PRIESTHOOD LEADERSHIP MEETING 4 April 1986 The Power of the Word President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My dear brethren, what a thrilling sight it is to look out over his body of priesthood leadership and to know how many thousands of Saints you serve and how much dedication and faithfulness you collectively represent! There is no other body anywhere in the world today that meets for the same righteous purpose as does this group, nor is there any other group--political, religious or military--that holds the power that you do here tonight. |p2 We live in a day of great challenge. We live in that time of which the Lord spoke when he said, "Peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion." (D&C 1:35.) We live in that day which John the Revelator foresaw when "the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17.) The dragon is Satan; the woman represents the Church of Jesus Christ. Satan is waging war against the members of the Church who have testimonies and are trying to keep the commandments. And while many of our members are remaining faithful and strong, some are wavering. Some are falling. Some are fulfilling John's prophecy that in the war with Satan, some Saints would be overcome. (See Rev. 13:7.) |p3 The prophet Lehi also saw our day in his great visionary dream of the tree of life. He saw that many people would wander blindly in the mists of darkness, which symbolized the temptations of the devil. (See 1 Ne. 12:17.) He saw some fall away "in forbidden paths," others drown in rivers of filthiness, and still others wander in "strange roads." (1 Ne. 8:28, 32.) When we read of the spreading curse of drugs, or read of the pernicious flood of pornography and immorality, do any of us doubt that these are the forbidden paths and rivers of filthiness Lehi described? |p4 Not all of those Lehi saw perishing were of the world. Some had come to the tree and partaken of the fruit. In other words, some members of the Church today are among those souls Lehi saw which were lost. |p5 The Apostle Paul also saw our |P80|p1 day. He described it as a time when such things as blasphemy, dishonesty, cruelty, unnatural affection, pride, and pleasure seeking would abound. (See 2 Tim. 3:1-7.) He also warned that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (2 Tim. 3:13.) |p2 Such grim predictions by prophets of old would be cause for great fear and discouragement if those same prophets had not, at the same time, offered the solution. In their inspired counsel we can find the answer to the spiritual crises of our age. |p3 In his dream, Lehi saw an iron rod which led through the mists of darkness. He saw that if people would hold fast to that rod, they could avoid the rivers of filthiness, stay away from the forbidden paths, stop from wandering in the strange roads that lead to destruction. Later his son Nephi clearly explained the symbolism of the iron rod. When Laman and Lemuel asked, "What meaneth the rod of iron?" Nephi answered, "It was the word of God; and [note this promise] whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction." (1 Ne. 15:23-24; italics added.) Not only will the word of God lead us to the fruit which is desirable above all others, but in the word of God and through it we can find the power to resist temptation, the power to thwart the work of Satan and his emissaries. |p4 Paul's message is the same as Lehi's. After portraying the terrible wickedness of future times--future to him, but present to us!--he said this to Timothy: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned. . . . |p5 "From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation." (2 Tim. 3:14-15; italics added.) |p6 My dear brethren, this is an answer to the great challenge of our time. The word of God, as found in the scriptures, in the words of living prophets, and in personal revelation, has the power to fortify the Saints and arm them with the Spirit so they can resist evil, hold fast to the good, and find joy in this life. |p7 Now to you priesthood leaders we say, look to the prophetic counsel of Lehi and Paul and others like them. In that counsel you will find the solution to the challenges you face in keeping your flocks safe from the "ravening wolves" that surround them. (See Matt. 7:15; Acts 20:29.) We know that you too have great anxiety for the members of your wards and stakes and expend great time and effort in their behalf. There is much that we ask of you who have been chosen for leadership. We place many loads upon your shoulders. You are asked to run the programs of the Church, interview and counsel with the members, see that the financial affairs of the stakes and wards are properly handled, manage welfare projects, build buildings, and engage in a host of other time-consuming activities. |p8 While none of those activities can be ignored and laid aside, they are not |P81|p1 the most important thing you can do for those you serve. In recent years, time and again we have counseled you that certain activities bring greater spiritual returns than others. As early as 1970, President Harold B. Lee told the regional representatives: |p2 "We are convinced that our members are hungry for the gospel, undiluted, with its abundant truths and insights. . . . There are those who have seemed to forget that the most powerful weapons the Lord has given us against all that is evil are His own declarations, the plain simple doctrines of salvation as found in the scriptures." (In Regional Representatives' seminar, 1 Oct. 1970, p. 6.) |p3 In a First Presidency message in 1976, President Kimball said: |p4 "I am convinced that each of us, at least some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves--and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again. . . . |p5 "The Lord is not trifling with us when he gives us these things, for 'unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.' (Luke 12:48.) Access to these things means responsibility for them. We must study the scriptures according to the Lord's commandment (see 3 Ne. 23:1-5); and we must let them govern our lives." (Ensign, Sept. 1976, pp. 4-5.) |p6 In April 1982, Elder Bruce R. McConkie spoke to the regional representatives about the priority the scriptures should take in our labors. He said: "We are so wound up in programs and statistics and trends, in properties, lands and mammon, and in achieving goals that will highlight the excellence of our work, that we have 'omitted the weightier matters of the law.' . . . However talented men may be in administrative matters; however eloquent they may be in expressing their views; however learned they may be in the worldly things--they will be denied the sweet whisperings of the Spirit that might have been theirs unless they pay the price of studying, pondering, and praying about the scriptures." (In Regional Representatives' seminar, 2 Apr. 1982, pp. 1-2.) |p7 That same day, Elder Boyd K. Packer spoke to the stake presidents and regional representatives. He said: "Buildings and budgets, and reports and programs and procedures are very important. But, by themselves, they do not carry that essential spiritual nourishment and will not accomplish what the Lord has given us to do. . . . The right things, those with true spiritual nourishment, are centered in the scriptures." (In Meeting with Stake Presidents and Regional Representatives, 2 Apr. 1982, pp. 1-2.) |p8 I add my voice to these wise and inspired brethren and say to you that one of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently. Feast upon the words of Christ. Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. There are few other efforts that will bring greater dividends to your calling. There are few other ways to gain greater inspiration as you serve. |p9 But that alone, as valuable as it is, is not enough. You must also bend your efforts and your activities to stimulating meaningful scripture study among the members of the Church. Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow. |p10 The Prophet Joseph Smith said that "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." (Book of Mormon, Introduction, italics added.) Isn't that what we want for the members of our wards and stakes? Aren't we desirous that they get nearer to God? Then encourage them in every way possible to immerse themselves in this marvelous latter-day witness of Christ. |p11 You must help the Saints see that studying and searching the scriptures is not a burden laid upon them by the Lord, but a marvelous blessing and opportunity. Note what the Lord Himself has said about the benefits of studying His word. To the great prophet-leader Joshua, He said: |p12 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Josh. 1:8; italics added.) |p13 The Lord was not promising Joshua material wealth and fame, but that his life would prosper in righteousness and that he would have success in that which matters most in life, namely the quest to find true joy. (See 2 Ne. 2:25.) |p14 Do you have members in your stakes whose lives are shattered by sin or tragedy, who are in despair and without hope? Have you longed for some way to reach out and heal their wounds, soothe their troubled souls? The prophet Jacob offers just |P82|p1 that with this remarkable promise: "They have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." (Jacob 2:8; italics added.) |p2 Today the world is full of alluring and attractive ideas that can lead even the best of our members into error and deception. Students at universities are sometimes so filled with the doctrines of the world they begin to question the doctrines of the gospel. How do you as a priesthood leader help fortify your membership against such deceptive teachings? The Savior gave the answer in His great discourse on the Mount of Olives when He promised, "And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived." (JS-M 1:37; italics added.) |p3 The scriptures are replete with similar promises about the value of the word. Do you have members who long for direction and guidance in their lives? The Psalms tell us, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105), and Nephi promises that feasting upon the words of Christ "will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Ne. 32:3). |p4 Are there members of your flock who are deep in sin and need to pull themselves back? Helaman's promise is for them: "Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil." (Hel. 3:29.) |p5 Success in righteousness, the power to avoid deception and resist temptation, guidance in our daily lives, healing of the soul--these are but a few of the promises the Lord has given to those who will come to His word. Does the Lord promise and not fulfill? Surely if He tells us that these things will come to us if we lay hold upon His word, then the blessings can be ours. And if we do not, then the blessings may be lost. However diligent we may be in other areas, certain blessings are to be found only in the scriptures, only in coming to the word of the Lord and holding fast to it as we make our way through the mists of darkness to the tree of life. |p6 And if we ignore what the Lord has given us, we may lose the very power and blessings which we seek. In a solemn warning to the early Saints, the Lord said this of the Book of Mormon: "Your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received-- |p7 "Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. |p8 "And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. |p9 "And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon." (D&C 84:54-57.) |p10 Oh, my brethren, let us not treat lightly the great things we have received from the hand of the Lord! His word is one of the most valuable gifts He has given us. I urge you to recommit yourselves to a study of the scriptures. Immerse yourselves in them daily so you will have the power of the Spirit to attend you in your callings. Read them in your families and teach your children to love and treasure them. Then prayerfully and in counsel with others, seek every way possible to encourage the members of the Church to follow your example. If you do so, you will find, as Alma did, that "the word [has] a great tendency to lead people to do that which [is] just--yea, it [has] more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which [has] happened unto them." (Alma 31:5.) |p11 Like Alma, I say unto you, "It [is] expedient that [you] should try the virtues of the word of God" (Alma 31:5), in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 5, 1986 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson Cleansing the Inner Vessel President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, as we commence another general conference of the Church, I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers that what I say may bless and edify our souls. I realize my dependence upon the Lord, and I also know that Jesus Christ is the head of this church and that through Him we can do all things that are needful. |p2 I commend those of you who are present here this morning, as well as you who are listening or watching these proceedings and those who will later take the opportunity to hear or read the messages of this conference. |p3 Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude to you for all you do to contribute to the building of the kingdom of God on earth. Surely the Lord is pleased with the consecrated time, love, and generous support of so many of His Saints throughout the world. |p4 Your dedication, devotion, and service are indications that faith has indeed increased in the earth. Seldom have the efforts of so few resulted in the blessing of so many! |p5 As I have sought direction from the Lord, I have had reaffirmed in my mind and heart the declaration of the Lord to "say nothing but repentance unto this generation." (D&C 6:9; 11:9.) This has been a theme of every latter-day prophet, along with their testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. |p6 Repentance was the cry of our late and great prophet, Spencer W. Kimball. This theme permeated his talks and the pages of his writings, such as his marvelous book The Miracle of Forgiveness. And it must be our cry today, both to member and to nonmember alike--repent. |p7 Watchmen--what of the night? We must respond by saying that all is not well in Zion. As Moroni counseled, we must cleanse the inner vessel (see Alma 60:23), beginning first with ourselves, then with our families, and finally with the Church. |p8 A prophet of God stated, "Ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow . . . until the good shall overcome the bad." (Jacob 5:66.) It takes a Zion people to make a Zion society, and we must prepare for that. |p9 During the past few years a number of resources have been set in place in the Church to help us. New editions of the scriptures have been published--are we taking advantage of them? More temples are located closer to our people--are we going to the house of the Lord more frequently? The consolidated meeting schedule was set up--are we taking advantage of the increased time with our families? A special home evening manual was provided--are we using it? A new hymnal has just been published--are we singing more songs of the heart? (See D&C 25:12.) And so the list goes on and on. We have received much help. We don't need changed programs now as much as we need changed people! |p10 We remember our beloved President Kimball for many marvelous words of counsel, among which was his encouragement to "lengthen our stride." We needed that direction, for the Book of Mormon warns us of the tactics of the adversary in the last day: "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well--and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." (2 Ne. 28:21.) |p11 There are many "awake" passages in the Book of Mormon, such as: "O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell . . . awake . . . [and] put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust." (2 Ne. 1:13, 23.) As a people, it seems we can survive persecution easier and better than we can peace and prosperity. |p12 The plaguing sin of this generation is sexual immorality. This, the Prophet Joseph said, would be the source of more temptations, more buffetings, and more difficulties for the elders of Israel than any other. (See Journal of Discourses, 8:55.) |p13 President Joseph F. Smith said that sexual impurity would be one of the three dangers that would threaten the Church within--and so it does. (See Gospel Doctrine, p. 312-13.) It permeates our society. |p14 In the category of sins, the Book |P5|p1 of Mormon places unchastity next to murder. (See Alma 39:5.) As Alma states, "Now . . . I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, . . . for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Alma 39:9.) If we are to cleanse the inner vessel, we must forsake immorality and be clean. |p2 Unless we read the Book of Mormon and give heed to its teachings, the Lord has stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants that the whole Church is under condemnation: "And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all." (V. 56.) The Lord continues: "And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written." (V. 57.) |p3 Now we not only need to say more about the Book of Mormon, but we need to do more with it. Why? The Lord answers: "That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion." (V. 58.) We have felt that scourge and judgment! |p4 The Prophet Joseph said that "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book." (Book of Mormon, Introduction.) The Book of Mormon has not been, nor is it yet, the center of our personal study, family teaching, preaching, and |P6|p1 missionary work. Of this we must repent. |p2 I do not know of a man living today who has been more true to the Book of Mormon than President Marion G. Romney. In a general conference address, he declared that the Book of Mormon was "the most effective piece of missionary literature we have." He quoted the Doctrine and Covenants, which states that "the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for your instruction" (D&C 33:16) and that "the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon." (D&C 42:12.) President Romney added, "It is of course obvious that unless we read, study, and learn the principles which are in the Book of Mormon, we, the elders, priests, and teachers of this church, cannot comply with this direction to teach them. |p3 "But there is another reason why we should read it," President Romney continued. "By doing so we will fill and refresh our minds with the constant flow of that 'water' which Jesus said would be in us--'a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' (John 4:14.) We must obtain a continuing supply of this water if we are to resist evil and retain the blessings of being born again. |p4 "If we would avoid adopting the evils of the world, we must pursue a course which will daily feed our minds with and call them back to the things of the Spirit. I know of no better way to do this than by reading the Book of Mormon." |p5 And then he concluded: "And so, I counsel you, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends everywhere, to make reading in the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice. |p6 "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to that counsel. