"Upon This Rock"
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the early missionary work of the Church, including President Young's mission while on a sickbed, men returning east pushing handcarts, and the speaker's grandfather's lifelong missionary service.
I have in mind the early missionary work of the Church, in which men, President Young, for instance, undertook a mission while on a sickbed. I have in mind the service of men who had come by very tedious and difficult toil to these valleys, and who turned around and returned to the east, pushing a handcart from here all the way to the Mississippi River. I have in mind the service of my grandfather who began in his seventeenth year, I believe it was, as a missionary for the Church, and died witho ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Upon This Rock"
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the story of Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the parable of the wise and foolish builders.
He delivered what is probably the greatest sermon ever to fall from mortal lips. It was on a mountain near Capernaum, his own city, many years ago.
His wondrous words, then spoken to thousands of his Jewish friends, illuminated their souls with the light of heaven and ignited their whole beings with the fires of testimony. Never man spake as he did. And even now as we read and ponder the words of his mouth, our hearts burn within us.
As the climax of his Sermon on the Mount, he gave this counsel ... (continued)
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"Upon This Rock"
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes a scene near Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asks his disciples who people say he is, leading to Peter's declaration of Jesus's divine sonship.
Let us look in upon a sweet and tender scene that took place near Caesarea Philippi up north of the Sea of Galilee and near Mount Hermon. Multitudes who but recently sought to crown him king and whose clamoring for earthly bread brought forth the rebuff in the Sermon on the Bread of Life"”these multitudes have turned away.
The remaining little group of true and valiant believers upon whom our gaze falls are in need of spiritual refreshment. First they have prayers. Then Jesus testifies of his ... (continued)
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants"
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the importance of spiritual development over temporal affairs and wonders how much time people actually dedicate to their spiritual lives.
We spend much of our time in our business and temporal affairs, in our educational, social, and recreational life. We spend a great deal of our time in government and politics. Probably that is as it should be, but I wonder how much time we actually spend in developing the spiritual side of our lives"”probably, may I say, the better part of our lives? The older I become, the more I realize that this is the better side of our lives and certainly the most important side of our lives.
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants"
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker urges parents and spouses to encourage Aaronic Priesthood boys and Senior members to attend their priesthood meetings for blessings.
I hope, parents, that you will take an interest in these Aaronic Priesthood boys. Fathers and mothers, help them on Sunday mornings. They are sleepy; they are tired; they are growing boys. Help them to get up on Sunday morning and attend their priesthood meetings. You wonderful wives of the Senior members, encourage your husbands on Sunday morning to get up in time to put on their Sunday clothes and go to Church. That will give to them and to you great blessings that you will not know any oth ... (continued)
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants"
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery pray for guidance on the banks of the Susquehanna River and are visited by the resurrected John the Baptist, who confers upon them the Aaronic Priesthood.
May I try briefly to pray some of the incidents concerning the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood? I would like to take you back to the beautiful Susquehanna River, near Harmony, Pennsylvania. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, two young men, age twenty-three and twenty-two, respectively, stood on those beautiful banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. Their faces reflected the seriousness of their thoughts. It was evident that peace permeated their entire beings, and every act bespok ... (continued)
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants..."
Bishop Victor L. Brown
- Of the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery prayed about baptism for the remission of sins and were visited by John the Baptist, who conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood.
"Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."D&C 13:1This historic event took place on May 15, 1829. It was an answer to the prayer of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery respecting baptism ... (continued)
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants..."
Bishop Victor L. Brown
- Of the Presiding Bishopric
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📖 general conference
James E. Talmage reflects on his ordination to the deaconship at age eleven, describing the profound sense of honor and responsibility he felt as a bearer of the priesthood.
"I was called and ordained one Sunday morning, without any previous notice; and that afternoon was placed as a sentinel at the door of the house in which the Saints had met for worship. As soon as I had been ordained, a feeling came to me such as I have never been able to fully describe. It seemed scarcely possible, that I, a little boy, could be so honored of God to be called to the priesthood. I had read of the sons of Aaron and of Levi who were chosen for the sacred labors of the Lesser Pries ... (continued)
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"Upon You My Fellow Servants..."
Bishop Victor L. Brown
- Of the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
Wilford Woodruff emphasizes the significance of the Aaronic Priesthood, recounting his own experiences and the divine protection he felt while serving as a Priest.
". . . I went out as a Priest, and my companion as an Elder, and we traveled thousands of miles, and had many things manifested to us. I desire to impress upon you the fact that it does not make any difference whether a man is a Priest or an Apostle, if he magnifies his calling. A Priest holds the keys of the ministering of angels. Never in my life, as an Apostle, as a Seventy, or as an Elder, have I ever had more of the protection of the Lord than while holding the office of Priest." ... (continued)
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"Walk in Truth"
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
A lonely boy in Shanghai, China, searches for a Mormon to connect with his own people and is given a Book of Mormon by his companions.
A lonely boy in Shanghai, China, hunts for a Mormon. No one is found. He wants to find one of his own people. "Try a Latter-day Saint," says a fellow companion. "They are sometimes called that." Discouraged he goes back to his bunk. He finds the fellows waiting with a package on his cot. He opens it and finds the package wrapped in a white box. At first he thinks it is a box of candy and goodies, and then when he looks closer he sees a name. Reverently he says, "Hello, Mother." "A Book of Mor ... (continued)
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"Walk with Me"
Elaine L. Jack
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
President Spencer W. Kimball emphasized the importance of gaining an eternal perspective and promised that the blessings would outweigh the costs of leaving worldly things behind.
