What Have You Done with My Name?
Elder Mervyn B. Arnold
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Devonna Arnold learned about the importance of obedience to commandments through an experience with a cow that broke through a fence to eat wheat, leading to its death, which taught her that commandments are protections, not restrictions.
Shortly after my sweetheart, Devonna, and I were married, she shared with me a story about how she learned in her youth this important doctrine that we are free to choose but that we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. With the help of my daughter Shelly, I would like to relate Sister Arnold"™s experience: "When I was 15 years old, I often felt that there were too many rules and commandments. I wasn"™t sure that a normal, fun-loving teenager could enjoy life with so many ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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What He Would Have Us Do
President Thomas S. Monson
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the power and mission of Jesus Christ, who comes to us as an unknown figure, asking us to follow him and promising to reveal himself to those who obey.
With the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem, there emerged a great endowment"”a power stronger than weapons, a wealth more lasting than the coins of Caesar. He may come to us as one unknown, without a name, as by the lakeside He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words, "Follow thou me,"John 21:22and sets us to the task which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands, and to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the c ... (continued)
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker hopes her granddaughters understand that Relief Society is patterned after ancient discipleship, citing Martha and Mary's interaction with Jesus as an example.
I hope my granddaughters will understand that Relief Society today is organized after a pattern of discipleship that existed in the ancient Church. When the Savior organized His Church in New Testament times, "women were vital participants in [His] ministry."1[Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society(2011), 3.]He visited Martha and Mary, two of His most dedicated followers, in Martha"™s home. As Martha listened to Him and served Him according to the custom of their tim ... (continued)
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the early Church's growth due to the missionary work of men supported by the faith and partnership of women, who managed homes and businesses and cared for converts.
Just one example of their extraordinary contribution was in missionary work. The great growth of the early Church was made possible because faithful men were willing to leave their families to travel to unknown places and suffer privations and hardship to teach the gospel. However, these men understood that their missions would not have been possible without the full faith and partnership of the women in their lives, who sustained homes and businesses and earned income for their families and the ... (continued)
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker hopes her granddaughters appreciate the temple as much as the sisters of the first Relief Society, who saw temple blessings as their ultimate goal.
I hope my granddaughters value the temple as did the sisters of the first Relief Society, who believed that temple blessings were the grand prize and great goal of every Latter-day Saint woman. I hope that, like early Relief Society sisters, my granddaughters will strive daily to become sufficiently mature to make and keep sacred temple covenants and that when they do go to the temple, they will pay attention to all that is said and done. Through the blessings of the temple, they will be armed w ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker envisions her granddaughters understanding the global influence of Relief Society and its adaptation to an ever-changing world.
I hope my granddaughters will come to understand the important influence and capacity of the great worldwide sisterhood of Relief Society. Since 1842 the Church has spread well beyond Nauvoo, and Relief Society is now found in over 175 countries, where sisters speak more than 80 languages. Every week new wards and branches are organized, and new Relief Societies become part of an ever-expanding sisterhood, "spread across the continents."15[Boyd K. Packer, inDaughters in My Kingdom,99.]When R ... (continued)
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker discusses the challenges faced by Relief Society sisters worldwide and the Lord's purpose for organizing them to provide relief and elevate their joy and progress.
Every day, Relief Society sisters around the world experience the entire range of mortal challenges and experiences. Women and their families today live face to face with unrealized expectations; mental, physical, and spiritual illness; accidents; and death. Some sisters suffer loneliness and disappointment because they do not have families of their own, and others suffer from the consequences of poor choices made by family members. Some have experienced war or hunger or natural disasters, and o ... (continued)
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What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society
Julie B. Beck
- Relief Society General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker hopes her granddaughters recognize visiting teaching as an important aspect of their discipleship and covenant-keeping, reflecting the Savior's ministry.
I hope my granddaughters will understand that visiting teaching is an expression of their discipleship and a significant way to honor their covenants. This element of our discipleship should closely resemble the ministry of our Savior. In the early days of Relief Society, a visiting committee from each ward received an assignment to assess needs and collect donations to be distributed to those in need. Throughout the years, Relief Society sisters and leaders have learned one step at a time and h ... (continued)
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young elder in a missionary testimony meeting expressed his enjoyment of his work, highlighting the importance of engaging in work to find joy.
One of the Brethren reported being in a missionary testimony meeting when a young elder, who was not given much to speaking, said: 'I am enjoying my work. I guess that is all I can expect. I can’t enjoy what I don’t do!'
Forgiveness
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a personal experience of being motivated by his senior companion, Elder William Grant Bangerter, to wake up early and shower in cold water during their mission.
For instance, one of the hardest rules to follow is to get up in the morning when your mission president directs. Many young men think the best time to sleep is in the morning. I’m grateful to my obedient senior companion, Elder William Grant Bangerter, who would set the alarm clock to get up early. When the alarm went off, it would jangle my nerves. In the winter it was dark, damp, and cold, and we never had any hot water for bathing or showering. He would cheerfully shower in that cold ... (continued)
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
President N. Eldon Tanner, while presiding over the West European Mission, encouraged missionaries to have a good time, which a missionary pointed out could only be achieved through work.
