"Hold Up Your Light"
Elder J. Richard Clarke
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares the story of the Nelson family from Boise, Idaho, who were observed by a reporter for a week to represent a Mormon family for a newspaper article, prompting the speaker to question if his own family would be ready for such scrutiny.
Suppose you received, as the head of a family, a telephone call from your stake president, who said, “The local newspaper is doing a series of articles on the Church. They have asked permission for a reporter to move into one of our homes for a week to observe firsthand what a Mormon family is really like. We have selected you to represent the Church in our stake.†You say, “Yes, President, we will be happy to do it.†You have seven children ranging from age two months to ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Hold Up Your Light"
Elder J. Richard Clarke
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley tells the story of a young soldier who stood up for his religious beliefs and moral standards in the face of ridicule from his company, eventually earning their respect and leading some to change their lives.
Character is revealed under pressure. Let me illustrate. A few years ago, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley related this inspiring story: “I talked with a young man recently returned from the war. He too had walked the jungle patrols, his heart pounding with fear. But reluctantly he admitted that the greatest fear he had was the fear of ridicule. The men of his company laughed at him, taunted him, plastered him with a nickname that troubled him. They told him the things they reveled in. Then on one ... (continued)
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"Hold Up Your Light"
Elder J. Richard Clarke
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts how a business associate's positive experience with a member of the Church, John Russon, led to a compliment on Russon's character, demonstrating the impact of living one's beliefs.
As Church members, we all benefit when one of us is honorable and righteous. Some years ago I made a speech at a business convention. When I concluded, a distinguished gentleman came up to me and asked, “Are you a Mormon?†I responded, “Yes.†He said, “I am associated with John Russon, a member of your church. He is the finest practicing Christian I have had the pleasure to know.†To him, and I’m sure to countless others, Brother Russon, now the preside ... (continued)
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"Hold Up Your Light"
Elder J. Richard Clarke
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Steve Hawes, a high school student body president and one of the few Latter-day Saints at his school, is praised for his moral courage and influence on his peers, as recounted by his coach.
One of our greatest needs is for true witnesses among our youth. Young people need models from their own generation. Thankfully we have a tremendous army of latter-day sons and daughters of Helaman, stripling “Saturday’s warriors,†who are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather, they have turned this commitment to the Lord into an advantage. Let me tell you of one. Steve Hawes is the student body president at New Canaan High School in Connecticut. Of its twenty-thre ... (continued)
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"Home First"
Elder Rex D. Pinegar
- Of the Presidency of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The neighborhood welcomed Brigham Fordham home from the hospital with yellow balloons after his tragic accident that left him paralyzed.
Several weeks ago in a neighborhood not far from my home, dozens of bright, yellow balloons were seen floating from every tree branch and light post lining a winding, three-block road. It was a beautiful sight on that hazy winter day. Senses were stirred as one drove with anticipation along that friendly, colorful street. Around each bend in the road rose the yellow balloons, waving upward to the top of the hill where they warmly proclaimed: "WELCOME HOME, BRIGHAM!" I had heard of Brigham Ford ... (continued)
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"Home First"
Elder Rex D. Pinegar
- Of the Presidency of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
During Hurricane Hugo, Alvie Evans and his family prayed for safety and were protected despite the devastation around them.
On the night of September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo passed with all its fury over the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina. My good friend Alvie Evans lived in a low-lying area near the water, where the maximum strength of the storm was headed. He gathered his family together and moved to higher ground, to the home of his mother. Late in the night, 150-mile-per-hour winds raged around them, uprooting trees and ripping away parts of the house. The storm became so severe they began to fear ... (continued)
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"Home First"
Elder Rex D. Pinegar
- Of the Presidency of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker's family gathering for a 'Making Memories' event turned into a chaotic but memorable and loving family experience.
Just a few weeks ago we had a special opportunity for a family get-together. A married daughter and her husband came with their three little boys for a short stay before their move from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. Another married daughter and her husband came with their four children from out of town to make it possible for the entire family to be together for a weekend. On Sunday evening all of our family gathered in our home just to celebrate being together"”"all u ... (continued)
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"Home First"
Elder Rex D. Pinegar
- Of the Presidency of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Donald Pinnell, president of the Amarillo Texas Stake, watched his home burn down but taught his sons a lesson about the true treasures in life.
On a Sunday morning a few years ago, Donald Pinnell, now president of the Amarillo Texas Stake, was attending church in his branch in Tucumcari when suddenly someone brought him the alarming news, "Brother Pinnell, your home is on fire!" President Pinnell quickly found his two sons, ages twelve and sixteen, and headed toward his ranch. His first thoughts were of his wife who had stayed home that day recuperating from recent surgery. He had no word about her until the driver of a returning fire ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls wise counsel from his father about balancing church and fun, and the importance of being recognized by the Lord.
"Paul," he said, "remember: one day for church, six days for fun. Odds on going to heaven"”six to one." He also made this observation. He said, "Whenever I pass our little church I like to linger for a visit, so that when I"™m carried in, the Lord won"™t say, "˜Who is it?"™"
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a humorous exchange with his granddaughter about his age.
