What Is a Quorum?
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the feeling of sustaining Church leadership and welcomes two new Apostles, while also expressing the missed presence of Elders Haight and Maxwell.
I find a special feeling surging through my whole being as I see the hands raised to the square to sustain the leadership of this Church. Today two new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were sustained by the members of the Church here in the Conference Center and by television, Internet, and satellite to almost all corners of the earth. Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar, you have been sustained to fill the vacancies created by the deaths of Elder David B. Haight and Elder Neal A. Maxwel ... (continued)
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What Is a Quorum?
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The story of Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young's mission to England, highlighting their sacrifices and the poignant farewell they shared with their families.
The account of Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young leaving their homes for England certainly shows the sacrifice they were willing to make for the callings they had received. The account reads: 'September 14th, [1839], President Brigham Young left his home at Montrose to start on the mission to England. He was so sick that he was unable to go to the Mississippi [River], a distance of thirty rods, without assistance. After he had crossed the river he rode behind Israel Barlow on his horse to my ho ... (continued)
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What Is a Teacher?
President Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
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📖 general conference
Paul H. Dunn humorously recounts an acquaintance's comment about a man with a sour face and a young girl's observation about a public speaker's lack of a happy expression.
An acquaintance of mine recently said to me as we walked down the street and noticed a man with a sour face, "He looks like he was weaned on lemon juice and a dill pickle."
I also heard about a mother and her young daughter who were listening to a public speaker when the child said to her mother, "Isn"™t that man happy?" The mother replied. "I guess so." To which the girl remarked: "Why doesn"™t he tell his face?"
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What Is a Teacher?
President Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Paul H. Dunn recounts the influence of his 78-year-old priests adviser, Charles B. Stewart, who taught him the importance of thinking new thoughts and remembering wise sayings.
I have thought about that, and I thank God repeatedly for such an individual in my life. He was a 78-year-old man who was assigned to be a priests adviser to six of us who were in our struggling teens and challenged with the future. His name was Charles B. Stewart. His son is here today as president of the great Tabernacle Choir.
I don"™t know what you thought about a 78-year-old man when you were 16, but some of us questioned the wisdom of our bishop, for we thought he had literally brought M ... (continued)
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What Is a Teacher?
President Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Paul H. Dunn shares a touching story of receiving a letter from Mrs. Stewart, informing him of Brother Stewart's death and including a half-written letter with twenty-five new ideas to lift his spirits while serving in Okinawa.
Time won"™t permit a number of others. Two years later I found myself in the fighting forces of our country. I was on the island of Okinawa. I received a letter from Mrs. Stewart, and it told me of the sad news that my kind friend and adviser had passed away. In it she had attached a half-written letter from Brother Stewart to me, and he said: "Dear Paul, I"™ve been thinking about you in that far-off country, discouraged, I"™m sure, and somewhat depressed; and in order to build your spirit ... (continued)
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What Is a Teacher?
President Paul H. Dunn
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Paul H. Dunn reflects on the teachings of the Savior as the greatest teacher, particularly highlighting the fifteenth chapter of Luke with the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Prodigal Son.
For just a moment, let me walk you through the fifteenth chapter of Luke, wherein this great master teacher tells us how to solve problems that we all face. Luke records that there drew near him a great multitude, the publicans, the sinners, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and he spake unto them this parable, saying: "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine "¦ and go after that which is lost."
Then he tells about the rejoicing moment ... (continued)
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker was asked by a university student what the Church has given to America that America didn't already have, prompting him to think deeply about the Church's unique contributions.
One of the most meaningful questions ever put to me was this one in one of the universities: "Mr. Bennion, what has your Church given to America that America didn't already have?" I have been thinking about that question ever since, and one day I hope to have a complete answer.
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his experience attending Religious Emphasis Weeks at universities and being part of a diverse team of religious representatives, highlighting the value of the restored gospel in answering students' questions.
Together with these assignments have come opportunities to attend stimulating Religious Emphasis Weeks at representative universities of America. It is an intriguing experience to be invited to be a member of a team made up of a Catholic priest, an Episcopalian minister, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, a Baptist, a Seventh-Day Adventist, a Christian Scientist, a Jewish rabbi, and a Mormon elder.
To meet with faculties of those institutions and with students and then to spend the evening in joint se ... (continued)
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a pioneer story of the Church's forebears' journey to the West, driven by faith and seeking a place where they would not be pursued or coveted by others.
The second thing I named wasA Great Pioneer Story. I love to live over again the heroic experiences of our forebears when, driven out of their homes in Nauvoo in the dead of winter, they trudged across three hundred miles of snow and mud and muck to Winter Quarters, then to launch another trek of a thousand miles through an uninhabited wilderness to a haven characterized significantly by their prophet leader, Brigham Young, when he said:
We will go so far that our enemies will not choose to foll ... (continued)
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker explains the unique religious literature provided by the Church, such as the Book of Mormon and other scriptures, which he finds inspiring and worthy of study.
In the third place, and the men of these universities are impressed with it, we have given to the world and to AmericaA Religious Literature. Try naming a modern church which has given to America anything to match the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
I love to read to inquirers after truth those masterful and moving and inspired messages such as are found in the Doctrine and Covenants. May I commend to you when you go home from this conference, that you t ... (continued)
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the Church's concept of Deity, as clarified by Joseph Smith's First Vision, as a significant contribution to America.