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity--the pure love of Christ--will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness." (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1960, pp. 110-13.) |p7 May I now discuss a subject of grave concern that deserves deeper development than we have time. It is the subject of pride. |p8 In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it. |p9 Mormon writes that "the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction." (Moro. 8:27.) The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, "Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old." (D&C 38:39.) |p10 Essentially, pride is a "my will" rather than "thy will" approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 13:28), or teachableness. |p11 In the early days of the restored church, the Lord warned two of its prominent members about pride. To Oliver Cowdery, He said, "Beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation." (D&C 23:1.) To Emma Smith, He said, "Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride." (D&C 25:14.) |p12 "Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart," the Lord warns us. (D&C 42:40.) "Humble yourselves before God," says the Book of Mormon. (Mosiah 4:10.) |p13 When the earth is cleansed by burning in the last days, the proud shall be as stubble. (See 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; 64:24.) |p14 The great and spacious building which Lehi saw was the pride of the world where the multitude of the earth was gathered (See 1 Ne. 11:35-36.) Those who walked the straight and narrow path and held onto the word of God and partook of the love of God were mocked and scorned by those in the building. (See 1 Ne. 8:20, 27, 33; 11:25.) |p15 "The humble followers of Christ" are few. (2 Ne. 28:14.) |p16 Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention. |p17 Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men. |p18 Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done. |p19 Pride is characterized by "What do I want out of life?" rather than by |P7|p1 "What would God have me do with my life?" It is self-will as opposed to God's will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God. |p2 Humility responds to God's will--to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts. |p3 Someone has said, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." Of one brother, the Lord said, "I, the Lord, am not well pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek before me." (D&C 58:41.) |p4 The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with pride are the "learned, and the rich." (2 Ne. 28:15.) But the word of God can pull down pride. (See Alma 4:19.) |p5 With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings. For example, "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers." (D&C 112:10.) The humble will "be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge." (D&C 1:28.) The Lord is "merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts." (D&C 61:2.) Humility can turn away God's anger. (See Hel. 11:11.) |p6 My beloved brethren and sisters, as we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families, and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it. |p7 We have made some wonderful strides in the past. We will be lengthening our stride in the future. To do so, we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves. |p8 We can do it. I know we can. That we will do so is my prayer for all of us. God bless you for all the good you have done and will be doing. I leave my blessings on all of you and do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. April 5, 1986 General Priesthood Meeting President Ezra Taft Benson To the "Youth of the Noble Birthright" President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My Beloved brethren, this has been a glorious meeting. I have been especially pleased to see the number of young men in attendance this evening. With all my heart I love the youth of the Church. I have spent much of my life in their service, and their well-being and happiness are among my greatest concerns. |p2 Tonight I would like to speak directly to you young men of the Aaronic Priesthood. I am grateful that many of your fathers and priesthood leaders are with you, for I would like them to hear my message also. |p3 Young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, you have been born at this time for a sacred and glorious purpose. It is not by chance that you have been reserved to come to earth in this last dispensation of the fulness of times. Your birth at this particular time was foreordained in the eternities. |p4 You are to be the royal army of the Lord in the last days. You are "youth of the noble birthright." (Hymns, 1985, no. 255.) |p5 In the spiritual battles you are waging, I see you as today's sons of Helaman. Remember well the Book of Mormon account of Helaman's two thousand stripling warriors and how the teachings of their mothers gave them strength and faith. These marvelous mothers taught them to put on the whole armor of God, to place their trust in the Lord, and to doubt not. By so doing, not one of these young men was lost. (See Alma 53:10-23; 56:41-56.) |p6 My young brethren, I counsel each of you to draw close to your own mother. Respect her. Honor her. Receive your mother's counsel as she loves and instructs you in righteousness. And honor and obey your father as he stands as the head of the home, emulating his manly qualities. |p7 Young men, the family unit is forever, and you should do everything in your power to strengthen that unit. In your own family, encourage family home evenings and be an active participant. Encourage family prayer and be on your knees with your family in that sacred circle. Do your part to develop real family unity and solidarity. In such homes, there is no generation gap. |p8 Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters. Help carry their load so you can say, like the lyrics of that song, "He ain't heavy; he's my brother." |p9 Remember, the family is one of God's greatest fortresses against the evils of our day. Help keep your family strong and close and worthy of our Father in Heaven's blessings. As you do, you will receive faith and strength which will bless your lives forever. |p10 Next, young men, may I admonish you to participate in a program of daily reading and pondering of the scriptures. We remember the experience of our beloved prophet President Spencer W. Kimball. As a fourteen-year-old boy he accepted the challenge of reading the Bible from cover to cover. Most of his reading was done by coal oil light in his attic bedroom. He read every night until he completed the 1,519 pages, which took him approximately a year; but he attained his goal. |p11 Of the four great standard works of the Church--the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price--I would particularly urge you to read again and again the Book of Mormon and ponder and apply its teachings. The Book of Mormon was referred to by the Prophet Joseph Smith as "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion." (History of the Church, 4:461.) |p12 Young men, the Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will. It will be the most important book you will read in preparation for a mission and for life. A young man who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord. |p13 Further, I would encourage you brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood to receive a patriarchal blessing. Study it carefully and regard it as personal scripture to you--for that is what it is. A patriarchal blessing is the inspired and prophetic statement of your life's |P44|p1 mission together with blessings, cautions and admonitions as the patriarch may be prompted to give. Young men, receive your patriarchal blessing under the influence of fasting and prayer, and then read it regularly that you may know God's will for you. |p2 May I now direct your attention to the importance of attending all of your Church meetings. Faithful attendance at Church meetings brings blessings you can receive in no other way. |p3 Attend your sacrament meeting every Sunday. Listen carefully to the messages. Pray for the spirit of understanding and testimony. Be worthy to prepare and bless and pass the sacrament. Come to the sacrament table with clean hands and a pure heart. |p4 Attend your Sunday School classes every Sunday. Listen carefully to the lesson and participate in class discussions. Gospel scholarship and an increase in testimony will result. |p5 Attend your priesthood quorum meetings every Sunday, and your quorum activities held on weeknights. Learn well your priesthood responsibilities, and then perform them with diligence and reverence. |p6 Young men, take full advantage of the Church programs. Set your goals to attain excellence in the achievement programs of the Church. Earn the Duty to God Award--one of our most significant priesthood awards. Become an Eagle Scout. Do not settle for mediocrity in the great Scouting program of the Church. |p7 Regularly attend seminary and be a seminary graduate. Seminary instruction is one of the most significant spiritual experiences a young man can have. |p8 May I now speak with you about missionary service in the kingdom. I feel very deeply about this. I pray that you will understand the yearnings of my heart. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, "After all that has been said, [our] greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 113.) |p9 The Lord wants every young man to serve a full-time mission. Currently, only a fifth of the eligible young men in the Church are serving full-time missions. This is not pleasing to the Lord. We can do better. We must do better. |p10 Not only should a mission be regarded as a priesthood duty, but every young man should look forward to this experience with great joy and anticipation. What a privilege--what a sacred privilege--to serve the Lord full time for two years with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. |p11 You can do nothing more important. School can wait. Scholarships can be deferred. Occupational goals can be postponed. Yes, even temple marriage should wait until after a young man has served an honorable full-time mission for the Lord. And I would admonish you to date only faithful young women who also believe this and give you that encouragement. |p12 Young men, look forward to full-time missionary service. Show your love and commitment to the Lord by responding to the call to serve. Know that the real purpose in going into the mission field is to bring souls unto Christ, to teach and baptize our Heavenly Father's children so that you may rejoice with them in the kingdom of our Father. (See D&C 18:15.) |p13 Prepare now for your mission by doing these things we have discussed this evening. |p14 Another vital ingredient in preparation for your mission is to always live a clean life. We want morally clean young men in the mission field. We want you to live the clean life all of your life. We want the morally clean life to be your way of life. |p15 Yes, one can repent of moral transgression. The miracle of forgiveness is real, and true repentance is accepted of the Lord. But it is not pleasing to the Lord prior to a mission, or at any time, to sow one's wild oats, to engage in sexual transgression of |P45|p1 any nature, and then to expect that planned confession and quick repentance will satisfy the Lord. |p2 President Kimball was emphatic on this point. In his marvelous book The Miracle of Forgiveness, he stated: "That man who resists temptation and lives without sin is far better off than the man who has fallen, no matter how repentant the latter may be. . . . how much better it is never to have committed sin!" (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, p. 357.) |p3 One of our fine stake presidents shared with us the following experience: |p4 "I remember a girl that I had gone to high school with. She was from a good LDS family, but when she was a junior in high school, she began to compromise her standards and principles. |p5 "I remember how stunned I was one afternoon as a group of us were in the back of the bus riding home from school. We were talking about the consequences of sin or transgression, and she flatly announced that she wasn't worried about committing any sin because her bishop had told her she could easily repent and could be quickly forgiven. |p6 "Well, I was shocked with this flippant attitude that didn't reflect any understanding of repentance and no appreciation of the miracle of forgiveness. I was also sure that she had grossly misunderstood the instruction and counsel of her bishop." |p7 Adultery, or anything like unto it, is abominable in the sight of the Lord. Elder Kimball also wisely observed: |p8 "Among the most common sexual sins our young people commit are necking and petting. Not only do these improper relations often lead to fornication, pregnancy, and abortions--all ugly sins--but in and of themselves they are pernicious evils, and it is often difficult for youth to distinguish where one ends and another begins. . . . |p9 "Too often, young people dismiss their petting with a shrug of their shoulders as a little indiscretion, while admitting that fornication is a base transgression. Too many of them are shocked, or feign to be, when told that what they have done in the name of petting was in reality [a form of] fornication." (Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 65-66.) |p10 Young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, remember the scriptural injunction "Be ye clean who bear the vessels of the Lord." (3 Ne. 20:41; D&C 38:42; see also Isa. 52:11.) Remember the story of Joseph in Egypt, who hearkened not to the wife of Potiphar and maintained his purity and virtue. (See Gen. 39:6-20.) |p11 Consider carefully the words of the prophet Alma to his errant son, Corianton, "Forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes." (Alma 39:9.) |p12 "The lusts of your eyes." In our day, what does that expression mean? |p13 Movies, television programs, and video recordings that are both suggestive and lewd. |p14 Magazines and books that are obscene and pornographic. |p15 We counsel you, young men, not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth passes is never the same afterwards. Don't see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic. Don't listen to music that is degrading. |p16 Remember Elder Boyd K. Packer's statement: "Music, once . . . innocent, now is often used for wicked purposes. . . . |p17 "In our day music itself has been corrupted. Music can, by its tempo, by its beat, by its intensity [and I would add by its lyrics], dull the spiritual sensitivity of men. . . . |p18 "Young people," Elder Packer goes on to say, "you cannot afford to fill your mind with the unworthy hard music of our day." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1973, pp. 21, 25; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 25, 28.) |p19 Instead, we encourage you to listen to uplifting music, both popular and classical, that builds the spirit. Learn some favorite hymns from our new hymnbook that build faith and spirituality. Attend dances where the music and the lighting and the dance movements are conducive to the Spirit. Watch those shows and entertainment that lift the spirit and promote clean thoughts and actions. Read books and magazines that do the same. |p20 And remember, young men, the importance of proper dating. President Kimball gave some wise counsel on this subject: |p21 "Clearly, right marriage begins with right dating. . . . Therefore, this warning comes with great emphasis. Do not take the chance of dating nonmembers, or members who are untrained and faithless. [You] may say, 'Oh I do not intend to marry this person. It is just a "fun" date.' But one cannot afford to take a chance on falling in love with someone who may never accept the gospel." (Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 241-42.) |p22 Our Heavenly Father wants you to date young women who are faithful members of the Church, who encourage you to serve a full-time mission and to magnify your priesthood. |p23 Yes, prepare well for a mission all your life, not just six months or a year before you go. |p24 We love all of our missionaries who are serving the Lord full time in the mission field. But there is a difference in missionaries. Some are better prepared to serve the Lord the first month in the mission field than some who are returning home after twenty-four months. |p25 We want young men entering the mission field who can enter the mission field "on the run," who have the faith born of personal righteousness and clean living that they can have a great and productive mission. |p26 We want missionaries who have the kind of faith that Wilford Woodruff and Heber C. Kimball had, each bringing hundreds and thousands of souls into the waters of baptism. |p27 Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life. |p28 Now I would like to say a final word to the fathers and priesthood leaders in attendance this evening. Fathers, stay close to your sons. Earn |P46|p1 and deserve their love and respect. Be united with their mother in the rearing of your children. Do nothing in your life to cause your sons to stumble because of your example. Guide your sons. Teach them. |p2 As I indicated last October as we met in general priesthood session, you have the major responsibility for teaching your sons the gospel. I would encourage you to reread that address. As important as the organizations of the Church are for teaching our youth, fathers have a sacred calling to continually teach and instruct members of their families in the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. |p3 Priesthood leaders, remember that the bishop is the president of the Aaronic Priesthood. Bishops, your first and foremost responsibility is the Aaronic Priesthood and the young women of your wards. |p4 Stay close to your young men. Get inside their lives. A personal interview once a year with them is not sufficient to fulfill your sacred duty. Visit with them often. Attend their quorum and Scout meetings. Go on their campouts. Participate in their youth conferences. Promote father-and-son activities. Talk with them often about a mission, and regularly visit with them about their personal worthiness. |p5 Strengthen the Aaronic Priesthood quorums. Effectively use the videotape entitled "Vitalizing the Aaronic Priesthood Quorums" and the accompanying training guide. These are some of the finest training tools we have in the Aaronic Priesthood. Bishoprics, quorum advisers, and quorum presidencies should regularly use this training program. |p6 Now, in closing, my young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, how I love you, how I respect you, how I pray for you. Remember the counsel I have given you tonight. It is what the Lord would have you hear now--today. |p7 Live up to your godly potential. Remember who you are and the priesthood that you bear. Be modern-day sons of Helaman. Put on the whole armor of God. |p8 "O youth of the noble birthright," with all my heart I say, "Carry on, carry on, carry on!" In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 6, 1986 Solemn Assembly President Ezra Taft Benson A Sacred Responsibility President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, I wish to testify to you that the ord Jesus Christ stands at the head of His Church--even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are His earthly stewards--we hold His priesthood, administer His ordinances, preach His gospel, and build up His kingdom. |p2 I have not words to express my gratitude to God, the Father of our spirits, to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Ghost, the Testator. |p3 I wish to convey my appreciation to all those who raised their hands in a covenant to the Lord to sustain me. I have felt the expression of your hearts and your commitment to the Lord as your hands pointed heavenward. |p4 I am reminded how Moses up on the hill raised his arms for the victory of the armies of Israel. As long as his arms were raised, Israel prevailed, but when they dropped from weariness, then the enemy prevailed. And so Aaron and Hur "stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side" and Israel was victorious. (Ex. 17:12.) So will we be victorious as we hold up the arms of the Lord's anointed servants. |p5 I have been aware of those who preceded me in this office as President of the Church. I have felt very keenly my dependence upon the Lord and the absolute necessity of relying upon Him for His direction in the conduct of the affairs of the Church as those in the past have done. |p6 I have been blessed in mortality with noble parents and supportive brothers and sisters. God raised up for me a choice companion. In her stewardship from the Lord, she has lived outside herself in love by being a great helpmate and noble mother. Our children have been loyal to the Lord and to us. |p7 I am grateful for the strong counselors whom the Lord has provided me--President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson. Both have been prepared by the Lord for the labor they are performing. Each has been and is now a great blessing to the kingdom of God, and I thank Him for them. |p8 I love the members of the Council of the Twelve, with whom I have been privileged to labor most closely over the years. It has also been a joy to serve with members of the First Quorum of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric. |p9 There is a great spirit of unity among the General Authorities of the Church. That unity is very real and most important, for the Lord has said, "If ye are not one ye are not mine." (D&C 38:27.) |p10 We shall continue to work together as Brethren, united in one purpose--to move forward the work of the Lord. |p11 We are so appreciative of the great and loyal support of the leaders and members of the Church throughout the world. Many have written and given assurances of their love and prayers. We stand in need of that prayerful support every day. |p12 What a privilege it is to serve in the kingdom of God. In this work it is the Spirit that counts--wherever we serve. I know I must rely on the Spirit. Let us obtain that Spirit and be faithful members of the Church, devoted children and parents, effective home teachers, edifying instructors, inspired ward and stake leaders. God bless you all for your noble labors in building the kingdom. |p13 If there be any division among us, let us set aside anything of this kind and join ranks in the great responsibility to move forward the work of the Lord. If there be those who have become disaffected, we reach out to you in the pure love of Christ and stand ready to assist and welcome you back in full fellowship in the Church. |p14 We have a sacred responsibility to fulfil the threefold mission of the Church--first, to teach the gospel to the world; second, to strengthen the membership of the Church wherever they may be; third, to move forward the work of salvation for the dead. |p15 Let us consider each of these in turn. |p16 The world needs the gospel, and we are charged by command of the Lord and through our Abrahamic lineage to spread it. Every young man in this Church should be qualified for a mission and then should go. Many sisters may also serve missions. I am grateful my wife went on a mission and that we have granddaughters and grandsons in the mission field. |P78|p1 There is no greater joy than bringing souls to Christ. Participation in this great work blesses the convert, blesses the missionary, and blesses those who support the missionary. |p2 Many older couples could serve missions. In so doing, they will find that a mission blesses their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren in a way that could not otherwise be done. It will set a great example for their posterity. |p3 I am so glad my father accepted a mission call, leaving mother at home with seven children and with the eighth being born while Father was in the mission field. His letters, which my faithful mother read to us children, brought a spirit of missionary work into that home that never left it. All the sons went on at least one mission, and eventually all the daughters served missions. |p4 The second mission of the Church is to strengthen the membership of the Church. |p5 We need to learn the will of the Lord for us and then do it, as President Kimball emphasized. His will is made manifest through the standard works, His anointed servants, and personal revelation. |p6 There is a book we need to study daily, both as individuals and as families, namely the Book of Mormon. I love that book. It is the book that will get a person nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than any other book. (See Book of Mormon, Introduction.) President Romney recommended studying it half an hour each day. I commend that practice to you. I've always enjoyed reading the scriptures and do so on a daily basis individually and with my beloved wife. |p7 Children, support your parents in their efforts to have daily family scripture study. Pray for them as they pray for you. The adversary does not want scripture study to take place in our homes, and so he will create problems if he can. But we must persist. |p8 Perhaps each family member can take a turn reading a verse at a time. Comments could follow. Maybe you can study by subject. Perhaps assignments might be made. |p9 The third mission of the Church is to move forward the work of salvation for the dead. |p10 As a child, I appreciated the reverent discussions I had with my mother as she ironed her temple clothes. I am grateful for the weekly temple sessions that Sister Benson and I enjoy together. |p11 The temple is the house of the Lord. Our attendance there blesses the dead and also blesses us, for it is a house of revelation. |p12 Now we must work together to accomplish these three great, all-encompassing responsibilities. |p13 In the opening session of this conference we talked about cleansing the inner vessel. And so we must. |p14 The Lord inspired His servant Lorenzo Snow to reemphasize the principle of tithing to redeem the Church from financial bondage. In those days the General Authorities took that message to the members of the Church. |p15 Now, in our day, the Lord has revealed the need to reemphasize the Book of Mormon to get the Church and all the children of Zion out from under condemnation--the scourge and judgment. (See D&C 84:54-58.) This message must be carried to the members of the Church throughout the world. |p16 Now, as we come to the close of this great conference, I want you to know that I know that Christ is at the helm. This is His world. This is His Church. His purposes will be accomplished. |p17 Christ is our ideal. He is our exemplar. What manner of men and women should we be? Even as He is. (See 3 Ne. 27:27.) The best measure of true greatness is how Christlike we are. |p18 The Book of Mormon declares that "every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." And "whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil." (Moro. 7:13, 17.) |p19 Let us use that standard to judge what we read, the music we hear, the entertainment we watch, the thoughts we think. Let us be more Christlike. |p20 I assure you of my love and God's love for all of His children in every part of the world. |p21 Now, in the authority of the sacred priesthood in me vested, I invoke my blessing upon the Latter-day Saints and upon good people everywhere. |p22 I bless you with increased discernment to judge between Christ and anti-Christ. I bless you with increased power to do good and to resist evil. I bless you with increased understanding of the Book of Mormon. I promise you that from this moment forward, if we will daily sup from its pages and abide by its precepts, God will pour out upon each child of Zion and the Church a blessing hitherto unknown--and we will plead to the Lord that He will begin to lift the condemnation--the scourge and judgment. Of this I bear solemn witness. |p23 I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith is His prophet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 4, 1986 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson The Book of Mormon--Keystone of Our Religion President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, today I would like to speak about one of the most significant gifts given to the world in modern times. The gift I am thinking of is more important than any of the inventions that have come out of the industrial and technological revolutions. This is a gift of greater value to mankind than even the many wonderful advances we have seen in modern medicine. It is of greater worth to mankind than the development of flight or space travel. I speak of the gift of the Book of Mormon, given to mankind 156 years ago. |p2 This gift was prepared by the hand of the Lord over a period of more than a thousand years, then hidden up by Him so that it would be preserved in its purity for our generation. Perhaps there is nothing that testifies more clearly of the importance of this modern book of scripture than what the Lord Himself has said about it. |p3 By His own mouth He has borne witness (1) that it is true (D&C 17:6), (2) that it contains the truth and His words (D&C 19:26), (3) that it was translated by power from on high (D&C 20:8), (4) that it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (D&C 20:9; 42:12), (5) that it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels (D&C 20:10), (6) that it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true (D&C 20:11), and (7) that those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life (D&C 20:14). |p4 A second powerful testimony to the importance of the Book of Mormon is to note where the Lord placed its coming forth in the timetable of the unfolding Restoration. The only thing that preceded it was the First Vision. In that marvelous manifestation, the Prophet Joseph Smith learned the true nature of God and that God had a work for him to do. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was the next thing to follow. |p5 Think of that in terms of what it implies. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon preceded the restoration of the priesthood. It was published just a few days before the Church was organized.The Saints were given the Book of Mormon to read before they were given the revelations outlining such great doctrines as the three degrees of glory, celestial marriage, or work for the dead. It came before priesthood quorums and Church organization. Doesn't this tell us something about how the Lord views this sacred work? |p6 Once we realize how the Lord feels about this book, it should not surprise us that He also gives us solemn warnings about how we receive it. After indicating that those who receive the Book of Mormon with faith, working righteousness, will receive a crown of eternal glory (see D&C 20:14), the Lord follows with this warning: "But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation" (D&C 20:15). |p7 In 1829, the Lord warned the Saints that they are not to trifle with sacred things (see D&C 6:12). Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance. |p8 In 1832, as some early missionaries returned from their fields of labor, the Lord reproved them for treating the Book of Mormon lightly. As a result of that attitude, he said, their minds had been darkened. Not only had treating this sacred book lightly brought a loss of light to themselves, it had also brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, "And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon" (D&C 84:54-57). |p9 Has the fact that we have had the Book of Mormon with us for over a century and a half made it seem less significant to us today? Do we remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon? In the Bible we have the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament is the English rendering of a Greek word that can also be translated as covenant. Is this what the Lord meant when He called the Book of Mormon the "new covenant"? It is indeed another testament or witness of Jesus. This is one of the reasons why we have recently added the words "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" to the title of the Book of Mormon. |p10 If the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon |P5|p1 lightly, are we under any less condemnation if we do the same? The Lord Himself bears testimony that it is of eternal significance. Can a small number of us bring the whole Church under condemnation because we trifle with sacred things? What will we say at the Judgment when we stand before Him and meet His probing gaze if we are among those described as forgetting the new covenant? |p2 There are three great reasons why Latter-day Saints should make the study of the Book of Mormon a lifetime pursuit. |p3 The first is that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. This was the Prophet Joseph Smith's statement. He testified that "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion" (Introduction to the Book of Mormon). A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles. |p4 There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in the witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony. |p5 The Book of Mormon is the keystone in our witness of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the cornerstone of everything we do. It bears witness of His reality with power and clarity. Unlike the Bible, which passed through generations of copyists, translators, and corrupt religionists who tampered with the text, the Book of Mormon came from writer to reader in just one inspired step of translation. Therefore, its testimony of the Master is clear, undiluted, and full of power. But it does even more. Much of the Christian world today rejects the divinity of the Savior. They question His miraculous birth, His perfect life, and the reality of His glorious resurrection. The Book of Mormon teaches in plain and unmistakable terms about the truth of all of those. It also provides the most complete explanation of the doctrine of the Atonement. Truly, this divinely inspired book is a keystone in bearing witness to the world that Jesus is the Christ (see title page of the Book of Mormon). |p6 The Book of Mormon is also the keystone of the doctrine of the |P6|p1 Resurrection. As mentioned before, the Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (D&C 20:9). That does not mean it contains every teaching, and every doctrine ever revealed. Rather, it means that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation. The Book of Mormon offers so much that broadens our understandings of the doctrines of salvation. Without it, much of what is taught in other scriptures would not be nearly so plain and precious. |p2 Finally, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony. Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The enemies of the Church understand this clearly. This is why they go to such great lengths to try to disprove the Book of Mormon, for if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it. So does our claim to priesthood keys, and revelation, and the restored Church. But in like manner, if the Book of Mormon be true--and millions have now testified that they have the witness of the Spirit that it is indeed true--then one must accept the claims of the Restoration and all that accompanies it. |p3 Yes, my beloved brothers and sisters, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion--the keystone of our testimony, the keystone of our doctrine, and the keystone in the witness of our Lord and Savior. |p4 The second great reason why we must make the Book of Mormon a center focus of study is that it was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. Mormon wrote near the end of the Nephite civilization. Under the inspiration of God, who sees all things from the beginning, he abridged centuries of records, choosing the stories, speeches, and events that would be most helpful to us. |p5 Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations. Nephi said: "The Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation" (2 Nephi 25:21). His brother Jacob, who succeeded him, wrote similar words: "For [Nephi] said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his other plates, and that I should preserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation" (Jacob 1:3). Enos and Jarom both indicated that they too were writing not for their own peoples but for future generations (see Enos 1:15-16; Jarom 1:2). |p6 Mormon himself said, "Yea, I speak unto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel" (Mormon 7:1). And Moroni, the last of the inspired writers, actually saw our day and time. "Behold," he said, "the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you. |p7 "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing" (Mormon 8:34-35). |p8 If they saw our day, and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, "Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?" |p9 And there is example after example of how that question will be answered. For example, in the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on |P7|p1 the few decades just prior to Christ's coming to America. By careful study of that time period, we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet. |p2 From the Book of Mormon we learn how disciples of Christ live in times of war. From the Book of Mormon we see the evils of secret combinations portrayed in graphic and chilling reality. In the Book of Mormon we find lessons for dealing with persecution and apostasy. We learn much about how to do missionary work. And more than anywhere else, we see in the Book of Mormon the dangers of materialism and setting our hearts on the things of the world. Can anyone doubt that this book was meant for us and that in it we find great power, great comfort, and great protection? |p3 The third reason why the Book of Mormon is of such value to Latter-day Saints is given in the same statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith cited previously. He said, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." That is the third reason for studying the book. It helps us draw nearer to God. Is there not something deep in our hearts that longs to draw nearer to God, to be more like Him in our daily walk, to feel His presence with us constantly? If so, then the Book of Mormon will help us do so more than any other book. |p4 It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called "the words of life" (see D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. |p5 Our beloved brother, President Marion G. Romney, who celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday last month and who knows of himself of the power that resides in this book, testified of the blessings that can come into the lives of those who will read and study the Book of Mormon. He said: |p6 "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity--the pure love of Christ--will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness" (Ensign, May 1980, p. 67). |p7 These promises--increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness--are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God. |p8 Brethren and sisters, I implore you with all my heart that you consider with great solemnity the importance of the Book of Mormon to you personally and to the Church collectively. |p9 Over ten years ago I made the following statement regarding the Book of Mormon: |p10 "Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation. |p11 "Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not" (Ensign, May 1975, p. 65). |p12 I reaffirm those words to you this day. Let us not remain under condemnation, with its scourge and judgment, by treating lightly this great and marvelous gift the Lord has given to us. Rather, let us win the promises associated with treasuring it up in our hearts. |p13 In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 84, verses 54 to 58, we read: |p14 "And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received-- |p15 "Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. |p16 "And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. |p17 "And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written-- |p18 "That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion." |p19 Since last general conference, I have received many letters from Saints, both young and old, from all over the world who have accepted the challenge to read and study the Book of Mormon. |p20 I have been thrilled by their accounts of how their lives have been changed and how they have drawn closer to the Lord as a result of their commitment. These glorious testimonies have reaffirmed to my soul the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon is truly "the keystone of our religion" and that a man and woman will "get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." |p21 This is my prayer, that the Book of Mormon may become the keystone of our lives, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 4, 1986 General Priesthood Meeting President Ezra Taft Benson Godly Characteristics of the Master President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren: This night, as I look out over this great body of priesthood holders and think of the similar congregations throughout the world, I am stirred with a great sense of gratitude and joy for the blessings our Heavenly Father has given us. |p2 The privilege of holding the priesthood, which is the power and authority to act in God's name, is a great blessing and privilege and one that carries with it equally great obligations and responsibilities. When I ponder what kind of men and boys we should be as priesthood holders, I cannot help but think of the Savior's questions to the Nephite twelve when He asked, "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (3 Nephi 27:27). |p3 To be like the Savior--what a challenge for any person! He is a member of the Godhead. He is the Savior and Redeemer. He was perfect in every aspect of His life. There was no flaw nor failing in Him. Is it possible for us as priesthood holders to be even as He is? The answer is yes. Not only can we, but that is our charge, our responsibility. He would not give us that commandment if He did not mean for us to do it. |p4 The Apostle Peter spoke of the process by which a person can be made a "partaker of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). This is important, for if we truly become partakers of the divine nature, we shall become like Him. Let us examine closely what Peter teaches us about this process. Here is what he said: |p5 "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; |p6 "And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; |p8 The virtues outlined by Peter are part of the divine nature, or the Savior's character. These are the virtues we are to emulate if we would be more like Him. Let us discuss a few of these important traits. |p9 The first characteristic, to which all the others are added, is faith. Faith is the foundation upon which a godlike character is built. It is a prerequisite for all other virtues. |p10 When I think of how we show faith, I cannot help but think of the example of my own father. I recall vividly how the spirit of missionary work came into my life. I was about thirteen years of age when my father received a call to go on a mission. It was during an epidemic in our little |P46|p1 community of Whitney, Idaho. Parents were encouraged to go to sacrament meeting, but the children were to remain home to avoid contracting the disease. |p2 Father and Mother went to sacrament meeting in a one-horse buggy. At the close of the meeting, the storekeeper opened the store just long enough for the farmers to get their mail, since the post office was in the store. There were no purchases, but in this way the farmers saved a trip to the post office on Monday. There was no rural postal delivery in those days. |p3 As Father drove the horse homeward, Mother opened the mail, and, to their surprise, there was a letter from Box B in Salt Lake City--a call to go on a mission. No one asked if one were ready, willing, or able. The bishop was supposed to know, and the bishop was Grandfather George T. Benson, my father's father. |p4 As Father and Mother drove into the yard, they were both crying--something we had never seen in our family. We gathered around the buggy--there were seven of us then--and asked them what was the matter. |p5 They said, "Everything's fine." |p6 "Why are you crying then?" we asked. |p7 "Come into the living room and we'll explain." |p8 We gathered around the old sofa in the living room, and Father told us about his mission call. Then Mother said, "We're proud to know that Father is considered worthy to go on a mission. We're crying a bit because it means two years of separation. You know, your father and I have never been separated more than two nights at a time since our marriage--and that's when Father was gone into the canyon to get logs, posts, and firewood." |p9 And so Father went on his mission. Though at the time I did not fully comprehend the depths of my father's commitment, I understand better now that his willing acceptance of this call was evidence of his great faith. Every holder of the priesthood, whether young or old, should strive to develop that kind of faith. |p10 Peter goes on to say that we must add to our faith virtue. A priesthood holder is virtuous. Virtuous behavior implies that he has pure thoughts and clean actions. He will not lust in his heart, for to do so is to "deny the faith" and to lose the Spirit (D&C 42:23)--and there is nothing more important in this work than the Spirit. You've heard me say that many times. |p11 He will not commit adultery "nor do anything like unto it" (D&C 59:6). This means fornication, homosexual behavior, self-abuse, child molestation, or any other sexual perversion. This means that a young man will honor young women and treat them with respect. He would never do anything that would deprive them of that, which in Mormon's words, is "most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue" (Moroni 9:9). |p12 Virtue is akin to holiness, an attribute of godliness. A priesthood holder should actively seek for that which is virtuous and lovely and not that which is debasing or sordid. Virtue will garnish his thoughts unceasingly (see D&C 121:45). How can any man indulge himself in the evils of pornography, profanity, or vulgarity and consider himself totally virtuous? |p13 Whenever a priesthood holder departs from the path of virtue in any form or expression, he loses the Spirit and comes under Satan's power. He then receives the wages of him whom he has chosen to serve. As a result, sometimes the Church must take disciplinary action, for we cannot condone or pardon unvirtuous and unrepentant actions. All priesthood holders must be morally clean to be worthy to bear the authority of Jesus Christ. |p14 The next step Peter describes in the growth process is to add knowledge to our faith and virtue. The Lord has told us that "it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance" (D&C 131:6). In another place God commanded, "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118). Every priesthood holder should make learning a lifetime pursuit. While any study of truth is of value, the truths of salvation are the most important truths any person can learn. The Lord's question "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26) can be applied to educational pursuits as well as the pursuit of worldly goods. The Lord might also have asked, "For what is a man profited, if he shall learn everything in the world and not learn how to be saved?" |p15 We must balance our secular learning with spiritual learning. You young men should be as earnest in enrolling in seminary and learning the scriptures as you are in working toward high school graduation. Young adults enrolled in universities and colleges or other postsecondary training should avail themselves of the opportunity to take institute of religion courses or, if attending a Church school, take at least one religion course every term. Joining our spiritual education to our secular |P47|p1 learning will help us keep focused on the things that matter most in this life. Though I am speaking to you priesthood holders, the same admonition applies to the women of the Church as well as to the men. |p2 President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., spoke of the desired balance in these words: "There is spiritual learning just as there is material learning, and the one without the other is not complete; yet, speaking for myself, if I could have only one sort of learning, that which I would take would be the learning of the spirit, because in the hereafter I shall have opportunity in the eternities which are to come to get the other, and without spiritual learning here my handicaps in the hereafter would be all but overwhelming" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1934, p. 94). |p3 President Spencer W. Kimball said it this way: "Youth, beloved youth, can you see why we must let spiritual training take first place?