Work and Welfare: A Historical Perspective
President Marion G. Romney
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
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📖 general conference
The speaker discusses the fall of the Roman Empire, attributing it to the government providing unearned benefits to the people, which led to a culture of dependency and eventually dictatorship.
A few years ago I read a lengthy book dealing with the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. That fall, in large measure, was due to the purchasing of votes with unearned benefits, such as entertainment, circuses, and food. The government"™s actions built up in the people an expectation and demand which eventually could be kept down only by the establishment of a dictatorship. Many of our members live in countries where this history has repeated itself. In the United States, our treasured ... (continued)
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Work and Welfare: A Historical Perspective
President Marion G. Romney
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares a story told by President Harold B. Lee about a man who refused to work and expected to be taken care of by the Church or government, illustrating the dangers of a culture of entitlement.
I used to hear the story, when I first came under President Harold B. Lee"™s influence in the welfare program, about a man whom they could not get to work. He wanted to be taken care of. The Church or government, so he thought, owed him a living because he had paid his tithing and taxes. He did not have anything to eat and refused to labor to care for himself. Out of desperation and disgust they decided they might as well take him to the cemetery.
On the way, one man said, "We can"™t do this ... (continued)
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Work for the Dead
Elder Eldred G. Smith
- Patriarch to the Church
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📖 general conference
Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith on September 21, 1823, quoting prophecies of Malachi and renewing the promise of Elijah's coming, which was fulfilled on April 3, 1836, when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received various priesthood keys in the Kirtland Temple.
In the beginning of this dispensation on September 21, 1823, Moroni appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In that visit he quoted the prophecies of Malachi:
"For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch . . .". . . . Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before th ... (continued)
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Work for the Dead
Elder Eldred G. Smith
- Patriarch to the Church
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📖 general conference
After Elijah's coming, there was a significant increase in the preservation and cataloging of genealogical records, including the passing of laws in Great Britain, the publication of family histories, and the formation of genealogical societies.
One year after Elijah's coming, in 1837, laws were passed in Great Britain compelling the preservation of duplicate records of the dead. In the 400 years preceding the coming of Elijah, there were catalogued by Mr. T. B. Thompson 192 British family histories. In just one hundred years after the coming of Elijah in 1836, there were 1,879 British family histories published.
In addition to the published family histories, about the only family record was one made in the old family Bible, such as the ... (continued)
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Work for the Dead
Elder Eldred G. Smith
- Patriarch to the Church
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📖 general conference
A Japanese convert to the Church, while serving in the military in Japan, was able to collect extensive genealogical records from his relatives in Hiroshima, exemplifying the fulfillment of Elijah's promise.
I am reminded of a Japanese boy, a convert to the Church here in the States, who, in fulfilling his obligation in the military service, was taken to Japan. During his leaves of absence, on his furloughs, he went to Hiroshima where he found relatives who were more than willing to give him records of his genealogy, pictures of family members, and records. Some were insulted to think that they had not been thought of sooner, and they are continuing to send records to him. He unrolled on the floor o ... (continued)
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Work for the Living and the Dead
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the contentment that comes from knowing the truths of the gospel and the responsibilities that come with it, including teaching the gospel to the world and performing ordinances for the deceased.
As we sit here, brothers and sisters, we are blessed with vast treasures of content, knowing full well and having the assurance that God lives, and that this is his Church and kingdom; knowing that if we will keep the commandments of the Lord, that we may go back into his presence; that we may reach out and bring our loved ones and our friends this same blessing. This brings a great measure of contentment. But we must not rest contented, for the Lord has placed upon our shoulders the responsibi ... (continued)
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Work for the Living and the Dead
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
Wilford Woodruff emphasizes the necessity of providing gospel privileges to all generations, both living and dead, through proxy work in temples.
Wilford Woodruff, seventy-eight years ago tomorrow, said something about this, when he made this significant statement: 'God is no respecter of personsActs 10:34he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another; and the whole human family, from Father Adam down to our day have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the gospel of Christ . . . They have to be preached to in the spirit world. But nobody will baptize them there, therefore someone mus ... (continued)
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Work for the Living and the Dead
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
- Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the visitation of heavenly messengers to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, where they received priesthood keys and the visitation of Elijah, fulfilling Malachi's prophecy.
Now, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that this wordturnshould be understood to meanbindorsealthe hearts of the children to their fathers, and vice versa. I like the words of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph in regard to this. Said Moroni: 'Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall tu ... (continued)
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Working Out Our Own Salvation
Elder Albert E. Bowen
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
Paul's deep concern for the early Christian converts is likened to a parent caring for unsteady children.
One cannot read the record of Paul's missionary service without sensing his deep solicitude for those who through his ministry had been converted to the faith. As he moved from place to place, he contrived by one means or another to keep himself informed of the progress and failures of the bodies of the Church which he had previously established. To him they appeared to be as children who had not yet learned to walk alone, and he stood over them with outstretched hand to pick them up and steady ... (continued)
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Working Out Our Own Salvation
Elder Albert E. Bowen
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the common experience of witnessing individuals with different levels of natural ability achieve varying degrees of success based on their willingness to work hard.
We all have had the disappointing experience of seeing young men of apparently scintillating brilliance fail utterly of achieving the distinction which their natural endowment gave promise of, just as we have been happily surprised at the success gained by some of slower mentality. The difference lies in their differing degrees of industry and endurance. The tenacious, plodding mind has often outrun the quick and apparently more alert one simply because the possessor of the former has been willi ... (continued)
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Working Out Our Own Salvation
Elder Albert E. Bowen
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker uses the parable of the talents from the New Testament to illustrate the importance of actively working with what one has been given.
