October 2026 General Conference › How it works
How we read the talks
A simple explanation of qualitative coding, the careful, line-by-line reading researchers use to find patterns, and how those patterns connect to what we were asked to do.
The research methods behind it
None of this was invented for this site. It combines several established research methods, each with a name and published sources. Here they are in plain terms, and where each shows up.
A mixed-methods content analysis using Saldaña's two-cycle coding and codebook thematic analysis, with summative counts of scriptures, citations, and invitations tracked longitudinally across conferences.The approach, in one sentence, in the terms a researcher would use
| Method (source) | In plain terms | Where it shows up here |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative content analysis Mayring; Hsieh & Shannon | The umbrella name for the whole project: reading texts carefully and sorting what they say. Labels came from the talks themselves, and the counting came first, with interpretation after. | The whole site |
| Two-cycle coding Saldaña | First, short labels go on each small passage. Then those labels are condensed into bigger ideas. | 932 passages → 124 codes → 26 categories → 10 themes |
| Codebook thematic analysis Braun & Clarke; King (template analysis) | Finding themes while working from a written list of labels that carries over from one conference to the next, instead of starting from scratch each time. | The master list of codes; the themes are rediscovered fresh each conference |
| Quantitative content analysis Krippendorff; Neuendorf | Counting clearly defined things so anyone could check the numbers. | Scripture references, leaders quoted, word counts, invitations (By the Numbers) |
| Quantitizing Sandelowski and colleagues | Turning labels into numbers so ideas can be compared and charted. | How many talks and sessions carried each theme |
| Longitudinal (trend) analysis Saldaña | Following the same things over time to see what changes. | October 2026 is the starting point; each new conference uses the same list of codes, so shifts can be compared |
| Corpus and text analytics Baker | Purely computer-made word counts, with no human judgment. | The word cloud and most-used words |
These names describe how the reading and counting were done. They don't make the findings more than a description of this conference, and one reader did the coding, so another careful reader could group things differently.
Follow one passage, start to finish
A real example from this conference, traced from the speaker's words to something you could do this week.
“more intentionally embrace the divine purpose of the law of the fast in a higher and holier way”
Elder Soares · passage T06.14What this can show you
- Which ideas came up again and again, across many speakers.
- How the weekend moved, such as trials on Saturday and treating each other well on Sunday.
- Every place a speaker directly asked us to act, in their exact words.
- Related passages from different talks, side by side.
What it can't
- Tell you what the Lord wants you to focus on. That comes through prayer and the Spirit.
- Speak for the speakers or for the Church. This is an independent study.
- Replace the talks. Read, watch, and listen to them in full.
- Give the only right grouping. Another careful reader might organize things differently; the themes are lenses for pondering, not the final word.
From themes to your next six months
Each theme, and the direct invitations that fit it. Pick a theme that speaks to you, then build your plan from its invitations.
| Covenants |
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| Adversity |
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| Grace |
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| Striving |
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| Ministering |
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| Identity |
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| Truth with love |
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| Daily practices |
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| Giving |
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| Witness |
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What counts as a direct invitation
Only direct invitations count: sentences where a speaker says “I invite,” “let us,” “please,” “I urge,” “I plead,” “I ask you,” “I call upon,” or names what follows as an invitation. Plain instructions (“Keep your covenants”), statements of truth, stories, “may we” wishes, and descriptions are not counted, however inspiring; counting them would make the list too long to act on. This conference yielded 28 direct invitations from 22 talks, drawn from 50 exact quotations, beginning with President Oaks's 4. Each is shown in the speaker's exact words. Invitations that are alike are grouped, and every speaker is named. President Oaks's direct instructions that are not phrased as invitations are listed separately at the end of the plan page.
Want the full details?
The complete research methodology covers the coding protocol, saturation, trustworthiness, theory mapping, limitations, and references, written for researchers.