--Why we must pray with faith, and perfect our own lives like the Savior's? Can you see that the spiritual knowledge may be complemented with the secular in this life and on for eternities but that the secular without the foundation of the spiritual is but like the foam upon the milk, the fleeting shadow? |p4 "Do not be deceived! One need not choose between the two but only as to the sequence, for there is opportunity for one to get both simultaneously; but can you see that the seminary courses should be given even preferential attention over the high school subjects; the institute over the college course; the study of the scriptures ahead of the study of man-written texts; the association with the Church more important than clubs, fraternities, and sororities; the payment of tithing more important than paying tuitions and fees? |p5 "Can you see that the ordinances of the temple are more important than the PhD or any and all other academic degrees?" ("Beloved Youth, Study and Learn," in Life's Directions: A Series of Fireside Addresses, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1962, p. 190). |p6 When our formal education has been completed, we should make daily study of the scriptures a lifetime pursuit. What I said last April to priesthood leaders applies to every priesthood holder as well: |p7 "I add my voice to these wise and inspired brethren and say to you that one of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently. Feast upon the words of Christ. Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. . . . Few other efforts . . . will bring greater dividends to your calling. . . . Few other ways [will result in] greater inspiration. . . . |p8 "You must . . . see that studying and searching the scriptures is not a burden laid upon [us] by the Lord, but a marvelous blessing and opportunity" (Ensign, May 1986, p. 81). |p9 Another attribute described by Peter as being part of the divine nature is temperance. A priesthood holder is temperate. This means he is restrained in his emotions and verbal expressions. He does things in moderation and is not given to overindulgence. In a word, he has self-control. He is the master of his emotions, not the other way around. |p10 A priesthood holder who would curse his wife, abuse her with words or actions, or do the same to one of his own children is guilty of grievous sin. "Can ye be angry, and not sin?" asked the Apostle Paul (JST Ephesians 4:26). |p11 If a man does not control his temper, it is a sad admission that he is not in control of his thoughts. He then becomes a victim of his own passions and emotions, which lead him to actions that are totally unfit for civilized behavior, let alone behavior for a priesthood holder. |p12 President David 0. McKay once said, "A man who cannot control his temper is not very likely to control his passion, and no matter what his pretensions in religion, he moves in daily life very close to the animal plane" (Improvement Era, June 1958, p. 407). |p13 To our temperance we are to add patience. A priesthood holder is to be patient. Patience is another form of self-control. It is the ability to postpone gratification and to bridle one's passions. In his relationships with loved ones, a patient man does not engage in impetuous behavior that he will later regret. Patience is composure under stress. A patient man is understanding of others' faults. |p14 A patient man also waits on the Lord. We sometimes read or hear of people who seek a blessing from the Lord, then grow impatient when it does not come swiftly. Part of the divine nature is to trust in the Lord enough to "be still and know that [he is] God" (D&C 101:16). |p15 A priesthood holder who is patient will be tolerant of the mistakes and failings of his loved ones. Because he loves them, he will not find fault nor criticize nor blame. |p16 Another attribute mentioned by Peter is kindness. A priesthood holder is kind. One who is kind is sympathetic and gentle with others. He is considerate of others' feelings and courteous in his behavior. He has a helpful nature. Kindness pardons others' weaknesses and faults. Kindness is extended to all--to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of station as well as the high. |p17 These are the true attributes of the divine nature. Can you see how we become more Christlike as we are more virtuous, more kind, more patient, and more in control of our emotional feelings? |p18 The apostle Paul used some vivid expressions to illustrate that a member of the Church must be different from the world. He commended us to "put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27), "put off . . . the old man," and "put on the new man" (Ephesians 4:22, 24). |p19 The final and crowning virtue of the divine character is charity, or the pure love of Christ (see Moroni 7:47). If we would truly seek to be more like our Savior and Master, then learning to love as He loves should be our highest goal. Mormon called charity "the greatest of all" (Moroni 7:46). |p20 The world today speaks a great deal about love, and it is sought for by many. But the pure love of Christ differs greatly from what the world thinks of love. Charity never seeks selfish gratification. The pure love of Christ seeks only the eternal growth and joy of others. |p21 When I think of charity, I again think of my father and that day he was called on his mission. I suppose some in the world might say that his acceptance of that call was proof he did not really love his family. To leave seven children and an expectant wife at home alone for two years, how could that be true love? |P48|p1 But my father knew a greater vision of love. He knew that "all things shall work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). He knew that the best thing he could do for his family was to obey God. |p2 While we missed him greatly during those years, and while his absence brought many challenges to our family, his acceptance proved to be a gift of charity. Father went on his mission, leaving Mother at home with seven children. (The eighth was born four months after he arrived in the field.) But there came into that home a spirit of missionary work that never left it. It was not without some sacrifice. Father had to sell our old dry farm in order to finance his mission. He had to move a married couple into part of our home to take care of the row crops, and he left his sons and wife the responsibility for the hay land, the pasture land, and a small herd of dairy cows. |p3 Father's letters were indeed a blessing to our family. To us children, they seemed to come from halfway around the world, but they were only from Springfield and Chicago, Illinois, and Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown, Iowa. Yes, there came into our home, as a result of Father's mission, a spirit of missionary work that never left it. |p4 Later the family grew to eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. All seven sons filled missions, some of them two or three missions. Later, two daughters and their husbands filled full-time missions. The two other sisters, both widows--one the mother of eight and the other the mother of ten--served as missionary companions in Birmingham, England. |p5 It is a legacy that still continues to bless the Benson family even into the third and fourth generations. Was not this truly a gift of love? |p6 This is what the Savior means when He speaks of the kind of men we should be. Does not His own life reflect perfect diligence, perfect faith, perfect virtue? If we are to be like Him, we too must become partakers of the divine nature. |p7 The Savior declared that life eternal is to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ (see John 17:3). If this is true, and I bear you my solemn witness that it is true, then we must ask how we come to know God. The process of adding one godly attribute to another, as described by Peter, becomes the key to gaining this knowledge that leads to eternal life. Note Peter's promise, which immediately follows the process described: |p8 "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:8; italics added). |p9 Oh, my beloved brethren, I pray that these qualities and attributes of the Savior may abound in us so that when we stand at the Judgment and He asks each one of us, "What manner of man are ye?" we can raise our heads in gratitude and joy and answer, "Even as thou art." This is my humble prayer for each and every priesthood holder in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. |p10 Now, brethren, I would like to read to you a statement recently approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve: |p11 "In harmony with the needs of the growth of the Church across the world, the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles have given prayerful consideration to the role of the stake seventies quorums in the Church and have determined to take the following action relative thereto: |p12 "1. The seventies quorums in the stakes of the Church are to be discontinued, and the brethren now serving as seventies in these quorums will be asked to return to membership in the elders quorums of their wards. Stake presidents, in an orderly fashion, may then determine who among such brethren should be ordained to the office of high priest. |p13 "This change does not affect the First Quorum of the Seventy, members of which are all General Authorities of the Church. |p14 "2. Particular emphasis is to be given in stake missions to cooperating with the full-time proselyting missionaries by finding, friendshipping, fellowshipping, and fostering member participation in all missionary activities. A missionary-minded elder or high priest will be called as the stake mission president with his counselors being selected from among the elders or high priests. |p15 "Additional detailed instructions regarding this announcement will be provided local priesthood leaders by letter from the First Presidency. |p16 "At this time, we commend all who have served both past and present as members of stake seventies quorums of the Church and who have so ably given of their time, talents, and resources in spreading forth the gospel of Jesus Christ." October 5, 1986 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson The Gift of Modern Revelation President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brothers and sisters, on this glorious occasion as we have gathered here together, I wish to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for the gift of modern revelation and particularly for the books of Latter-day scripture which He has given us. |p2 I love the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments. It is a source of great truth. It teaches us about the life and ministry of the Master. From its pages we learn of the hand of God in directing the affairs of His people from the very beginning of the earth's history. It would be difficult to underestimate the impact the Bible has had on the history of the world. Its pages have blessed the lives of generations. |p3 But as generation followed generation, no additional scripture came forth to the children of men. Without additional revelation to guide them, men began to interpret the Bible differently. Numerous churches and creeds developed, each using the Bible as its authoritative source. |p4 But this in no way lessens the worth of the Bible. That sacred and holy book has been of inestimable worth to the children of men. In fact, it was a passage from the Bible that inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to go to a grove of trees near his home and kneel in prayer. What followed was the glorious vision that commenced the restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. That vision also began the process of bringing forth new scripture to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Bible in bearing witness to a wicked world that Jesus is the Christ and that God lives and loves His children and is still intimately involved in their salvation and exaltation. |p5 Through the prophet Nephi, the Lord warned against those who might say that the Bible was all the scripture the world would need. He said: |p6 "Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, . . . and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? . . . |p7 "Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? . . . |p8 "And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever" (2 Nephi 29:7-9). |P79|p1 Today we have three new books of scripture: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I love all of these sacred volumes. This afternoon I would like to speak particularly about the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. These two great books of latter-day scripture are bound together as revelations from Israel's God for the purpose of gathering and preparing His people for the second coming of the Lord. As President John Taylor wrote, the bringing forth of these two sacred volumes "cost the best blood of the nineteenth century" (D&C 135:6), namely the lives of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. |p2 To the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said, "This generation shall have my word through you" (D&C 5:10). The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants are part of the fulfillment of that promise. Together these two great works of scripture bring great blessings to this generation. |p3 Each of these two books of modern scripture contains a powerful proclamation to the world. The Book of Mormon title page declares its purpose is threefold: to show what great things the Lord has done, to teach of the covenants of the Lord, and to convince both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. |p4 Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants is the Lord's preface to the book. The Doctrine and Covenants is the only book in the world that has a preface written by the Lord Himself. In that preface He declares to the world that His voice is unto all men (see v. 2), that the coming of the Lord is nigh (see v. 12), and that the truths found in the Doctrine and Covenants will all be fulfilled (see vs. 37-38). |p5 Each of these two great latter-day scriptures bears powerful and eloquent witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Virtually every page of both the Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon teaches about the Master--His great love for His children and His atoning sacrifice--and teaches us how to live so that we can return to Him and our Heavenly Father. |p6 Each of these two great latter-day books of scripture contains the knowledge and the power to help us live better lives in a time of great wickedness and evil. Those who carefully and prayerfully search the pages of these books will find comfort, counsel, guidance, and the quiet power to improve their lives. |p7 Of the Book of Mormon President Marion G. Romney has said: |p8 "If our young folks are traditioned in the teachings of the Book of Mormon, they will not only be inspired with righteous courage to choose the right by example, . . . they will also be so schooled in the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they will know what is right. |p9 "From almost every page of the book, there will come to them a moving testimony that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Redeemer and Savior. This witness alone will be a sustaining anchor in every storm" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1960, p. 112; italics added). |p10 Speaking