists between mothers and their children.
He shared a funny and tender story of asking his young daughter why she always wanted Mommy to put her to bed instead of Daddy. His daughter replied in her sassy and perfect way that she was a “Mommy’s girl” because she had spent so much time in her mother’s tummy. If she had spent time in her daddy’s tummy, she would be a daddy’s girl!
Following this story, Nelson went on to praise the work of Mother Theresa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and spoke out eloquently against abortion during her acceptance speech. Nelson concluded his remarks with a magnificent rendition of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” his version of which you can listen to here. (I've been listening to this on repeat since the conference - it's incredible).
Jeremy Goff
Jeremy is the author of My Life by GoGoGoff (a blog and Facebook page with more than 10 million readers in the last 10 years), and father of four children (the last of which was born just days before the conference!).
Jeremy quoted President Nelson’s 1985 talk about the “war on the unborn,” reminding us that we are at “war” in our fight for life. He then detailed a strategy for winning that war. This strategy included:
Understanding the doctrine
Using doctrine to guard against Satan’s lies
Using logic (specifically prophetic logic)
Endeavouring to love and serve those who value emotion over doctrine and logic.
“God expects us to end this war on the unborn. And it won’t end in surrender. We are called to win this war. To usher in peace where a baby in the womb is in the safest place on earth.” - Jeremy Goff
Although Goff gave a condensed and altered version at the conference, you can read his full thoughts on his blog post here.
Conclusion of Conference
Following Goff’s speech, participants were asked to share the ways that they felt inspired to Stand for Life with Love. Several participants shared about their commitment to testify more boldly of the sanctity of life with friends and family members, as well as at church.
Jessica Spackman, our president, concluded the conference with her thoughts on Standing for Life with Love.
“I know you have a role to play, and the Lord can give you both the strength and the words you need to stand for life with love.” - Jessica Spackman
Podcast!
Finally, at the very conclusion of the conference, attendees were the first to hear our big news: our new podcast! The first episode is out now where podcasts are found, with new episodes releasing shortly.
I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity I had to attend the conference. The Lord truly led me through a storm to get me there. This experience and listening to the speeches and heartfelt testimonies of others reminded me that the Lord brings about great things “by small and simple things,” and he can use those with a willing heart to accomplish his purposes, including the protection of his little ones, the preborn.
For those who were able to attend, share below about your highlights from the conference!
Don’t forget to check out the first episode of our new podcast: Latter-day Saints for Life!
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