Sunday, October 25, 2009

Church Services This Week at Regional Conference Broadcast From University of Utah, Logan Utah 10-25-09



“I have in my heart a great burning desire, my brothers and sisters. To make it possible to have a temple where every faithful Latter-day Saint can come and receive his or her temple blessings and have opportunity to extend those blessings to his or her forbearers” (Church News, May 4, 1996, p. 2) 

Worship in the Temple should be a large part of our family's worship.

Doctrine and Covenants 110 - Elijah

Blessings for going to the temple
  • Refined natures
  • Less selfishness
  • Would be in holy places more and in unholy places less
  • New spirit of confidence
  • Alma 26:6
    6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the astormcometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.

The purpose of the Church is to save people.  That's why we have classes, home teachers, missionaries, and temples.

Are we casual with our prayers until we really need Him?

"It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his own life, often in his own family, and many of us pioneer daily in trying to establish a gospel foothold in distant parts of the world." (President Gordon B. Hinckley, The Faith of the Pioneers, Ensign, July 1984)

I had not realized that Elder Eyring was born and reared in New Jersey.  That was kind of interesting, since we often think of leaders of the Church being born in the Church, but also born and raised in Utah.

Yet Elder Eyring noted that Elder George Q Cannon stated about Utah, "It was impossible for any person to live here unless he labored hard and battled and fought against the elements, but it was a first-rate place to raise Latter-day Saints, and we shall be blessed in living here..." (DISCOURSE BY ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON, Delivered In The New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1871, cited in The Journal of Discourses)

Even in tough financial times we must pay tithing.

Your capacity to get and retain employment will be increased as you serve faithfully in the Lord's kingdom.

If you are not careful to resist it, you troubles will turn inward.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Church Services This Week at Weber Heights Stake Conference Ogden Utah 10-24-09



How to instill a love of the Gospel and our children
1. Example
2. Discuss, don't just teach
3. Be consistent
4. Use the churches resources, especially the Scriptures.
  • kids can comprehend more than what we think. It also gets them used to the language of the Scriptures.
5. Bare our testimonies often

3 Nephi 13:24
24 No man can aserve btwo masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

Mammon-extreme love of material things.

10 For the alove of bmoney is the root of all evil: which while some ccoveted after, they have derred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many esorrows.

  15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lordachoose you bthis day whom ye will cserve; whether the gods which your fathers served that wereon the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my dhouse, we will eserve the Lord.

Growing a Testimony
Prepare your heart (the soil).
Persevere through trials (weeds)
Needs to be nourished with the food of the gospel.

The quickest way to lose your testimony is to do nothing.

"...when men say unto us, 'you are not like us,' we reply, 'we know it; we do not want to be. We want to be like the Lord, we want to secure his favor and approbation and to live under His smile, and to acknowledge, as ancient Israel did on a certain occasion, The Lord is our God, our judge, and our king, and He shall reign over us.' "(Journal of Discourses 11:346-47, emphasis added.)

A testimony is gained on a principle by seeing the effects of living that principle in our own lives. All too often a testimony is gained by not living the principles and seeing the effects our lives.

There is a trend of people coming to meetings and activities late. If you can't be on time then be early.

The temple is close by and we should be there regularly. once a month is a bare minimum.

When Cain and Abel presented their offering one was the best they had and one was not acceptable. We must use our time for the best things.

Do we live the gospel or just profess to be believers?

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 10-18-09 Sacrament Service


I was teaching a Primary class today, so I got limited notes from church today.
  27 Wherefore, men are afree according to the bflesh; and call things are dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to echoose fliberty and eternal glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be hmiserable like unto himself.


From the Bulletin:

"It is important to understand that self reliance is a means to an end. Our ultimate goal is to become like the
Savior, and that goal is enhanced by our unselfish service to others. Our ability to serve is increased or
diminished by the level of our self reliance.
"As President Marion G . Romney once said: 'Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the
emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance
cannot come from the spiritually weak." Elder Robert D. Hales, "A Gospel Vision of Welfare: Faith in Action.'"

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 10-11-09


Priesthood Opening
Romans 5 - Justification

Elders' Quorum
The body is a vehicle to help us become like Heavenly Father.

