After General Conference last October, I made it a goal to read every talk given, taking notes along the way. It took me six months, but I just finished! So in preparation for this weekend, here are some quotes from the last General Conference. Sorry if the formatting isn't uniform, or if there are any errors. I didn't have time to go back and proofread.
President Thomas S. Monson:~I urge you to pray for the opening of those areas [where our influence is limited], that we might share with them the joy of the gospel.
~Our Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of us and our needs.
~When there's a will, there's a way.
~We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt.
~Let us make our homes sanctuaries of righteousness, places of prayer, and abodes of love that we might merit the blessings that can come only from our Heavenly Father. We need His guidance in our daily lives.
~The worth of souls is indeed great in the sight of God. ours is the precious privilege, armed with this knowledge, to make a difference in the lives of others.
~A kind Heavenly Father will help us in our quest.
~Learn what we should learn. Do what we should do. Be what we should be.
~[The Priesthood] is an instrument of service... and the man who fails to use it is apt to lose it.
~It is the Lord's work, and when we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to the Lord's help.
~The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.
~Some of the most effective teaching takes place other than in the chapel or the classroom.
~"Learning" moves to "doing."
~"Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence."
~No assignment is menial in the work of the Lord, for each has eternal consequences.
~"If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty." - John Taylor
~1 Timothy 4:12
~I would urge all of us to pray concerning our assignments and to seek divine help, that we might be successful in accomplishing that which we are called to do.
~Divine favor will attend those who humbly seek it.
~3 Nephi 27:27
~Nothing is as constant as change.
~Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now.
~I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that hep us distinguish between what is important and what is not.
~I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do.
~You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you've collected a lot of empty yesterdays. (from The Music Man)
~There is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today.
~Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.
~"They do not love that do not show their love." - Shakespeare
~Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.
~"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." - Harriet Beecher Stowe
~Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings.
~D&C 88:33
~1 Thessalonians 5:18
~Luke 17:12-18
~D&C 59:21
~If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.
~Let us relish life as we live it.
~May we fill our days... with those things which matter most.
~May we ever be mindful of the needs of those around us and be ready to extend a helping hand and a loving heart.
President Henry B. Eyring:~The more faithful service you give, the more the Lord asks of you.
~For Him to give you that increased power you must go in service and faith to your outer limits.
~Through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our natures can be changed. Then our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough to compensate for the increased service we will be asked to give.
~The fact is that you can't do it by yourself.
~When those feelings of inadequacy strike us, it is the time to remember the Savior. He assures us that we don't do this work alone.
~D&C 84:88
~2 Kings 6:16
~The Lord will bear you up and will at times do it by calling others to stand with you.
~Recognize and welcome those whom the Lord sends to help us.
~See in every assignment the opportunity to strengthen another.
~"Don't ask me. Go to Him."
~The Lord's prophets have always called for unity.
~The joy of unity He wants so much to give us is not solitary. We must seek it and qualify for it with others.
~Everything Alma and his people were inspired to do was pointed at helping people choose to have their hearts changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the only way God can grant the blessing of being of one heart.
~Mosiah 18:21
~Pride is the great enemy of unity.
~I am seeing more and more skillful peacemakers who calm troubled waters before harm is done. You could be one of those peacemakers, whether you are in the conflict or an observer.
~God will help us see a difference in someone else not as a source of irritation but as a contribution.
~Moroni 7:18
~I can promise you a feeling of peace and joy when you speak generously of others in the Light of Christ.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:~Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time.
~Hope... is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances.
~There are things we hope
for, and thing we hope
in. The things we hope
for are often future event. ... The things we hope
in sustain us during our daily walk.
~We learn to cultivate hope the same way we learn to walk, one step at a time.
~The things we hope
for lead us to fiath, while the things we hope
in lead us to charity.
~Stand close together and lift where you stand.
~The example of John Rowe Moyle
~Individual recognition is rarely an indication of the value of our service. We do not know the names, for exampke, of any of the 2,000 sons of Helaman.... They accomplished together what none of them could have accomplished alone.
