Citations in General Conference · 2000 to 2026
Who Quotes Whom
When conference speakers cite another leader in their footnotes, it leaves a trail. This map connects 80 speakers and leaders through those citations. Speakers now quote each other about twice as often as in the 2000s, and President Russell M. Nelson and the Prophet Joseph Smith are quoted most.
Click any circle. Circle size shows how often the person is quoted. Gold rings mark leaders from before 2000. Lines show a speaker citing a leader in at least two talks.
Quoted most often
Talks whose footnotes cite the leader, not counting the leader’s own talks.
Built from name matching in the footnotes of 1,909 talks. A line from A to B means A's footnotes cite B. Leaders are counted when their name appears in a citation, so a talk citing a book by Joseph Fielding Smith counts toward him. This is a picture of who is quoted, not a ranking of leaders.