“We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.” (Quoted by William Clayton, reporting an undated discourse given by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois; in L. John Nuttall, “Extracts from William Clayton’s Private Book,” pp. 7–8, Journals of L. John Nuttall, 1857–1904, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; copy in Church Archives. )

“The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.” (Quoted by William Clayton, reporting an undated discourse given by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois; in L. John Nuttall, “Extracts from William Clayton’s Private Book,” p. 8, Journals of L. John Nuttall, 1857–1904, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; copy in Church Archives. )

"Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate. President Boyd K. Packer has taught, 'Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.'2 Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, 'according to the flesh' (see 1 Nephi 19:6Alma 7:12–13)." (Elder David A. Bednar, Things as They Really Are, CES Fireside for Young Adults, May 3, 2009)

"And in this dispensation the Lord revealed that 'the spirit and the body are the soul of man' (D&C 88:15). A truth that really is and always will be is that the body and the spirit constitute our reality and identity. When body and spirit are inseparably connected, we can receive a fulness of joy; when they are separated, we cannot receive a fulness of joy (see D&C 93:33–34)." (Elder David A. Bednar, Things as They Really Are, CES Fireside for Young Adults, May 3, 2009)

You get lots of data through social networking, but you get different data face-to-face.  Even though you can keep in touch with much more people more quickly online, there is data and experience you can only get face-to-face.

Sunday School
The lesson manual contained a story of President Hugh B. Brown having a college of his come and ask him to defend his religion like he would defend a point in court.  President Brown ended up asking if the man believed that God has spoken to man since after Christ's resurrection.  The man stated that he was not aware of an instance that he had.  President Brown then proposed a few possibly reasons why God does not speak to man.  1.  He is not able.  2. He does not love us.  3. We don't need him.  He rejected those reasons and asked President Brown why he did not and President Brown assured him that he did still speak to man.

"While serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, President Ezra Taft Benson said: 'The most important prophet, so far as we are concerned, is the one who is living in our day and age. This is the prophet who has today’s instructions from God to us today. God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark. Every generation has need of the ancient scripture plus the current scripture from the living prophet. Therefore, the most crucial reading and pondering which you should do is of the latest inspired words from the Lord’s mouthpiece' (in Conference Report, Korea Area Conference 1975, 52)."

Noah's generation also did not have the challenges and technologies we have to be able to relate to both his generation and ours.  He had no TV, radio, iPod, cell phone, or the Internet.

Heed and hearken have a different meaning than just listening and listening is different than hearing.

From the Bulletin:
"A great and important duty devolving upon this people is to teach their children, from their cradle until they become men and women, every principle of the Gospel, and endeavor, as far as it lies in the power of the parents, to instill into their hearts a love for God, the truth, virtue, honesty, honor and integrity to everything that is good. That is important for all men and women who stand at the head of a family in the household of faith. Teach your children the love of God; teach them to love their fellowmen, and especially to love their fellowship with the people of God. Teach them to honor the priesthood, to honor the authority that God has bestowed upon His Church for the proper government of His Church." President Joseph F. Smith

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference October 4, 2009


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - 
Safety for the Soul
"Prophecies regarding the last days often refer to large-scale calamities such as earthquakes or famines or floods. These in turn may be linked to widespread economic or political upheavals of one kind or another.
But there is one kind of latter-day destruction that has always sounded to me more personal than public, more individual than collective—a warning, perhaps more applicable inside the Church than outside it. The Savior warned that in the last days even those of the covenant, the very elect, could be deceived by the enemy of truth.1 If we think of this as a form of spiritual destruction, it may cast light on another latter-day prophecy. Think of the heart as the figurative center of our faith, the poetic location of our loyalties and our values; then consider Jesus’s declaration that in the last days “men’s hearts [shall fail] them.”2"


"I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world . . . that the Book of Mormon is true."


Elder Quentin L. Cook - 
Stewardship—a Sacred Trust
"This feeling of accountability, which is encompassed by the first great commandment to love God, has been described by some as 'obedience to the unenforceable.'3 We try to do what is right because we love and want to please our Father in Heaven, not because someone is forcing us to obey."

"Many years later my grandfather was in his early 90s and did not live on the property; he was unable to maintain or oversee it. I drove him to see the ranch which he loved. His high expectations at seeing the ranch turned to disappointment when he realized the fences that protected the spring had fallen into disrepair and cows had damaged the spring and the precious, pure springwater had been significantly polluted. He was upset with the damage and the pollution. To him, it was a violation of a trust he had observed all his working life. He felt somehow he had not protected that life-sustaining spring which had meant so much to him.

"Just as the pure spring was polluted when not protected, we live in a time when virtue and chastity are not safeguarded.7 The eternal significance of personal morality is not respected. A loving Father in Heaven has provided us with the means to bring His spirit children into this world to fulfill the full measure of their creation. He has instructed us that the wellsprings of life are to be kept pure, just as the beautiful spring on the ranch required protection in order to sustain life. This is one of the reasons why virtue and chastity are so important in our Father in Heaven’s plan."

