"True to the Faith"
President Gordon B. Hinckley
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📖 general conference
The speaker highlights the tragic journey of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies in 1856, who faced extreme hardships and death while pulling handcarts to Zion.
Most noble, as we’ve heard, among those who paid a terrible price were the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies of 1856. There were not wagons enough to carry all who were converted in England and western Europe. If they were to come to Zion, they would have to walk, pulling a small cart behind them. Hundreds did so, and traveled faster than did the ox teams. But these two companies in 1856 literally walked with death. They started late, and no one knew they were coming. Their carts were ... (continued)
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"True to the Faith"
President Gordon B. Hinckley
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares a poignant story of Bodil Mortensen, a nine-year-old Danish girl who died from starvation and cold during the Willie Handcart Company's journey.
When all is said and done, no one can imagine, no one can appreciate or understand how desperate were their circumstances. I wish to pay tribute to the people of the Riverton Wyoming Stake, who have done so much to identify and complete the temple work and memorialize those who walked that march of death and terrible suffering. I could recount story after story, but there is no time for that. I mention very briefly only one. At Rock Creek Hollow, on property the Church now owns, is the common gr ... (continued)
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"Trust in the Lord"
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
A night watchman's daughter joins the church and brings a new spirit into their home, and her changed countenance is noticed by her father and the speaker.
Many years ago when I was a retail executive, we had a night watchman in one of our stores whose teenage daughter had just joined our church. He would often comment on the change that had occurred in the life of his daughter. Her baptism had brought a new spirit into their home. I was attempting to use this event as a base to teach him the gospel. One evening as I was leaving the store, he was by the exit checking out the late customers who had completed their purchases after the store had close ... (continued)
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"Trust in the Lord"
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
An actress shares a suite with a Mormon girl whose pure and gentle lifestyle, along with her dedication to her faith, leaves a lasting impression, eventually leading the actress and her family to join the Church.
If this really works, it is the greatest source of happiness to be found on earth. Let me cite one more example as it was written in a recent Ensign magazine. 'In the summer of 1953 I was a sixteen-year-old apprentice actress. … Our lead actress was a pretty red-haired girl who had won the lead role in a competition (so I understood) in New York. … She and I shared a suite of rooms, and every morning when I woke up I saw [her] sitting on her bed reading. I awoke to that sight, no mat ... (continued)
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"Trust in the Lord"
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The story of Joseph from the Bible is recounted, highlighting his righteousness and the way he prospered despite adversity due to his trust in the Lord.
Let me illustrate with an example. Beginning with the thirty-seventh chapter of the book of Genesis, we read a remarkable story about a family who had a large number of boys. One of the sons, Joseph, was loved by his father more than his other brothers. To show his love and appreciation for his son, his father made him a coat of many colors. 'And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.' Gen. 37:4 Joseph ... (continued)
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"Truth Will Prevail"
Elder Alma Sonne
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
As a young man doing missionary work in England, the speaker served as a private secretary to two Church presidents, which strengthened his testimony and belief in the Church's teachings.
As a young man doing missionary work over in England, I became the private secretary to President Charles W. Penrose and to President Rudger Clawson. From them I learned many things which confirmed my belief and strengthened my testimony.
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"Truth Will Prevail"
Elder Alma Sonne
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on a message displayed in a chapel from his childhood, 'Truth Will Prevail,' which served as a reminder of the enduring nature of truth amidst opposition and persecution.
As a boy I attended a little chapel on the walls of which appeared in bold lettering these words: "Truth Will Prevail." I often read it. Everybody read it. They had to. It was there before their eyes. It was like a battle cry in those days of opposition and persecution.
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"Truth Will Prevail"
Elder Alma Sonne
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A sarcastic lawyer questions a witness about their ability to see an accident, to which the witness humorously responds by referencing their ability to see the sun, which is ninety million miles away.
The other day I read in a local newspaper about a sarcastic lawyer who was making it pretty rough for the witness. The lawyer said, "Did you see the accident?" The witness replied, "Yes, sir." "How far away were you?" The witness said, "Oh, about thirty feet." "Well, how far can you see anyway?" He said, "I do not know, but in the morning when I wake up I can see the sun, and they tell me it is about ninety million miles away."
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"Truth Will Prevail"
Elder Alma Sonne
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the impact of the missionaries finding his grandparents in Scandinavia, leading to his upbringing in the Church and his strong faith in the teachings he received from a young age.
I shall always appreciate the fact that the missionaries of the Church found my grandparents in faraway Scandinavia. That circumstance accounts for my greatest blessing in this life. As a result, I have grown up in the Church among God's people in these valleys of the mountains. From my earliest recollections, I was taught faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the promises and the predictions of holy prophets. I recall that I was very young when I first heard the story of the restoration and th ... (continued)
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"Truth Will Prevail"
Elder Alma Sonne
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the initial reception of the Book of Mormon as one of ridicule and rejection, contrasting it with the modern view where it is increasingly respected and recognized for its powerful message.
