LDS Place

In solemnity, and with understanding of the gravity of that which we say, we add our witness to all the world of the reality of the Resurrection, that this same Jesus who rose from the grave ascended into heaven. We declare that in this dispensation of time He returned to restore to earth the pristine gospel which He had taught while walking among men, that with that restoration has come further certain witness of His reality, and has come also the holy priesthood, given to men, which is exercised in His name. This is our testimony, which we bear in the name of Jesus Christ, and we invite all men to hear and accept it.

Gordon B. Hinckley

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the greatest messages of all Christianity. It is a divine gift of the Atonement for all mankind.

James E. Faust

Spring is a time for the rebirth of living things from their wintry cover. It typifies and reminds us of the literalness of the resurrection of all things. Significant to me is the fact that our Lord emerged from the tomb in the springtime.

Paul H. Dunn

Resurrection is the reuniting of the body and the spirit. As Jesus was resurrected, eventually every person who was ever born into this world will be resurrected, whether he wants to be or not. When a person is resurrected, he receives immortality, which is to live forever in the resurrected state. Likewise, every person who was ever born into this world will receive immortality regardless of his or her behavior in this life. Thus, resurrection and immnortality are synonymous. They are not a reward–they are a gift-­for we have rendered no service nor attained any accomplishment to warrant these as a reward. The gift is from the Savior; it comes through His atoning sacrifice.

Royden G. Derrick

All mankind will be resurrected as a result of that universal atonement, and those bodies reunited with the spirit can never die nor see corruption. The spirit will never again be divided from the body.

Theodore M. Burton

We testify of and worship not only one who lived and died two thousand years ago… We testify of one who was also resurrected from the dead and is now living—one who is comprehensible, one who has a material, though immortal body as he himself declared when he said to astonished followers, “Handle me and see.”

Hugh B. Brown

Our watchmen on the tower are known to us as apostles and prophets. They are our spiritual eyes in the sky, and they know, through inspiration and insight and pure intelligence, the course these storms may take. They continue to raise their voices in warning to tell us of the tragic consequences of willful and wanton violations of the Lord’s commandments. To intentionally ignore their warnings is to court misery, sorrow, and ruin. To follow them is to follow the chosen servants of the Lord into spiritual pastures of peace and plenty.

David R. Stone

The most precious thing lost in the Apostasy was the authority held by the Twelve – the priesthood keys. For the Church to be His Church, there must be a Quorum of the Twelve who hold the keys and confer them on others.

Boyd K. Packer

The word apostle, in its origin, literally means “one sent forth.” If that definition were stated to say “one sent forth with certain authority and responsibility,” it would properly describe the calling as it was given at the time our Lord walked the earth, and as it has been given in our time.

Gordon B. Hinckley

When a man is ordained to the apostleship and set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, he is given the keys of the priesthood of God. Each of the fifteen living men so ordained holds these keys. However, only the President of the Church has the right to exercise them in their fullness. He may delegate the exercise of various of them to one or more of his Brethren. Each has the keys but is authorized to use them only to the degree granted him by the prophet of the Lord.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Why is baptism a gate? Because it is an ordinance denoting entry into a sacred and binding covenant between God and man. Men promise to forsake the world, love and serve their fellowmen, visit the fatherless and the widows in their afflictions, proclaim peace, preach the gospel, serve the Lord, and keep His commandments.

L. Tom Perry

The gate of baptism leads to the strait and narrow path and to the destination of putting off the natural man and becoming a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord.

David A. Bednar

Education is a shortcut to proficiency. It makes it possible to leapfrog over the mistakes of the past.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Many times true winners in life are those who have been hurt and disappointed but have risen above these challenges. Very often in life, God gives us difficulties to bring out the best in us. It is true, life does not determine winners. Winners determine life.

Marvin J. Ashton

We must remember that all suffering is not punishment…. Sometimes we spend so much time trying to determine what we did wrong in the past to deserve the unpleasant happenings of the moment that we fail to resolve the challenges of the present.

Marvin J. Ashton

Patience in affliction and adversity means to persist firmly and never forsake that which we know to be true, standing firm with the hope that in the Lord’s due time we will gain an understanding of that which we do not understand now and which causes us suffering.

Angel Abrea

The great challenge in this earthly life is not to determine how to escape the afflictions and problems, but rather to carefully prepare ourselves to meet them.