Elder Brent H. Nielson - 
A Call to the Rising Generation
"While serving in Finland, I learned that my mission president’s wife, Sister Lea Mahoney, was a native of Finland. As a young girl she had grown up in the eastern portion of Finland in a city named Viipuri. As the ravages of war engulfed Finland and other countries during World War II, she and her family left their home, and Viipuri became part of the Soviet Union and was renamed Vyborg. In our zone conferences, Sister Mahoney would tell us of those left behind in Viipuri and of her desire that the gospel be taken to them. Following President Kimball’s challenge, we unitedly prayed that the hearts of the leaders of that nation would be softened so that the gospel could be taken by our missionaries into the Soviet Union.

"We would go to the border between Finland and the Soviet Union and see the guard towers and the fences, and we would wonder who those brave young men and young women would be and when they would cross that border to take the gospel to the people there. I must admit, at that time it seemed like an impossible task.

"Three years ago, our son Eric received a mission call to serve in the Russia St. Petersburg Mission. In his first letter home, he wrote something like this: 'Dear Mom and Dad, I have been assigned to my first city in Russia. Dad, you may have heard of it before. It is called Vyborg, but it was previously a Finnish city named Viipuri.'"

"Just as with heart transplant patients, however, this mighty change of our spiritual hearts is just the beginning. Repentance, baptism, and confirmation are necessary but not sufficient. Indeed, equal, if not greater, care must be taken with a spiritually changed heart than with a physically transplanted heart if we are to endure to the end.  Only by doing so can we be held guiltless at the time of judgment.4


"Enduring to the end can be challenging because the tendency of the natural man is to reject the spiritually changed heart and allow it to harden. No wonder the Lord cautioned to 'even let those who are sanctified take heed.'5"

Elder Michael T. Ringwood - 
An Easiness and Willingness to Believe
“And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words” (Helaman 6:36)

"I long to have the Spirit of the Lord poured out upon me because of my 'easiness and willingness to believe in his words.' I have felt that this scripture has awakened me to a sense of my 'duty to God'—that I should 'be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience; . . . diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; . . . always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things [I] receive' (Alma 7:22–23)."

"God’s children on the earth today have the opportunity to understand His plan of happiness for them more fully than at any other time."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson - 
Moral Discipline
"...self-discipline has eroded and societies are left to try to maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that 'gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. . . . 

"'Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we’ve become.'(Walter Williams, “Laws Are a Poor Substitute for Common Decency, Moral Values,” Deseret News, Apr. 29, 2009, A15.)"

“We would not accept the yoke of Christ; so now we must tremble at the yoke of Caesar.” (“Bishop Fulton John Sheen Makes a Wartime Plea,” in William Safire, sel., Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, rev. ed. (1997), 478.)

"All of us experience temptations. So did the Savior, but He 'gave no heed unto them' (D&C 20:22). Similarly, we do not have to yield simply because a temptation surfaces. We may want to, but we don’t have to. An incredulous female friend asked a young adult woman, committed to living the law of chastity, how it was possible that she had never 'slept with anybody.' 'Don’t you want to?' the friend asked. The young woman thought: 'The question intrigued me, because it was so utterly beside the point. . . . Mere wanting is hardly a proper guide for moral conduct.'(Sarah E. Hinlicky, “Subversive Virginity,” First Things, Oct. 1998, 14.)"

President Thomas S. Monson - 
Closing Remarks
"How grateful we are that the heavens are indeed open, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, and that the Church is founded on the rock of revelation. We are a blessed people, with apostles and prophets upon the earth today."

Sunday Morning Session of General Conference October 4, 2009


Elder Dalin H. Oaks - 
Love and Law

"Some seem to value God’s love because of their hope that His love is so great and so unconditional that it will mercifully excuse them from obeying His laws. In contrast, those who understand God’s plan for His children know that God’s laws are invariable, which is another great evidence of His love for His children. Mercy cannot rob justice,2 and those who obtain mercy are “they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment” (D&C 54:6).


"We read again and again in the Bible and in modern scriptures of God’s anger with the wicked3 and of His acting in His wrath4 against those who violate His laws."


"The love of God is so universal that His perfect plan bestows many gifts on all of His children, even those who disobey His laws. Mortality is one such gift, bestowed on all who qualified in the War in Heaven.6 Another unconditional gift is the universal resurrection: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Many other mortal gifts are not tied to our personal obedience to law. As Jesus taught, our Heavenly Father “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).