~Whatever your calling, I urge you to see it as an opportunity not only to strengthen and bless others but also to become what Heavenly Fahter wants you to become.
~The Lord has not asked President Monson to organize and conduct our family home evening.
~Our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities - they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are.
~Creating and being compassionate are two activities that we as His spirit children can and should emulate.
~Don't let fear of failure discourage you.
~The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create.
~As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.
~As we lose ourselves in the service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness.
~"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
~In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, bu the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance.
~As you immerse yourselves in th ework of our Father - as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others - God will encircle you in the arms of His love.
President Boyd K. Packer:~If we are to be safe individually, as families, and secure as a church, it will be through "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."
~2 Nephi 25:26
~We will stayon course.
~We will anchor ourselves as families and as a church to these principles and ordinances.
~"The standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing."
Elder L. Tom Perry:~One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic.
~"The best is yet to be." --Robert Browning
~Thoreau
~...a simplified lifestyle...
~D&C 89:18-21
~Our dress and grooming send a message to others about who we are.
~I believe very casual dress is almost always followed by very casual manners.
~We have been encouraged at almost every general conference of the Church I can remember not to live beyond our means.
~"I believe that the great majority of all our troubles today is caused through the failure to carry out that counsel [to not run into debt]." --President Grant
~Live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for a rainy day.
~Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it.
~We must acquire knowledge of God's eternal plan
and our role in it.
Elder Russell M. Nelson:~A couple in love can
choose a marriage of the highest quality.
(emphasis added)~All Church activities, advancements, quorums, and classes are means to the end of an exalted family.
~The earth was created and this Church was restored so that families could be formed, sealed, and exalted eternally.
~Each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people.
~Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concerted effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort. That effort will succeed if each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness.
~"To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves." - President Monson
~We may choose celestial marriage or lesser alternatives.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks:~When we do this—when we join in the solemnity that should always accompany the ordinance of the sacrament and the worship of this meeting—we are qualified for the companionship and revelation of the Spirit. This is the way we get direction for our lives and peace along the way.
~All who officiate in this sacred ordinance [of the sacrament] stand on sacred ground.
Elder M. Russell Ballard:~Joseph Smith knew that no enemy then present or in the future would have sufficient power to frustrate or stop the purposes of God.
~"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." - Joseph Smith
~D&C 3:1-3
~We cannot afford... to be comfortable or content.
~The Lord isn’t asking us to load up a handcart; He’s asking us to fortify our faith. He isn’t asking us to walk across a continent; He’s asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor. He isn’t asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple; He’s asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built. He isn’t asking us to die a martyr’s death; He’s asking us to live a disciple’s life.
~Our testimonies must run deep, with spiritual roots firmly embedded in the rock of revelation.
Elder Joesph B. Wirthlin:~Come what may, and love it.
~In spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.
~The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.
~If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.
~Learn to laugh.
~The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead.
~See for the eternal.
~Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.
~Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief.
~Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome.
~The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way.
~Put our trust in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
~John 3:16
~The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.
~Put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him.
~Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives.
Elder Richard G. Scott:~The greatest blessings from the use of the priesthood flow from humble service to others without thought of self.
~Are your private, personal thoughts conducive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or would they benefit from a thorough housecleaning?
~Equal partnership yields its greatest benefit when both husband and wife seek the will o the Lord in making important decisions for themselves and for their family.
~"Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth." - President Hinckley
~Often the real value of something is not recognized until it is taken from us.
~It is required of us that despite age, infirmity, exhaustion, and feelings of inadequacy, we do the work He has given us to do, to the last breath of our lives.
Elder Robert D. Hales:~One of mortality's great tests comes when our beliefs are questioned or criticized... These are important opportunities to step back, pray, and follow the Savior's example.
~When we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well.
~"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
~When we do not retaliate - when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger - we too stand with the Savior.
~We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice.