President Spencer W. Kimball promised, "It may seem a little difficult at first, but when a person begins to catch a vision of the true work, when he begins to see something of eternity in its true perspective, the blessings begin to far outweigh the cost of leaving "˜the world"™ behind" (Ensign,June 1976, p. 6).
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"Walk with Me"
President Henry B. Eyring
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker felt reassured by the Lord's presence and confidence when he was a new Aaronic Priesthood holder assigned to pass the sacrament.
It happened when I was a new Aaronic Priesthood holder with an assignment to pass the sacrament. Terrified that I would make a mistake, I went outside the chapel before the meeting started and prayed in desperation that God would help me. An answer came. I felt that the Lord was with me. I felt His confidence in me, and so I felt confidence in my part in His work.
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"Walk with Me"
Elaine L. Jack
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
Priscilla Samson-Davis, a sister in Ghana, serves as a visiting teacher and reads scriptures to a woman who can't read, exemplifying the straight and narrow path through service.
Priscilla Samson-Davis, a sister in Ghana, has known struggles. There have been many rocks on the path of her life. As a teacher she has watched families nurse children through dysentery and malaria, work hard, barter daily for sacks of rice, onions, tomatoes, any food to keep their loved ones alive. She serves as a visiting teacher, regularly traveling on the bus to see a sister on the other side of town. When asked if this task were a burden, given all she had to manage, she simply replied, "I ... (continued)
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"Walk with Me"
Elaine L. Jack
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
A bishop in the Dominican Republic personally taught a new convert and his wife to read using the scriptures, and the convert eventually became the new bishop.
A bishop in the Dominican Republic exemplifies such a life. After sacrament meeting in his ward, a new convert approached him and said, "Bishop, I notice that the members are always looking at books when they sing. I want to do that. They look at books in Sunday School class. I want to do that." Quietly, the brother said, "Bishop, I want to be a good member. I want to do all the Lord"™s work. But I can"™t read. Is there someone who can teach me?"
"Yes," said the bishop. And then he tri ... (continued)
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"Walk with Me"
Elaine L. Jack
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
Martha was busy serving while Mary sat at Jesus' feet to listen to His word, and Jesus affirmed Mary's choice to focus on the spiritual.
Focusing on our eternal purposes can ease our burdens and make our lives happy and more productive. Indeed, we often can do less and have it mean more. In Luke we read of Martha receiving Jesus into her home. Her sister Mary "sat at Jesus"™ feet, and heard his word.
"But Martha was cumbered about much serving"Luke 10:39"“40and she complained that Mary did not help her. Did Jesus urge Mary to rush back to the tasks of the day? No. "Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, "¦ thou art care ... (continued)
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"Walk with Me"
President Henry B. Eyring
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
As a bishop, the speaker advised a woman who had made a serious mistake to seek God's guidance, and she later confirmed that she did and received an answer.
It happened again while I was serving as a bishop. I received a phone call from a woman who had made a serious mistake and now faced a difficult, life-changing decision. As I visited with her, I felt I knew the answer to her problem, but I also felt strongly that I should not give her that answer—she needed to obtain it for herself. My words to her were 'I believe God will tell you what to do if you would ask Him.' She later reported that she did ask Him and He did tell her.
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"Walk with Me"
President Henry B. Eyring
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker had a transformative experience when he saw a recently baptized member who had crashed his car while drunk through the eyes of the Lord, as a noble son of God.
On another occasion a phone call came when I was a bishop—this time from the police. I was told that a drunk driver had crashed his car through the glass into the lobby of a bank. When the bewildered driver saw the security guard with his weapon brandished, he cried, 'Don’t shoot! I’m a Mormon!' The inebriated driver was discovered to be a member of my ward, baptized only recently. As I waited to speak to him in the bishop’s office, I planned what I would say to make ... (continued)
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"Watch with Me"
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A deacons quorum president assigned a shy counselor to reach out to a boy who never attended church, resulting in the boy attending a few times before moving away.
It is painful to imagine a shepherd feeding himself and letting the sheep go hungry. Yet I have seen many shepherds who feed their flocks. One was the president of a deacons quorum. One of his quorum members lived near my home. That neighbor boy had never attended a quorum meeting nor done anything with the members of his quorum. His stepfather was not a member, and his mother did not attend church.
The presidency of his deacons quorum met in council one Sunday morning. Each week they were fed t ... (continued)
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"Watch with Me"
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
An elders quorum president with a heavy personal load and a large number of families to care for prayed for guidance and focused on helping families prepare for temple covenants, resulting in many ordinations and sealings.
Two years ago, a man was called as the president of his elders quorum. He had been a member of the Church for less than 10 years. He had just become worthy to be sealed to his wife and family in the temple. His wife was an invalid. He had three daughters. The oldest was 13, and she cooked the meals and, with the others, cared for the house. His scant earnings from manual labor supported not only those five people but a grandfather who lived with them in their small house.
When he was called to b ... (continued)
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"Watch, That Ye May Be Ready"
President Harold B. Lee
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
A journalist visits the speaker to inquire about the Church's missionary activities and asks if they aim to convert the whole world, leading to a discussion about the Master's commission to preach the gospel globally.
Some time ago I was visited by a journalist from a large intermountain newspaper who came to inquire about the missionary activities of the Church. After we had explained our worldwide activities in missions now being expanded into such newer areas as the Fiji Islands, Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Spain, Italy, and heretofore remote areas of Latin America, and among the Indian tribes, she asked, as she contemplated the magnitude of the worldwide missionary activities: "Are you people o ... (continued)
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