176th Semi-Annual General
Conference
Sunday Afternoon Talk
Excerpts
President Boyd K. Packer
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
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[President Packer told the story
of the brethren erecting an ensign to the world on Ensign Peak
their third day in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, then said
this.]
Those Brethren on Ensign Peak knew
that they were to live ordinary lives and keep the image of Christ
engraved in their countenances (see Alma 5:14).
They understood that the stakes were
to be a defense and a refuge, but at that same time there was
not one stake on the earth. They knew their mission was to establish
stakes of Zion in every nation of the earth.
Perhaps they wondered what kind of
wrath of storm could be poured out that they had not already experienced.
They had endured savage opposition, violence, terrorism. Their
homes had been burned, their property taken. They were driven
from their homes time after time after time. They knew then,
as we know now, that there would be no end to opposition, violence,
terrorism. Their homes had been burned, their property taken.
They were driven from their homes time after time after time.
They knew then, as we know now, that
there would be no end to opposition. The nature of it changes,
but it never ends. There would be no end to the kinds of challenges
that the early Saints would face. New challenges would be different
than, but certainly not less than, that through which they had
made their way.
Now the stakes of Zion number in
the thousands and are all over the world. The members number
in the millions and growing. Neither of these can be held back,
for this is the work of the Lord. Now members live in 169 countries
and speak over 200 languages.
Some live in an unspoken fear of
what awaits us and our children in the world. It grows ever darker
in morality and spirituality. If we will gather into the Church,
live the simple principles of the gospel, live moral lives, keep
the Word of Wisdom, tend to our priesthood and other duties, then
we need not live in fear. The Word of Wisdom is a key to both
physical health and revelation. Avoid tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco
and narcotics.
We can live where we wish, doing
the best we can to make a living, whether modest or generous.
We are free to do as we wish with out lives, assured of the approval
and even the intervention of the Almighty, confident of constant
spiritual guidance.
Each stake is a defense and a refuge
and a standard. A stake is self-contained with all that is needed
for the salvation and exaltation of those who would come within
its influence, and temples are ever closer.
There has been no end to opposition.
There are misinterpretations and misrepresentations of us and
our history, some of them mean-spirited and certainly contrary
to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Sometimes clergy,
even ministerial organizations, oppose us. They do what we would
never do. We do not attack or criticize or oppose others as they
do us…
We face the challenge of raising
families in the world in darkening clouds of wickedness. Some
of our members are unsettled and sometimes they wonder: Is there
any place one can go to escape from it all? Is there another
town or a state or a country where it is safe, where one can find
refuge? The answer generally is no. The defense and the refuge
is where our members now live.
The Book of Mormon prophesies, “Yea,
and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations
in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to
the land of their inheritance” (3 Nephi 21:28).
Those who come out of the world into
the Church, keep the commandments, honor the priesthood, and enter
into activity have found the refuge.
And Nothing Shall Offend
Them
Elder David
A. Bednar
Of the Quorum of the Twelve
One of my favorite activities as
a priesthood leader is visiting members of the Church in their
homes. I especially enjoy calling upon and talking with members
who commonly are described as “less active.”
During the years I served as a stake
president, I often would contact one of the bishops and invite
him to prayerfully identify individuals or families we could visit
together. Before traveling to a home, the bishop and I would
kneel and petition our Heavenly Father for guidance and inspiration,
for us and for the members with whom we would meet.
Our visits were quite straightforward.
We expressed love and appreciation for the opportunity to be in
their home. We affirmed that we were servants of the Lord on
His errand to their home. We indicated that we missed and needed
them — and that they needed the blessings of the restored gospel.
And at some point early in our conversation I often would ask
a question like this: “Will you please help us understand why
you are not actively participating in the blessings and programs
of the Church?”