Angel Abrea

Brethren, during my Aaronic Priesthood years I was a swineherd! Way back then, by means of a 4-H Club project involving purebred Duroc pigs, I became familiar with work! As proof that what follows is not merely swollen memory, may I, with Elder Nelson’s help, display very briefly this blanket of nearly 100 ribbons won by my prize pigs at various fairs over several years.

Up near Elder Nelson’s hand is a pink ribbon, won 60 years ago. It was the very first ribbon I ever won. I think the judge had a tender eye, and the pig wasn’t really so choice, but he knew I needed encouragement and hence the fourth prize. The purple ribbons were for champions that were exhibited later on!

Thank you, Elder Nelson.

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Work leaves its mark. In the poem “After Apple-Picking,” Robert Frost observes: “My instep arch not only keeps the ache/It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.”

I’ve felt the aches and pressures which come from physical and mental labors. Earning bread by the sweat of the brow (whether in the marketplace or on the homefront) produces sore muscles and a weary mind. But there’s often a good portion of butter and honey on that earned bread.

Pitching pea vines at 4:00 A.M. is not fun. Or is it? In retrospect I have no bright recollection of being tired and grumbling and sore. What I seem to remember more than the feel of the pitchfork handle is joy in the handiwork of the Lord. I remember the dew in the fields, the heady scents of rich growth, the magic shifting of light and shadow that happens softly before full sunrise. I recall also a comfort in togetherness that transcends any memory of aching muscles.

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“It’s Saturday,” my mother would sing out at eight o’clock, and all of us children knew what she meant. In the winter we’d spend the morning cleaning house. In the summer, we’d arm ourselves with weeders and head for the front lawn, or grab hoes and shovels and get the weeds out of the tomatoes.

I hated weeding. Nothing galled me more as I was growing up than wasting an entire Saturday morning digging dandelions out of the front lawn, knowing that in a week there’d be more. But my parents always said, “We all share the work and we all share the play”—and they meant it.

And it’s funny—today I enjoy gardening, though not every aspect of it. But I learned that work precedes accomplishment, that the watermelons don’t grow unless I water them, that the dishes aren’t there for the next meal unless I wash them from the last, that clean clothes don’t magically appear in closets, that money doesn’t get deposited regularly in the bank unless I work first.

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More than 6,000 years ago, Father Adam received the commandment, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” (Gen. 3:19.)

Some 2,700 years ago, a Greek poet observed that “in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.” (Hesiod, Works and Days, 1. 287, as cited in John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 14th ed., Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1968, p. 67.)

My young friends of the Aaronic Priesthood and you trainers of this great army of Christ, the principle of work has been taught from the foundation of the world. It is the bottom line of any forward motion of success. The frightening disappearance of work as a part of our basic ethic is alarming. We constantly hear the statements, “It’s too hard,” “Give me something easier,” “I want it now,” “I can’t wait that long” coming from our young people. The ugly disease of “nothing to do” is growing in epidemic proportions among us. It undermines the basic fabric of our nations. The prophet Ezekiel clearly defined iniquity as an “abundance of idleness.” (Ezek. 16:49.)

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Few writers in our generation have produced the number and quality of best-selling books that James A. Michener has. I am amazed at the range of his interests and his commitment to excellence. His success is not accidental. It does not come solely from the endowment of a natural talent. His success comes from developing the habit of hard work.

He was raised in poverty by a widowed mother. From age eleven, James worked six days a week every summer and delivered papers during the winter. At age fourteen he apprenticed as a plumber and worked fourteen hours a day in the summer and four hours a day in the winter. In looking back he says, “Instead of turning me against work, this ingrained in me the attitude that sensible people work hard to attain sensible goals—a philosophy I still adhere to.” (“An Authentic Work Ethic: I. The Path to Achievement,” Reader’s Digest, Jan. 1977, p. 149.)

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Sometimes sitting in Valiant B class is about as interesting as washing woodwork for Mom. But last Sunday was a real surprise. In a way, I guess I was responsible. It all began before class started, when I put my gum on a piece of paper on my chair and went out into the hall to get a drink.

While I was still out in the hall, I heard this awful howl coming from the classroom. I raced back just in time to see Eileen Cameron pulling strings of gum off her dress.

“Who put that gum there?” demanded Sister Higgins.

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“Seven, six, five, four, three two, one—eight!” Carrie lifted her finger from her zoo-animal calendar and once more silently counted down the days before she’d be baptized. Today was Sunday, and in just seven more days she’d be eight years old and ready for baptism.

Today was really, really important, too, though, and maybe just a little bit scary because today she would have her baptism interview with the branch president. President Stevenson wasn’t unfriendly, but Carrie was worried he’d give her a test about the Articles of Faith or the Ten Commandments or something.

