Corpus of LDS General Conference Talks

[Jeff Lebowski]

This is really, really cool. Type in any word and it will tell you how frequently it was used in general conference by decade, all the way back to 1850.

http://corpus.byu.edu/gc/

[Clark Addison]

I am guessing that for 90% of us, the first thing we entered on the site was "Pornography".

For the record:

No mentions before the 1950s, thereafter:

50s 4
60s 4
70s 73 (not surprising)
80s 43
90s 62
00s 183

I guess we haven't been imagining the explosion in porn talks.

ETA: This is pretty cool. You can see trends. For example, not surprisingly, the peak for "Book of Mormon" was in the 80s, when President Benson was around. "Family" has exploded over the last 30 years or so. I'll be playing with this for a while.

[YOhio]

Cola has only been mentioned 3 times. All in one talk by Vaughn Featherstone in the 70's.

[creekster]

Cola has only been mentioned 3 times. All in one talk by Vaughn Featherstone in the 70's.

Hmmm. What about 1922 when Heber J. Grant said:

O God, for a prophet, To guide us in these latter days; We thank Thee for sending the gospel To lighten our minds with its rays; We thank Thee for every blessing Bestowed by Thy bounteous hand; We feel it a pleasure to serve Thee, And love to obey Thy command. " Now, if you mean it -- I am not going to give any command, but I will ask it as a personal, individual favor to me, to let coca-cola alone.

[YOhio]

Hmmm. What about 1922 when Heber J. Grant said:

O God, for a prophet, To guide us in these latter days; We thank Thee for sending the gospel To lighten our minds with its rays; We thank Thee for every blessing Bestowed by Thy bounteous hand; We feel it a pleasure to serve Thee, And love to obey Thy command. " Now, if you mean it -- I am not going to give any command, but I will ask it as a personal, individual favor to me, to let coca-cola alone.

Ha. That quote didn't show up when I just searched for "cola." I love the quote, though.

[byu71]

That's cool. I typed in Birth Control

40s 6
50's 0
60's 8
70's 10
80's 3
90's 1
00's 0

I guess that is why I am the only one that remembers birth control was of the devil. I just didn't believe it, but felt guilty my wife was on the pill from time to time or that I was out looking for some real sensitive feeling rubber that didn't cost a fortune.

[RC Vikings]

After a couple of down decades talking about Christ we seem to be getting our numbers up again.

[KillerDog]

word of wisdom peaked in the 20s and 30s and has declined recently to match 1890s totals.

[KillerDog]

Oddly, pioneer had dramatic peaks in the 40s and 90s.

[scottie]

Word of Wisdom:

30s 300
40s 177
50s 108
60s 128
70s 118
80s 91
90s 99
00s 63

EDIT: KillerDog beat me to it.

[DapperDan]

African-American has only been said twice in GC. Once in the 90's and once in the 2000s, both by TSM, both about a Sister.

Negro has been said 63 times. It hasn't been said since the 70s. The 60s tie the 1910s with 9 mentions. The 50s saw 0 use of the word.

Edit: Forgot to check for Negros and African-Americans. Only use of Negros was in 1988 and had nothing to do with race. AAs was also only used once, in 2006, by Joseph B. Wirthlin talking about a group that came to visit JS in Nauvoo.

Black/blacks would take too much work to separate racial from non-racial use.

[Pheidippides]

Look up the word "damn".

Also, we talk about JS way more now than just after he died.

[scottie]

Look up the word "damn".

Also, we talk about JS way more now than just after he died.

Interesting.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Check out "polygamy". Only 12 reference since 1930. Compare to late 1800s.

What a cool tool. Fascinating.

[Jacob]

Oddly, pioneer had dramatic peaks in the 40s and 90s.

Not so odd. Those were the 100th and 150th anniversaries of the Mormon crossing. Huge celebrations and remembrances involved in those years.