"She Stretcheth Out Her Hand to the Poor"
Sister Barbara B. Smith
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The Relief Society president of a ward with seventy sisters over seventy years of age assigned each of them service tasks, including visiting teaching assignments, compassionate service assignments, and even having a terminally ill sister write monthly letters to three homebound sisters.
I recently heard of a ward in which there were seventy sisters over seventy years of age. Their wise Relief Society president felt that even those who were homebound could serve, and so she gave each of the seventy sisters either a visiting teaching assignment or a compassionate service assignment. Even a sister stricken with a terminal disease was assigned to write a monthly letter to each of three sisters who were homebound. Some sisters were assigned to call other sisters each day to make sur ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A mission president is called on short notice to replace one who has died, and his wife, just out of surgery, willingly joins him.
The first scene: A mission president is called on very short notice to replace a mission president who has died. The faithful wife, in one case, brings her husband’s body home, while the other sister, just out of surgery, willingly responds to the call to join her husband far from home. Each sister handles her stern challenge trustingly, sweetly, and without murmuring. They understand that sin is the only real tragedy!
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Widows and widowers patiently fulfill their duties while waiting to reunite with their eternal companions.
Another montage: Widows and widowers, waiting patiently and trustingly for the time of their release, when they can rejoin their eternal companions. Meanwhile, they go about their duties. Like Alma and Paul, they have learned to be content in their allotted circumstances. (See Alma 29:3, 6; Philip. 4:11)
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A television drama in a cemetery scene expresses confusion and purposelessness about life.
One recent television drama, in its closing scene in a cemetery, conveyed well this confusion and purposelessness, as one character lamented poignantly: 'Are all men’s lives … broken, tumultuous, agonized and unromantic, punctuated by screams, imbecilities, agonies and death? Who knows? … I don’t know. … Why can’t people have what they want? The things were all there to content everybody, yet everybody got the wrong thing. I don’t know. It’s b ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young mission president and his family live in spartan circumstances, boiling water for long drives to be with missionaries and Saints.
A second snapshot: A young mission president, his wife, and five children in spartan circumstances. Water must be boiled and placed in their van as they drive for hours under a scorching sun to be with scattered missionaries and Saints. Adopted children from another culture are now in a home which is developing a celestial culture, where the mother is the children’s only school teacher. Uncomplainingly, this family goes effectively about their labors—quite innocent of how special t ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A serviceman rounds up friends for a Young Adult conference, leaving money for a friend who couldn't be found in time to attend.
Next, in Germany a serviceman solicitously rounds up his military friends in his van to go to a special Young Adult conference. One friend cannot be found in time, and this special serviceman left some of his meager and precious savings for an airplane ticket so that individual could then fly to the needed nourishment of that conference. Intrinsically, this benefactor follows the second great commandment and rejects the despairing declaration that 'hell is other people.'
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A woman gymnast becomes paralyzed from a tumble, but she turns her situation into an inspiring example of faith and resilience.
Another portrait is of a youthful disciple, a woman gymnast paralyzed because of a tumble. She fell not into paralysis but into saintliness. She becomes a witness in a wheelchair. How tall she stands, and how much she stretches the souls of others! Her deprivation is like an excavation, the readying of a reservoir into which a generous God, one day, will pour the Malachi measure of compensatory blessings, 'that there shall not be room enough to receive it.' (Mal. 3:10)
Forgiveness
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"Shine As Lights in the World"
Elder Neal A. Maxwell
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A dying young mother of twenty-six shows spiritual submissiveness and concern for her family as she faces her own mortality.
One is humbled by the spiritual submissiveness of the dying young mother of twenty-six, understandably anguished at the prospect of not rearing her two children, one of whom she so recently made ready to lay down her life for, if necessary. The baby arrived safely, but, alas, the gallant mother could not tarry. With childlike faith this young sister touchingly inquired, 'If I am to die, then how can I help my husband and my parents as they watch me die?' Surely she (and others similarly situated ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Six Days May Work Be Done"
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the weekly preparation for the Sabbath in his grandmother's home, including polishing shoes, baking pies, and taking baths on Saturday.
Advance preparation could limit even household duties to a minimum. On Saturday in my grandmother's home the shoes were polished and placed in rows. Pies were baked, and the weekly bath was taken care of.
Forgiveness
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"Six Days May Work Be Done"
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A mother from a southern Utah city, despite being very ill, instructed her sons never to harness a horse on the Sabbath. Her counsel was followed, leading to the family's prosperity and good life.
So important did this principle become a part of family life in a southern Utah city that a good mother, although very ill, called her boys to her bedside and said: "Never put a harness on a horse on the Sabbath day." This counsel has been kept, and this family has become one of southern Utah's most prosperous families, and all have enjoyed living the good life.
Forgiveness
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"Six Days May Work Be Done"
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Rebecca Winters' diary describes how pioneers observed the Sabbath day while crossing the plains, with early camping on Saturday, rest, and a Sunday filled with worship and singing.
Pioneers observed the Sabbath day as they crossed the plains. From Rebecca Winters' diary I quote:
We camped early on a Saturday in August. We had broken our wagons, and we wished to mend our shoes. Washing and cooking to be done, for Sunday was always observed. All retired early for rest, waiting for that lovely dawn, the hour when we sang praises to God. As we sat and waited in our church in the forest for words of inspiration, the men wore their clean hickory shirts, and the women and child ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Naaman, the leper, was initially offended by the prophet Elisha's simple instruction to wash in the Jordan River seven times to be healed, but after a servant's advice, he complied and was cleansed of his leprosy.