of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "If we will put them into practice, if we will keep the commandments of the Lord, we will know the truth and there shall be no weapon formed against us that shall prosper. There shall be no false doctrines, no teaching of men that will deceive us. . . . If we will search these revelations then we will be fortified against errors and we will be made strong" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1931, p. 17). |p11 Many years before the coming of the Savior to this earth, the prophet Enoch saw the latter days. He observed the great wickedness that would prevail on the earth at this time and foretold the "great tribulations" that would result from such wickedness; but in the midst of what was otherwise a very gloomy prophecy, the Lord promised, "But my people will I preserve" (Moses 7:61). How would He do so? Note what the Lord Himself promised He would do to preserve His people. He said: |p12 "And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; . . . and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare" (Moses 7:62; italics added). |p13 The Lord promised, therefore, that righteousness would come from heaven and truth out of the earth. We have seen the marvelous fulfillment of that prophecy in our generation. The Book of Mormon has come forth out of the earth, filled with truth, serving as the very "keystone of our religion" (see Introduction to the Book of Mormon). God has also sent down |P80|p1 righteousness from heaven. The Father Himself appeared with His Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The angel Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and numerous other angels were directed by heaven to restore the necessary powers to the kingdom. Further, the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelation after revelation from the heavens during those first critical years of the Church's growth. These revelations have been preserved for us in the Doctrine and Covenants. |p2 These two great works of scripture, then, become a major tool in the Lord's hand for preserving His people in the latter days: the Book of Mormon, written under the hand of inspiration for our day, preserved through the centuries to come forth in our time, translated by the gift and power of God. It is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of our testimony. It is a keystone in the witness of Jesus Christ. It is a keystone in helping us avoid the deceptions of the evil one in these latter days. Satan rages in the hearts of men and has power over all of his dominions (see D&C 1:35). But the Book of Mormon has greater power--power to reveal false doctrine, power to help us overcome temptations, power to help us get closer to God than any other book (see Introduction to the Book of Mormon). |p3 The Book of Mormon must be reenthroned in the minds and hearts of our people. We must honor it by reading it, by studying it, by taking its precepts into our lives and transforming them into lives required of the true followers of Christ. Speaking of the central role of the Book of Mormon in our worship, President Joseph Fielding Smith said: |p4 "It seems to me that any member of this Church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again, and thoroughly considered it so that he or she could bear witness that it is in very deed a record with the inspiration of the Almighty upon it, and that its history is true. . . . |p5 "No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1961, p. 18; italics added). |p6 Likewise, the Doctrine and Covenants becomes an essential part of our spiritual life. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "In these infant days of the Church, there was great anxiety to obtain the word of the Lord upon every subject that in any way concerned our salvation" (History of the Church, 1:207). |p7 Thus, the Doctrine and Covenants is a glorious book of scripture given directly to our generation. It contains the will of the Lord for us in these last days that precede the second coming of Christ. It contains many truths and doctrines not fully revealed in other scripture. Like the Book of Mormon, it will strengthen those who carefully and prayerfully study from its pages. |p8 Do we, as Saints of the Most High God, treasure the word He has preserved for us at so great a cost? Are we using these books of latter-day revelation to bless our lives and resist the powers of the evil one? This is the purpose for which they were given. How can we not stand condemned before the Lord if we treat them lightly by letting them do no more than gather dust on our shelves? |p9 My beloved brothers and sisters, I bear my solemn witness that these books contain the mind and the will of the Lord for us in these days of trial and tribulation. They stand with the Bible to give witness of the Lord and His work. These books contain the voice of the Lord to us in these latter days. May we turn to them with full purpose of heart and use them in the way the Lord wishes them to be used, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 4, 1987 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson The Savior's Visit to America President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My dear brothers and sisters, as we commence another great general conference of the Church, my heart is full of love and gratitude to the Latter-day Saints throughout the world. |p2 During the past six months I have been deeply touched by the response of members of the Church who have heeded counsel to read and reread the word of the Lord as set forth in the Book of Mormon. This has resulted in increased spirituality and is helping to cleanse the inner vessel. |p3 Adults, youth, and children have borne powerful testimonies as to how the Book of Mormon has changed their lives. My life, too, continues to be changed by this sacred volume of scripture. |p4 Recently I have been reading again the marvelous account in the Book of Mormon of the visit of the resurrected Savior to the American continent. As Easter approaches, I have been deeply impressed with the beauty and power of this scriptural account in 3 Nephi, and with its great value for our time and our generation. |p5 The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior's visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior's second coming. The Nephite civilization had reached great heights. They were prosperous and industrious. They had built many cities with great highways connecting them. They engaged in shipping and trade. They built temples and palaces. |p6 But, as so often happens, the people rejected the Lord. Pride became commonplace. Dishonesty and immorality were widespread. Secret combinations flourished because, as Helaman tells us, the Gadianton robbers "had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils" (Helaman 6:38). "The people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning" (3 Nephi 6:12). And "Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world," even as today (v. 15). |p7 Mormon noted that the Nephites "did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them" (v. 18). |p8 There were but few righteous among them (see v. 14). Nephi led the Church with great power and performed many miracles, yet "there were but few who were converted unto the Lord" (v. 21). The people as a whole rejected the Lord. They stoned the prophets and persecuted those who sought to follow Christ. |p9 And then the God of nature intervened, even Jesus Christ. A storm began such as had never before been known in all the land. Lightning flashed and thunder shook the earth. Violent winds carried people away, never to be seen again. |p10 "Many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain" (3 Nephi 8:14). |p11 "The whole face of the land was changed" (v. 12). |p12 For three hours the forces of nature raged. Finally when the thunder, lightning, storm, tempest, and quaking had ceased, a thick darkness settled over the land. For three days no light could be seen, no candle could be lit. The vapor of darkness was so thick that it could be felt, "and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people. . . . " |p13 They were heard to cry and mourn, saying: "O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out" (vs. 23, 25). |p14 Then a voice began to speak--a voice from the heavens that was heard throughout the entire land. |p15 The voice spoke of the terrible destruction and announced that this was a direct result of the wickedness and the abominations among the people. |p16 Imagine the feelings of the people when the voice asked, "Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?" (3 Nephi 9:13). |p17 Then the voice identified itself. "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God" (v. 15). It was the voice of the |P5|p1 very person who had been mocked and ridiculed and rejected by the wicked! It was the voice of Him whom the prophets proclaimed and for whom they were stoned and killed! It was the voice of the Master! |p2 He declared that by Him redemption came, that in Him the law of Moses was fulfilled, and that they were to offer a sacrifice unto Him of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. |p3 When the darkness had dispersed, a great multitude gathered around the temple in the land of Bountiful. Twenty-five hundred men, women, and children had come together. As they were conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death, they once again heard the voice. |p4 Mormon tells us that "it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn" (3 Nephi 11:3). The first time and the second time the voice spoke, the people heard it but could not understand it. |p5 The record then states that "again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it. . . . |p6 "And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them: |p7 "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name--hear ye him" (vs. 5-7). |p8 How few people in all the history of the world have heard the actual voice of God the Father speaking to them. As the people looked heavenward, "they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them" (v. 8). |p9 A glorious, resurrected being, a member of the Godhead, the Creator of innumerable worlds, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, stood before their very eyes! |p10 "And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: |p11 "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. |p12 "And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning" (vs. 9-11). |p13 The whole multitude fell to the earth. Jesus commanded them to rise and come forth unto Him. He invited them to thrust their hands into his side and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet. One by one each of the twenty-five hundred present went forth. |p14 Indeed they "did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come" (v. 15). |p15 When the last one had stood face to face with the Savior and had come to know with an absolute surety of the reality of His resurrection, "they did cry out with one accord: "Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him" (vs. 16-17). |p16 He called the faithful prophet Nephi and others and commissioned them with power and authority to |P6|p1 baptize in His name. |p2 The Savior taught the people: "Ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 38). |p3 He gave them the glorious sermon which we today call the Sermon on the Mount. |p4 And then He said: |p5 "I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time. |p6 "Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again" (3 Nephi 17:2-3). |p7 As the Master announced His departure, "he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them" (v. 5). |p8 Moved with tender compassion, the resurrected Lord commanded them to bring their sick, their handicapped, their diseased. |p9 "And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude, with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him" (v. 9). |p10 The Savior then called for the little children. He commanded the multitude to kneel as He prayed to the Father. |p11 Mormon tells us that "no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things" as were spoken in that prayer (v. 17). Then, weeping with joy, Jesus took the little children to Him one by one and blessed them. Finally, turning to the multitude, He said, "Behold your little ones" (v. 23). |p12 As they lifted their eyes, "they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them" (v. 24). |p13 There is not time to speak of all the remarkable events of that glorious day and the days that followed. But it is clear that 3 Nephi contains some of the most moving and powerful passages in all scripture. It testifies of Jesus Christ, His prophets, and the doctrines of salvation. At this Easter time, what a blessing it would be if every family would read together 3 Nephi, discuss its sacred contents, and then determine how they can liken it unto themselves and apply its teachings in their lives. |p14 Third Nephi is a book that should be read and read again. Its testimony of the resurrected Christ in America is given in purity and beauty. As the Savior prepared to leave his disciples, he said unto them: |p15 "Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you--that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. |p16 "And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. . . . |p17 "And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world. . . . |p18 "And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. |p19 "Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. |P7|p1 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel" (3 Nephi 27: 13-14, 16, 19-21). |p2 The mission of the resurrected Christ did not end with His appearance to those in the Holy Land or even to those in ancient America, for the continuing miracle is that He has revealed Himself again to men in our day. |p3 In section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants the Prophet Joseph Smith records the marvelous vision which he and Sidney Rigdon had. The Prophet declared: |p4 "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! |p5 "For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-- |p6 "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (vs. 22-24). |p7 Now what does all of this mean to us? It means that as Christ lives today with a resurrected body, so shall we. It means that life is a probation, to be followed by death, resurrection, and judgment. |p8 In the Book of Mormon, the keystone of our religion, we read: "Death comes upon mankind . . . ; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead" (Alma 12:24). |p9 All shall rise from the dead. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, and we shall be brought to stand before God, and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, to be judged according to our works, whether they be good or whether they be evil" (see Alma 11:42-44). |p10 In light of our mortal probation, our future resurrection, and our final judgment, we need to remember the question which the resurrected Lord posed to His disciples as recorded in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. |p11 He asked them, "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?" And He answered, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (3 Nephi 27:27). |p12 He is our Exemplar, our Redeemer, our Lord. |p13 I testify that 3 Nephi is a true account of the resurrected Christ's visit to ancient America and contains His teachings in their pristine truth. |p14 I testify that Jesus is the Christ and that He stands at the head of His Church today, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |p15 I testify that He will come again in power and great glory and that He will leave nothing undone for our eternal welfare. |p16 May we daily be the manner of men He is and thus be prepared to meet and dwell with Him, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 4, 1987, General Priesthood Meeting To the Home Teachers of the Church President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren of the priesthood, it has been a joy to be with you this evening and to be instructed by these choice men of God. I have felt of your power and faith, and I commend you for your attendance here tonight. |p2 I rejoice in this opportunity to say a few words to you tonight. I feel impressed to speak to you about a priesthood program that has been inspired from its inception--a program that touches hearts, that changes lives, and that saves souls; a program that has the stamp of approval of our Father in Heaven; a program so vital that, if faithfully followed, it will help to spiritually renew the Church and exalt its individual members and families. |p3 I am speaking about priesthood home teaching. With all my heart, I pray that you will understand, by the Spirit, exactly my feelings about home teaching. |p4 Brethren, home teaching is not just another program. It is the priesthood way of watching over the Saints and accomplishing the mission of the Church. Home teaching is not just an assignment. It is a sacred calling. |p5 Home teaching is not to be undertaken casually. A home teaching call is to be accepted as if extended to you personally by the Lord Jesus Christ. |p6 The Savior Himself was a teacher. The only perfect man to walk the face of the earth was a humble, dedicated, inspired teacher who brought to His followers salvation and exaltation. |p7 Oh, that all the brethren of the Church would catch that vision of home teaching! |p8 Tonight I am not teaching new doctrine, but I am reaffirming old doctrine. Quoting from section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants, revealed to the Prophet Joseph in April of 1830, the Lord declared to the priesthood: |p9 "Watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them; |p10 "And see that there is no iniquity in the church. . . . |p11 "And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty" (vs. 53-55). |p12 "And visit the house of each |P49|p1 member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties" (v. 51). |p2 Brethren, that is priesthood home teaching. |p3 This kind of teaching was done in Christ's time by His early disciples. It was practiced in Book of Mormon times. In the first chapter of Jacob, we read: |p4 "For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi. |p5 "And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence" (vs. 18-19). |p6 From the beginning of this inspired program in our day, leaders of the Church have emphasized over and over again the importance of home teaching. |p7 President Marion G. Romney, in general conference, declared, "Home teaching, properly functioning, brings to ÷the house of each member' two priesthood bearers divinely commissioned and authoritatively called into the service by their priesthood leader and bishop. These home teachers--priesthood bearers--carry the heavy and glorious responsibility of representing the Lord Jesus Christ in looking after the welfare of each Church member. They are to encourage and inspire every member to discharge his duty, both family and Church" (Home teaching meeting, 8 Apr. 1966). |p8 President David O. McKay stated, "Home teaching is one of our most urgent and most rewarding opportunities to nurture and inspire, to counsel and direct our Father's children. . . . It is a divine service, a divine call. It is our duty as home teachers to carry the divine spirit into every home and heart. To love the work and do our best will bring unbounded peace, joy, and satisfaction to a noble, dedicated teacher of God's children" (foreword to Leaders' Handbook). |p9 My good brethren of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Aaronic Priesthood, home teaching is an inspired program. |p10 It is the heart of caring, of loving, of reaching out to the one--both the active and the less active. |p11 It is priesthood compassionate service. |p12 It is how we express our faith in practical works. |p13 It is one of the tests of true discipleship. |P50|p1 It is the heart of the activation effort of the Church. |p2 It is a calling that helps to fulfill the scriptural injunction "Out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33). |p3 There is no greater Church calling than that of a home teacher. There is no greater Church service rendered to our Father in Heaven's children than the service rendered by a humble, dedicated, committed home teacher. |p4 There are three fundamentals that are essential to effective home teaching. May I discuss these briefly. |p5 First, know well those you are to home teach. |p6 Really know them! You can't serve well those you don't know well. President Marion G. Romney emphasized this: |p7 "Each pair of home teachers should become ÷personally' acquainted with every child, youth, and adult in the family to whom they are assigned. |p8 "To perform fully our duty as a home teacher, we should be continually aware of the attitudes, the activities and interests, the problems, the employment, the health, the happiness, the plans and purposes, the physical, temporal, and spiritual needs and circumstances of everyone--of every child, every youth, and every adult in the homes and families who have been placed in our trust and care as a bearer of the priesthood, and as a representative of the bishop" (source?) |p9 And the key to effectively working with the family is to be close to the father. Know his righteous desires for his family and help him to realize them. And I would urge you to do the little things, the small things that mean so much to a family. For example, know the names of all the family members. Be aware of birthdays, blessings, baptisms, and marriages. On occasion, write an appropriate note of commendation or make a phone call congratulating a member of the family on a special achievement or accomplishment. |p10 With your home teaching companion, regularly review pages 8 and 9 of the Melchizedek Priesthood Handbook for some excellent suggestions on how to be helpful to those you home teach. |p11 Above all, be a genuine friend to the individuals and families you teach. As the Savior declared to us, "I will call you friends, for you are my friends" (D&C 93:45). A friend makes more than a dutiful visit each month. A friend is more concerned about helping people than getting credit. A friend cares. A friend loves. A friend listens, and a friend reaches out. |p12 We remember the story President Romney used to tell about the so-called home teacher who once called at the Romney home on a cold night. He kept his hat in his hand and shifted nervously when invited to sit down and give his message. "Well, I'll tell you, Brother Romney," he responded, "it's cold outside, and I left my car engine running so it wouldn't stop. I just stopped in so I could tell the bishop I made my calls." |p13 We can do better than that, brethren--much better. |p14 The second fundamental to effective home teaching is to know well the message you are to deliver in each home. And know that it is the particular message the Lord would have you give to the families and individuals you have been asked to serve. |p15 Home teachers should have a purpose or goal in mind and should plan each visit to help meet that purpose. Before making their visits, home teaching partners should meet together to pray, to review instructions from their leaders, to go over the message they will take to the families, and to discuss any special needs. |p16 Home teachers should present an important message that they have prepared or that they bring from priesthood leaders. We strongly recommend that the home teachers use the monthly message from the First Presidency printed in the Ensign and the Church's international magazines. The head of the family may also request a special message for family members. |p17 And, as a vital part of that message, whenever possible, read together the scriptures with the families you home teach. Make this a regular part of your visit. Especially read together verses from the Book of Mormon that will fortify your message, always remembering the words of the Prophet Joseph, that "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by [the] precepts [of the Book of Mormon], than by any other book" (Book of Mormon Introduction). Your families need the continual strength of the Book of Mormon. |p18 May our message be like Alma instructed the teachers of his day: "He commanded them that they should |P51|p1 teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets" (Mosiah 18:19). |p2 Carry the right message, and then teach with the Spirit. The Spirit is the single most important ingredient in this work. Through the Spirit, the individuals and families you teach will know of your love and concern for them and will also know of the truthfulness of your message and will have a desire to follow it. |p3 As home teachers, live the kind of lives yourselves that will invite the Spirit. Live the gospel so you can effectively teach it. |p4 Alma instructs us: "Trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments. . . . |p5 "Therefore [Alma] consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men. |p6 "Therefore they did watch over their people, and did nourish them with things pertaining to righteousness" (Mosiah 23:14, 17-18). |p7 Also remember that, whenever possible, praying in the home should be a part of every home teaching visit. As you may be called upon to pray, pray with the Spirit, pray with real intent, and invoke the Lord's blessings upon the individuals and families you are teaching. |p8 Yes, the second fundamental to effective home teaching is to know well your message, teach it by the Spirit, and make praying and reading the scriptures an integral part of that message. |p9 May I now suggest the third and final ingredient to effective home teaching--and that is to truly magnify your calling as a home teacher. |p10 Do not settle for mediocrity in this great priesthood program of home teaching. Be an excellent home teacher in every facet of the work. Be a real shepherd of your flock. Make your home teaching visit early in the month, allowing enough time for additional follow-up contacts as necessary. |p11 Whenever possible, make a definite appointment for each visit. Let your families know when you are coming, and respect their time. |p12 Melchizedek Priesthood bearers, when you have an Aaronic Priesthood young man as your companion, train him well. Use him effectively in working with your families and in teaching them. Have these young men feel of your love of home teaching so that when they become senior companions they will love their callings and magnify them as you have. |p13 Remember, both quality and quantity home teaching is essential in being an effective home teacher. You should have quality visits, but you should also make contact with each of your families each month. As shepherds to all of your families, both active and less active, you should not be content with only reaching the ninety and nine. Your goal should be 100 percent home teaching every month. |p14 So that this can be quality home teaching, we urge priesthood leaders not to assign more than three to five families or individuals to a pair of home teachers. This may be a challenge in some cases, but we would invite you to give prayerful consideration to these assignments. |p15 Keeping faithful track of each member you are called to home teach is essential. The Book of Mormon beautifully teaches this principle. In the sixth chapter of Moroni we read: "And after they had been received unto baptism, . . . they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith" (v. 4). |p16 Brethren, may we remember all of our individuals and families and "number" them each month and nourish them by the good word of God to keep them in the right way. |p17 We call upon quorum leaders to conduct spiritual monthly home teaching interviews, receive a report on the home teachers' activities, evaluate current needs, make assignments for the coming month, and teach, strengthen, and inspire the home teachers in their sacred callings. Such interviews with home teachers provide a setting for leaders to measure progress and better serve the individuals and members they have been called to serve. |p18 May I close by bearing you my personal testimony regarding home teaching. I can remember, as if it were yesterday, growing up as a young boy in Whitney, Idaho. We were a farm family, and when we boys were out working in the field, I remember Father calling to us in a shrill voice from the barnyard: "Tie up your teams, boys, and come on in. The ward teachers are here." Regardless of what we were doing, that was the signal to assemble in the sitting room to hear the ward teachers. |p19 These two faithful priesthood bearers would come each month either by foot or by horseback. We always knew they would come. I can't remember one miss. And we would have a great visit. They would stand behind a chair and talk to the family. They would go around the circle and ask each child how he or she was doing and if we were doing our duty. Sometimes Mother and Father would prime us before the ward teachers came so we would have the right answers. But it was an important time for us as a family. They always had a message, and it was always a good one. |p20 We have refined home teaching a lot since those early days in Whitney. But it is still basically the same. The same principles are involved: caring, reaching out, teaching by the Spirit, leaving an important message each month, and having a concern and love for each member of the family. |p21 God bless the home teachers of this Church. You are in the front line of defense to watch over and strengthen the individual and the family unit. |p22 Understand the sacredness of your calling and the divine nature of your responsibility. |p23 Know well those you are to home teach. Know well your message, and deliver it with the Spirit. And finally, truly magnify your calling as a home teacher. |p24 As you do this, I promise you the blessings of heaven and the indescribable joy that comes from helping to touch hearts, change lives, and save souls. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 5, 1987 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, I rejoice in this great conference. I am a better man because I was here. I thank the Lord for the great record that has been made. This has been another glorious conference of the Church. I commend to each of you the counsel of these, my brethren, who have spoken to us. I love them and sustain them, and I love the members of the Church everywhere. |p2 I would like to speak about two sacred volumes of modern scripture--the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. |p3 The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants are bound together as revelations from Israel's God to gather and prepare His people for the second coming of the Lord. |p4 The bringing forth of these sacred volumes of scripture "for the salvation of a ruined world" cost "the best blood of the nineteenth century"--that of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum (D&C 135:6). |p5 Each divine witness contains a great proclamation to all the world--the title page of the Book of Mormon, and section 1, the Lord's preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. |p6 "This generation," said the Lord to Joseph Smith, "shall have my word through you" (D&C 5:10). And so it has through the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and other modern revelations. |p7 The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants testify of each other. You cannot believe one and not the other. |p8 The Book of Mormon testifies of modern books of scripture. It refers to them as "other books" and "last records" which "establish the truth" of the Bible and make known the "plain and precious things which have been taken away" from the Bible (1 Nephi 13:39-40). |p9 Excluding the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants is by far the greatest external witness and evidence which we have from the Lord that the Book of Mormon is true. At least thirteen sections in the Doctrine and Covenants give us confirming knowledge and divine witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God (see D&C 1; 3; 5; 8; 10-11; 17-18; 20; 27; 42; 84; 135). |p10 The Doctrine and Covenants is the binding link between the Book of Mormon and the continuing work of the Restoration through the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors. |p11 In the Doctrine and Covenants we learn of temple work, eternal families, the degrees of glory, Church organization, and many other great truths of the Restoration. |p12 "Search these commandments," said the Lord of the Doctrine and Covenants, "for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. |p13 "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:37-38). |p14 The Book of Mormon brings men to Christ. The Doctrine and Covenants brings men to Christ's kingdom, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (v. 30). I know that. |p15 The Book of Mormon is the "keystone" of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the capstone, with continuing latter-day revelation. The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone. |p16 The ancient preparation of the Book of Mormon, its preservation, and its publication verify Nephi's words that "the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words" (1 Nephi 9:6). |p17 We are not required to prove that the Book of Mormon is true or is an |P84|p1 authentic record through external evidences--though there are many. It never has been the case, nor is it so now, that the studies of