Tag: General Conference

I mentioned before that I am striving to make the messages from General Conference a part of my everyday life. I went through the April 2015 General Conference and pulled out the key quotes that had the most relevance and significance to me. Having all of the quotes in one place makes it easy to review the important words. I posted the words of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles here, and today I am sharing quotes from the rest of the speakers in the general sessions.

Sister Linda K. Burton
Brothers and sisters, we need each other! As covenant-keeping women and men, we need to lift each other and help each other become the people the Lord would have us become. And we need to work together to lift the rising generation and help them reach their divine potential as heirs of eternal life. We could do as Elder Robert D. Hales and his wife, Mary, have done and follow the proverb “Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.”

Sisters and brothers, how often do we intentionally “speak kind words to each other”?

Elder L. Whitney Clayton
Every day each of us faces a test. It is the test of our lifetimes: will we choose to believe in Him and allow the light of His gospel to grow within us, or will we refuse to believe and insist on traveling alone in the dark? The Savior provides His gospel as a light to guide those who choose to believe in and follow Him.

The decision to believe is the most important choice we ever make. It shapes all our other decisions.

Elder Wilford W. Andersen
We learn the dance steps with our minds, but we hear the music with our hearts. The dance steps of the gospel are the things we do; the music of the gospel is the joyful spiritual feeling that comes from the Holy Ghost. It brings a change of heart and is the source of all righteous desires. The dance steps require discipline, but the joy of the dance will be experienced only when we come to hear the music.

Our children’s happiness depends on their ability to hear and love the beautiful music of the gospel.

If you’re not hearing the music of the gospel in your home, please remember these two words: keep practicing. With God’s help, the day will come when the music of the gospel will fill your home with unspeakable joy.

Elder Dale G. Renlund
My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites. As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were.

Elder Michael T. Ringwood
In a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority are sought on every side, I honor those wonderful and blessed souls who are truly good and without guile, those who are motivated by a love of God and their neighbors, those great women and men who are “more anxious to serve than to have dominion.”

The service that counts most is usually recognized by God alone.

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom
Answers to our sincere questions come when we earnestly seek and when we live the commandments.

Helaman 5:12

Elder Jose A. Teixeira
The Lord said, “[Seek] me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” Seeking the Lord and feeling His presence is a daily quest, a worthwhile effort.

I believe that as we deepen our understanding of the Savior, we will have an increased desire to live joyfully and a conviction that joy is possible. Consequently, we will have a greater ability to go about each day with more enthusiasm for life and for keeping the commandments of God, even in challenging circumstances.

3 habits for healthy online activity: 1)Visit the Church’s Official Websites for Resources 2)Subscribe to the Church’s Official Social Networks 3)Make Time to Set Aside Your Mobile Devices

Bishop Gerald Causse
To marvel at the wonders of the gospel is a sign of faith. It is to recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives and in everything around us. Our amazement also produces spiritual strength. It gives us the energy to remain anchored in our faith and to engage ourselves in the work of salvation.

Elder Brent H. Nielsen
Parable of the prodigal son

We learned in our family that, after all we can do, we love that person with all of our hearts and we watch, we pray, and we wait for the Lord’s hand to be revealed.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson
Enduring to the end is a hallmark of true discipleship and is essential to eternal life. But when trials and challenges come our way, we are often told to simply “hang in there.” Let me be clear: to “hang in there” is not a principle of the gospel. Enduring to the end means constantly coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

Search the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets every day, every day, every day! It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost.

True disciples continue to awaken unto God each day in meaningful personal prayer, earnest scripture study, personal obedience, and selfless service. Stay by the tree and stay awake.

Lehi’s vision of the tree of life is a powerful parable on enduring to the end: 1) Don’t forget to pray 2)Come unto Christ and be perfected in him 3)Press forward with faith 4) The Book of Mormon is key to spiritual survival 5)Don’t be distracted and deceived  6)Stay by the tree

Enduring to the end is the great test of discipleship. Our daily discipleship will determine our eternal destiny. Awaken unto God, cling to truth, keep your sacred temple covenants, and stay by the tree!

Elder Rafael E. Pino
Understanding the plan will help people keep the commandments, make better decisions, and have the right motivation.

The Lord knows what He wants to accomplish with each one of us. He knows the kind of reform He wants to achieve in our lives, and we do not have the right to counsel Him. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Elder Jorge F. Zeballos
Let us press forward by learning our duty, making correct decisions, acting according to those decisions, and accepting the will of our Father.

Elder Joseph W. Sitati
Heavenly Father has charged and blessed us to be fruitful, to multiply, and to subdue the earth that we might become like Him. He has made help available that we may each, according to our individual choosing, actually grow to become like Him.

This talk was inspiring to me, as a reminder to take seriously my role as a teacher of gospel principles to my children. My daughter Lily is turning eight next month, so we are currently planning lessons and discussions focused on the importance of baptism, making covenants, and the Holy Ghost.