I have participated in hundreds and
hundreds of such visits. Each individual, each family, each home,
and each answer was different. Over the years, however, I detected
a common theme in many of the answers to my questions. Frequently
responses like these were given:
“Several years ago a man said something
in Sunday school that offended me, and I have not been back since.”
No one in this ward greeted or reached
out to me. I felt like an outsider. I was hurt by the unfriendliness
of this ward.”
I did not agree with the counsel
the bishop gave me. I will not step foot in that building again
as long as he is serving in that position.
Many other causes of offense were
cited — from doctrinal differences among adults to taunting, teasing,
and excluding by youth. But the recurring theme was, “I was offended
by…”
The bishop and I would listen intently
and sincerely. One of us might next ask about their conversion
to and testimony of the restored gospel. As we talked, eyes often
were moist with tears as these good people recalled the conforming
witness of the Holy Ghost and described their prior spiritual
experiences. Most of the “less active” people I have ever visited
had a discernable and tender testimony of the truthfulness of
the restored gospel. However, they were not presently participating
in Church activities and meetings.
And then I would say something like
this. “Let me make sure I understand what has happened to you.
Because someone at Church offended you, you have not been blessed
by the ordinance of the sacrament. You have withdrawn yourself
from the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Because someone
at Church offended you, you have cut yourself off from priesthood
ordinances and the Holy Temple. You have discontinued your opportunity
to serve others and to learn and grow. And you are leaving barriers
that will impede the spiritual progress of your children, your
children’s children, and the generations that will follow.” Many
times people would think for a moment and then respond, “I have
never thought about it that way.”
Receiving by the Spirit
Brother A. Roger Merrill
Sunday School General President
I have come to better understand
how vitally important it is to receive by the Spirit.
We often focus, appropriately, on the importance of teaching by
the Spirit. But we need to remember that the Lord has placed
equal, if not greater, importance on receiving by the Spirit.
(See Doctrine and Covenants 50: 17-22.)
Such receiving is a foundational
gospel pattern. It is set forth in the very ordinance by which
we are confirmed members of the Church. In this ordinance, we
are instructed to “receive the Holy Ghost.” This is a formal
invitation to act, to receive this great gift.
As I have become more aware of this
principle, I find that the scriptures are replete with the doctrine
of receiving. As President Boyd K. Packer has said, “No message
appears in scripture more times, in more ways, than ‘Ask, and
ye shall receive.’”
As the very core of our mortal
probably is the choice to receive Jesus as the Christ. The apostle
John taught:
He came unto his own, and his own
received him not.
But as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God… (John 1:11-12).
One cannot help but wonder how many
gifts and blessings surround us that we do not receive.
More Glorious than Moving Mountains
Elder Craig A. Cardon
Of the Quorum of the Seventy
The priesthood…has the power to change
our very natures. As Paul wrote, “[A]ll those who are ordained
unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God” (JST Hebrews
7:3; see also, Moses 1:6) This likeness is not only in ordination
and ordinance, but also in the perfecting of individual hearts,
something that occurs “in process of time” as we “[yield] to the
enticings of the Holy Spirit and [put] off the natural man” (Mosiah
3:19). When a man is ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood,
he enters into an order by which he may be refined through service
to others, especially his own family, and blessed by the constant
companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The Lord instructed all of us when
He taught that for priesthood bearers, unrighteousness brings
an end to heavenly power or influence while righteousness strengthens
them. He identified qualities that “greatly enlarge the soul”
as “persuasion… long-suffering… gentleness… meekness… love unfeigned…
kindness, and pure knowledge” (D&C 121: 41, 42).
He then added these instructive words:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to
the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;
then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God;
and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul
as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45).
It is significant that after inviting
us to have charity toward “all men” the Lord added the phrase,
“and to the household of faith.” Why? Doesn’t “all men” include
the “household of faith”? Consider the implications when this
added phrase is understood to mean more specifically, “your very
own” household of faith.
Unfortunately, there are a few within
the Church who exhibit greater charity toward non-family members
than toward their own spouses and children, siblings and parents.