When President N. Eldon Tanner presided over the West European Mission some years ago, his slogan was 'Have a good time.' One day he said to a group of missionaries in Germany, 'I would like you all to have a good time.' After the meeting, one of the missionaries came up to him and said: 'President Tanner, I don’t think that it is quite fair for you to tell the missionaries to have a good time. You know, the only way they can have a good time is to do their work.' President Tanner said, ' ... (continued)
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
A lonely Persian student in Munich encountered two Mormon missionaries and was converted after asking about their religion and feeling the Holy Ghost when they mentioned their love for one another.
A lonely young Persian student was in Munich, struggling to find meaning to life in postwar Europe. He heard a knock at the door one day, and two Mormon missionaries stood before him. He was not the least interested in religion. The only thing that interested him about these two young men was their accent. He had mastered four languages, but English was not one of them. He invited them in, but as soon as they began their discussion, he cautioned, 'I don’t want to hear about God, nor how y ... (continued)
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Sister Celia Cruz Ayala's wrapped copy of the Book of Mormon was stolen by a bandit who later wrote to her expressing his life-changing experience after reading the book and seeking forgiveness.
Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy acquaints us with a strong testimony of the converting power of the Book of Mormon: Sister Celia Cruz Ayala of the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission decided to give the Book of Mormon to a friend. She wrapped it in attractive paper and set out to deliver her present. On the way she was attacked by a bandit who stole her purse and with it the wrapped copy of the Book of Mormon. A few days later she received this letter: Mrs. Cruz: Forgive me, forgive me. You will ... (continued)
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What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission
President James E. Faust
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
President Wilford Woodruff recounted the hardships of early missionary work, including traveling without food, facing apostates, and dealing with hostility.
President Wilford Woodruff recounted the difficulties of early missionary work: 'In my early missions, when preaching in the Southern States—Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky—I have waded swamps and rivers and have walked seventy miles or more without eating. In those days we counted it a blessing to go into a place where there was a Latter-day Saint. I went once 150 miles to see one; and when I got there he had apostatized, and tried to kill me. Then, after travelling seventy-two ... (continued)
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What Is a Friend?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Sir Winston Churchill is lauded as Great Britain's greatest friend for his courage to demand sacrifice during a dark time instead of advocating for peaceful surrender.
A friend is a person who will suggest and render the best for us regardless of the immediate consequences. Sir Winston Churchill became Great Britain"™s greatest friend in his country"™s darkest hour because he was courageous enough to call for "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" when some would have accepted him more readily as a friend had he advocated peaceful surrender.
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What Is a Friend?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Abraham Lincoln's approach to his enemies was to make them his friends, as he believed that by doing so, he was destroying his enemies.
President Abraham Lincoln was once criticized for his attitude toward his enemies. "Why do you try to make friends of them?" asked an associate. "You should try to destroy them."
"Am I not destroying my enemies," Lincoln gently replied, "when I make them my friends?"
Forgiveness
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What Is a Friend?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares personal conversations with individuals of various ages and backgrounds, each explaining why someone specific is their best friend.
For a few moments enjoy with me some very simple yet powerful recent conversations I"™ve had in seeking the true significance of friendship. I asked an eight-year-old girl, "Who is your best friend?" "My mommie," she replied. "Why?" "Because she is nice to me."
A priest-age young man was asked the same question. "My bishop." "Why?" "Because he listens to us guys."
A 19-year-old girl: "My Gleaner teacher." "Why?" "She is always available to me, even after class."
A 13-year-o ... (continued)
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What Is a Friend?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
A mission president in South America exemplifies true friendship by taking immediate action to ensure the best care for a missionary with a ruptured appendix.
Please share this recent experience I had while visiting in South America. I was traveling with a mission president 200 miles from his office. Word reached him one of his elders was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix. His condition was grave because of the six-to seven-hour delay in getting medical attention. The mission president gave immediate instructions by telephone, getting the best physician possible, leading sixty missionaries assembled in zone conference in united prayer. He and h ... (continued)
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What Is a Friend?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Peter and John's encounter with a lame man at the Gate Beautiful illustrates the essence of friendship by offering help and improvement rather than just alms.
All of us should be eternally grateful for the classic experience shared by Peter and John when they approached the Gate Beautiful. There was a man, lame from birth, lying there. A beggar all through his life, he had never walked on his feet. As they moved in his direction he held out his hands, beckoning, expecting alms. Peter said to him, as we will all recall:
"Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
"And he took h ... (continued)
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What Is a Quorum?
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830, with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery being accepted by unanimous vote to organize the Church according to the Lord's commandment.
It was on this day that Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and members of the Smith and Whitmer families met in the home of Peter Whitmer Sr., in Fayette, Seneca County, New York. After appropriate song and prayers, the revelations concerning the organization of the Church were read to the assembled people. These revelations set forth the order of the priesthood and the duties of the officers in the Church. Following this pattern the Church organization of today has been built. 'According to previous ... (continued)
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