The fourth thing we have given to America isA Wonderful Concept of Deity. If you will read
representative descriptions of Deity popular a hundred and thirty-five years ago, with all their
intangible vagaries, you will be grateful, as I am, for the Prophet Joseph Smith's forthright
and simple declaration in his account of his glorious vision:
When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory
defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me ... (continued)
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What Is Distinctive about Mormonism?
Elder Adam S. Bennion
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker asserts that the restoration of the Priesthood is a significant contribution to America, as announced by Joseph Smith with the return of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John.
The fifth thing that we have given to America isThe Priesthood. It was similarly wonderful
for the Prophet Joseph not only to announce the personalities of God the Father and the Son,
but also to announce the return of John the Baptist to confer the Aaronic Priesthood, and the
return of Peter, James, and John, bringing the Melchizedek Priesthood.
We declare to the world that the priesthood, long lost, has been restored in this the last great
dispensation, the authority to act in the name of God ... (continued)
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What Is Relief Society For?
Aileen H. Clyde
- Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
In 1842, women in Nauvoo approached Joseph Smith with a constitution for a female benevolent society, but he offered them something better, an organization with a purpose that required priesthood leadership.
We need his voice to guide us now as surely as our sisters needed a prophet’s intervention in 1842 when they brought to Joseph Smith a constitution for a female benevolent society in Nauvoo. They approached the Prophet Joseph and asked his counsel on their desire to serve in the kingdom by organizing themselves by their plan. He said he had something better for them: an order and a purpose which required priesthood leadership so that their good desires could bear even better fruit.
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What Is Relief Society For?
Aileen H. Clyde
- Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
A South African sister, after her husband died, used the teachings of the Bible and the Book of Mormon to guide her in raising her six children, understanding the importance of the 'rod' as the word of God.
What does it mean to save souls? Let me give one example of the many I have witnessed as I have visited among you. A South African sister once told me that when her husband died and she was left to rear their six children, she relied on the teachings of the Bible for direction. She often pondered the meaning of Proverbs 13, verse 24, which is interpreted widely as 'spare the rod and spoil the child.' When she joined the Church she turned to the Book of Mormon, too, for understanding. There she f ... (continued)
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What Is Relief Society For?
Aileen H. Clyde
- Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Sister Mavimbela from Soweto applied Relief Society principles within her community, supervising children in gardening and raising food, and enlisting grandmothers to help with nurturing children and strengthening families.
I saw Sister Mavimbela again very recently when she received an award at Brigham Young University, and she has enlarged her sphere. In conversation she told me that by participating in her Relief Society in Soweto she has learned to apply its saving ways within her community. Using visiting teaching and welfare principles, such as those described in the Church’s manual Providing in the Lord’s Way, she has supervised more than a thousand children as they learn to garden and raise fo ... (continued)
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What Is Relief Society For?
Aileen H. Clyde
- Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
Hagar, in the wilderness with her son Ishmael, was comforted by an angel and then saw a well of water, which symbolizes the necessity of discerning truth and receiving 'living water' from the Lord.
When I think of lifesaving water and of wells, I also think of Hagar (see Gen. 21:14–20). Hers is a complicated family story. She is forced alone into the wilderness of Beersheba with her young son, Ishmael. In due time the water and bread she has taken with her into the desert are consumed, and thirst and hunger overwhelm her and her little boy. Because she cannot bear to hear the cries of her son, the record tells us that she puts him in a shaded place and goes 'a good way off' (Gen. 21 ... (continued)
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What Is Spirituality
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a time about sixty years ago when he and his father missed a turn-off while driving off Kaibab Mountain because they both fell asleep, leading to a rough detour.
Before I start to bear my testimony, however, the remarks of the morning have prompted me to recount an experience that my father and I had about sixty years ago, in the hope that the point may be understood. We were driving off Kaibab Mountain one beautiful day behind a fine team in an Arizona buckboard. Father said, "Antoine, down at the foot of the mountain there is a trail that cuts right straight across the Pipe Springs and crosses the Kanab wash, in a convenient location. We'll take that t ... (continued)
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What Is Spirituality
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
- Of the First Council of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a compliment given to his father by the president of the biggest bank in the city, who admired his father's ability to combine religion and business, something the banker found challenging.
If you will pardon the reference to my father, I would like to tell you that one time I walked into the biggest bank in this city. Its president, who was not a member of the Church, called me over, and he said: "Mr. Ivins, I pay tribute to your father. He came the nearest to combining religion and business of any man I ever knew," and then he said: "Do you know, I cannot do it. I have to be a hard-boiled businessman." But he some way or another came to realize that under the influence of the gos ... (continued)
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What Is True?
By President Russell M. Nelson
- President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a visit with an ailing dignitary in a country where few people know of Jesus Christ, who pondered on the nature of truth while staring at the ceiling during his illness.
This challenge reminds me of an experience Sister Nelson and I had when we visited a dignitary in a country where relatively few people have heard of Jesus Christ. This dear aging friend had recently been quite ill. He told us that during his many days in bed, he often stared at the ceiling and asked, 'What is true?'
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What Is Truth?
Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the children of Israel who, despite being led by the Lord out of bondage, hardened their hearts and reviled against Moses and God.
I thought of the children of Israel and their reaction to the Lord after he had guided them out of bondage: "And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God."1 Ne. 17:30
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