“The scriptures speak of the role of parents—that it is their duty to teach their children “the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost” (D&C 68:25).”

“As parents, we are to be the prime gospel teachers and examples for our children—not the bishop, the Sunday School, the Young Women or Young Men, but the parents. As their prime gospel teachers, we can teach them the power and reality of the Atonement—of their identity and divine destiny—and in so doing give them a rock foundation upon which to build. When all is said and done, the home is the ideal forum for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“We might all ask ourselves: do our children receive our best spiritual, intellectual, and creative efforts, or do they receive our leftover time and talents, after we have given our all to our Church calling or professional pursuits? In the life to come, I do not know if titles such as bishop or Relief Society president will survive, but I do know that the titles of husband and wife, father and mother, will continue and be revered, worlds without end. That is one reason it is so important to honor our responsibilities as parents here on earth so we can prepare for those even greater, but similar, responsibilities in the life to come.”

Tad R. Callister, “Parents: The Prime Gospel Teachers of Their Children.” October 2014 General Conference.

It is a great blessing to have a living prophet and apostles on the earth today. Their messages given at General Conference every six months are inspiring, and constitute as modern scripture and the Lord’s word for us in this day. I have made studying their words an active part of my life, and I am working to share their messages with my family also. We quite often have FHE lessons that are based from conference talks, and we review their themes and key scriptures during breakfast. I recently went through the conference talks and pulled out the key quotes and scriptures from each talk that stood out to me. I made them into a poster and laminated it for durability; now we have a quick reference guide to remember the important themes of the apostles. You might focus on entirely different aspects of their message, but this is what stood out to me.

If you would like a pdf of the poster I made you can download it here: 2015 Apr apostle highlights

President Monson
The blessings of the temple are priceless.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

President Eyring
Is not this the fast that I have chosen?

When we offer succor to anyone, the Savior feels it as if we reached out to succor Him.

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40).

President Uchtdorf
With the gift of God’s grace, the path of discipleship does not lead backward; it leads upward.

God loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly.

“For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25: 23).

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26).

President Packer
The end of all activity in the Church is to see that a man and a woman with their children are happy at home, sealed for eternity.

Elder Perry
The family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness.

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph seven).

Elder Nelson
A sacred Sabbath truly is a delight.

No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting!

“Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then … are ye sanctified in Christ.” (Moroni 10:32)

Elder Oaks
Spiritual food is necessary for spiritual survival.

We have the seed of the gospel word. It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We achieve this conversion by praying, by scripture reading, by serving, and by regularly partaking of the sacrament to always have His Spirit to be with us.

The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-8)

Elder Ballard
Balance your life with spiritual experiences that remind and prepare you for continued, daily ministering to others.

What we need now is the greatest generation of young adults in the history of the Church. We need your whole heart and soul. We need vibrant, thinking, passionate young adults who know how to listen and respond to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit as you make your way through the daily trials and temptations of being a young, contemporary Latter-day Saint.

“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;”(D&C 58:27).

Elder Hales
How we live our religion is far more important than what we may say about our religion.

4 Cornerstones of religious freedom: freedom to believe, share our freedom and our beliefs, form a religious organization, live our faith.

What can we do to safeguard religious freedom? 1-become informed 2-join with others
3-be a good example

Elder Holland
That first Easter sequence of Atonement and Resurrection constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Elder Bednar
Fear is dispelled through a correct knowledge of and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look to Christ- Build upon the Foundation of Christ-Press Forward with Faith in Christ

“Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23).

Elder Cook
Like the young sunflower, when we follow the Savior of the world, the Son of God, we flourish and become glorious despite the many terrible circumstances that surround us. He truly is our light and life.

It is vitally important that our children know they are loved and safe at home.

We can thrive and bloom if we are rooted in our love of the Savior.”

The Church has never been stronger.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
(Psalm 27:1).

Elder Christofferson
A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God’s plan to thrive.

“We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

Elder Andersen
We see God’s miracles in His wondrous work and in our own personal lives.

Can you see the hand of God moving His work forward? Can you see the hand of God in your own life?

“Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

In March I had an assignment to teach a Primary Sharing Time lesson about prophets and apostles. I wanted to prepare the children for the upcoming General Conference, so we spent some time talking about the apostles and some of their key messages from the previous conference. We didn’t get through all of them, but this is a good summary for more personal study.

President Monson: Ponder the Path of Thy Feet
The Savior’s example provides a framework for everything that we do, and His words provide an unfailing guide. His path will take us safely home.

Physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked.

President Monson (closing remarks): Until We Meet Again
May we be people of honesty and integrity, trying to do the right thing at all times and in all circumstances. May we be faithful followers of Christ, examples of righteousness, thus becoming “lights in the world.”

