A Look at History
Elder Levi Edgar Young
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Pastor John Robinson, a Pilgrim Father, gave a parting blessing to those leaving for America, urging them to continue seeking truth and to follow Christ.
Pastor John Robinson was one of the most prominent of the Pilgrim Fathers, yet he never set foot upon American soil. The little group that left Leyden, Holland, in 1620, received his blessing, and, in his parting words to them, he said: "Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your faces on earth any more, the God of heaven only knows: but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and his blessed angels that you follow ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Look at History
Elder Levi Edgar Young
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saints welcomed all honorable and wise people to join them in building the Kingdom of God, regardless of their religious beliefs.
When the time came for the Saints to move westward, they came headed by a prophet of God. They settled in this valley. It was a valley of sagebrush, very dry in the summertime, cold in winter. They came in the year 1847, and from then on, all the time, there were companies of Latter-day Saints on the plains, coming to Utah, coming in small numbers and then in larger groups, until the territory was settled, and Utah as a state was founded. A wonderful thought was expressed by President Brigham Yo ... (continued)
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A Loving, Communicating God
Elder Marion D. Hanks
- Emeritus Member of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A widowed mother finds comfort in a framed statement about God's fairness and the promise of wonderful surprises.
At home last evening after our meetings yesterday, we opened a note from a lovely Latter-day Saint mother, widowed by the death of her husband in an accident two years ago. She and her choice family have taken comfort, she said, from a framed statement on the wall of my office: 'To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair, and that there will be wonderful surprises.'
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A Loving, Communicating God
Elder Marion D. Hanks
- Emeritus Member of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A story about how Jewish tradition during Passover includes Half Hallels to remember the drowning Egyptian soldiers and God's reaction to the Israelites' hymns of praise.
Jewish tradition helps us further appreciate the nature of our Heavenly Father in the tender practice of the Half Hallels offered at Passover in celebration of the historic exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt and their passing through the Red Sea. When they reached the sea, the pursuing Egyptian armies overtook them. Through Moses, God divided the waters, 'And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.' Ex. 14:22 The Egyptians went in after them. Then Mose ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Loving, Communicating God
Elder Marion D. Hanks
- Emeritus Member of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A bishop shares his emotional journey from resentment to spiritual growth through the suffering and eventual death of his wife from cancer.
One of the experiences that has reached the deep center of my soul in recent years was to hear a choice bishop share with others in a meeting the tender feelings of his heart concerning the loss of his wife to cancer, an experience many other husbands and wives and families well understand. Twenty years earlier he had watched his mother pass through severe suffering before she died, and he had carried with him through the years a sense of resentment for the anguish she had endured. With his wife ... (continued)
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A Man of the Priesthood
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his gratitude for his parents, emphasizing how their example and teachings in their country home instilled in him a testimony of God's existence and the reality of the spiritual world.
Gratitude for Parents
The older I grow, the more grateful I am for my parents, for what they did in that old country home. They lived the gospel. Father used to preach it, particularly to visitors who came, more than to us boys and girls; but both Father and Mother lived the gospel. I realize more than ever before that my testimony of the reality of the existence of God dates back to that home when I was a child, and it was through their teachings and their examples that I received, even as a ch ... (continued)
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A Man of the Priesthood
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker recalls how his testimony of the gospel began at home, influenced by the example of his parents who lived the principles of the priesthood and the gospel.
Testimony Borne in the Home
That testimony began, was borne in that home, because of the example of a man who lived the priesthood and a wife who sustained him and lived it in the home. I do not know that Peter had that in mind, particularly, when he mentioned "being ensamples to the flock"1 Pet. 5:3but I do know that each home is a part of that flock. The influence you spread in your home will go throughout the ward, the stake, and then will go throughout the city, the state, the country, and t ... (continued)
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A Man of the Priesthood
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker urges priesthood holders to exemplify truth in their homes, never setting an improper example for their children, and to be dignified and control their temper.
Exemplify Truth in Our Homes
God help us to defend the truth"”better than that,to live it, to exemplify it in our homes.What we owe to our parents we cannot express. Are you going to have that same influence on your children, you parents"”fathers and mothers? Never set an improper example before them. You are men of the priesthood, and you are leaders. Never let them hear a cross word. You should control yourself. He is a weak man who flies into a passion, whether he is working a machine, pl ... (continued)
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A Man of the Priesthood
President David O. McKay
- (Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)
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📖 general conference
The speaker describes how a home is transformed when the priesthood is honored, emphasizing the importance of treating one's wife with respect, praying with the family, and avoiding unrighteous dominion.
Home is Transformed by Priesthood Honored
To hold the priesthood of God by divine authority is one of the greatest gifts that can come to a man, and worthiness is of first importance. The very essence of priesthood is eternal. He is greatly blessed who feels the responsibility of representing Deity. He should feel it to such an extent that he would he conscious of his actions and words under all conditions. No man who holds the Holy Priesthood should treat his wife disrespectfully. No man who ho ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls missionaries visiting his parents' home sixty-four years ago, one of whom was Elder Mark Austin, who left his comforts to spread the gospel.
I recall being told of the missionaries calling in this town at the home of my parents, sixty-four years ago. Elder Mark Austin was one, willing to leave his home here and the comforts and conveniences to carry this glorious message"”this marvelous work"”to affirm the authenticity of the Book of Mormon to the people of that land.
