Your Sacred Duty to Minister
David L. Beck
- Young Men General President
📅 0
📖 general conference
In Bangalore, India, a deacon named Gladwin and his leaders reached out to less-active young men, leading to the reactivation of their quorum and all young men in the branch becoming active in the Church.
Last June, when a new branch was created in Bangalore, India, the only young man in priesthood meeting was a recently ordained deacon named Gladwin. Gladwin, along with the Young Men president and branch president, began calling the less-active young men and visiting them in their homes. Soon a second young man, Samuel, started coming to church again. Each week Gladwin and Samuel called those who had not attended quorum meeting and shared what they had learned. They also called or visited them o ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Sorrow Shall Be Turned to Joy
Elder Robert D. Hales
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Elder LeGrand Richards humorously comments on aging to younger General Authorities while being helped into a wheelchair.
On one occasion Elder LeGrand Richards, who was being helped into a wheelchair a little against his will, turned to the younger General Authorities and said, "You, too, will grow old, if you live long enough."
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Sorrow Shall Be Turned to Joy
Elder Robert D. Hales
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A branch president interviews a couple where the wife criticizes her husband for not meeting her expectations, and when asked why she hurts him, she responds that it's because they can hurt loved ones the most.
Thirty years ago, as a branch president, I was interviewing a man and his wife. The wife was tearing down her husband: he had not been the provider she had expected; he had not been the companion she had dreamed about before her marriage; they could not communicate together without arguing and attacking one another.
Her husband loved her, and yet she hurt him. There were tears in his eyes as he absorbed the verbal abuse. I couldn"™t take any more as a twenty-one-year-old branch president, and ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Sorrow Shall Be Turned to Joy
Elder Robert D. Hales
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his elderly parents' suffering and looks forward to the joy they will receive with perfect immortal bodies, while also appreciating the service he can provide to them.
I observe my eighty-two-year-old mother"”paralyzed the past eight years"”and my eighty-four-year-old father"”who is an artist, whose test of suffering is dimmed eyesight"”and realize the joy they will receive when they receive perfect immortal bodies. The suffering in mortality will bring a greater appreciation of the blessings of a resurrected, perfect body. Also, our joy of service in helping our parents in time of need brings us a greater appreciation for one another.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Sorrow Shall Be Turned to Joy
Elder Robert D. Hales
- Of the First Quorum of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
A new General Authority is inspired by another General Authority who, despite recently losing his wife, is on an airplane ready to fulfill an assignment.
One of the greatest examples in my life happened when I was a brand-new General Authority on my first assignment. One of the General Authorities had a wife who had passed away just a few days before. I walked onto the airplane and there he was, sitting on the front row of the airplane. What a great message! I was moved by it because at the time I said to myself, "How can one who is suffering go out to help others?" He talked to me about how difficult it was for him to go on assignment, but he ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Wonderful Journey Home
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts their family's escape from East Germany to West Germany, detailing the different routes each family member took to reach safety and their eventual reunion.
I grew up in Zwickau, in the former East Germany. When I was about 11 years old, my father fell under increased scrutiny as a political dissenter, and my parents felt that the only safe choice for our family would be to flee to West Germany. It was decided that the safest plan was to leave at different times and follow different routes to the West, leaving all our belongings behind.
Since my father was at greatest risk, he took the quickest journey, through Berlin. My older brothers headed north ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Your Wonderful Journey Home
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Second Counselor in the First Presidency
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the premortal journey of spirits, including the decision to leave the presence of God and come to Earth, facing trials and learning experiences with the ultimate goal of returning to the heavenly home.
This story begins a very long time ago, long before the earth began spinning in its orbit, long before the sun began to reach its fiery arms into the cold of space, long before creatures great and small had populated our planet. At the beginning of this story, you lived in a faraway, beautiful place.
We do not know many details about life in that premortal sphere, but we do know some. Our Heavenly Father has revealed to us who He is, who we are, and who we can become.
Back in that first estate, ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth of the Noble Birthright
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an experience of using a family vacation at Bear Lake to connect with grandchildren and discuss challenges they face, using a binder with topics for each day to stimulate discussions.
Each year we have a family vacation at Bear Lake. It is an exciting week of getting acquainted with grandchildren. For the past few years I have listened to their opportunities and challenges. They have let me know of the increased pressures of being in the world but not of the world. Movies, television, Internet, designer clothes, extreme fashions, Sabbath-breaking activities, et cetera, escalate the magnitude of their temptations. Moreover, peer pressures force difficult decisions about whethe ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth of the Noble Birthright
Elder L. Tom Perry
- Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the addition of a new granddaughter to their family and observes the immediate bonding and tender care she received from her siblings.
I have watched with great interest the addition of a new granddaughter in our family. There was an immediate bonding with her brother and sister. Her siblings held her with such tender and loving care.
Learning to appreciate what it means to belong to an eternal family is of great importance to us. Remember, you are part of that eternal unit that requires your best effort. Be certain you bring warmth, kindness, understanding, consideration, and a strong love to your eternal family.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth of Zion, Stand Up, and be Counted!
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young man of Aaronic Priesthood age, who would become a great prophet, demonstrated courage by choosing to follow the Lord's commandments rather than succumbing to peer pressure, specifically from his brothers.
