Who Will Forfeit the Harvest?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares the story of a man who made significant contributions as a missionary but was not allowed to change in the eyes of his small-town neighbors, limiting his happiness and involvement upon his return.
Sometimes we are unwise and even cruel in our unwillingness to accept change in others. I recently learned of a man who raised his family and pursued his professional life in a small country town. He was not without his problems but was a good man with a great heart who loved the Lord and the gospel. Mistakes, even small ones, are not soon forgotten in some neighborhoods, however; and he never seemed to be "allowed" to grow, blossom, develop, and change into what he could become.
As a missiona ... (continued)
Forgiveness
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Who Will Forfeit the Harvest?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the experience of a man who, after becoming active in the Church and changing his life, was not accepted for who he had become by his hometown community, leading him to move away and succeed elsewhere.
Let me share one other example. A friend of mine went to school with a boy who did not have much home life and for whom the gospel did not mean as much as it later would. He drank a little and caroused a little; but later, after moving away from his home town, he became very active in the Church. His one dream was to return to his home town and start a business, which he tried to do. But unfortunately, as with the other man, the people in the community insisted on treating him as he had been, no ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a quote from a letter his son sent while on a mission, expressing admiration for the Saints and the priesthood, and a disinterest in joining fraternities.
After he had grown into manhood and was in the mission field, I memorized one statement from his letter, which read like this: "Father, these saints are wonderful. They do us all kinds of favors. Shucks, they make my fraternity brothers look sick." He said, "I will never ask for the privilege of joining a fraternity again. The priesthood of God is the greatest union in all the world, isn't it?"
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A grandson on a mission in Switzerland tells his grandfather about a man he is qualifying for baptism who expresses his commitment to follow the prophet if Joseph Smith is confirmed to be a true prophet of God.
I think of a message that I received in a letter from one of my grandsons, who was on a mission in Switzerland. He is now a bishop, and I think he is listening in here tonight. In that letter he told me about how he was qualifying a man for baptism and was telling him about what would be expected of him, such as keeping the Word of Wisdom and paying tithing and working in the priesthood to help build the kingdom; and the man stopped him, and said, "You don't need to tell me all those things." H ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker's son, after being ordained a deacon, asks if he has more authority than the President of the United States, leading to a discussion about the enduring nature of priesthood authority.
When one of my boys was ordained a deacon (and incidentally, it was in the mission field and the branch president didn't even wait until I got home from a trip in the mission to let me ordain him), after I returned he came into my office and said, "Daddy, I have more authority than the President of the United States, haven't I?" It took my breath away. I had to think pretty fast, and finally I said, "Well, yes, you do. The President of the United States gets his authority from the people, and ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith, as related by President Wilford Woodruff, about the future growth of the Church and its role among the Lamanites.
I would like to read a statement from the Prophet Joseph as related by President Wilford Woodruff in general conference, April 1898. He tells about when he first met the Prophet Joseph, which was back in 1833, three years after the Church was organized. These are the words of the Prophet: "Brethren, I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and Kingdom tha ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A woman brings her husband to an Aaronic Priesthood pageant, where a scene prompts him to start attending priesthood meetings with his son.
A short time after the pageant one of the good sisters attending Relief Society out in the Southeast was telling about how she brought her husband to see that pageant. In the pageant each of the boys had a little spotlight on his forehead, and then some of those lights went out. In one scene, there they were, on the platform, discussing all their problems, and one little fellow turned and said "My father doesn't go to priesthood meeting, and I want to be like my father." This woman, in telling ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his father's influence, including a story of how his father's swearing was limited to 'Oh, fiddlesticks,' and how his father taught his sons about tithing.
I don't suppose I would be standing here tonight were it not for the noble teachings and example of that father of mine. I grew up on a farm. When everything went dead wrong, as it did at times, I remember a hayrack we were trying to get on the gears; it tumbled down, and the worst swear word I ever heard my father use in all the years on that farm was "Oh, fiddlesticks," and I think the Lord will forgive him for that. I can remember hoeing weeds out of the old corn patch"”acres of it when f ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a personal story of his father's trust and influence on him, which helped him maintain his moral standards while living in the city.
"I would trust you anywhere . . ." I left home as a young man and came to the city here to board and go to school; and when my father came to town and stayed with me, he would put his arms around me and say, "My boy, I never thought I could trust one of my boys in the big city." (Of course, it wasn't as big then as it is now.) Then he said, "I would trust you anywhere I would go myself." It was just like putting a steel rod up my backbone. How could I let my father down? One of my boy ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker tells of his and his brother's desire to go buggy-riding on Sundays and their father's clever response that allowed them to ride any other day of the week.