In the year 1829 the Book of Mormon appeared. It was received with an avalanche of abuse and ridicule. It was repudiated and cast aside as being unworthy of study and serious consideration. But, my brethren and sisters, the tide is turning. It is turning with marvelous rapidity in these, our days. Thinking men are beginning to regard it as a powerful book with a great message.
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"Turn Heavenward Our Eyes"
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
- Presiding Bishop
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the preexistence with God, where all of God's children rejoiced at the plan of the creation of the earth.
In the Book of Job we read where the Lord spoke to Job and said:
"Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
"Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for j ... (continued)
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"Turn Heavenward Our Eyes"
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
- Presiding Bishop
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a personal experience of witnessing the vastness of the night sky while on a fathers and sons outing in Idaho, which reinforced his belief in God's glory.
Some years ago I accepted an invitation to a fathers and sons outing, where the participants spent an arduous but interesting day mounted on horses on a trip to Bloomington Lake in the mountains of Bear Lake County, Idaho. Late at night, after the campfires had all burned out and everyone had settled down under the open heavens, I lay on my back, gazing overhead. It was a moonless night, and I have never seen such a beautiful sight. The heavens were alive with the brightness of stars and planets ... (continued)
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"Turn Heavenward Our Eyes"
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
- Presiding Bishop
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares an anecdote about naturalist William Beebe and President Theodore Roosevelt, who would gaze at the stars and acknowledge their own insignificance in the universe.
It calls to mind an incident I read that tells of the naturalist, William Beebe, who made a visit to another naturalist whose name was Theodore Roosevelt. In describing the visit, William Beebe said that each evening, after a talk in Roosevelt"™s home at Sagamore Hill, the two men would go out on the lawn and gaze up at the sky to see who could first detect that faint spot of light-mist beyond the lower left-hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then one or the other would recite: "That ... (continued)
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"Turn Heavenward Our Eyes"
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
- Presiding Bishop
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📖 general conference
Moses's encounter with God on a high mountain is recounted, where he sees the vastness of God's creations and learns the purpose of life.
Can you imagine how Moses felt when he said: "Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed" after he "was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain, And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him"?Moses 1:10, 1"“2We read in the first chapter of Moses that "Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he great ... (continued)
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"Two Roads..."
Elder Richard L. Evans
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
President Rudolph L. Van Kampen of the Riverdale Stake uses a golf analogy to question why people choose difficult paths when easier options are available.
To those who are pulling away from God-given and long-proved principles, abandoning and protesting, may I offer the very interesting observation of a wise and seasoned president whose stake I was recently privileged to visit, and who said, in substance, with golf course connotation, "When there is all that fairway, why do you play so much in the rough?" (President Rudolph L. Van Kampen, Riverdale [Utah] Stake.)
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"Two Roads..."
Elder Richard L. Evans
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the dedication of a new flagpole on Temple Square, which included panels on liberty and law.
Some days ago, on September 17, as referred to by President McKay this morning, we dedicated a new flagpole on Temple Square, with flags flying a hundred feet high and a base and background of panels on liberty and law, including the Ten Commandments and some other reminders of our basic beliefs, among them these: Panels on liberty and law "We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in main ... (continued)
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"Two Roads..."
Elder Richard L. Evans
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares quotes from Phillips Brooks, Dr. Fosdick, and George Kennan on the topic of irresponsible protest and the importance of personal character over social reform.
Let me insert here some comments on irresponsible protest from three or four significant sources, dating back to the last century and coming down to the present scene. The first is from Phillips Brooks: "If circumstances taunt and persecute you," he said, "if everything you touch is a strain and a temptation, do not stand idly wishing that the world were changed. The change must be in you . . . Back on the wills of men, where it belongs, falls the responsibility of sin." (Twenty Sermons, No. 14. ... (continued)
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"United in Building the Kingdom of God"
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
Jacob, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, warns his people against pride and the love of riches, urging them to turn their hearts to the Lord and to share their wealth.
One of the first warnings from the prophets in ancient America is found in the second chapter of the book of Jacob. Jacob denounces his people"™s love of riches and the pride that has found a place in their hearts. He implores them to turn their hearts again to the Lord. He begins with these words:
"And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted u ... (continued)
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"United in Building the Kingdom of God"
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball leave their sick families to serve missions in Great Britain, demonstrating their commitment to building the kingdom of God.
There was one episode depicted on the records that would nearly bring tears to my eyes as my companion and I would listen to it over and over again. It was the account of Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball leaving their wives, children, and humble homes to journey to Great Britain in response to their mission calls to that faraway land. Heber C. Kimball records the event in these words:
""˜September 14th, "¦ President Brigham Young left his home at Montrose to start on the mission to England. ... (continued)
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"Upon This Rock"
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a story about his wife's grandfather who, along with a companion, contributed nine hundred dollars to the Church to pay the interest on its obligations at a time when the Church had no funds.
My wife's grandfather told me of an occasion when he and a brother companion had the privilege of contributing nine hundred dollars to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pay the interest on its obligations, which the tithes of the Church up to that time had not equaled.
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