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A Marvelous Work
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls attending a conference in Holland fifty years ago with President Grant, where they were advised to share the spirit of the conference with others.
I recall fifty years ago when with the missionaries and President Grant who was then the president of the European Mission, I attended a conference in Holland that lasted all day. There were many tears shed during that day. At the close of the conference President Grant said: 'Today we have feasted on the fat thingsIsa. 25:6of the spirit of the Lord. Now, brethren, go out and give it away. The more you give away the more you will have left.'
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A Marvelous Work
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares experiences from the past year, including a testimony meeting in Hawaii and interviewing missionaries in various missions.
While Brother Bennion and Brother Evans were speaking about joy and happiness, my thoughts went to the experiences I have enjoyed during the past year. It has been my privilege, besides mingling with the Saints in the stakes of Zion, to go to four of the missions of the Church. I toured two of them. Over in Hawaii, with President Nelson, we held a testimony meeting that lasted from seven o'clock in the morning until five o'clock at night, and we had only a fifteen minute recess. We were all ther ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young man in a mission field questions why the gospel isn't taught to parents back home as it is in the mission field, and the speaker reflects on the joy missionaries find in their service.
I was in another mission where one young man said, 'Bishop, why do the brethren not send someone around to teach our parents the gospel the way we are teaching it to these people here in the mission field?' I came to feel that if you wanted to find the happiest people in this world, and really have had their hearts touched with divine joy, you should go into the mission field. You find these young men and young women who are giving all their time to the work of the Lord, and one by one they will ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his visit to Central America where he met with missionaries who are converts and have never been to Zion, expressing their newfound purpose and happiness since joining the Church.
That, we feel as we travel in the missions, as President McKay has just done, down in the islands of the South Pacific, and down in Central America where I have just been, I interviewed some of the missionaries who are converts to the Church who have never been here in our midst, and when they tell us that they had nothing to live for until the gospel found them, and now they really have something to live for, and bear witness that the time that they have been in the Church is the happiest time ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A story is shared about a serviceman who credits the Book of Mormon for keeping him clean during his service, and another about an elder who discovers profound statements in the Book of Mormon and shares them with President Joseph F. Smith.
I heard a young serviceman, who returned from the service, talking in a youth not long ago. He held up the Book of Mormon and said: 'This book kept me clean and brought me home clean to my loved ones. I read from it every day that I was in the service,' Some years ago a story was told about an elder who was sent on a mission. He wrote letters back to President Joseph F. Smith, calling his attention to this statement and that statement in the Book of Mormon, so wonderful he thought the Presidency ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A Methodist minister who intended to convert Mormons ended up joining the Church himself after conversing with Elder James Paxman and receiving a witness of the gospel.
There was another missionary who had an influence in the lives of my parents"”a Methodist minister, who was their neighbor. He told a group at one time that he was coming over to America to convert the Mormons, and he paid his own expenses to try to do that. He became acquainted with Elder James Paxman, with whom I had the opportunity to be associated on the high council of the Highland Stake. Elder Paxman was the patriarch of that stake. Before coming to Salt Lake City he had lived in Nephi, ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work
Elder John Longden
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an experience from a missionary farewell in Tooele, where a converted Baptist and his friend from the Army decided to use their saved money to support missionary work, leading to the Baptist serving a mission himself.
Just six months ago last Sunday night"”the Sunday night of general conference in October"”it was our privilege to be invited to Tooele to attend a missionary farewell. It was a rich experience. I learned that a faithful son from out there had been called into the service by Uncle Sam after filling his mission for the Church. He became acquainted with a young man from Kansas who was a staunch Baptist. This young man had an inquiring mind. He was also observant, and he was willing to listen an ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work and a Wonder
President Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began inconspicuously on April 6, 1830, in New York and has grown to millions of members worldwide, fulfilling prophecies of its growth.
April 6, 1830, in the state of New York, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had its beginning in this dispensation, a beginning that went largely unnoticed by the world. A small number of men and women, including the Prophet Joseph Smith, gathered in the home of Peter Whitmer, Sr., to witness and participate in the official organization of the Church. Today there are over 4 1/2 million members in eighty-one countries. We now look in retrospect on 150 years of the history of the Chur ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work and a Wonder
President Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Despite early opposition and persecution, including the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, the Church continued to grow and thrive.
Simultaneous with the early development of the Church was a spirit of opposition and persecution. Wherever the tiny 'mustard seed' was planted, attempts were made to frustrate its growth. But notwithstanding all the efforts to destroy the work—even the murder of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother—the Church prospered and grew. There were those who thought the Church would fail with the deaths of the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum, but they did not perceive, as Daniel foretold, that ... (continued)
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A Marvelous Work and a Wonder
President Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The Church has faced and overcome various challenges throughout its history, including exile, persecution, and an extermination order, which contributed to its strength and maturity.
The Church has survived exile from four states, the harassment and persecution of its members, an extermination order from a governor, the execution of its prophet, disenfranchisement by the government, and continuous persecution of its leaders and people. That is what this church endured and survived in the first sixty years of its history—and it was through such adversity, persecution, and impoverishment that the Church gained strength and matured. By the time Joseph F. Smith, the son o ... (continued)
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