“Carrie,” Mom called, “it’s time to get up. Remember, your interview is right after sacrament meeting.”

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 The oiled-paper windows of the cabin were barely light when Clarinda awoke. Back in their beautiful New York home she would have snuggled deeper into the warm featherbed and slept on until Mother came to gently tease her awake. Then she would have run happily downstairs for a breakfast of ham, eggs, and hot biscuits with butter and honey. Never would her stomach have growled with hunger as it did now.

But that was a year ago, before there were so many things to be afraid of. Everything was different now. Hot tears pushed at her eyelids.

“You must be braver than that, Clarinda,” her father would say if he could see her now. “You can’t let your fears control you. Courage is what it takes.”

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Many years ago when I was practicing law, I organized a company for one of the new car dealers in my area. I served as his legal counsel and a corporate officer for many years; then one of my sons took over my responsibilities as legal counsel. Later we were both at the dealer’s place of business. I noticed the rows of beautiful, shiny, gleaming, expensive new cars. Out of concern I mentioned to the proprietor that if he didn’t get the cars sold, financing charges would be exorbitant and eat up the profits. My son said, “Dad, don’t look at it that way. Look at all the profit the cars will bring.”

While I think he was more accurate than I, it suddenly came to my mind that my son had never been through a depression. We looked at the rows of cars through different eyes because I am a child of the Great Depression. I cannot forget what a merciless taskmaster debt is.

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“Happiness,” in the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, “is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it.” (History of the Church, 5:134.) Often that path includes affliction, trials, and suffering—physically, mentally, and even spiritually.

Adversity, or what we perceive to be adversity, enters into the life of every individual at various times and in various forms. Adversity may be the consequence of willful disobedience to the laws of God. However, my remarks are directed to those who with righteous desire seek earnestly to learn and strive diligently to do God’s will, yet nevertheless experience adversity. Much about this subject we do not understand, but let us consider some of what the Lord has revealed.

Adversity in the lives of the obedient and faithful may be the consequence of disease, accidental injury, ignorance, or the influence of the adversary. To preserve free agency, the Lord also at times permits the righteous to suffer the consequences of evil acts by others. (See 1 Ne. 18:16.)

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Francoise watched quietly as her friend Hilda marched in the St. Nicholas parade. Hilda wore a large miter-shaped hat with a design of stars and snowflakes cut out in it. She carried a big horn that she blew often and loud.

Hilda waved as she passed Francoise, but Francoise did not wave back. Instead she frowned at Hilda and the other children in the parade.

Unhappy thoughts tumbled through Francoise’s mind as the St. Nicholas parade came to an end. Why did my father have to come here to Switzerland? Why didn’t he stay in France? They don’t celebrate Christmas here in this country the way they should!

Hilda ran to meet Francoise. “Didn’t I tell you it would be fun?” she exclaimed, speaking very fast in German. “You should have worn the hat I made for you and marched in the parade with us.”

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The following is a true story. For my eighth birthday I wanted to have a party. My parents agreed, and so a week before my birthday, I took the invitations to school.

On the school bus, I kept thinking about Alice. * I was hoping that she wouldn’t be there that day. Then my parents couldn’t blame me for not inviting her. You see, Alice’s clothes were old and worn, her hair was seldom combed, and she was very quiet. She always played by herself at recess, and as far as I could see, she had no friends. In other words, I didn’t see why I needed to invite her to my party.

When I got to school, much to my dismay, Alice was there. I handed out the invitations, and everyone was very excited.

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I didn’t know what to do. President Benson said that we should all read the Book of Mormon, but it isn’t that easy. My mom and dad think that since I’m only five years old, I’m too young to have a Book of Mormon of my own. Since I don’t have my own Book of Mormon, I needed to borrow one.

The first thing I did was look for my father’s Book of Mormon. I was climbing on a chair to get it from the top shelf, when Dad came into the room.

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When I was growing up, my grandfather lived with my family. He was blind, and one of my greatest blessings was that I helped serve as his eyes. As we walked to church, I would help guide him, and he guided me too. He taught me how much Heavenly Father loves me and all of His children, and that it is important to help other people.

My grandfather lost his eyesight, but he had lots of spiritual insight. He served as a patriarch for more than 30 years. Students from nearby Ricks College (now BYU–Idaho) and others would come to see my grandpa. He would take them into the little room my family had built for him to give blessings in. Often he fasted before giving patriarchal blessings. My grandpa blessed many people throughout his life, and helped them learn to live closer to our Heavenly Father.

