"Watch, That Ye May Be Ready"
President Harold B. Lee
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the Church's growth and the early revelations that prepared them for this expansion, emphasizing the need for spiritual guidance and the dissatisfaction with traditional churches.
We are witnessing a great expansion of the work of the Church throughout the world. It would seem that the early revelations of the Lord to the Church pointed us to a preparation for this day, when he promised:
"Behold, and lo, I will take care of your flocks [meaning, of course, the congregations of Church members], and will raise up elders and send unto them.
"Behold, I will hasten my work in its time."D&C 88:72"“73
During the past several months we have spent much time in countries of the ... (continued)
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"Watch, That Ye May Be Ready"
President Harold B. Lee
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a historic conference in Manchester, England, with over twelve thousand British members of the Church, highlighting their desire to establish the Church more firmly in their country.
We have just come from a historic conference of the members of the Church in the British Isles, at Manchester, England. Here we had assembled an all-British congregation of over twelve thousand members. The intensity of the interest there manifest bore eloquent witness to the growing awareness that the kingdom of God, meaning The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is worldwide, and that the people of Great Britain have a firm resolution to establish the Church more firmly in their nati ... (continued)
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"Watch, That Ye May Be Ready"
President Harold B. Lee
- First Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
A young mission president and his wife report on the protection of missionaries during a devastating earthquake in Peru, illustrating the promise of protection for those doing the Lord's work.
A few days ago we had a faith-promoting report from a young mission president and his wife who have just been released from presiding over a mission in Peru, where recently there was experienced one of the worst calamities in the history of the world, in which an estimated seventy thousand persons were buried when an earthquake moved an entire mountain over two cities, which were completely destroyed. We had four missionaries laboring there, two in each city. When the earthquake came, they were ... (continued)
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"Watchmen on the Tower"
Elder Helvécio Martins
- Of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the impact of the 1978 revelation extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members, and how it affected his family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
June 8, 1978, is no doubt an unforgettable day. On this day, priesthood and temple blessings were extended to all worthy male members of the ChurchO.D. 2Memorable indeed, its impact affected the lives of uncountable multitudes"”of millions who had full knowledge of its meaning and of many others who have not yet arrived, perhaps, to the knowledge of the full extension of its effects.
On that date, the First Presidency announced to the whole world a new and special revelation of the Lord, which ... (continued)
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"Watchmen on the Tower"
Elder Helvécio Martins
- Of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his first calling as a home teacher, emphasizing its importance and the teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson regarding the role of a home teacher.
In spite of the relative knowledge acquired throughout the six years of membership in the true Church, my first calling as a priesthood holder was not to serve as a General Authority, or a mission president, or a bishop, or as a member of two stake presidencies. It was not to serve as an executive secretary in the stake and in the ward. My first assignment and calling was that of serving as a home teacher. This calling preceded all the others. It is interestingly significant to think of it.
Sinc ... (continued)
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"Watchmen on the Tower"
Elder Helvécio Martins
- Of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares the story of how the branch president and two home teachers first visited his family, introducing them to the Church and its teachings, and how they continued to care for his family even after they had moved.
It is worth noting the way the Lord prepares our spirit and mind, without our realizing it, to obtain this high level of understanding.
When we were still visiting the Church as investigators, in the second week we received a phone call from the branch president, Brother Antonio Landelino Barros, who asked if it were possible for him to come visit us the following night. At the assigned hour, President Barros arrived, accompanied by two men, all formally dressed. Before the family gathered in th ... (continued)
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"We Beheld His Glory"
Elder David B. Haight
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The story of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom from heavenly messengers, including the appearance of Christ and other biblical figures in the Kirtland Temple.
These same three witnesses who were on the mount"”Peter, the senior of Christ"™s apostles, and James and John"”appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829 and conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and gave to them the keys of the kingdom and apostleship. Christ Himself, followed by Moses, Elias, and Elijah, appeared to Joseph and Oliver in the Kirtland Temple, giving authority and committing other essential keys of this dispensation. The Prophet"™s own words of this even ... (continued)
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"We Beheld His Glory"
Elder David B. Haight
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, where He was joined by Moses and Elijah on a mountain and was witnessed by His apostles Peter, James, and John.
Shortly before the Savior"™s betrayal and the subsequent events that will be celebrated next week, an event now known as the Transfiguration occurred, which I am sure was meant for our spiritual enlightenment as well as for those who were personal witnesses.
The New Testament writers tell us the Savior took with Him the three dearest and most enlightened of His apostles and went up a lofty mountain"”Luke says simply "a mountain" (seeLuke 9:28to find a secluded spot where He could kneel in ... (continued)
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A story about 'sportsmen' being fined for violating game laws, illustrating dishonesty among those generally regarded as fair and rule-abiding.
A fisherman or a hunter is generally regarded as a "sportsman" with a sense of fairness and of playing the game according to the rules; yet in one month in one of our states, 350 "sportsmen" were fined for violation of the game laws. An officer reported that there would have been many more had there been sufficient wardens to check the infractions.