"If a person understands the teachings of Jesus, he or she cannot reasonably conclude that our loving Heavenly Father or His divine Son believes that Their love supersedes Their commandments. Consider these examples.
When Jesus began His ministry, His first message was repentance.10


"When He exercised loving mercy by not condemning the woman taken in adultery, He nevertheless told her, 'Go, and sin no more' (John 8:11).


"Jesus taught, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21)."


"From their testimonies, recorded in holy scripture, we know that '[God] created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness.'3 Some people may be surprised to learn that we look like God. One prominent religious scholar has even taught that imagining God in the form of man is creating a graven image and is idolatrous and blasphemous.4 But God Himself said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'5


"The use of the words us and our in this scripture also teaches us about the relationship between the Father and the Son. God further taught, 'By mine Only Begotten [Son] I created these things.'6 The Father and the Son are separate and distinct individuals—as any father and son always are. This may be one reason the name of God in Hebrew, Elohim, is not singular but plural."


Elder Jorge F. Zeballos - 
Attempting the Impossible

"God will not require more than the best we can give because that would not be just, but neither can He accept less than that because that would not be just either."


"Suppose for a moment someone told you these three facts about a New Testament personality and nothing more: first, the Savior said of this man, “O thou of little faith” (Matthew 14:31); second, this man, in a moment of anger, cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant; and third, this man denied knowing who the Savior was on three occasions, even though he had walked with Him daily. If that is all you knew or focused upon, you might have thought this man a scoundrel or a no-good, but in the process you would have failed to come to know one of the greatest men who ever walked the earth: Peter the Apostle."


"First, does God love us as much today as He loved the people to whom He spoke in New Testament times? Second, does God have the same power today as He did then? And third, do we need Him as much today as they needed Him anciently? If the answers to those questions are yes and if God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, as the scriptures so declare (see Mormon 9:9), then there is little doubt: God does speak to man today exactly as Joseph Smith testified."


"Many teach that there is one heaven and one hell. Joseph Smith restored the truth that there are multiple heavens. Paul spoke of a man who was caught up into the third heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:2). Could there be a third heaven if there was no second heaven or first heaven?"


"If someone turns from these restored doctrines, where will he go to learn the true nature of God as taught in the grove of trees? Where will he go to find the doctrines of the premortal existence, baptism for the dead, and eternal marriage? And where will he go to find the sealing powers that can bind husbands and wives and children beyond the grave?"


Elder Kent D. Watson - 
Being Temperate in All Things

"Tempered glass, like tempered steel, undergoes a well-controlled heating process which increases strength. Thus, when tempered glass is under stress, it will not easily break into jagged shards that can injure.
Likewise, a temperate soul—one who is humble and full of love—is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation. We learn to control, or temper, our anger, vanity, and pride. With increased spiritual strength, we can protect ourselves from the dangerous excesses and destructive addictions of today’s world."



"Likewise, a temperate soul—one who is humble and full of love—is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation. We learn to control, or temper, our anger, vanity, and pride. With increased spiritual strength, we can protect ourselves from the dangerous excesses and destructive addictions of today’s world.


"We all seek peace of mind, and we all desire security and happiness for our families. If we look for silver linings in this past year’s economic downturn, perhaps the trials some have faced have taught us that peace of mind, security, and happiness do not come from buying a home or accumulating possessions for which the debt incurred is larger than our savings or income can afford."



We should have patience.  this includes patience for comforts we would buy.


Elder Neil L. Anderson - 
“Repent . . . That I May Heal You”

"When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God."


"For most, repentance is more a journey than a one-time event. It is not easy. To change is difficult. It requires running into the wind, swimming upstream. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”18 Repentance is turning away from some things, such as dishonesty, pride, anger, and impure thoughts, and turning toward other things, such as kindness, unselfishness, patience, and spirituality. It is “re-turning” toward God."


President Boyd K. Packer - 
Prayer and Promptings

"The Prophet Joseph Smith promised that 'all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.'9"


Sunday Morning Session
Elder Henry B. Eyring - 
Our Perfect Example

"That is the ideal of a loving family. In many of our homes, there are the words “Our Family Can Be Together Forever.” There is a gravestone near my home of a mother and grandmother. She and her husband were sealed in the temple of God to each other and to their posterity for time and all eternity. The inscription on the gravestone reads, “Please, no empty chairs.” She asked for that inscription because she knew that whether the family will be together depends on the choices each family member makes. The word “please” is there because neither God nor she can compel another to choose happiness. And there is Satan, who wants misery, not happiness, in families in this life and in the next.


"My hope today is to suggest some choices which may seem difficult but that would assure you that you have qualified for there to be no empty chairs in your family in the world to come."


Elder L. Tom Perry - 
The Past Way of Facing the Future

"There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us to face the challenges of the future."


