A Chosen Generation ... A Peculiar People
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
- Presiding Bishop of the Church
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📖 general conference
A father writes a letter to his son, who is in a youth detention home, expressing regret for his past failures as a parent and asking for a chance to work together to overcome the wrongs done.
I would also like to read a letter written by a father to his son. The son had been confined in a youth detention home. The father upon learning about his son's confinement went immediately to the detention facilities. Upon seeing his son, the father commenced shouting indignantly, informing his son that he was no good, a disgrace. The boy reacted by forcing shut the door. As the father returned home, he was unable to sleep. He spent the night pondering over the circumstances causing the failure ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker expresses his gratitude for his siblings and the home environment they created, which was influential in his character building.
I am grateful for nine brothers and sisters (three of whom are still with us), who made up a home environment"”now a cherished memory"”which, as an influence in character building, was second only to the ever-kind and discreet parental family guidance.
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares his appreciation for the sacrifices his parents made to allow him and his siblings to pursue education, where he met his life's companion.
I am grateful for the sacrifices made by our parents to permit us children to enter the field of education. Through that opportunity I met my life's companion, who has ever been an inspiration: the mother and wise guardian of our seven children and the heart and center of a second lovely home.
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his gratitude for the opportunity to serve a mission, which changed the course of his life.
I am grateful for the opportunity the Church and my parents gave me to enter the mission field, an experience that changed the entire course of my life.
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker describes his gratitude for his friends and the peace and richness they bring to his soul.
I am grateful to my friends. He is truly blessed who has experienced the peace and richness of soul that spring from true and loyal friendship. I love my friends and true associates as one of the most priceless possessions of life.
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his gratitude for his parents' guardianship and training during his youth, which kept him from taking a wrong path in life.
My thoughts turn with grateful appreciation to the blessings that I have enjoyed. I am grateful for the wise, careful guardianship and training of noble parents. Guardianship and training!"”two qualities of parenthood wisely and discreetly applied during the extremely active, impressionable days of youth, a guardianship that kept me from turning to paths that would have ended in an entirely different kind of life. Every year increases my appreciation and love for an ever-watchful, precious mot ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares his gratitude for America and its freedoms, and recounts a cherished memory of dedicating a flagpole and panels on Temple Square.
I am grateful that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes with the Prophet Lehi that America is a 'land of promise, a land choice above all other lands'2 Ne. 1:5a land of liberty unto those who keep the commandments of God. I love the Stars and Stripes and the American way of life. I have faith in the Constitution of the United States. I believe that only through a truly educated citizenry can the ideals that inspired the founding fathers of our nation be preserved and perpetua ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a vivid warning from his childhood about the effects of dissipation, when he saw a man he admired in a drunken state asking his father for money to drink.
One of the great influences upon my youth was the memorizing of that important saying: 'My spirit will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle'Hel. 4:24I recall other warnings. One came to me as a boy. I sat on a spring seat by the side of my father as we drove into Ogden. Just before we reached the bridge across the Ogden River, a man came out of a saloon on the north bank of the river. I recognized him. I liked him because I had seen him on the stage. But on that occasion he was under the influence ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Citizen Who Loves Justice and Hates Evil Is Better and Stronger Than a Battleship
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, Robert R. McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares a lesson from his youth about a group of young people who ignored warnings and sailed towards Niagara Falls, ultimately meeting their demise, which left an indelible impression on him.
A little later, one of our teachers gave us a stop to read about a group of young people sailing down the river toward Niagara Falls. I cannot give you the author, nor the title of this old schoolbook, but I can give you the memory of that lesson that has stayed with me all my life about those young folks who were drinking and carousing and having a good time in the boat sailing down that river. A man on the shore, realizing the dangers that lay ahead, cried out to them, 'Young men, ahoy! The ra ... (continued)
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A City Set Upon a Hill
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
A national leader expressed admiration for the Washington Temple, seeing it as a symbol of the virtues that have made the nation great.
Said one of the leaders of our nation as he left the Washington Temple the other evening and looked up to its spires, "This beautiful structure is a symbol of those virtues which have made of us a great nation and a great people. We need such symbols."
Forgiveness
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A City Set Upon a Hill
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker served as a host at the Washington Temple, welcoming notable guests, and reflected on the contrast between the Church's current respect and its past persecution.
My brethren and sisters, I seek the direction of the Holy Spirit that I may say something that will add to your faith. I"™ve recently had a great experience. For the better part of a week, with others, I stood in the entrance to the Washington Temple as a host to special guests. These included the wife of the president of the United States, justices of the Supreme Court, senators and congressmen, ambassadors from various nations, clergymen, educators, and business leaders. Since that week of s ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A City Set Upon a Hill
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
Joseph Smith and Elias Higbee traveled to Washington D.C. to seek redress for the injustices suffered by the Church members, but President Martin Van Buren and Congress refused to help.