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
An anecdote about a man who returned excess change to a drugstore clerk but kept extra change from a payphone, rationalizing that the phone company wouldn't miss it.
A reputable citizen recently told proudly of returning a five dollar bill to a drugstore clerk who had given him too much change; but when he completed a long distance call from a pay booth and the operator returned his five quarters by mistake, he kept the money without any qualms. "The phone company is so big they won't miss it," he said.
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A story about a ten-year-old girl who returned money found in a public telephone, used by a company to emphasize honesty even when dealing with machines.
The New Jersey Bell Telephone Company not long ago made a big fuss over a ten-year-old girl who had returned several dollars which she had found in the return slot of a public telephone. The company tried upon this occasion to impress the fact by having her picture placed in the paper that when a person faces a machine with a moral question, his answer should be the same as when he faces a human being.
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
An account of theft by guests at New York's Americana Hotel, highlighting the extent of dishonesty among 'well-meaning' people.
During the first ten months at New York's new Americana Hotel, the well-meaning average guests stole among other things 38,000 demitasse spoons, 18,000 towels, 355 silver coffee pots, 1,500 silver finger bowls, and, believe it or not, 100 Bibles.
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
An example of supermarket theft by customers and employees, illustrating the rationalization used to justify such actions.
Supermarkets are especially vulnerable to the "amateur" thieves, eighty percent of whom are women. One example, 500,000 supermarket shopping carts disappeared last year, at an average cost of $30.00 each, this comes to $15,000,000.00. One expert estimates that fifteen percent of your food bill goes to cover what customers and employees take, salving their conscience with the thought that big companies can afford it. The question is: Can you afford it?
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A reflection on the loss of honesty in Scotland, where even those picking raspberries on shares would likely steal if given the opportunity.
The fact that moral dishonesty has settled like an evil blanket upon the peoples of all lands is told in an interesting story by Russell Kirk reporting in theNational Review, having written the story from a country house in Fife, Scotland. "Once upon a time," he wrote, "a strict Calvinism, whatever its defects, did install a high degree of honesty in the typical Scot. But this week, at the raspberry picking here, the gardener remarked to me, that of the thirty or forty people who came to pick on ... (continued)
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A story about a father who joked about his son's ability to find loose change, suggesting that small dishonest acts in childhood can lead to larger issues later.
Can we possibly believe that any act of such dishonesty is born as of that minute when the act is committed? This cannot be true, for it goes back even to childhood where little traits of dishonesty go undetected. I once heard a father jokingly tell of how his little son was always able to find loose change around the house. Perhaps the urge to take something that does not belong to an employee can be traced back to the lack of respect which adolescents have for the property of others, even memb ... (continued)
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Mark E. Petersen
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The story of Cain illustrates the deception of sin and the law of retribution, emphasizing that sin leads to misery and death without repentance.
In its seductive dress, sin always seems to be attractive at first. It was so with Cain, who thought he could sin and get gain. Many today delude themselves into thinking the same thing. But the law of retribution is the same now as it was then. The wage of sin is ultimate misery and death if there is no repentance. (SeeRom. 6:23)
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Mark E. Petersen
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The Good Samaritan is used as a hypothetical example of hypocrisy to illustrate the importance of genuine kindness and honesty.
What if the Good Samaritan had been a hypocrite and had only pretended to help the injured traveler? What if he had brought the injured man to the inn only to further abuse him? What if he had paid the innkeeper with counterfeit money, or had "run out" on his bill? (SeeLuke 10:25"“37
What if he were trying to serve two masters? (SeeMatt. 6:24What if his show of piety and mercy was but a masquerade of duplicity?
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
Elder Mark E. Petersen
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the blindness of those who rejected Christ, including the crucifiers and the traitors who contributed to the martyrdom of Joseph Smith.
Cain was blind when he slew Abel.
Korihor was blind when he fought Alma.
The crucifiers of Christ were blind when they called down His sacrificial blood upon their own heads and upon the heads of their poor unsuspecting and hapless children. (SeeMatt. 27:25
The traitors from within who helped to bring about the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith were very, very blind"”oh, so blind!
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
President Marion G. Romney
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
President John A. Howard of Rockford College discusses the prevalence of dishonesty in society, including politicians who make false promises and a shift from honor based on integrity to a 'code of honor' based on dishonesty.
By way of introduction, I quote from the address given by President John A. Howard of Rockford College, at the 101st annual commencement exercises of Brigham Young University, April 23, 1976. After noting the appalling rate of crime in our midst, he said:
"The swelling tide of crime is matched by the deluge of dishonesty"”and I think that word is adequate and accurate. The tide of crime is matched by the deluge of dishonesty on the part of politicians who promise what they know they cannot del ... (continued)
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"We Believe in Being Honest"
President Marion G. Romney
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead for lying to the Holy Ghost about the proceeds from the sale of their land, demonstrating the immediate consequences of dishonesty in the early Christian church.
In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, the Lord impressed upon members of the primitive church that retribution for lying may follow immediately. A practice had been introduced among the saints of selling their possessions and distributing the proceeds "unto every man according as he had need. "¦
"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
"And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles"™ ... (continued)
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