A Plea to My Sisters
President Russell M. Nelson
- President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a personal experience of loss during his early career in heart surgery and how his wife, Dantzel, encouraged him to continue his work.
Fifty-eight years ago I was asked to operate upon a little girl, gravely ill from congenital heart disease. Her older brother had previously died of a similar condition. Her parents pleaded for help. I was not optimistic about the outcome but vowed to do all in my power to save her life. Despite my best efforts, the child died. Later, the same parents brought another daughter to me, then just 16 months old, also born with a malformed heart. Again, at their request, I performed an operation. This ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Plea to My Sisters
President Russell M. Nelson
- President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an account of a stake Primary president who provided crucial insight during a stake council meeting.
A superb stake president told me of a stake council meeting in which they were wrestling with a difficult challenge. At one point, he realized that the stake Primary president had not spoken, so he asked if she had any impressions. "Well, actually I have," she said and then proceeded to share a thought that changed the entire direction of the meeting. The stake president continued, "As she spoke, the Spirit testified to me that she had given voice to the revelation we had been seeking as a cou ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Portrait of the Man of Galilee
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker imagines a pilgrimage to ancient Palestine to seek Jesus and describes the scene of Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount.
In fancy, I made a pilgrimage back through nineteen centuries of time to Palestine. I went to seek the man of Galilee called Jesus. I fancied I was in that fabulous city of Tiberius on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where I observed, along the water's edge, miles of palaces and fashionable residences surrounded by palm groves and rich gardens, gay with tropical luxuriance. On an almost deserted thoroughfare I saw the markets of rich merchants and the stands of oriental trades people. Approachin ... (continued)
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A Portrait of the Man of Galilee
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the miraculous feeding of five thousand people by Jesus with five loaves and two fishes, and a separate event of feeding four thousand people.
Another time, when he sought seclusion, he went into a desert place to be away from the crowds. The multitude found him, and he received them. And when the day began to wear away, he gathered up five loaves and two fishes, blessed them, and fed five thousand people. After the feeding, there remained twelve baskets of fragments Matt. 14:14-21 Another time he fed four thousand, after blessing seven loaves and a few fishes Matt. 15:30-38
Forgiveness
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A Portrait of the Man of Galilee
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker visualizes Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, witnessed by two slaves, and the subsequent plotting of the Jewish Sanhedrin against Jesus.
Words of his deeds spread throughout the countryside, even to Greece and Rome, and when it was time for the Feast of the Passover, Jerusalem was crowded with people from far and near who had come to see this marvelous man of Galilee. And they were not disappointed. Down from the Mount of Olives and through the streets of Jerusalem he came, riding a little donkey. His path was strewn with flowers, palm branches, and the robes of friends who watched his entry and who sang: 'Hosanna to the Son of D ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Portrait of the Man of Galilee
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker narrates the humble birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem, the visit of the shepherds, and later the wise men from the East.
Whence came this Jesus of Nazareth—this man of Galilee? Some thirty years before his ministry began, Mary, his mother, laden with child and in the throes of her travail, had just arrived at Bethlehem. Hers had been a long four-or-five day journey on the back of a little donkey, when she was not afoot. When she arrived, there was no place for her at the inn where she had expected to stay, and no one round about would give her space to stay. So a bed of clean straw was hastily made for her ... (continued)
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A Prayer for the Children
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Jesus blesses the Nephite children and prays for them, expressing His concern for their innocence amidst destructive influences.
At the close of His first day teaching among the Nephite faithful, the resurrected Jesus turned His attention to a special audience which often stands just below the level of our gaze, sometimes nearly out of sight.
The sacred record says: "He commanded that their little children should be brought [forward]. "¦
"And "¦ when they had knelt upon the ground, "¦ he himself also knelt "¦ ; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, "¦ so great and mar ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Prayer for the Children
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A young man searches for faith after his skeptical grandfather and agnostic father leave him without religious guidance, illustrating the generational consequences of skepticism.
Not long ago Sister Holland and I met a fine young man who came in contact with us after he had been roaming around through the occult and sorting through a variety of Eastern religions, all in an attempt to find religious faith. His father, he admitted, believed in nothing whatsoever. But his grandfather, he said, was actually a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "But he didn"™t do much with it," the young man said. "He was always pretty cynical about the Church." ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts joining the Saints of the Riverton Wyoming Stake to reenact part of the 1856 handcart trek, visiting historical sites and reflecting on the pioneers' sacrifices.
In celebration of July 24th this year, we joined the Saints of the Riverton Wyoming Stake. Under the direction of President Robert Lorimer and his counselors, the youth and youth leaders of that stake reenacted part of the handcart trek which took place in 1856. We started early in a four-wheel-drive van and went first to Independence Rock, where we picked up the Mormon Trail. We saw Devil"™s Gate a few miles up the road. Our souls were subdued when we arrived at the hallowed ground of Martin" ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the emotional experience at the Sweetwater River crossing, where three young men helped the handcart company cross the icy river, later dying from the strain, and how Brigham Young honored their sacrifice.
It was an emotional experience to see the Sweetwater River crossing where most of the five hundred members of the company were carried across the icy river by three brave young men. Later, all three of the boys died from the effects of the terrible strain and great exposure of that crossing. When President Brigham Young heard of this heroic act, he wept like a child and later declared publicly: "That act alone will ensure C. Allen Huntington, George W. Grant and David P. Kimball an everlasting s ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares the harrowing journey of the Willie Handcart Company over Rocky Ridge and the tragic deaths that occurred, including the speaker's personal reflection on his ancestors and his own sacrifices.
