"It Cannot Happen Here"
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Fidel Castro deceived many by denying his communist affiliations, leading to the establishment of a communist satellite in Cuba.
Just a short time ago Fidel Castro broadcast to the world his boastful confession that he had been a hard-core communist all of his adult life. He gloried in the fact that he had been able to confuse and deceive many people simply by saying he was not a communist. And because there were gullible people in this and other countries who believed his false assertions, he was able to establish a Soviet beachhead"”"A communist satellite under active Russian control."
Forgiveness
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"It Cannot Happen Here"
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his experiences in Czechoslovakia and Poland, where he witnessed the spread of communism and the loss of liberty.
In 1946 I stood in Czechoslovakia. The deadening socialist-communist philosophies were even then infiltrating that lovely country. Our church mission was thriving among these liberty-loving people. They too said it could not happen there. Only two years later it had happened. They had lost their liberty. At the close of World War II while serving as European Mission President, I visited Stanislaw M. Mikolajczyk in Warsaw, the leader of the liberty-loving Polish people and former premier of the P ... (continued)
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"Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"
President Howard W. Hunter
- President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the biblical event of Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.
Today is the day the Christian world traditionally calls Palm Sunday. It is the anniversary of that momentous occasion nearly two thousand years ago when Jesus of Nazareth, the very Son of God himself, began the ultimate declaration of his divinity and entered the holy city of Jerusalem as the promised Messiah that he was. Riding on a young donkey in fulfillment of Zechariah’s ancient prophecy (see Zech. 9:9) he approached the temple on a path that the jubilant crowd lined for him with pa ... (continued)
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"Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"
President Howard W. Hunter
- President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker quotes King Lamoni's father from the Book of Alma, expressing a desire to know God and be saved, which is an example of the price of true hope.
Contrition is costly—it costs us our pride and our insensitivity, but it especially costs us our sins. For, as King Lamoni’s father knew twenty centuries ago, this is the price of true hope. 'O God,' he cried, 'wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee … that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.' (Alma 22:18) When we, too, are willing to give away all our sins to know him and follow him, we, too, will be filled ... (continued)
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"Joy Cometh in the Morning"
Elder Russell M. Nelson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts an act of kindness from a fellow General Authority who shined his shoes during a mission tour.
Recently another General Authority was my partner for mission tours to dusty places. On occasion, when I returned from a morning shower, I found to my surprise that this considerate companion had shined my shoes. Gratefully I wondered if each of the thirty thousand missionaries now laboring in the Lord"™s service would have, and be, as kind a friend as he was to me, thoughtfully rendering simple acts of courtesy to a companion.
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"Joy Cometh in the Morning"
Elder Russell M. Nelson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a personal experience of joy in the morning when his youngest daughter was sealed in the temple, surrounded by family.
Our family experienced that in a special way recently as our youngest daughter was sealed to her eternal companion in the holy temple. To witness this event, along with other family members, were her parents and all eight of her older sisters and their husbands. For us, there was truly joy in the morning on that day. Then we really felt the scriptural truth, "Men are, that they might have joy"2 Ne. 2:25
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"Joy Cometh in the Morning"
Elder Russell M. Nelson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker's family discusses the concept of joy and how to achieve it, with a particular focus on feeling joy in the morning.
The title of my message is taken from the thirtieth Psalm, verse 5Ps. 30:5"Joy cometh in the morning." As I discussed this scripture with members of our family, they recalled that "men are, that they might have joy"2 Ne. 2:25but they had not pondered the intriguing concept that "joy cometh in the morning." One of our family said, "News reports appear almost daily concerning people who have problems with drugs, drinking, and emotional distress. How can they, and we, attain the joy spoken of ... (continued)
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"Joy Cometh in the Morning"
Elder Russell M. Nelson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the importance of courtesy to companions, sharing a personal morning routine with his wife and advice from President David O. McKay.
Joy in the morning begins with courtesy to companions. When shades of slumber first admit the light of dawn, I reach gently for my beloved companion nearby. I gain sweet reassurance that all is well with her even before my eyes are fully opened. That reminds me, incidentally, of advice given by President David O. McKay, who said, "During courtship we should keep our eyes wide open, but after marriage keep them half-shut" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1956, p. 9).
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"Joy Cometh in the Morning"
Elder Russell M. Nelson
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker's wife shares her perspective on managing expectations and finding joy during their years of struggle with a large family and limited time.
My sweetheart has done that. Through our many long years of postgraduate study, professional responsibilities, and a growing family, she did not complain. Recently I overheard a conversation she had with young mothers enduring similar stress. They asked her how she had managed with ten children and a husband whose time to help was so limited. Kindness was reflected in her reply: "Through our struggling years I didn"™t expect much, so I was rarely disappointed."
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"Judge Not According to the Appearance"
Elder Boyd K. Packer
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young man's faith is shaken by his co-workers ridiculing him with stories of Church leaders' alleged misconduct, leading him to question the Church's divinity and truth.
At times someone has come to me, their faith shaken by alleged wrongdoing of some leader in the Church. For instance, one young man was being constantly ridiculed by his co-workers for his activity in the Church. They claimed to know of a bishop who had cheated someone in business, or a stake president who had misrepresented something on a contract, or a mission president who had borrowed money, giving false information. Or, they told of a bishop who had discriminated against one member, refusin ... (continued)
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"Judge Not According to the Appearance"
Elder Boyd K. Packer
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his personal experience of receiving a speeding ticket and ensuring he was treated like any other citizen, which later coincidentally preceded the firing of the policeman who issued the ticket.