I am certain that every member of the Church has thrilled to the words of a stalwart young man of Aaronic Priesthood age who lived approximately twenty-six hundred years ago. When faced with a difficult situation, he said, 'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them' 1 Ne. 3:7 This young man, destined to become ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth of Zion, Stand Up, and be Counted!
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
In 1963, a young Mormon serviceman stood up against his training instructor's habit of telling off-color stories, leading to a dozen other recruits joining him in objecting, which resulted in the instructor skipping the stories for that day.
Let us quickly span twenty-six hundred years and review a story of Aaronic Priesthood courage in our day, 1963. My heart was touched just last month as I had the privilege of reading an excerpt from a serviceman's letter to his parents. Apparently, his training instructor had made it a habit of starting each day's discussion with a few off-color stories. One morning, quite by surprise, the instructor asked if anyone objected to a couple of 'good' stories before starting the day's instruction. Th ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth of Zion, Stand Up, and be Counted!
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
- First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
📅 0
📖 general conference
A high school student at a crossroads must decide whether to follow friends who don't live by proper conduct, similar to a teenage boy and girl who regretted their gradual missteps away from their beliefs.
Perhaps there might be a high school student within sound of my voice who finds himself at the crossroads of decision today; whose circle of closest friends fail to live by the rules of conduct that he or she knows to be right. Might these so-called friends be urging you to take one more step away from all that you believe in, all that is sacred? Could these be the same first easy steps taken by a teenage boy recently who stated to a juvenile judge, 'I just didn't realize it was happening� ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
A girl speaks at a testimony meeting about her father's cancer and how she learned to trust in God's will rather than pray selfishly for his healing.
With deep emotion, one lovely girl spoke of her reaction when it was discovered that her father had cancer. How she prayed and prayed that he be healed, then came to the realization that her prayers were selfish"”that our loving Father in heaven was in control and that she should submit to his will. She evidenced a very mature outlook on life, something that some of us as adults never experience in a lifetime of living.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
Youth in southern Arizona and a Utah community engage in service projects, such as cleaning up after floods and beautifying a town.
Witness the joy of the youth who gathered by the hundreds to clean ditches and gather the debris left by the recent floods in southern Arizona, or those who cleaned up an entire Utah community in a day of service.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
A youth committee in Cache Valley takes on the project of caring for the aged and shut-ins, providing them with meals, lessons, and activities.
An active youth committee in Cache Valley made it their project to take care of the aged and shut-ins. Each week the girls would prepare suppers and the boys would prepare lessons or activities to take to the homes of the unfortunate, giving them plenty of tender loving care in a family home evening situation.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
While their bishop was on vacation, the youth committee in Sacramento, California, painted his house as a surprise, strengthening their bond with him through service.
In Sacramento, California, while the bishop was away on vacation with his family, the youth committee determined to paint his house. These young people had the time of their lives working together and anticipating the pleasant surprise of the bishop when he returned. A real bond of love was established between the youth and their bishop with such meaningful service.
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young man shares how his testimony was strengthened by spending time with faithful friends, including a visit to the Provo Temple grounds and sharing testimonies with each other.
A handsome young man, obviously a football player, told of how his testimony had been strengthened through association with fine, faithful friends, most of them a year older than he. Graduating from high school and soon to be separated from one another, they had a "last fling" together, a visit to the lovely grounds of the Provo Temple. Then they went to a quiet spot where in the late evening hours 12 future leaders of the Church bore their testimonies of the divinity of the gospel and express ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Youth"™s Opportunity to Serve
President Robert L. Backman
- Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Men
📅 0
📖 general conference
Dana Miller, soon to become a deacon, is visited by his quorum's presidency who outline his duties, making a significant impact on him and leading to his own presidency of the deacons quorum.
Dana Miller was approaching his twelfth birthday, looking forward to becoming a deacon. One evening, just prior to his birthday, the front doorbell rang. Dana"™s father, a high councilor in the stake, answered the door to find three young men on the porch. "We are the deacons presidency and have come to call on your son, Dana." Admitting these quorum leaders, Brother Miller retired to another room while the presidency sat down with Dana and outlined his duties and responsibilities as a pries ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Zion in the Midst of Babylon
Elder David R. Stone
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker and his wife watched their daughter perform as one of the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, which led the speaker to reflect on the usefulness of an early-warning system for the approach of evil.
Last summer, my wife and I had the opportunity to travel to San Diego, California, and there see Shakespeare"™s Macbeth at the Old Globe Theatre. We saw two performances, because our daughter Carolyn was playing the part of one of the three witches in that play. Of course, we were delighted to see her in the play and even more delighted when, at a dramatic moment, she said those famous lines: "By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes" (act 4, scene 1, lines 40"“41). ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →
Zion in the Midst of Babylon
Elder David R. Stone
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
While driving towards a great city at night, the speaker jokingly referred to it as 'the city of Babylon' to his wife, using it as a metaphor for the sensuality, corruption, and decadence that can be found in many cities.
On a later occasion, my wife and I were driving cross-country one night and were approaching a great city. As we came over the hills and saw the bright lights on the horizon, I nudged my wife awake and said, "Behold the city of Babylon!" Of course, there is no particular city today which personifies Babylon. Babylon was, in the time of ancient Israel, a city which had become sensual, decadent, and corrupt. The principal building in the city was a temple to a false god, which we often refer to ... (continued)
Forgiveness
Read Full Talk →