"Behold the Man"
Bishop Richard C. Edgley
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
A single mother remarried to a rough outdoorsman worries about the negative influence on her son and seeks guidance on teaching him true manhood.
A few months ago I received a letter from a family friend whom we had not seen for many years. Her letter was an expression of hopelessness and a plea for help. After struggling to raise her children as a single mother, she was now remarried. Her nonmember husband was a rough outdoorsman who attempted to express his manhood through drinking, foul language, tough talk, and questionable behavior. Her great concern was that her husband"™s example was teaching her son that these indeed were the tr ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold the Man"
Bishop Richard C. Edgley
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young man on an all-star basketball team demonstrates true manhood by choosing to walk the city alone at night rather than watch pornographic movies with his teammates.
I know a young man who was thrilled to be selected for an all-star basketball team to play in a tournament in another state. The first evening at the hotel, the other roommates decided to watch pornographic movies. This boy left the room and walked the city by himself well into the night until the movies were over. I am sure it was embarrassing, lonely, and challenging. But that is courage; that is manhood in its truest sense. And I say, "Behold a man!""”an 18-year-old boy turned man.
Forgiveness
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"Behold the Man"
Bishop Richard C. Edgley
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
A 21-year-old young man with a troubled past demonstrates his repentance and readiness to serve a mission through humility and submission to the Savior.
Some months ago I was given the assignment to interview a young man, 21 years old, to determine if his repentance was sufficient for him to serve a mission. My heart ached as I read of the serious problems and transgressions in his past. I wondered if it would be possible that one with such a background could ever prepare himself to worthily serve a mission. At the appointed time for my interview I saw a handsome young man approaching me. He was immaculately groomed and had a wonderful countenan ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the sacrifice of soldiers and the grief of their mothers at the American War Memorial Cemetery in the Philippines, contemplating the price of liberty.
One summer day I stood alone in the quiet of the American War Memorial Cemetery of the Philippines. A spirit of reverence filled the warm tropical air. Situated among the carefully mowed grass, acre upon acre, were markers identifying men, mostly young, who in battle gave their lives. As I let my eyes pass name by name along the many colonnades of honor, tears came easily and without embarrassment. As my eyes filled with tears, my heart swelled with pride. I contemplated the high price of libert ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the loneliness of 'mother forgotten' in nursing homes and hospitals, neglected by their families.
"Mother forgotten" is observed all too frequently. The nursing homes are crowded, the hospital beds are full, the days come and go"”often the weeks and months pass"”but mother is not visited. Can we not appreciate the pangs of loneliness, the yearnings of mother"™s heart when hour after hour, alone in her age, she gazes out the window for the loved one who does not visit, the letter the postman does not bring. She listens for the knock that does not sound, the telephone that does not rin ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a conversation with a nursing home proprietor who contrasts the different ways residents are remembered or forgotten by their families.
Last Christmas I talked to the proprietress of a Salt Lake City nursing home. From the hallway where we stood, she pointed to several elderly women assembled in a peaceful living room. She observed, "There"™s Mrs. Hansen. Her daughter visits her every week, right at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. To her right is Mrs. Peek. Each Wednesday there is a letter in her hands from her son in New York. It is read, then reread, then saved as a precious piece of treasure. But see Mrs. Carroll; her family never tel ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Colonel Higgenson from the Civil War recounts a moment of bravery when a young man toasts to 'Our mothers' during a champagne supper, leading to a respectful silence among the intoxicated men.
Men turn from evil and yield to their better natures when mother is remembered. A famed officer from the Civil War period, Colonel Higgenson, when asked to name the incident of the Civil War that he considered the most remarkable for bravery, said that there was in his regiment a man whom everybody liked, a man who was brave and noble, who was pure in his daily life, absolutely free from dissipations in which most of the other men indulged.
One night at a champagne supper, when many were becomin ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares a childhood memory of Mother's Day at Sunday School, where a blind man sang 'That Wonderful Mother of Mine' and moved the congregation to tears.
As a boy, I well remember Sunday School on Mother"™s Day. We would hand to each mother present a small potted plant and sit in silent reverie as Melvin Watson, a blind member, would stand by the piano and sing, "That Wonderful Mother of Mine." This was the first time I saw a blind man cry. Even today, in memory, I can see the moist tears move from those sightless eyes, then form tiny rivulets and course down his cheeks, falling finally upon the lapel of the suit he had never seen. In boyhood ... (continued)
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
A man recounts a family moment where they honor their deceased mother by opening her keepsake box, finding a homemade valentine with a simple message of love.
Some years ago I listened intently as a man well beyond middle age told me of an experience in his family history. The widowed mother who had given birth to him and his brothers and sisters had gone to her eternal and well-earned reward. The family assembled at the home and surrounded the large dining room table. The small metal box in which Mother had kept her earthly treasures was opened reverently. One by one each keepsake was brought forth. There was the wedding certificate from the Salt Lak ... (continued)
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the biblical story of Jesus showing compassion for the widow at Nain by raising her only son from the dead.
In the New Testament of our Lord, perhaps we have no more moving account of "mother blessed" than the tender regard of the Master for the grieving widow at Nain.