One day while celebrating the birthday of one of my granddaughters, I had her sitting on my lap, as grandfathers do, and we were talking about age, wisdom, and experience, and all of a sudden she looked up at me and said, "Granddaddy, were you born before they invented water?" Now that"™s a sobering thought.
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker lists humorous signs of getting older shared by someone else.
"Do you know how to tell when you are getting a little older?" I said no. He said, "You know you"™re getting old"” "When, after you get it all together, you realize you"™d do better if you took it apart. "When you get a little winded while brushing your teeth. "When you reach the age when you know all the answers but nobody asks any of the questions. "When your crow"™s feet need orthopedic shoes. "When your appendix scar hits your knee. "When instead of Max Factor you may want to consi ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the achievements of various historical figures who accomplished great things later in life.
Michelangelo didn"™t undertake his monumental frescoed altar wall of the Sistine Chapel until he was sixty-nine years of age. When he died at ninety, he was still busy with his poetry, paintings, and sculpture. Goethe, German genius of literature, didn"™t finish the classic Faust until he was eighty-one. He had begun it forty years earlier, but when he came back to it, he had enhanced insight and freshness of imagination due to the extra years of life. Herbert Hoover took on the job of coord ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a poignant story of an elderly man who dresses up and waits for his family to visit him on his 91st birthday, but they never come.
"Just next door lives a wonderful old man. He is still very alert and active. That special morning he awakened earlier than usual, bathed, shaved and put on his best clothes. Surely, he thought, they would come today. "He didn"™t take his daily walk to the gas station to visit with the old-timers of the community, because he wanted to be right there when they came. "He sat on the porch with a clear view of the road so he could see them coming. Surely they would come today. "He decided to skip ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the impact of the Persian Gulf War on Latter-day Saints, including the formation of over 140 Latter-day Saint groups to provide support for members of the armed forces and the burdens shouldered by Church leaders and members in caring for the families of service people.
Since our conference last October, many have ridden roller coasters of emotion from the war in the Persian Gulf. Many Latter-day Saints had their lives changed by that conflict. In the military theater of operations, we had over 140 Latter-day Saint groups providing leadership, worship, and fellowship for members of the armed forces. At home, families were separated and in stress. We pay tribute to the Church leaders and members who shouldered extra burdens in looking after the families of our s ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the Church's prayers for the well-being of those in uniform during the Persian Gulf War, their gratitude for answered prayers, and their continued prayers for the peacekeeping process and care of prisoners and refugees.
During this crisis, our hearts went out to those who were oppressed and in jeopardy on both sides of the conflict. Week after week, in the leading councils of the Church, in Church meetings everywhere, in our homes, and in public and private gatherings, we prayed for the well-being of those in uniform. We also prayed that the war would be short and that the numbers of dead and wounded would be as small as possible.
Our prayers were answered, and in this national period of thanksgiving designate ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a personal memory of his grandmother's involvement in organizing 'Old Folks Day' to honor senior citizens in his Utah community when he was a young boy.
When I was a young boy in a small Utah town, I remember seeing my grandmother overseeing the provision of food, favors, transportation, and entertainment for a large group of elderly in the community. As a counselor in the stake Relief Society presidency, she was making preparations for 'Old Folks Day.'
Most of you have never heard of Old Folks Day. It was a unique Utah Mormon institution. It began in 1875, when Charles R. Savage, the pioneer photographer, persuaded Presiding Bishop Edward Hunt ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes how his wife's family honored their grandmother, Adelaide White Call, and how this example of honoring parents has influenced subsequent generations to do the same.
In the early days of our marriage, I spent many happy hours in the home of my wife"™s parents, Charles and True Dixon. There I met June"™s maternal grandmother, Adelaide White Call. Then a widow about eighty-five years of age, Grandma Call was a survivor of what older people called 'the exodus.' She had been among those valiant Latter-day Saints expelled from northern Mexico in 1912. Now her sons and daughters were living throughout the United States. In her later years, they helped her loca ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Lino Alvarez
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his parents' teachings during his childhood and youth, emphasizing their guidance in living the commandments and the value of work, personal integrity, and family unity.
As I have pondered about my childhood, my youth, and my adult life, I believe that the foundation for my beliefs was laid by my parents during the years of my childhood and youth. I wish to render a tribute to them. My father and mother, with no formal education, knew how to teach the eternal principles of the gospel. I am the tenth child in a family of twelve children"”ten boys and two girls. There are two things that our parents did with all of their children for which we now honor them. Fir ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Lino Alvarez
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an annual family tradition where his father, like Lehi, gathers the family to impart wisdom and encouragement to live united and avoid captivity.
Every year we have the opportunity to gather as a family"”children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren"”with my father. He does what Lehi did before he died, when he gathered together his children and told them: "And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, unite ... (continued)
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"Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Elder Lino Alvarez
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his concerns about leaving for a mission and the well-being of his aging father and mother, only to return and find his father still leading the family at ninety-three years old.
When I was about to go on a mission, I worried about the same things that today worry the young men and young women who will also serve missions. I worried about work, my girlfriend, school, and family. When I was old enough to go on a mission, my father was almost sixty-six years old, and I thought, my father is old, and if I leave for two years, he may die and I will not see him anymore. Who will take care of my mother? She will be all alone when he is no longer at her side. May I tell you tha ... (continued)
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