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Dear Tommy,

I have just heard that you were baptized this month, on your birthday. It made me happy indeed, because your baptism will mean so much to you all the rest of your life.

When we are baptized, when we reach eight years of age, we enter the Church of Jesus Christ, and we receive the many blessings of the Church. We must be baptized to fill the Lord’s commandment.

Baptism is not just a custom in our Church. It is something we do because the Lord commands it. Baptism is as old as the gospel. Adam was baptized, and by immersion, just as you were. And millions of people since that time have also been baptized.

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Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, a Jewish celebration to remember when the angel of death passed over the children of Israel just before pharaoh let Moses lead them out of Egypt.

Jesus’ disciples arranged for an upper room for the celebration feast, and Jesus and his Apostles gathered there for what would be his last supper with all of them. He taught them the ordinance of the sacrament. They sang together, and then the Savior offered a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to protect and strengthen his followers, since he knew that soon he would no longer be with them.

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Before His death, Jesus Christ prayed to Heavenly Father that His followers would “be one, as we are” (John 17:11). After His death, all the Apostles (except Judas Iscariot, who was dead) were faithful in doing the work of the Savior:

“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord [or, they were ‘one,’ as Jesus had prayed]. …

“And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

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Some of the sweetest memories of my childhood center in the occasional summer and fall days spent with my brothers at Uncle Zene’s farm in rural Virginia. There we hiked through woods with fragrant wildflowers. We marveled at flying squirrels, colorful birds, and even occasionally discovered a pheasant or a fox. Meandering streams invited us to catch sunfish, and a cool, pure spring satisfied our thirst. There were roasted hot dogs, potato salad, sweet pickles, and, of course, hot apple pie with homemade ice cream.

But the most treasured experience was the rope swing Uncle Zene had hung in a tall tree near a beautiful brook. Its long, gliding passes provided hours of pure joy. We would arch our backs and fling our legs and feet to see who could go the fastest and highest. It was sheer delight.

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I’m nine years old and in the third grade. I love gymnastics, and last January I had worked hard preparing for a gymnastics exhibition. But as I sat and shivered through the evening, I realized that I was too sick to perform any of my routines.

Then things just got worse.

When I got over the flu, I came down with a disease that made my joints swell up so much I couldn’t walk. Big purple bruises covered my legs. I couldn’t do any gymnastics. I couldn’t even go to school.

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Transitions in life can be difficult, but with extra attention given to each incoming young woman, the transition of young women into Relief Society can be a happy, fulfilling step from youth into adulthood. Quite literally, the first time an eighteen-year-old joins the other women of the ward in Relief Society, she moves from the sisterhood of Young Women to join the Relief Society sisterhood that will be hers throughout the remainder of her life.

The following young adults remember how they felt when they made the transition into Relief Society:

• “Coming from Young Women to Relief Society was quite a leap! My first year in Relief Society was a wonderful, growing experience. I finally made the adjustment when I was given a calling. This calling really stretched me. Without it I don’t think I would have gotten to know the sisters in the ward for a long time.”

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“We all worked very hard to make a living for such a large family,” wrote Hannah Romney of her pioneer life, “but work is what keeps the world moving and the people living and progressing, expanding our minds so that we will be more able to cope with the bigger things in life.”

Hannah and her husband, Miles, and their nine children understood the value of work and enjoyed the results of their industry. Their lifestyle and work ethic were typical of many Latter-day Saint pioneers. Married in 1862 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, the Romneys settled in St. George in southern Utah in 1867, St. Johns in east-central Arizona in 1881, and the Latter-day Saint colonies in northwestern Mexico in 1886. Each new settlement required commitment and hard work as these settlers not only built houses, plowed unbroken fields, and planted gardens, but as they also built churches, stores, and roads.

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Knowing our health and our spirituality are interrelated, I would like to offer a few medical insights into what the scientific world is learning about cancer.

Doctrine and Covenants 89, known commonly as the Word of Wisdom, is a remarkable revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith almost 175 years ago—long before there was any scientific proof to influence him on issues of health.

Though at first reading, Doctrine and Covenants 89 may seem to be simply a list of dos and don’ts about such nonspiritual topics as tobacco, alcohol, and diet, it is much more. The Lord says, “all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal” (D&C 29:34).

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It was the Psalmist who said:

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

With this thought in mind, the Psalmist pleaded:

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Ps. 90:10, 12. Italics added.)