Watching the First Lady having her photograph taken with President Spencer W. Kimball, my mind drifted back 135 years. Our people were then in Commerce, Illinois, homeless and destitute, facing the bitter winter that soon followed. They had been driven from Missouri and had fled across the Mississippi seeking asylum in Illinois. Where the river makes a wide bend, they had purchased a tract of land, beautiful in its location, but so swampy that a team could not cross it without becoming mired in ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A City Set Upon a Hill
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the Church's history of persecution and sacrifice, and expresses gratitude for the current respect and understanding it receives.
And between those two first and final chapters there ran the thread of a score of other chapters that spoke of the death of Joseph and Hyrum that sultry day of June 27, 1844; of the sacking of Nauvoo; of long trains of wagons crossing the river into Iowa Territory; of the camps in the snows and mud that fateful spring of 1846; of Winter Quarters on the Missouri, and the black canker, the fevers, and the plague that decimated the ranks; of the call for men to join the army, issued by the same gov ... (continued)
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A City Set Upon a Hill
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
Heber C. Kimball warned of a future test of faith for Church members, suggesting that the challenge would be to live the gospel amidst worldly influences.
In 1856, when we were largely alone in these valleys, some thought we were safe from the ways of the world. To such talk, Heber C. Kimball, the grandfather of our beloved president, responded: "I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy to the people of God. Then, brethren," he went on, "look out for the great sieve, for there will be ... (continued)
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A Comforter, a Guide, a Testifier
Margaret D. Nadauld
- Young Women General President
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a personal experience of becoming seriously ill as a young girl, being diagnosed with polio, and feeling comforted by the Holy Ghost after praying alone in a hospital isolation room.
First, let"™s focus on the comforting power of the Holy Ghost. When I was just a young girl, I became seriously ill. Each day the illness became increasingly severe. Nothing the doctor recommended helped. At that time the dreaded disease of polio was raging in almost epidemic proportions in the land. It was taking the lives of many, and those who didn"™t die were often left crippled. Polio was everyone"™s worst fear in those days.
One night my illness became critical, and my father and gra ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Comforter, a Guide, a Testifier
Margaret D. Nadauld
- Young Women General President
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares the story of a young woman seeking comfort due to her parents' disharmony and how she is reminded to pray for comfort and rely on the Holy Ghost for peace.
Let me tell you a second experience. I know of a precious young woman who needs comfort because of a heartache in her life. She is worried about her family situation and the disharmony between her parents. It is sad and very troubling to her and to her brothers and sisters. She is the oldest child and wonders what she can do about this serious problem in their family. Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation. Although there is no solution that is easy and there is no one formula that will ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Comforter, a Guide, a Testifier
Margaret D. Nadauld
- Young Women General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
A 15-year-old girl shares her challenging experience of seeking new friends, receiving guidance from the Holy Ghost, and finding friendship after following a suggestion from her seminary teacher.
My second point is, the Holy Spirit has the power to guide. A 15-year-old girl felt that she needed to find new friends. Have you ever felt that way? She writes, "Now, I don"™t know if you have ever had to change friends, but it honestly was the hardest thing I have ever had to do." She decided to put her problem in the hands of the Lord, and she also counseled with her parents. She says that after several months "she wanted to just give up." One afternoon she was casually talking to her s ... (continued)
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A Crown of Thorns, a Crown of Glory
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares a story about children playing with thistledown stalks, not realizing the consequences of spreading thistles to gardens.
As children, we used to delight in waving thistledown stalks to watch the seeds float on the wind. Only later did we realize the effects that this had on our own and neighboring gardens. Many of us delight in flirting with temptation, only later to learn how we and others have sown the seeds of our own unhappiness and how we can also affect our neighbor’s happiness.
Forgiveness
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A Crown of Thorns, a Crown of Glory
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker tells of a senior member in his office who responded selfishly when asked for help, illustrating the 'what's in it for me?' philosophy.
When I first started my professional career, one of the senior members in our office asked another senior member for some help on a legal matter. The other man who was asked to help was gifted and able but also selfish. He replied, “What’s in it for me?†The “what’s in it for me?†philosophy is basically what’s wrong with the world. It is surely one of the sharpest points in a crown of thorns.
Forgiveness
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A Crown of Thorns, a Crown of Glory
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts childhood summers spent on a farm, where they would go barefoot and their feet would toughen over time, but they still had to avoid thistles.
It seems that no matter how carefully we walk through life’s paths, we pick up some thorns, briars, and slivers. As a young boy, when school was out for the summer and we went to the farm, off came our shoes. The shoes stayed off all summer long except for special occasions. For the first week or two, when our feet were tender, the smoothest pebble or stick would be painful. But as the weeks came and went, the soles of our feet toughened so that they could withstand almost anything in the ... (continued)
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