"Without Purse or Scrip"
Elder S. Dilworth Young
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young missionary was anxious about going out without his scriptures, misunderstanding the term 'without purse or scrip' to mean he couldn't take his religious texts with him.
I can still see a six-foot four lad with eyes so large—it seems to me they filled his whole face they were so large—he came into the mission home after a long ride and sat down, and we talked. Somehow he had heard he was going to go out and do some work in the country so he was nervous about it, and he began to ask me questions. He said, 'President Young, are we going to carry copies of the Book of Mormon with us?' I assured him that he was. He said, 'May we read these copies of th ... (continued)
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"Without Purse or Scrip"
Elder S. Dilworth Young
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A missionary who initially came out for personal development experienced profound blessings and success, leading to him staying longer than the planned one year.
I would like to give one more incident, if I may: We had a missionary go out to stay but a year. He informed me that he had come out to get an experience. He didn't want to go through his life and finish his college without being able to say that he had had a missionary experience. He felt it would do him good. This is what he writes: 'In these past three months He has abundantly blessed me beyond my power of words to express, and a rich deep feeling of happiness which I have within me at this m ... (continued)
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"Without Purse or Scrip"
Elder S. Dilworth Young
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Two missionaries sent to a tribe of Indians were nervous and without specific instructions, but they trusted in the Lord and successfully held a cottage meeting with many attendees.
I sent two of your boys out, recently, to a tribe of Indians. That's nothing unusual. Ever since Brother Kimball has urged us to get busy, most of the brethren in the missions have done so, but I have delayed until just recently. These young men said to me before they left, 'What are your instructions?' I had none for them. I did not know what to tell them, so I said, 'I don't know, but you go up there, and if you have had the proper training in this mission, you will know what to do, after you ... (continued)
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"Witnesses unto Me"
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young returned missionary from Hong Kong shares how an investigator began to believe in God after observing the life of a church member.
A young returned missionary sister from Hong Kong told me recently that when she and her companion asked an investigator if she believed in God, the woman replied, 'I didn’t until I met a member of your church and observed how she lived.' What exemplary missionary work! Asking every member to be a missionary is not nearly as crucial as asking every member to be a member! Thank you for living the gospel.
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"Witnesses unto Me"
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Elder and Sister John Hess from Idaho helped improve potato yields in Belarus, which subsequently aided young proselyting missionaries in their work.
Brother Hess asked for ground just three feet away from the government plots, rolled up his sleeves, and went to work with the same seed, tools, and fertilizer available in Belarus. Come harvest time they began to dig, then called on others to dig, then called on everyone to dig. With the same rainfall and soil, but with an extra measure of Idaho industry, experience, and prayer, the plots planted by the Hesses produced a whopping 550 sacks per hectare—11 times better than any prior yield ... (continued)
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"Witnesses unto Me"
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young sister missionary's family made a significant sacrifice to support her mission, living in a storage locker and using a neighbor's outdoor tap and a nearby gas station bathroom.
I learned from a mission president recently that one of his young sister missionaries, nearing the end of her very faithful and successful mission, said through her tears that she must return home immediately. When he inquired as to the problem, she told him money had become so difficult for her family that to continue her support, the family had rented their home and were using the rental proceeds to pay her mission expenses. For living accommodations, they had moved into a storage locker. For ... (continued)
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"Woe Unto You... Hypocrites"
President N. Eldon Tanner
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts two contrasting opinions about two different men regarding their sincerity and reliability, highlighting the issue of hypocrisy.
Just the other day I was talking to someone who said, "There goes a man in whom you can place full confidence. You always know where he stands. He never pretends, but is always sincere and just his best self."
The same day, someone, referring to another man, said, "Isn't it too bad that you never know just where he stands? You are never sure you can depend on what he says. I think the Lord would have called him a hypocrite." I felt to agree with him.
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"Woe Unto You... Hypocrites"
President N. Eldon Tanner
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an experience with a family of recent converts who became inactive due to observing hypocrisy among church members.
Not long ago I was talking to a father and mother and their little boy who were converts of not many months. During our conversation the father said they had become inactive and were not attending church, and I asked them why. He explained that the missionaries were such fine examples of good and clean-living, righteous people; but when they came to the ward they found so many people who were not living what the Church teaches, or what they professed to be, and as a result they became discourage ... (continued)
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"Words to Live By"
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker expresses gratitude for the companionship and characteristics of the late Elder Clifford E. Young, mentioning Young's integrity, faith, and unselfish service despite physical suffering.
I would be ungrateful if I did not mention something about one of our colleagues, Elder Clifford E. Young. It was not my privilege to be here when he passed away, so I did not attend his funeral service. I was touring a mission at the time. I am most grateful for his companionship, for the splendid characteristics exemplified in his life, integrity to his calling, his faith and testimony of the gospel, and his unselfish service, many times, I am sure, filling his assignments when he was sufferin ... (continued)
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"Words to Live By"
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts an experience of President George Albert Smith who hosted a Dutch couple; the Dutch brother attended English-speaking fast meetings for the feeling of happiness he got, despite not understanding the language.
