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177th Annual General Conference
Saturday Priesthood Session
March 31, 2007
“Life’s Lessons
Learned”
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Elder Joseph P. Wirthlin
All photographs Copyright 2007 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Many of the most important and life-changing
moments of my life occurred when I was a young man. The lessons
I learned then formed my character and shaped my destiny…
I have known many great men and women.
Although they have different backgrounds, talents, and perspectives,
they all have this in common: they work diligently and persistently
towards achieving their goals…
I urge you to examine your life. Determine
where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you
want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire
your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep
your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them…
[A] lesson I learned on the football
field was at the bottom of a pile of 10 other players. It was the
Rocky Mountain Conference championship game and the play called
for me to run the ball up the middle to score the go-ahead touchdown.
I took the handoff and plunged into the line. I knew I was close
to the goal line but I didn’t know how close. Although I was
pinned at the bottom of the pile, I reached my fingers forward a
couple of inches and I could feel it. The goal line was two inches
away.
At that moment, I was tempted to push
the ball forward. I could have done it. And when the refs finally
pulled the players off the pile, I would have been a hero. No one
would ever have known.
I had dreamed of this moment from the
time I was a boy. And it was right there within my reach.
But then I remembered the words of
my mother. “Joseph,” she had often said to me, “do
what is right, no matter the consequence. Do what is right and things
will turn out ok.”
I wanted so desperately to score that
touchdown. But more than being a hero in the eyes of my friends,
I wanted to be hero in the eyes of my mother.
And so I left the ball where it was.
Two inches from the goal line.
I didn’t know it at the time,
but this was a defining experience. Had I moved the ball, I could
have been a champion for a moment, but the reward of temporary glory
would have carried with it too steep and too lasting a price —
and it would have engraved upon my conscience a scar that would
have stayed with me the remainder of my life. I knew I must do what
is right…
Perhaps one of the spiritual gifts
for which I am most grateful is that I have been blessed with an
obedient spirit. When I heard wise counsel from my parents of Church
leaders, I listened and tried to make it part of my thoughts and
actions.
Brethren of the priesthood, I urge
you to cultivate the gift of an obedient spirit.
“The Aaronic Priesthood:
Preparing for the Decade of Decision”
Elder Robert D. Hales
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Elder Robert D.
Hales
Tonight I wish to speak to the youngest
members of this royal army — the Aaronic Priesthood: deacons,
teachers, and priests venturing forth upon the battlefield of life.
Although you do not remember it, you enlisted in this cause with
a single decision, made long ago in our pre-mortal existence. There
in the Grand Council in Heaven, you decided to obey the will of
your Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ…
The Aaronic priesthood is the preparatory
priesthood given for this preparatory time in your life. How you
bear that priesthood now will prepare you to make the most important
decision in the future. These decisions include receiving the Melchizedek
Priesthood, going to the temple, serving a mission, getting an education,
selecting an occupation, and choosing a companion and being sealed
for time and all eternity in the temple. There is a time and season
for all of our decisions. Make sure you make decisions in the proper
time and season. All of these life-altering decisions will be made
in a very busy, relatively short period during your twenties —
during what I call the “Decade of Decision.”
…In the decade ahead your time
for preparation will be limited. As Aaronic priesthood bearers,
it is important that you prepare now. You must develop your own
pre-conditioned responses for the important decisions you will be
making in the next decade of you life. You must know what to do
and when to do it when each decision presents itself. Remember that
making no decision at all could be just as deadly as making the
wrong decision…
Now is the time to become a disciple
of Jesus Christ, which means accepting His invitation to “Come,
follow me.”
…Now is the time to organize
and prepare ourselves to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion…
Now is the time to decide who your
friends are and to become worthy of a righteous eternal companion…
Now is the time to prepare for your
mission…
Now is the time to prepare for training,
education, and an occupation…
Now is the time to obey…
Brethren young and old, when we practice
selective obedience, we change our position relative to the Lord
— and usually by only one degree at a time. As the deceptive
forces of the adversary work on us, we cannot detect them, and we
experience spiritual vertigo. While it may seem like we are going
in a safe direction, we are in fact headed for disaster…
Now is the time to use our time properly...
Now is the time to safeguard your birthright…
Young men, you are the vital strength
of the Lord’s army, the stripling warriors of these latter
days.
“Lay Up in Store”
Bishop Keith B. McMullin
Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
Bishop Keith B. McMullin
There is no need to be anxious about
events leading up to the Second Coming. Let us instead be filled
with gratitude for our understanding of what lies ahead. Let us
appreciate that we are in charge of our own world, being the Lord’s
agents over that which He has entrusted to us. The formula is simple:
Be faithful. Unencumber your life. Lay
up in store.
Be Faithful. As priesthood
bearers, we cultivate a gentle touch and kindly word. We are men
who pray, who keep the Sabbath Day holy, and who know the word of
God. We tithe, fast, and give a generous fast offering. We keep
our covenants and consecrate our lives to the building up of God’s
kingdom.
And, brethren, we lay up in
store!…
Unencumber Your Life.
As men of God, we turn from excess to that which edifies, for “that
which doth not edify is not of God.” If dealings or involvements
or pursuits or schedules detract from putting God first, we pare
back and unencumber our lives. If we have debts, we pay them and
live debt free to the extent possible…
Lay Up In Store. Wives
are instrumental in this work, but they need husbands who lead out
in family preparedness. Children need parents who instill in them
this righteous tradition. They will then do likewise with their
children, and their stores will not fail.