President Eyring: Continuing Revelation
Heavenly Father hears your prayers. He loves you. He knows your name. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and our Redeemer. He loves you beyond your ability to comprehend. God pours out revelation, through the Holy Ghost, on His children. He speaks to His prophet on the earth, who today is Thomas S. Monson. I witness that he holds and exercises all the keys of the priesthood on earth.

President Uchtdorf: Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth
But I suggest that this personal testimony of the gospel and the Church is the most important thing you can earn in this life. It will not only bless and guide you during this life, but it will also have a direct bearing on your life throughout eternity.

God cares about you. He will listen, and He will answer your personal questions. The answers to your prayers will come in His own way and in His own time, and therefore, you need to learn to listen to His voice. God wants you to find your way back to Him, and the Savior is the way. God wants you to learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, and experience the profound peace and joy that come from following the path of divine discipleship.

President Uchtdorf (priesthood session): “Lord, Is It I?”
May I suggest that the holy scriptures and the talks given at general conference are an effective mirror we can hold up for self-examination. As you hear or read the words of the ancient and modern prophets, refrain from thinking about how the words apply to someone else and ask the simple question: “Lord, is it I?”

President Packer: The Reason for Our Hope
If we seek to understand His Atonement, we will come to a deep reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, His earthly ministry, and His divine mission as our Savior. “Through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved” (Articles of Faith 1:3).

Elder Perry: Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families
The gospel of our Lord and Savior provides a sure and solid foundation.

Jesus is the great Exemplar. The only way to find lasting peace is to look to Him and live.

Helaman 5:12

Elder Nelson: Sustaining the prophets
A prophet has stood at the head of God’s Church in all dispensations, from Adam to the present day. Prophets testify of Jesus Christ–of His divinity and of His earthly mission and ministry. We honor the Prophet Joseph Smith as the prophet of this last dispensation. And we honor each man who has succeeded him as President of the Church.

The living Lord leads His living Church! The Lord reveals His will for the Church to His prophet.

Elder Oaks: Loving Others and Living with Differences
We challenge all youth to avoid bullying, insults, or language and practices that deliberately inflict pain on others.

Followers of Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable.

Elder Ballard: Stay in the Boat and Hold On!
The words of the Lord are found in the scriptures and the teachings of the apostles and prophets. They provide us counsel and direction that, when followed, will act like a spiritual life jacket and will help us know how to hold on with both hands.

We should focus on studying, living, and loving the doctrine of Christ.

Elder Scott: Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority
Our Father in Heaven has given us tools to help us come unto Christ and exercise faith in His Atonement:
1) Prayer: Family prayer should be a nonnegotiable priority in your daily life.
2) Scripture study: Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!
3) Family home evening: Make it a meaningful experience for each member of the family. Family home evening is a precious time to bear testimony in a safe environment; to learn teaching, planning, and organizational skills; to strengthen family bonds; to develop family traditions; to talk to each other; and more important, to have a marvelous time together!
4) Temple attendance: Schedule a regular time to be in the temple. Don’t let anyone or anything prevent you from being there.

Elder Hales: Eternal Life—to Know Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ
My own testimony grew as I learned about Heavenly Father and the Savior from the teachings and testimony of my parents, teachers, the scriptures–which I read diligently–and especially the Holy Ghost. As I exercised faith and obeyed the commandments, the Holy Ghost testified that what I was learning was true. This is how I came to know for myself.

Helaman 5:12

Elder Holland: Are We Not All Beggars?
She hath done what she could. (Think of mother Teresa or the widows mite)

I pay a personal tribute to President Thomas Spencer Monson. I have been blessed by an association with this man for 47 years now, and the image of him I will cherish until I die is of him flying home from then–economically devastated East Germany in his house slippers because he had given away not only his second suit and his extra shirts but the very shoes from off his feet. “How beautiful upon the mountains [and shuffling through an airline terminal] are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace.” More than any man I know, President Monson has “done all he could” for the widow and the fatherless, the poor and the oppressed.

Elder Bednar: Come and See
Devoted disciples of Jesus Christ always have been and always will be valiant missionaries. A missionary is a follower of Christ who testifies of Him as the Redeemer and proclaims the truths of His gospel.
The Church of Jesus Christ always has been and always will be a missionary church. The individual members of the Savior’s Church have accepted the solemn obligation to assist in fulfilling the divine commission given by the Lord to His Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament.

Elder Cook: Choose Wisely
I encourage everyone, young and old, to review goals and objectives and strive to exercise greater discipline. Our daily conduct and choices should be consistent with our goals. We need to rise above rationalizations and distractions. It is especially important to make choices consistent with our covenants to serve Jesus Christ in righteousness.21 We must not take our eyes off or drop that ball for any reason.

Elder Christofferson: Free Forever, to Act for Themselves
I know that beyond desiring His help, we must exert ourselves, repent, and choose God for Him to be able to act in our lives consistent with justice and moral agency. My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.

Elder Andersen: Joseph Smith
Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is true for every generation. Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God.