They may show feigned kindness publicly while privately sowing
and cultivating seeds of contention, demeaning those who should
be closest to them. These things should not be.
Becoming Instruments in the Hands
of God
Elder Don R. Clarke
Of the Seventy
My grandfather, Alma Benjamin Larsen,
was only 34 years old when he woke up one morning and noticed
that he had problems seeing. Shortly thereafter, he lost his
sight entirely. Grandfather had served a mission and been a faithful
member of the Church. He was a farmer, had a wife and three children,
and he could not imagine life without sight. Grandfather’s wife
and small children now had to bear the extra burdens of helping
on the farm, and money became tight.
During this time of physical darkness
many people became instruments in God’s hands to help my blind
grandfather. One experience that had a powerful impact on his
family happened in 1919. It was a year of great financial difficulty
for all the people in grandfather’s town. Farms were being foreclosed
and businesses were going broke. There was a sizeable mortgage
on his farm, and Grandfather received a statement saying he would
have to pay $195.00 in order to carry the mortgage over for another
year.
For him, paying this bill was like
demanding a pound of flesh. Nearly everyone was in the same condition,
and it seemed impossible to obtain that much money. If he had
gathered everything that the farm produced — the horses, cows
and machinery — he could not have sold them for $195.
Grandfather asked a neighbor to butcher
two or three of his cows, and he sold them and some other products.
He had extended credit to his neighbors with the understanding
that they would pay at the end of the year, but none of his debtors
was able to pay him. The economic situation of his family was
bleak.
In his journal, Grandfather recounts,
“I shall never forget that cold evening, just before Christmas
of 1919. It looked as though we would lose the farm. My daughter,
Gladys, laid a slip of paper in my hand and said, ‘This came in
the mail today.’ I took it to her mother and asked her what it
was. This is what my wife read to me, ‘Dear Brother Larsen, I’ve
had you on my mind all day today. I am wondering if you are in
financial trouble. If you are, I have $200.00 you may have.’
The letter was signed, ‘Jim Drinkwater.’
Jim was a small, crippled man and
he would have been the last man on earth that anyone would have
thought had that much money on hand. I went to his house that
night and he said, “Brother Larsen, I received a wireless message
from Heaven this morning and I could not get you off my mind all
day. I was sure you were in financial trouble.’ Brother Drinkwater
gave me $200 and we sent the $195.00 to the mortgage company and
with the extra five dollars we bought boots and clothes for the
children. Santa Claus did come that year.”
My grandfather then goes on to bear
his testimony, “The Lord has never let me down. He has touched
the hearts of others as he touched the heart of Brother Drinkwater.
I bear witness that the only safety and security that I have ever
found has come through trying to keep the commandments of the
Lord and upholding and sustaining the authorities of this church.”
I have thought about Jim Drinkwater
many times and wondered how he came to be one that the Lord could
trust. Jim was a little crippled man that God trusted to help
a blind farmer with a heavy mortgage and three children. I have
learned a great deal from my grandfather’s experience with Jim
Drinkwater. I have learned that a person does not need to have
a church calling, an invitation to help someone, or even good
health to become an instrument in God’s hands.
That They Might Know Thee
Elder Keith R. Edwards
Of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy
There are, throughout the scriptures,
a line of men and women who always seemed to keep their focus
on Christ. People who, no matter what injury or injustice life
dealt them, remained faithful and willing to endure. I speak
of Abraham, dispossessed of the land of his inheritance and commanded
to sacrifice Isaac; of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his
brothers, imprisoned for honoring virtue and chastity, and left
to linger in jail because of a thoughtless servant; Ruth, widowed
young and left destitute, yet constant and loyal to her mother-in-law;
all three Nephis, both Almas and, of course, the Prophet Joseph.
Particularly notable to me is Nephi’s
endurance. Continually receiving the wrath of his brothers, he
was bound for four days on the boat coming to the promised land.