A cardinal principle of the gospel
is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality
are part of the royal order of life. This is a temporal world, and
faithful men are “laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal
life.”
…We call upon priesthood bearers
to store sufficient so that you and yours can weather the vicissitudes
of life. Please see to it that those entrusted to your watch care
receive these pamphlets entitled All is Safely Gathered In.
Exhort them to prepare now for rainy days ahead.
“Message to My Grandsons”
President James E. Faust
Of the First Presidency
President James E. Faust
To hold the priesthood is a signal
honor; yet any worthy man or boy over the age of twelve in the Church
may receive it … It is an authority beyond all human power
to create…
You young men are no doubt looking
forward to receiving the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Of this
higher priesthood the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Its institution
was prior to the foundation of this earth, or the morning stars
sang together, or the sons of God shouted for joy, and is the highest
and holiest Priesthood, and is after the order of the Son of God.”
…I hope each one of you becomes
a man of God. You will become a man of God through righteous works…
The increased permissiveness of our
society will require us to hold very tightly to the iron rod of
righteousness in order to receive the blessings and protection of
the Lord. There is a great danger in trifling with Satan’s
temptations. We will need to guard against all forms of evil all
of the days of our lives…
Marriage and fatherhood can bring eternal
happiness and joy. As President Joseph F. Smith said, it is family
life “on which the government of the Church is based and perpetuated.”
…I have learned that for those
of us who hold the priesthood the best formula for success is “seek
ye first the kingdom of god, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.” Success will not come immediately
because it requires preparation and hard work. There really are
no shortcuts to success.
“The Priesthood —
A Sacred Gift”
President Thomas S. Monson
Of the First Presidency
President Thomas S. Monson
When we look at the world as a whole,
with a population of over six-and-one-half billion people, we realize
that we comprise a very small, select group. We who hold the priesthood
are, in the words of the Apostle Peter, “A chosen generation,
a royal priesthood.”
…My brethren, the priesthood
is a gift which brings with it not only special blessings but also
solemn responsibilities. It is our responsibility to conduct our
lives so that we are every worthy of the priesthood we bear…
Wherever we go, our priesthood goes
with us. Are we standing in “holy places”? … If,
every time we started a little detour away from the straight and
narrow, we would remember, “I am carrying my priesthood here.
Should I? It would not take us long to work back into the straight
and narrow.”
President Spencer W. Kimball said,
“There is no limit to the power of the priesthood which you
hold. The limit comes in you if you do not live in harmony with
the Spirit of the Lord and you limit yourselves in the power you
exert.”
My brethren of the priesthood —
from the youngest to he oldest — are you living your life
in accordance with that which the Lord requires? Are you worthy
to bear the priesthood of God?
…My brethren, let us ever remember
that the priesthood of God which we bear is a sacred gift which
brings to us and to those we serve the blessings of heaven. May
we, in whatever place we may be, honor and protect that priesthood.
May we ever be on the Lord’s errand, that we might ever be
entitled to the Lord’s help.
There is a war being waged for men’s
souls — yours and mind. It continues without abatement. Like
a clarion call comes the word of the Lord to you, to me, and to
priesthood holders everywhere: “Wherefore, now let every man
learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed,
in all diligence.”
“I AM CLEAN”
President Gordon B. Hinckley
President Gordon B. Hinckley
As all of you know, I was ordained
and set apart as President of the Church 12 years ago, specifically
on March 12, 1995. Elder Ballard has pulled together some figures
concerning those 12 years. I quote from his statement:
• 387,750 missionaries have
entered the mission field, which represents almost 40% of the
missionaries who have ever served in this dispensation —
that is 40% in the 12 most recent years of the 177 years since
the Church was organized.
• 3,400,000 converts have been
baptized, which is the equivalent of over one-fourth of the total
current membership of the Church.
• The total number of missions in the Church has increased
from 303 to 344, with three more to be added soon.
• Retention as measured by
sacrament meeting attendance, Priesthood ordinations, and tithing
faithfulness has increased significantly.
Now, while all of this has been tremendously
significant, I am convinced that with a little more dedication this
wonderful recent past can be but a prologue to a greater future…This
prophetic dream holds something for every man and boy assembled
in this vast congregation tonight.
…In modern revelation the Lord
has said: “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord”
(D&C 133:5)
In a world that wallows in filth, be
clean — in language, in thought, in body, in dress.
To each of you I say, be clean in your
language. There is so much of filthy, sleazy talk these days. Failure
to express yourself in language that is clean marks you as one whose
vocabulary is extremely limited…
Be clean in thought. Said the Lord,
“Let all things be done in cleanliness before me” (D&C
42:41).
A filthy mind expresses itself in filthy
and profane language. A clean mind expresses itself in language
that is positive and uplifting and in deeds that bring happiness
to the heart.
Be clean in body and dress and manner…
Be clean and neat and orderly. Sloppy
dress leads to sloppy manners…
And so, my dear brethren, I might go
on. I might discuss with you what is happening on the Internet and
with the use of the computer that leads to degrading thoughts and
actions. Suffice it to say it is totally unbecoming you as one who
holds the priesthood of God. You are His chosen servant; you have
been ordained to something holy and wonderful. You cannot live in
the world and partake of the ways of the world. You must be above
all of that.
© 2007 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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