Bishop H. David Burton - 
Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13).


"We need only look around us to see what is taking place in our communities to realize that personal traits of virtue are in a steep decline. Reflect on the behavior of drivers on crowded highways; road rage happens all too often. Civility is all but absent in our political discourse. As countries around the world face financial and economic challenges, fidelity and honesty seem to have been replaced with greed and graft. A visit to a high school will often subject you to crude language and immodest dress. Some athletes display poor sportsmanship and seldom show humility unless publicly exposed for legal or moral infidelities. A large segment of our population feel little personal responsibility for their own temporal well-being. Some in financial distress blame bankers and lenders for loaning sums to satisfy insatiable wants rather than affordable needs. On occasion our generosity in support of good causes wanes as our appetite to acquire more than we need prevails."


Ann M. Dibb - 
Hold On

She talked of workers that were killed working on a bridge because they did not use the safety equipment that hey had.  We have been given safety equipment ( prayer, scriptures, church, and so forth).  We often choose not to use them and try to work in dangerous places alone.


Elder Russel M. Nelson - 
Ask, Seek, Knock

"Even more amazing than modern technology is our opportunity to access information directly from heaven, without hardware, software, or monthly service fees."



Doctrine and Covenants 76:5-7
  5 For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am amerciful and gracious unto those who bfear me, and delight to honor those who cserve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.


  6 Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their aglory.

  7 And to them will I areveal all bmysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.



President Thomas S. Monson - 
What Have I Done for Someone Today?

Father asked his children each night at supper who they had helped today.


"A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?”1"


"My brothers and sisters, may we ask ourselves the question which greeted Dr. Jack McConnell and his brothers and sisters each evening at dinnertime: “What have I done for someone today?” May the words of a familiar hymn penetrate our very souls and find lodgment in our hearts:
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?13"

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Priesthood Session of General Conference October 3, 2009

Elder M. Russell Ballard - 

"Tonight I want to talk to you fathers and sons about how you talk to each other. There is no other relationship quite like that which can and should exist between a boy and his dad. It can be one of the most nurturing, joyful relationships in life, one that can have a profound impact on who boys become and also on who dads become"


"Fathers, you are the primary model of manhood for your sons. You are their most meaningful mentor, and believe it or not, you are their hero in countless ways. Your words and your example are a great influence on them."


Elder Walter F. González - 

"The process of bringing to light the Book of Mormon cannot be compared to any literary work by any author in human history. We could say that it is a book that was shepherded by the very finger of our God"


Elder Yoon Hwan Choi - 

"I am so pleased and happy to see your constant loving leadership for our young boys. These young men are all of our sons. As we reach out to them, lift them, and help them, we will feel like John, who said, 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.' (3 John 1:4.)"


"Dear young men, let us obey the leaders of the Church and be like Adam, who didn’t always have to know the reason why but was just happy to be obedient. And please faithfully attend your Church meetings. If you do this, you will learn how to prepare for your future, and you will be successful. To young boys who were born in the Church and also to those who have joined the Church, you are the army of the Lord. You will become wonderful missionaries and righteous fathers to your families. Heavenly Father will bless you to have a happy family. You have a bright future in the gospel, and like the sons of Helaman, you will bring eternal joy to all of us."


President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - 

"Brethren, we do feel very close to you. We love you, and we pray always for you. I have seen enough ups and downs throughout my life to know that winter will surely give way to the warmth and hope of a new spring. I am optimistic about the future. Brethren, for our part, we must remain steadfast in hope, work with all our strength, and trust in God."


"Because I was a refugee and because of my East German accent, other children often made fun of me and called me names that deeply hurt. Of all the times of my youth, I believe this may have been the most discouraging.




"Now, decades later, I can look back on those days through the softening filter of experience. Even though I still remember the hurt and despair, I can see now what I was unable to see then: this was a period of great personal growth"
"When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—no matter how eloquent the oration"
"...retirement is not part of the Lord’s plan of happiness."
"...education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment."
President Henry B. Eyring - 
Be Ready
"The bishop had a system. Every adviser of every quorum was to contact every young man he had not spoken to that Sunday. They were not to go to bed until they had either talked to the boy who had been missing, to his parents, or to a close friend. The bishop promised them that he would not turn out his light until he had heard a report about every boy. I don’t think he gave them an order. He simply made it clear that he did not expect their lights to go out until they had given that report."


President Thomas S. Monson - 

School Thy Feelings, O My Brother
"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath."(Psalm 37:8)





"A man’s a fool who takes an insult that isn’t intended." (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham (1969), 288–89.)