We continued to travel up over Rocky Ridge, seven thousand three hundred feet high. This is the highest spot on the Mormon Trail. The two-mile ascension to Rocky Ridge gains over seven hundred feet in altitude. It was very difficult for all of the pioneers to travel over Rocky Ridge. It was particularly agonizing for the members of the Willie Handcart Company, who struggled over that ridge in the fall of 1856 in a blizzard. Many had worn shoes, and the sharp rocks caused their feet to bleed, lea ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the meeting with 185 young people from the Riverton stake reenacting the handcart treks and visiting Rock Creek Hollow, where members of the Willie Handcart Company were buried, including the stories of Bodil Mortinsen and James Kirkwood.
A few miles farther, at Radium Springs, we caught up with 185 young people and their leaders from the Riverton stake, who had been pulling handcarts in reenactment of the handcart treks. We bore testimony of the faith and heroism of those who struggled in agony over that trail 136 years ago. We went on to Rock Creek Hollow, where the Willie Handcart Company made camp. Thirteen members of the Willie Company who perished from cold, exhaustion, and starvation are buried in a common grave at Rock Cr ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker honors the rescuers who responded to Brigham Young's call to aid the suffering pioneers on the plains, and the warm reception and care the survivors received upon reaching the Salt Lake Valley.
Also heroic were the rescuers who responded to President Brigham Young"™s call in the October 1856 general conference. President Young called for forty young men, sixty to sixty-five teams of mules or horses, wagons loaded with twenty-four thousand pounds of flour to leave in the next day or two to "bring in those people now on the plains." (LeRoy R. Hafen,Handcarts to Zion,Glendale, Cal.: Arthur H. Clarke Co., 1960, p. 121.) The rescuers went swiftly to relieve the suffering travelers. When ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the deep faith and love of God that the pioneers developed through their suffering, and the legacy they left, which includes high moral values and loyalty to Church leaders.
These excruciating experiences developed in these pioneers an unshakable faith in God. Said Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson Kingsford, "But I believe the Recording Angel has inscribed in the archives above, and that my sufferings for the Gospel"™s sake will be sanctified unto me for my good." (Leaves from the Life of Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson Kingsford,Dec. 1908, p. 7.) In addition to the legacy of faith bequeathed by those who crossed the plains, they also left a great heritage of love"”love ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker invites descendants of pioneers and those distanced from the Church to reconnect with their heritage and join in the work of the Church, emphasizing the strength and purpose it can bring to their lives.
You who are among the descendants of these noble pioneers have a priceless heritage of faith and courage. If there are any of you who do not enjoy fellowship with us in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we invite you to seek to know what instilled such great faith in your ancestors and what motivated them to willingly pay such a terrible price for their membership in this church. To those who have been offended or lost interest, or who have turned away for any reason, we invite all of you to join in f ... (continued)
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A Priceless Heritage
Elder James E. Faust
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reiterates the First Presidency's invitation to those who have become inactive or critical of the Church, or who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated, to return and receive forgiveness and fellowship.
A few years ago, the First Presidency of the Church issued the invitation to all to come back: "We are aware of some who are inactive, of others who have become critical and are prone to find fault, and of those who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions. "To all such we reach out in love. We are anxious to forgive in the spirit of Him who said: "˜I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."™D&C 64:10 "We ... (continued)
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A Priesthood Quorum
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his experience as the only deacon in a tiny branch of the Church, highlighting the contrast when his family moved to an area with many priesthood holders and strong quorums.
I was ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in a tiny branch of the Church. There was only one family in the branch. We had no chapel. We met in our house. I was the only deacon and my brother the only teacher.
So I know what it is like to exercise the priesthood alone, without serving with others in a quorum. I was content in that small branch without a quorum. I had no way to know what I was missing. And then my family moved across a continent to where there were many priesthood holders ... (continued)
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A Priesthood Quorum
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a story of a deacons quorum where a member recorded the lesson for an absent friend, illustrating the unity and care within the quorum.
I saw that a few years ago in a deacons quorum where I had been called to teach the lessons. A few of the deacons failed to come to the quorum meetings from time to time. ... I noticed an empty chair. There was a recording device sitting on the chair, and I could see that it was running. After the class, a boy sitting next to the empty chair picked up the recorder. As he started to leave the room, I asked him why he had recorded our discussion. He smiled and said that another deacon had told him ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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A Priesthood Quorum
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker tells of a deacons quorum president who felt inspired to have a deacon invite another boy, who had never attended, to a quorum meeting, and the long-lasting impact of that invitation.
A deacons quorum president met early one Sunday, before the quorum meeting, with his counselors and with the quorum secretary. ... He felt inspired to call a deacon to invite to the next quorum meeting another deacon who had never attended. ... Many years later I was in a stake conference thousands of miles away from where that deacons quorum had met. Between conference meetings, a man I did not know came up to me and asked if I knew someone. He gave me a name. It was the boy who was called by h ... (continued)
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A Priesthood Quorum
Elder Henry B. Eyring
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on a service activity from his Aaronic Priesthood days, chopping wood for widows, and the fellowship he felt with his priesthood brethren and the Savior.
I was blessed with that same feeling of fellowship by a priesthood leader when I was in the Aaronic Priesthood. He understood how to build priesthood fellowship that can last. He arranged with the owner of a woodlot for us to spend an afternoon chopping wood and putting it in bundles. The bundles were for widows so that they could have a fire in the cold of winter. I still remember the warmth of fellowship I felt with my priesthood brethren. But even more I remember feeling that I was doing what ... (continued)
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