He could not move and on the fourth day, when it appeared that
they were about to be swallowed up by the ocean, the brothers,
fearing they might perish, “loosed the bands, which were upon
[his] wrists and behold they had swollen exceedingly, and also
[his] ankles were much swollen and great was the soreness thereof.
Nevertheless, he did look unto God and did praise him all the
day long and did not murmur…” (1 Nephi 18: 14, 15).
Remember, though, that it was Nephi
that recorded, “they scourge him, and he suffereth it, and they
smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and
he suffereth it…” Nephi understood.
Wherefore, Settle This in Your
Hearts
Elder Larry W. Gibbons
Of the Seventy
As Elder Henry B. Eyring said in
the first Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast, “The Lord has
given us His standards of worthiness. He has not done it to keep
us away from Him but to draw us to Him.”
Brothers and sisters, keeping the
commandments makes all the difference in this life and in the
next. To be worthy of the celestial kingdom and the joy that
is there we must keep the commandments!
The only standard that makes sense
for any of us is a celestial standard. In the Doctrine and Covenants
we read: “For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial
kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.” It’s that simple! But,
we do not have to wait to experience celestial joy. Living the
commandments brings joy here and now.
My fear is that too many of us are
not fully committed to living all the commandments. These saints
are not wiling to leave the world completely behind. They are
holding back.
In the priesthood leadership session
of a regional conference, we sang the hymn “Ye Elders of Israel.”
The chorus contains a line “O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee
farewell.” Following the singing, Elder Neal A. Maxwell spoke
and expressed the thought that bidding Babylon farewell is actually
one of our challenges — that too many of us like to keep a summer
cottage there.
“Prophets in the Land Again”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve
In my own expression of testimony
and gratitude for the messages and meaning of general conference,
may I suggest [what] things these twice-yearly gatherings declare
to all the world.
…They declare eagerly and unequivocally
that there is again a living prophet on the earth speaking in
the name of the Lord. And how we need such guidance! Our times
are turbulent and difficult. We see wars internationally and
distress domestically. Neighbors all around us face personal
heartaches and family sorrows. Legions know fear and troubles
of a hundred kinds.
This reminds us that when those mists
of darkness enveloped the travelers in Lehi’s vision of the tree
of life, it enveloped all of the participants — the righteous
as well as the unrighteous, the young along with the elderly,
the new convert and seasoned member alike. In that allegory,
all face opposition and travail, and only the rod of iron
— the declared word of God — can bring them through to safety.
We all need that rod. We
all need that word. No one is safe without it,
fir in its absence any can “[fall[ into forbidden paths
and [be] lost.” How grateful we are to have heard God’s voice
and felt the strength of that iron rod in this conference these
past two days.
Not often but over the years some
sources have suggested that the Brethren are out of touch in their
declarations, that they don’t know the issues, that some of their
policies and practices are out of date, not relevant to our times.
As the least of those who have been
sustained by you to witness the guidance of the Church firsthand,
I say with all the fervor of my soul that never in my personal
or professional life have I ever associated with any group
who are so in touch, who know so profoundly the issues facing
us, who look so deeply into the old, stay so open to the new,
and weigh so carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully everything
in between. I testify that the grasp this body of men and women
have of moral and societal issues exceeds that of any think tank
or brain trust of comparable endeavor that I know of anywhere
on earth. I bear personal witness of how thoroughly good they
are, of how hard they work, and how humbly they live. It is no
trivial matter for this Church to declare to the world prophecy,
seership, and revelation but we do declare it. It is true light
shining in a dark world, and it shines from these proceedings.
Remarks
President Gordon B. Hinckley
The First Presidency
We wish that there were peace in
the earth and constantly pray that it may come. Now, we leave
with you our love and our blessing. May the Spirit of the Lord
dwell in your homes. May love govern your family relations.
For this we pray as we bid you goodbye for another six months.