Sooner or later, in this life or the next, every person will learn the significance of applying his heart “unto wisdom.” Some learn it too late. Others learn it before it is everlastingly too late, but only after bitter experience that leaves long-lasting scars. A fortunate few are wise enough to learn wisdom in their youth. It is my prayer and hope and desire that each of us may find ourselves in this last group.

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Surely and steadily The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints moves across the earth. In Daniel’s language it is “the stone … cut out of the mountain without hands.” Isaiah described what he foresaw as “a marvellous work and a wonder.” It is a wonder! The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with miracles, revelations, manifestations of every kind. Many of those have come in our lifetime.

I was 17 years old before there was any stake of Zion anywhere outside North America. There are now well over 1,000 stakes on those distant continents and isles of the sea. We now have 125 temples operating or announced, more than half of which (64) are outside the United States. Again I was nearly 16 before there was even one temple beyond the states and provinces of the USA and Canada.

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When we raise our hands to sustain the prophet, it is important for each of us to have a personal testimony that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, who leads His Church today through the prophet He has chosen.

Our testimony comes by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. The testimony received and carried within us enables us to hold a steady course in times of prosperity and to overcome doubt and fear in times of adversity. Each of us needs to know what a testimony is, how we can get it, and what our responsibilities are once we have received a testimony.

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He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Rev. 21:7.)

We are told in scriptures both ancient and modern that temptations do not come from God, but from Satan, or are a result of our own desires or weaknesses.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

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In temples we can participate in the most exalted of the redeeming ordinances

There are many reasons one should want to come to the temple. Even its external appearance seems to hint of its deeply spiritual purposes. This is much more evident within its walls. Over the door to the temple appears the tribute “Holiness to the Lord.” When you enter any dedicated temple, you are in the house of the Lord.

In the temples, members of the Church who make themselves eligible can participate in the most exalted of the redeeming ordinances that have been revealed to mankind. There, in a sacred ceremony, an individual may be washed and anointed and instructed and endowed and sealed. And when we have received these blessings for ourselves, we may officiate for those who have died without having had the same opportunity. In the temples sacred ordinances are performed for the living and for the dead alike.

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Until you can see where you are, what is happening around you, and where you are going, you will likely stumble blindly along, feeling miserable and purposeless as you repeat the same mistakes or sinful acts over and over again, even though each time, you vow that you will never do it again. You likely struggle to overcome, only to give in again to the next temptation in the area of your greatest weakness. This is usually followed by deep feelings of guilt, suffering of soul, and despair of ever changing. It’s a cyclic pattern—that pattern of your sin.

Recognizing the pattern sin takes in your own life is one great step in learning how to overcome it. It is like studying the enemy’s movements enough to know what he will do and how to outwit him in his own battle. You can become the master of the situation by learning how to predict the next move and use effective strategies or techniques to counterattack or even to prevent attack altogether. Until you can do this with your pattern of sinning, you likely will feel vulnerable and unable to cope with a self-defeating behavior (SDB) and allow it to sweep over you without much resistance.

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I was alone and away from home in San Francisco many years ago when I decided to read the Book of Mormon over the weekend. Once immersed in that epic, I lost all desire to eat and sleep, reading until I finished. Then I fell upon the hotel bed and into a deep sleep. Shortly, I awakened and was again alert to the panorama I had experienced by reading the book in a short time. It was as if I were there, looking in one view over the entire period from the beginning of Lehi’s courageous journey to Moroni’s lonely vigil and departing promise. I wrote down my thoughts to capture my impressions about God’s love, his plan for us, charity and service, and discipleship, savoring the wholeness of my understanding. Then I rested. I have never been the same since that day. I have continued to learn from that experience, having new understanding open to my mind.

As I approached this opportunity to share some thoughts about service, my mind went back to that remarkable experience in San Francisco. One of the things the Book of Mormon has taught me is that the principle of service is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ and is best grasped by understanding how God is trying to prepare us for eternal life.

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In modern revelation we have the promise that if we are prepared we need not fear (see D&C 38:30). I was introduced to that principle 60 years ago this summer when I became a Boy Scout and learned the Scout motto: “Be prepared.” Today I have felt prompted to speak of the importance of preparation for a future event of supreme importance to each of us—the Second Coming of the Lord.

The scriptures are rich in references to the Second Coming, an event eagerly awaited by the righteous and dreaded or denied by the wicked. The faithful of all ages have pondered the sequence and meaning of the many events prophesied to precede and follow this hinge point of history.

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