"And it came to pass "¦ that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
"Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
"And when the Lord saw her, he had ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Helaman leads 2,000 young men into battle, who were taught by their mothers to trust in God, and they emerge victorious without a single casualty.
One certain way each can demonstrate genuine love for mother is to live the truths mother so patiently taught. Such a lofty goal is not new to our present generation. On this continent, in times described in the Book of Mormon, we read of a brave, a good, and noble leader named Helaman who did march in righteous battle at the head of 2,000 young men. Helaman described the activities of these young men: ""¦ never had I seen so great courage, "¦ as "¦ they said unto me: "¦ behold our God is wi ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Thy Mother"
Elder Thomas S. Monson
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the final moments of Jesus Christ, who, from the cross, entrusts the care of his mother to his beloved disciple.
The holy scriptures, the pages of history are replete with tender, moving, convincing accounts of "mother loved." One, however, stands out supreme, above and beyond any other. The place is Jerusalem, the period known as the Meridian of Time. Assembled is a throng of Roman soldiers. Their helmets signify their loyalty to Caesar, their shields bear his emblem, their spears are crowned by Roman eagles. Assembled also are natives to the land of Jerusalem. Faded into the still night, and gone forev ... (continued)
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
President Michaelene P. Grassli
- Primary General President
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📖 general conference
Sister missionaries in New Guinea teach children the gospel and provide them with cool water, acting as earthly ministering angels.
A sister missionary in New Guinea with her husband wrote us of teaching little children the gospel under a tree at a large coconut plantation. After the lessons, the children line up for drinks of scarce and precious, cool water from a plastic jug which these earthly ministering angels fill and freeze before they come.
I sense that the Savior would approve of that too.
Forgiveness
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on taking their grandchildren to the circus and observing their wonder, which leads to thoughts about the importance of children in the world.
We took some of our grandchildren to the circus the other evening. I was more interested in watching them and many others of their kind than in watching the man on the flying trapeze. I looked at them in wonder as they alternately laughed and stared wide-eyed at the exciting things before them. And I thought of the miracle of children who become the world"™s constant renewal of life and purpose. Observing them in the intensity of their interest, even in this atmosphere, my mind reverted to tha ... (continued)
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts childhood experiences on a fruit farm, learning how to prune peach trees, which serves as an analogy for shaping the lives of children.
When I was a boy, we lived in the summer on a fruit farm. We grew great quantities of peaches"”carloads of them. Our father took us to tree pruning demonstrations put on by the Agricultural College. Each Saturday during January and February we would go out to the farm and prune the trees. We learned that by clipping and sawing in the right places, even when snow was on the ground and the wood appeared dead, we could shape a tree so that the sun would touch the fruit which was to come with spri ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a quote from E. T. Sullivan about how God uses babies to bring about great works in the world, emphasizing the potential of children to become forces for good or ill.
E. T. Sullivan once wrote these interesting words: "When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn"™t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home out of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother"™s heart, and she puts it into the baby"™s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes an ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a childhood memory of a harsh neighbor who abused his children, contrasting it with the speaker's own father who disciplined without physical punishment.
When I met one of my childhood friends the other day, there came a train of memories of the neighborhood in which we grew up. It was a microcosm of the world, with many varieties of people. They were a close-knit group, and I think we knew them all. I think, also, we loved them all"”that is, except for one man. I must make a confession: I detested that man. I have since repented of that emotion, but as I look back, I can sense again the intensity of my feeling. His young boys were our friends, ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker tells the story of Cornelia, a Roman mother who, when asked about her jewels, pointed to her sons as her true jewels, emphasizing the value of children raised with virtue.
The story is told that in ancient Rome a group of women were, with vanity, showing their jewels one to another. Among them was Cornelia, the mother of two boys. One of the women said to her, "And where are your jewels?" To which Cornelia responded, pointing to her sons, "These are my jewels." Under her tutelage, and walking after the virtues of her life, they grew to become Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus"”the Gracchi, as they were called"”two of the most persuasive and effective reformers i ... (continued)
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
President Michaelene P. Grassli
- Primary General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
A bishop calls a woman to serve as a Primary teacher, likening her role to what the Savior would do for the children if He were present.
A bishop told me about extending a call to a woman in his ward. Together they read from the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi, chapter 17.
They read how the Savior invited the Nephites to bring their children to him, how Jesus prayed for the children and blessed them, and how angels appeared and ministered to them within the fire that encircled them. Those familiar words are powerful, poetic verses.
Then, interestingly, the bishop said, "Sister Breinholt, the Savior cannot personally be in our ward every ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Behold Your Little Ones"
President Michaelene P. Grassli
- Primary General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
A bishop comforts a crying boy in a crowded meetinghouse hallway, acting as an earthly ministering angel.
One busy Sunday with the meetinghouse hallway crowded with people, a bishop noticed a little boy sitting on the floor crying. Disregarding his busy schedule, the bishop immediately focused his attention on the weeping child. He sat right down on the floor and held the little boy close until the crying subsided and the boy was able to explain what was wrong. Then, comforted, the child went off down the hall holding the hand of his earthly ministering angel.
I sense that the Savior would have done ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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