And now I would give you words to live by if the spirit will so dictate. I am reminded of an experience that happened in the life of President George Albert Smith. Several years before he became President of the Church, he gave a home for some months to a couple from Holland. They could speak but a few words of English and could understand very little English. However, the Dutch brother insisted on going to the English-speaking fast meetings and after about the third fast meeting as President ... (continued)
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"Words to Live By"
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares Joseph Smith's powerful testimony of his vision, likening his experience to that of Paul and emphasizing the reality of his vision despite persecution.
"However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution u ... (continued)
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"Words to Live By"
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A 17-year-old girl, raised in a good home and influenced by the gospel, shares her growing testimony and admiration for her parents' example of living the gospel.
I should like to give you the witness from a young girl, seventeen years of age, a beautiful young lady, growing into womanhood. There was a period in her life when she might not have been too sure of her religious convictions, but she is being reared in a good home where the tenets of the gospel are lived, where parents (the father now passed away) feel good because they are in tune. Then she has some wonderful teachers and instructors in the organizations of the Church. Today she feels good ... (continued)
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"Words to Live By"
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Elder Clifford E. Young shares an experience where President Heber J. Grant, ill and near the end of his life, prays to not lose his testimony and to remain faithful to the end.
In conclusion, I will give you an experience that came to me from my colleague, Elder Clifford E. Young, a year or so ago. It seems that before President Heber J. Grant passed away, and many of you know that he was ill for many months, but three or four weeks before he passed away, Brother Young was in his home visiting him. President Grant uttered this prayer: "O God, bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end!" Here was the prophet of the Lord at that time, holdin ... (continued)
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"Write upon My Heart"
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls parting from his father on a street corner in New York City, reflecting on his father's concern for his future and the teachings he had received.
Parting can be hard, particularly when the parent and the child know that they may not see each other for a long time. I had that experience with my father. We parted on a street corner in New York City. He had come there for his work. I was there on my way to another place. We both knew that I probably would never return to live with my parents under the same roof again.
It was a sunny day, around noontime, the streets crowded with cars and pedestrians. On that particular corner there was a tr ... (continued)
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"Write upon My Heart"
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares how his mother's love for the Savior influenced his understanding of prayer, as demonstrated by a picture of the Savior she kept on her bedroom wall.
I had learned that we must always pray in the name of Jesus Christ. But something I had seen and heard had taught me those words were more than a formality. There was a picture of the Savior on the bedroom wall where my mother was bedridden in the years before she died. She had put it there because of something her cousin Samuel O. Bennion had told her. He had traveled with an Apostle who described seeing the Savior in a vision. Elder Bennion gave her that print, saying that it was the best port ... (continued)
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"Write upon My Heart"
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the moment his father prayed for his deceased wife to be greeted in the spirit world, teaching the speaker about prayer through his example.
The afternoon my mother died, we went to the family home from the hospital. We sat quietly in the darkened living room for a while. Dad excused himself and went to his bedroom. He was gone for a few minutes. When he walked back into the living room, there was a smile on his face. He said that he"™d been concerned for Mother. During the time he had gathered her things from her hospital room and thanked the staff for being so kind to her, he thought of her going into the spirit world just minute ... (continued)
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"Yagottawanna"
Elder Jack H Goaslind
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls a young man explaining the meaning of 'Yagottawanna' on his T-shirt, emphasizing the need to want to do something before doing it.
This quality was expressed in a word that I recently saw printed on a young man"™s worn T-shirt from a bygone youth conference. It read, "Yagottawanna." I jokingly guessed it might be an ancient Indian word, but I asked him to explain it to me. He gave me that "you gotta be kiddin"™" look, but condescended to answer anyway. ""˜Yagottawanna,"™" he said, "means that you have towantto do something before you will do it." Of course I knew that all along, but it was good to hear him sa ... (continued)
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"Yagottawanna"
Elder Jack H Goaslind
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A man reflects on his frivolous thoughts during President David O. McKay's talk at general conference, contrasting his attitude with others who were spiritually moved.
Several years ago I heard about a good brother who described his attitude as President David O. McKay gave the concluding talk of general conference. It was a sultry afternoon, and this was the fifth session he had attended. He was sitting in the balcony, and his mind had a serious wandering problem. He noticed a man sitting in the middle section who had fallen asleep with his head tilted back and his mouth open. It occurred to him that if he were in the roof of the Tabernacle, he could drop a s ... (continued)
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"Yagottawanna"
Elder Jack H Goaslind
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A youth who usually sat with friends during sacrament meeting finds himself sitting alone one day, leading to a spiritual experience that changes his life.
One youth described how he first experienced the spirit of worship. He had been marginally active through his Aaronic Priesthood years. When he attended sacrament meeting, he usually sat in the back with a group of his friends, and he was less than a model of reverence. One day, however, he came in a little late, and there were no seats by his friends. He sat alone, and for the first time in his life, he closed his eyes during the prayers, he sang the hymns, he listened to the sacrament prayers, ... (continued)
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"Yagottawanna"
Elder Jack H Goaslind
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young woman stops an R-rated movie from being shown at her home, influencing her friends and preventing them from being exposed to inappropriate content.
I recently heard of a young woman who invited a group of her friends to bring their dates to her home after a dance. One couple stopped on the way to pick up a videotape to watch. As they played it, the group realized it was an R-rated movie. This young woman became disturbed and excused herself to talk to her parents. They reminded her that R-rated movies are not shown in their home and suggested that someone should turn it off. The young woman said she would do it, and she did. Everyone seemed ... (continued)
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