We are all familiar with the Old Testament story of Naaman, the captain of the Syrian hosts, who was a leper. A little Israelite servant told Naaman’s wife that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him. Naaman came with his chariot and horses to the house of Elisha, who sent a messenger to instruct Naaman, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.â€12 Kgs. 5:10
You younger boys know how it is when you show your ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Elder George R. Hill III, a former General Authority and renowned scientist, demonstrated humility and dedication by serving faithfully in various church callings, including as a stake cannery director and ward choir member, despite his failing health.
We do not prove our love for the Savior only by doing “some great thing.†If the prophet personally asked you to go on a mission to some strange and exotic place, would you go? You would probably make every effort to go. But what about paying tithing? What about doing your home teaching? We show our love for the Savior by doing the many small acts of faith, devotion, and kindness to others that define our character. This was well demonstrated by the life of Dr. George R. Hill III, fo ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Oliver Cowdery, who was once a close associate of Joseph Smith and witnessed many significant events in the early Church, fell away due to personal ambition but later sought to return and humbly asked to be re-baptized without seeking any position of prominence.
We have in the modern history of the Church contrasting examples of men who were highly favored of the Lord. One, Hyrum Smith, remained totally faithful and committed, even to the giving of his life, while the other, Oliver Cowdery, despite having witnessed “some great things†in the history of the Restoration, became blinded by his personal ambition and lost his exalted place in the leadership of the Church.
Oliver Cowdery shared with the Prophet Joseph Smith many of the profound ev ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Henry Eyring, a great scientist and nearly 80 years old with bone cancer, showed commitment by weeding a field of onions for the welfare farm, despite the intense pain that forced him to pull himself along on his stomach.
A story shared by our beloved associate, Elder Henry B. Eyring, illustrates this principle of commitment still further. This story is about his father, the great scientist Henry Eyring, who served on the Bonneville Stake high council. He was responsible for the welfare farm, which included a field of onions that needed to be weeded. At that time, he was nearly 80 and suffering from painful bone cancer. He assigned himself to do weeding even though the pain was so great that he pulled himself alo ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Hyrum Smith, the older brother of Joseph Smith, was a steadfast and loyal supporter of the Prophet and the Church, serving faithfully in various capacities until his martyrdom alongside Joseph.
In contrast, President Heber J. Grant said of Hyrum Smith: “There is no better example of an older brother’s love than that exhibited in the life of Hyrum Smith for the Prophet Joseph Smith. … They were as united and as affectionate and as loving as mortal men could be. … There never was one particle of … jealousy … in the heart of Hyrum Smith. No mortal man could have been more loyal, more true, more faithful in life or in death than was Hyrum Smith to the P ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Great Thing"
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Philo Farnsworth, a 14-year-old boy, conceived the idea of television while plowing a field, demonstrating that great things can come from small, everyday experiences.
Small things can have great potential. Television, which is a great blessing to mankind, was conceived by a teenager in Idaho as he was plowing straight furrows in his father’s field with a disc harrow. He envisioned that he could transmit straight lines from one image dissector to be reproduced in another.16[Story of Philo Farnsworth, “Dr. X’s Instant Images,â€U.S. News & World Report,17 Aug. 1998, 44.]Often we cannot see the potential in doing seemingly small things. T ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Have Compassion, Making a Difference"
Bishop Robert D. Hales
- Presiding Bishop
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a lesson about shepherding from his Uncle Frank, who described how lambs are enticed away by coyote pups and then attacked by adult coyotes, drawing a parallel to Satan's enticements.
Some years ago, as a young man, I had an opportunity to work summers on a ranch with my wise Uncle Frank, who taught me an important lesson about shepherding. He described to me how lambs are enticed and led away from the safety of their mothers"™ sides and the flock that loves and cares for them. Cunning coyotes send their pups to play near the flock"”running, rollicking, tumbling"”itlooksso inviting to the little lambs. The frolicking pups look like they are having so much fun that the l ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Have Compassion, Making a Difference"
Bishop Robert D. Hales
- Presiding Bishop
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a message from the First Presidency in 1985, which was an invitation for those who have strayed from the Church to come back and be welcomed with open arms.
A significant proclamation was given by the First Presidency at Christmastime in 1985. It was an invitation to come back. Because of the significance of this special message from prophets in our day, please let me share some of the key admonitions that apply to each of us as we serve one another. The message from the First Presidency, in part, said: "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 ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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"Some Have Compassion, Making a Difference"
Bishop Robert D. Hales
- Presiding Bishop
📅 0
📖 general conference
Don and Marian Summers, while serving a mission in England, worked to reactivate members in the Swindon Branch, transforming it from a small, cold gathering to a vibrant community with increased membership and activity.
A good example of compassion and service making a difference is the example of Don and Marian Summers, which represents the experiences of many other missionary couples. While serving in England, they were asked to serve the last six months of their mission in the Swindon Branch to teach and assist in activating members. For eighty years Swindon had been a branch with a faithful few and with many good members becoming less active. Don and Marian recently wrote me, recalling the following: "Our f ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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