~
True disciples respond in ways that invite the Spirit of the Lord.
~We must never become contentious when we are discussing our faith. (3 Nephi 11:29)
~Surely our Heavenly Father is saddened - and the devil laughs - when we contentiously debate doctrinal differences with our Christian neighbors.
~True disciples speak with quiet confidence, not boastful pride.
~Our heartfelt testimonies are the most powerful answer we can give our accusers.
~
Sometimes true disciples must show Christian courage by saying nothing at all.
~"Fret not thyself because of evildoers." (Psalm 37:1)
~We do not feel we are
better than they are. Rather, we desire with our love to show them a
better way - the way of Jesus Christ.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:~Even the Son of God, a God Himself, had need for heavenly comfort during His sojourn in mortality.
~Moroni 7:35-37,30
~Search diligently, pray always, and be believing.
~Not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them, we walk with and talk with... Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us.
~I prayed for a long time.
~God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face.
~Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting.
~D&C 84:88
~May we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves.
Elder David A. Bednar:~Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all our doings.
~We are promised that if we pray sincerely for that which is right and good and in accordance with God's will, we can be blessed, protected, and directed.
~The Holy Ghost is the witness of and messenger for the Father and the Son.
~The spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation. In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day - and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day.
~After expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone.
~"Let all they thoughts be directed unto the Lord." (Alma 37:36)
~Morning and evening prayers - and all of the prayers in between - are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to 'pray always.'
~Meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His faithful children.
~Prayer becomes more meaningful as we express heartfelt gratitude.
~"Pray without ceasing, and ... give thanks in all things" (Mosiah 26.39)
~The most meaningful and spiritual prayers I have experienced contained many expressions of thanks and few, if any, requests.
~The prayers of prophets are childlike in their simplicity and powerful because of their sincerity.
~Let me recommend that periodically you and I offer a prayer in which we only give thanks and express gratitude.
~Praying earnestly for others, both those whom we love and those who despitefully use us, is also an important element of meaningful prayer.
~Praying for others with all of the energy of our souls increases our capacity to hear and to heed the voice of the Lord.
~Ponder His teachings and pray for understanding.
~Do our spouses, children, and other family members likewise feel th epower of our prayers offered unto the Father for their specific needs and desires?
~If those we love and serve have not heard and felt the influence of our earnest prayers in their behlf, then the time to repent is now.
Elder Quentin L. Cook:~We know He cares for us in our time of need.
~There must be opposition in all things for righteousness to be brought to pass.
~This life is not always easy,
nor was it meant to be.
(emphasis added)~"The sharp, side-by-side contrast of the sweet and the bitter is essential until the very end of this brief, mortal experience." - Neal A. Maxwell
~We are not going to suffer any more than what is for out good.
~Some trials are for our good and are suited for out own personal development.
~"If ye are prepared ye shall not fear."
~One of the great blessings of the scriptures is that they warn us of challenges that are unexpected but often occur.
~One form of preparation is to keep the commandments.
~Clearly, having the blessings of the Spirit - the ministration of the Holy Ghost - is an essential element to truly prosper in the land and to be prepared.
~"I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude." - Brigham Young
~D&C 68:6
~There is no grief, no pain, no sickness so great that the Atonement of Christ and the love of Christ cannot heal.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson:~The Lord calls upon us to be beacons of righteousness to guide those who seek the safety and blessings of Zion.
~If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. (Moses 7:18)
~We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen - Zion will come only
as they happen.
~"In the private sanctuary of one's own conscience lies that spirit, that determination to cast off the older person and to measure up to the stature of true potential." --Monson
~To come to Zion, it is not enough for you or me to be somewhat less wicked than others. We are to become not only good but
holy men and women.
~Let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon. --Maxwell
~Materialism is just one more manifestation of the idolatry and pride that characterize Babylon.
~1 Tim. 6:7-8
~(story of the man sharing half his dining room table)
~"We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object." --Joseph Smith
**I'll be posting links to Conference packets for kids soon.**