Just another little thing about how Daddy trained us boys: You know, in the country town where I was raised, the greatest sport the boys had was to go buggy-riding in the afternoon on Sunday with their girls. Of course, my brother and I could never go buggy-riding because Father was a member of the stake presidency, and we had to set an example. One day we went to Father, and we said, "Now, man to man, Father, why can't we buggy-ride on Sunday like these other boys?" Father didn't want to depr ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his father's love and the impact it had on him, emphasizing the importance of love in family relationships.
Well, these are just some of the little things that tied us together to that daddy of ours. I walked into my father's apartment when he was just about 90 (he died just a few months before he would have been 90), and as I opened the door, he stood up and walked toward me and took me in his arms and hugged me and kissed me. He always did that. I received letters from all over the Church when I kissed Father here on the stand once after I became the Presiding Bishop. Taking me in his arms and ca ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker tells of a man who left the Church because he was thrown out of an Aaronic Priesthood meeting, contrasting it with a bishop who reconciled with a boy after a conflict.
Right attitudes We have to have the right attitude. I am going to give you two more illustrations. When I was back in Washington some years ago, I overheard one of our Mormon men who was standing in line to get in a theater; and he got in conversation with the man next to him and found that he was from Utah. He said, "Then you are a Mormon, aren't you?" He said, "No, I am not a Mormon." And this man who asked him thought he was afraid to own up to it, so to make it a little easier he said, "Well ... (continued)
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Who Will Show Us the Way?
Elder LeGrand Richards
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a story about his father's reputation for honesty and trustworthiness, which allowed the speaker to be trusted based on his father's name.
We had a miller come to our town when I was a boy. We used to take a load of wheat to the mill and get credit for it, and then we would go and draw on it for our mush and for shorts for pigs, etc. A new miller came, and I went up to get a grist, but had no credit, and he wouldn't let me have it; he didn't know me. I said, "Well, you check up on my father," and I gave him the name. A few days later, I went up with a load of wheat, and I said, "Did you check on my father with the owner of the mi ... (continued)
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recalls meeting a young man in prison who had 'A BORN LOSER' tattooed on his body, reflecting on the power of attitude.
The truth "For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he"Prov. 23:7is as applicable today as any time in history. I remember years ago meeting a young man who had tattooed on his body the words "A BORN LOSER." I don"™t think you will be surprised to learn that I met him in a state prison.
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker asks two young boys if they can swim, revealing their attitudes through their answers.
I also remember once asking two young boys if they could swim. One said, "No." The other, "I don"™t know. I"™ve never tried." Unknowingly, perhaps, their attitudes were showing.
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a verse by Josiah Gilbert Holland from the 19th century, emphasizing the importance of proper attitude.
Let me share with you a verse from a 19th-century writer, Josiah Gilbert Holland. The bust of Dr. Holland is in the Hall of Fame and beneath is this powerful verse which he wrote entitled "Wanted."
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker and Sister Ashton attend a baseball game where a late arriver asks who's losing, leading to a conversation about attitudes towards winning and losing.
One warm evening during the past summer months Sister Ashton and I enjoyed a professional baseball game. During the early part of the competition our attention was diverted from the action by a late arriver. As he walked by, he spotted me and asked, "Who"™s losing?" I responded with, "Neither one." Following my answer, I noticed that he glanced at the right-field scoreboard, saw the game wasn"™t tied, and walked on, undoubtedly wondering about me.
Seconds after he made his way to a dista ... (continued)
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
Joseph Smith's resilience and attitude are highlighted through his own words about being persecuted for his vision.
"So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does th ... (continued)
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Who"™s Losing?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton
- Of the Council of the Twelve
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on Jesus Christ's life and attitude, especially during the final week of his life, as an example of proper attitude.
Every person in the world who loves courageous performance and appreciates proper attitude should read and reread the final chapters of his life. He lived, this Prince of Peace, in true majesty. His home town scorned his achievements. Some of his disciples had turned away. His enemies were about to triumph (so they supposed). What was his attitude? Was it complaint, faultfinding, retaliation, defeat? Never! His majestic words were, "Let not your heart be troubled"John 14:1"I have overcome the ... (continued)
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Who"™s on the Lord"™s Side?
Charles W. Dahlquist II
- Young Men General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
Hannah Last Cornaby was baptized amid a mob throwing stones but was miraculously unharmed.
In February 1852, a young woman by the name of Hannah Last Cornaby was baptized in Yarmouth, England. It was not the quiet, reverent experience most have but was described by her in these words: "We found the house surrounded by a mob, through which we with difficulty made our way. "¦ Before we reached the water"™s edge, the whole horde was upon us; and my husband baptized me amid a shower of stones, and shouts "¦ and, although the stones whizzed around us thick as hail, not one touched us, ... (continued)
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