Years ago I learned a lesson about judging. I was a city councilman in Brigham City and was also on the stake high council. Late one night I was returning home from a high council meeting, pondering on what had happened there. There was a red light and a siren. I was given a ticket for going forty-five miles an hour in a thirty-mile-an-hour zone. I accepted the ticket without protest, for I had not been paying attention. The city judge was always in his office very early, and I went to get the m ... (continued)
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"Judge Not According to the Appearance"
Elder Boyd K. Packer
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
A Church school teacher is dismissed for serious misconduct, but the principal takes criticism for not providing a full explanation, in hopes of the teacher's rehabilitation without public shaming.
Another example: Years ago in one of our Church schools, a teacher was summarily dismissed. The general explanation given did not satisfy his colleagues. A delegation went to the office of the principal and demanded that he be reinstated. The principal refused. He offered no further explanation. The delegation concluded, therefore, that the principal had acted for 'political reasons,' for he was known to have some deep philosophical differences with that teacher. The teacher (and this is frequen ... (continued)
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"Judge Not"
Elder Milton R. Hunter
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his own shortcomings in gossiping and judging others and expresses a desire to repent and improve.
As I look into the faces of the members of this congregation, my conscience certainly tells me that I err at times. Sometimes I gossip and judge others, and when I do it I act unrighteously before the Lord. My heart tells me I would like to repent, I would like to overcome my weakness of gossiping and saying bad things about other people. I am sure that you feel the same as I do.
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"Judge Not"
Elder Milton R. Hunter
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker observes that people often enjoy gossiping and judging others without evidence, which can cause hurt and is against the teachings of Jesus and James.
Throughout my life in mingling with many people of various religious denominations I have observed that as a rule it seems as if human beings like to gossip. We like to hear unsavory things about our neighbors and talk about each other. It seems that ofttimes we get a certain degree of satisfaction or even joy out of saying bad things about other people. We thoughtlessly and sometimes maliciously judge each other. We censure our associates sometimes unjustly, many times unkindly; and most of the ... (continued)
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"Judge Not"
Elder Milton R. Hunter
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a story of a General Authority noticing discrepancies in how his words were reported by members of stake presidencies, illustrating the fallibility of human perception.
Recently one of the General Authorities said that he was interested at stake conferences to hear members of stake presidencies in the Sunday conference sessions tell some of the things that he had talked about the night before. And then the General Authority said, "Ofttimes I cannot recognize that I had talked on the subjects nor said the things that I was reported to have said." Now certainly the General Authority was not accusing stake presidencies of being dishonest. I think he did not have t ... (continued)
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"Judge Not"
Elder Milton R. Hunter
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker advises against judging others based on information from even honest people, since human senses are not always reliable, using the example of two honest men witnessing the same car accident from different perspectives.
But one might say: "The man or the woman from whom I obtained this information is an honest man or woman and would not lie." Certainly honest and honorable people would not lie, but we should remember that they have to get their information through human senses and that human senses are not always a hundred percent reliable; for example, if an honest man were standing on a corner and another one on the opposite corner and two cars crashed in the street, the testimonies of these two men might var ... (continued)
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"Judge Not"
Elder Milton R. Hunter
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes Jesus Christ's act of forgiveness towards those who crucified him as the greatest example of pure love and charity.
While the Master was hanging on the cross, suffering the most excruciating pain that anybody could endure, and while he was listening to the jeers of the rabble down at the foot of the cross, his heart was filled with compassion toward them. With a fulness of charity and with an abundance of love in his heart for those who had caused him to be crucified, he cast his eyes toward heaven and prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"Luke 23:34
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"Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged"
President N. Eldon Tanner
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Cain's jealousy of Abel's favor with the Lord led to him murdering Abel, which could have been avoided if Cain had sought to improve himself.
An outstanding example of this can be found in the story of Cain and Abel. Cain neglected his own stewardship and became so bitter over Abel"™s righteousness and favor in the eyes of the Lord that his insane jealousy caused him to murder his brother [seeGen. 4:1"“8How much better would his situation have been had he congratulated and honored his brother and set about to improve himself and correct his own failings.
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"Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged"
President N. Eldon Tanner
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Sister McKay, the wife of President David O. McKay, encouraged a boy labeled as a troublemaker by her principal, leading him to become an exemplary student and an important figure in the town.
There is a little story about Sister McKay, the wife of President David O. McKay, when she began teaching school. As the principal introduced her to the class, he pointed to a certain boy and said he was a troublemaker. She sensed the boy"™s embarrassment and feared he would live up to his reputation, so she wrote a note and slipped it to him as she passed his desk. It said, "Earl, I think the principal was mistaken about your being a bad boy. I trust you, and know that you are going to help m ... (continued)
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"Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged"
President N. Eldon Tanner
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
A respected citizen started avoiding social events due to a brain tumor, but people wrongly accused him of being antisocial and avoided him.
I should like to give you another example. One of our most respected community-minded citizens began to act as though his feelings had been hurt and to stay away from socials where, in the past, he had gone and taken a most active part. People started accusing him of being a sorehead, a poor sport, antisocial, etc., and even evaded him whenever possible. Later, a medical diagnosis showed he was suffering from a brain tumor, which had been the cause of his lack of interest in activities that he h ... (continued)
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