Otherwise there is no meaning to the great parable of the talents spoken of by Jesus. He likened the kingdom of heaven to a man about to journey to a far country who called his servants to him and delivered to them his goods in proportion to their several abilities. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. He who received the five talents forthwith traded with them and doubled them. So likewise did he who received the two talents. But he of the one talent hid it. When the ... (continued)
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World Peace
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
Elder Ezra Taft Benson witnesses a German member's emotional gratitude for the aid sent by people who had never seen them.
A few months later, Elder Ezra Taft Benson saw a German member in tears as he ran his fingers through a container of cracked wheat and whispered, "Brother Benson, it is hard for me to believe that people who have never seen us could do so much for us." (Sheri L. Dew, Ezra Taft Benson, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1987, p. 219.)
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World Peace
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
A newly appointed U.S. Supreme Court justice encounters a clerk who is unimpressed with his occupation listed as 'justice' on a driver's license form.
Some years ago, an acquaintance of mine who was moving to Washington, D.C., went to the district offices to take the driver"™s license examination. He had to fill out a form that asked for his business address and his occupation. He had just been appointed a justice of the United States Supreme Court, so he used that as his business address. In the blank marked "occupation" he wrote the word justice. The person at the counter examined this answer, frowned, and said, "Justice? Justice! Well, ... (continued)
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World Peace
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
U.S. President Harry S Truman is surprised that President George Albert Smith intends to give, not sell, relief supplies to German Saints after World War II.
Our Church members demonstrated the healing and pacifying power of love in their shipment of food and clothing to relieve the suffering of the German Saints just after World War II. U.S. President Harry S Truman was amazed when President George Albert Smith told him the supplies would not be sold. "You don"™t mean you are going to give it to them?" he exclaimed. President Smith replied simply, "They are our brothers and sisters and are in distress." (Edward L. Kimball and Andrew E. Kimball ... (continued)
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World Peace
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
President Lincoln apologizes to a Union officer for his initial refusal to allow the officer to leave for his wife's burial, demonstrating a personal act of kindness.
A personal act of kindness or reconciliation also has an impact for peace. Lincoln"™s biographer described such an act. A Union officer applied to his commander-in-chief for permission to leave his regiment to attend to the burial of his wife. Lincoln gruffly refused. Another battle was imminent, and every officer was needed. The next morning President Lincoln reconsidered and granted the request. He went to the room of the grieving man, took his hand, and said: "My dear Colonel, I was a brute ... (continued)
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Worship through Music
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker recounts how a choir's singing in Portuguese during a regional conference in BrasÃlia, Brazil, transcended language barriers and prepared the congregation for gospel instruction.
Last spring I made my first visit to BrasÃlia, Brazil. Over three thousand Saints gathered for a regional conference. The printed program listed the musical numbers, but the Portuguese words meant nothing to me. But when their beautiful choir began to sing, the music crossed all barriers of language and spoke to my soul: (Hymns,1985, no. 1) Through the miracle of sacred music, the Spirit of the Lord descended upon us, and we were made ready for gospel instruction and worship.
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Worship through Music
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker describes a moment at the Church's Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii where performers backstage harmonized into a beautiful chorus, bringing order out of chaos before he gave his remarks.
Last July I visited the Church’s Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. Before the evening show of dancing and music from various island cultures, I went backstage to thank the performers. I arrived during those frantic moments before the show began. Scores of performers were hurrying through the last-minute tasks required to coordinate their efforts in a fast-moving performance. I wondered how the director would bring this turmoil to order in preparation for my brief remarks. It happened ... (continued)
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Worship through Music
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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📖 general conference
The speaker shares a family experience where singing hymns helped calm restless grandchildren and brought a spiritual atmosphere to a family meeting in the mountains.
We had a similar experience in our family. Last spring some of our children and fourteen of our grandchildren had a family outing in the mountains. One of our activities was a meeting to share experiences and testimonies. We gathered at the appointed time, but the little people were only gathered in body. The large spirits in those little bodies were clamoring for more of the exciting outdoor activities they had been enjoying. The cabin where we met was too small to contain them, and it seemed a ... (continued)
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Worship through Music
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the spiritual impact of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles singing 'I Need Thee Every Hour' before their meetings in the Salt Lake Temple.
The weekly meetings of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Salt Lake Temple always begin with a hymn. Elder Russell M. Nelson plays the organ accompaniment. The First Presidency, who conduct these meetings, rotate the privilege of selecting the opening song. Most of us record the date each hymn is sung. According to my records, the opening song most frequently sung during the decade of my participation has been 'I Need Thee Every Hour' (Hymns,1985, no. 98). Picture the ... (continued)
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Worship through Music
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts a temple dedication where the music evoked tears of joy and a feeling that angelic choirs joined in the hymns, creating an intense spiritual experience.
The veil is very thin in the temples, especially when we join in worshipping through music. At temple dedications I have seen more tears of joy elicited by music than by the spoken word. I have read accounts of angelic choirs joining in these hymns of praise, and I think I have experienced this on several occasions. In dedicatory sessions featuring beautiful and well-trained choirs of about thirty voices, there are times when I have heard what seemed to be ten times thirty voices praising God wi ... (continued)
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