the learned will prove the Book of Mormon true or false. The origin, preparation, translation, and verification of the truth of the Book of Mormon have all been retained in the hands of the Lord, and the Lord makes no mistakes. You can be assured of that. |p2 God has built in His own proof system of the Book of Mormon as found in Moroni, chapter 10, and in the testimony of the Three and Eight witnesses and in various sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. |p3 We each need to get our own testimony of the Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost. Then our testimony, coupled with the Book of Mormon, should be shared with others so that they, too, can know through the Holy Ghost of its truthfulness. |p4 Nephi testifies that the Book of Mormon contains the "words of Christ" and that if people "believe in Christ," they will believe in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 33:10). |p5 It is important that in our teaching we make use of the language of holy writ. Alma said, "I . . . do command you in the language of him who hath commanded me" (Alma 5:61). |p6 The words and the way they are used in the Book of Mormon by the Lord should become our source of understanding and should be used by us in teaching gospel principles. |p7 God uses the power of the word of the Book of Mormon as an instrument to change people's lives: "As the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just--yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them--therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God" (Alma 31:5). |p8 Alma reminded his brethren of the Church how God delivered their fathers' souls from hell: "Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word" (Alma 5:7). |p9 We need to use the everlasting word to awaken those in deep sleep so they will awake "unto God." |p10 I am deeply concerned about what we are doing to teach the Saints at all levels the gospel of Jesus Christ as completely and authoritatively as do the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. By this I mean teaching the "great plan of the Eternal God," to use the words of Amulek (Alma 34:9). |p11 Are we using the messages and the method of teaching found in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures of the Restoration to teach this great plan of the Eternal God? |p12 There are many examples of teaching this great plan, but I will quote just one. It is Mormon's summary statement of Aaron's work as a missionary: |p13 "And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king--how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen. |p14 "And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name. |p15 "And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance" (Alma 22:12-14). |P85|p1 The Book of Mormon Saints knew that the plan of redemption must start with the account of the fall of Adam. In the words of Moroni, "By Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, . . . and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man" (Mormon 9:12). |p2 Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. |p3 No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. And no other book in the world explains this vital doctrine nearly as well as the Book of Mormon. |p4 Brethren and sisters, we all need to take a careful inventory of our performance and also the performance of those over whom we preside to be sure that we are teaching the "great plan of the Eternal God" to the Saints. |p5 Are we accepting and teaching what the revelations tell us about the Creation, Adam and the fall of man, and redemption from that fall through the atonement of Christ? Do we frequently review the crucial questions which Alma asks the members of the Church in the fifth chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon? |p6 Do we understand and are we effective in teaching and preaching the Atonement? What personal meaning does the Lord's suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary have for each of us? |p7 What does redemption from the Fall mean to us? In the words of Alma, do we "sing the song of redeeming love"? (Alma 5:26). |p8 Now, what should be the source for teaching the great plan of the Eternal God? The scriptures, of course--particularly the Book of Mormon. This should also include the other modern-day revelations. These should be coupled with the words of the Apostles and prophets and the promptings of the Spirit. |p9 Alma "commanded them that they should teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets" (Mosiah 18:19). |p10 The Doctrine and Covenants states, "Let them journey from thence preaching the word by the way, saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith" (D&C 52:9). |p11 Now, after we teach the great plan of the eternal God, we must personally bear our testimonies of its truthfulness. |p12 Alma, after giving a great message to the Saints about being born again and the need for them to experience a "mighty change" in their hearts, sealed his teaching with his testimony in these words: |p13 "And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? |p14 "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me" (Alma 5:45-46). |p15 Later Amulek joined Alma as his missionary companion. After Alma had delivered to the Zoramites his message concerning faith in Christ, Amulek sealed with his testimony the message of his companion in these words: |p16 "And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Alma 34:8). |p17 In His preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said that the "voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days" (D&C 1:4). |p18 The responsibility of the seed of Abraham, which we are, is to be missionaries to "bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations" (Abraham 2:9). Moses bestowed upon Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple the keys to gather Israel (see D&C 110:11). |p19 Now, what is the instrument that God has designed for this gathering? It is the same instrument that is designed to convince the world that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is His prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. It is that scripture which is the keystone of our religion. |p20 It is that most correct book which, if men will abide by its precepts, will get them closer to God than any other book. It is the Book of Mormon (see Introduction to the Book of Mormon). |p21 God bless us all to use all the scriptures, but in particular the instrument He designed to bring us to Christ--the Book of Mormon, the keystone of our religion--along with its companion volume, the capstone, the Doctrine and Covenants, the instrument to bring us to Christ's kingdom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |p22 Now, by virtue of the sacred priesthood in me vested, I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon the Latter-day Saints and upon good people everywhere. |p23 I bless you with added power to endure in righteousness amidst the growing onslaught of wickedness, about which we have heard a great deal during this conference. |p24 I promise you that as you more diligently study modern revelation on gospel subjects, your power to teach and preach will be magnified and you will so move the cause of Zion that added numbers will enter into the house of the Lord as well as the mission field. |p25 I bless you with increased desire to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon, to gather out from the world the elect of God who are yearning for the truth but know not where to find it. |p26 I promise you that, with increased attendance in the temples of our God, you shall receive increased personal revelation to bless your life as you bless those who have died. |p27 I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith is His prophet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 3, 1987 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson Our Divine Constitution President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, what a glorious blessing to be assembled in another great general conference of the Church. I ask for an interest in your faith and prayers as I speak to you about a subject that is very close to my heart and that affects the worldwide Church. |p2 We have recently celebrated the bicentennial of the signing of the United States Constitution. That commemorated the beginning of a series of events leading up to the ratification of the Constitution, implementation of the government it created, and the writing and ratification of the Bill of Rights. We look forward to the future commemoration of each of these important events during the next four years. It is as a result of these events that we are able to meet today in peace as members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. For this we should all be eternally grateful. |p3 I desire, therefore, to speak to you about our divine Constitution, which the Lord said "belongs to all mankind" (D&C 98:5) "and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles" (D&C 101:77; italics added). |p4 The Constitution of the United States has served as a model for many nations and is the oldest constitution in use today. |p5 "I established the Constitution of this land," said the Lord, "by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose" (D&C 101:80). |p6 For centuries the Lord kept America hidden in the hollow of His hand until the time was right to unveil her for her destiny in the last days. "It is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations," said Lehi, "for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance" (2 Nephi 1:8). |p7 In the Lord's due time His Spirit "wrought upon" Columbus, the pilgrims, the Puritans, and others to come to America. They testified of God's intervention in their behalf (see 1 Nephi 13:1213). The Book of Mormon records that they humbled "themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them" (1 Nephi 13:16). |p8 Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of government as the necessary great prologue leading to the restoration of the gospel. Recall what our Savior Jesus Christ said nearly two thousand years ago when He visited this promised land: "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth" (3 Nephi 21:4). America, the land of liberty, was to be the Lord's latter-day base of operations for His restored church. |p9 The Declaration of Independence affirmed the Founding Fathers' belief and trust in God in these words: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." |p10 The Doctrine and Covenants states, "We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life" (D&C 134:2). Life, liberty, property--mankind's three great rights. |p11 At the conclusion of the Declaration of Independence, they wrote, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." This Declaration was a promise that would demand terrible sacrifice on the part of its signers. Five of the signers were captured as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War, another had two sons captured. Nine died from wounds or from the hardships of the war. The Lord said He "redeemed the land by the shedding of blood" (D&C 101:80). Nephi recorded that the Founders "were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations" (1 Nephi 13:19). |P5|p1 The years immediately preceding the Constitutional Convention were filled with disappointments and threats to the newly won peace. Washington was offered a kingship, which he adamantly refused. Nephi had prophesied hundreds of years before that "this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land" (2 Nephi 10:11; italics added). |p2 Between the critical years of 1783 and 1787, an outsider viewing the affairs of the United States would have thought that the thirteen states, different in so many ways, could never effectively unite. The world powers were confident that this nation would not last. |p3 Eventually, twelve of the states met in Philadelphia to address the problem. Madison said at the beginning of the Convention that the delegates "were now digesting a plan which in its operation would decide forever the fate of Republican Government" (26 June 1787, Records of the Federal Convention; 1911, 1:423). |p4 "The Lord knoweth all things from the beginning," said Nephi, "wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his words among the children of men" (1 Nephi 9:6). |p5 Four months later, the Convention delegates had completed their work. As Gladstone said, it was "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man" (William Gladstone, North American Review, Sept.Oct. 1878, pp. 18586), and the Prophet Joseph Smith called it "a glorious standard. . . . a heavenly banner" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 147). |p6 The delegates were the recipients of heavenly inspiration. James Madison, often referred to as the father of the Constitution wrote: "It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution" (The Federalist, ed. Henry Cabot Lodge, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1983, no. 37, p. 222). |p7 Alexander Hamilton, famous as the originator of The Federalist papers and author of fifty-one of the essays, said: "For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interest" (Paul L. Ford, Essays on the Constitution of the United States, 1892, pp. 25152). |p8 Charles Pinckney, a very active participant and author of the Pinckney Plan during the Convention, said: "When the great work was done and published, I was struck with amazement. Nothing less than the superintending Hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war . . . could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole" (Essays on the Constitution, p. 412). |p9 Within ten months, the Constitution was ratified by nine states and was therefore in force for them. Prophecy had been fulfilled. |p10 During his first inaugural address in 1789, President George Washington, a man who was raised up by God, said: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have |P6|p1 been distinguished by some token of providential agency" (First Inaugural Address, 30 April 1789). |p2 In compliance with Article 6 of the Constitution, the very first act passed by Congress and signed by President Washington on June 1, 1789, was the actual oath to support the Constitution that was to be administered to various government officers. |p3 The dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple, as dictated by the Lord and found in the Doctrine and Covenants, contains these words: "May those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever" (D&C 109:54). |p5 Think of it: the Founding Fathers of this nation, those great men, appeared within those sacred walls and had their vicarious work done for them. |p6 President Wilford Woodruff spoke of it in these words: "Before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, 'You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God' " (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1946, p. 160). |p7 After he became President of the Church, President Wilford Woodruff declared that "those men who laid the foundation of this American government were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits . . . [and] were inspired of the Lord" (in Conference Report, April 1898, p. 89). |p8 Unfortunately, we as a nation have apostatized in various degrees from different Constitutional principles as proclaimed by the inspired founders. We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: "Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction" (19 July 1840, as recorded by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray; ms. in Church Historian's Office, Salt Lake City). |p9 For centuries our forefathers suffered and sacrificed that we might be the recipients of the blessings of freedom. If they were willing to sacrifice so much to establish us as a free people, should we not be willing to do the same to maintain that freedom for ourselves and for future generations? |p10 Only in this foreordained land, under its God-inspired Constitution and the resulting environment of freedom, was it possible to have established the restored church. It is our responsibility to see that this freedom is perpetuated so that the Church may more easily flourish in the future. |p11 The Lord said, "Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land" (D&C 98:6). |p12 How then can we best befriend the Constitution in this critical hour and secure the blessings of liberty and ensure the protection and guidance of our Father in Heaven? |p13 First and foremost, we must be righteous. |p14 John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (The Works of John Adams, ed. C.F. Adams, Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1851, 4:31). If the Constitution is to have continuance, this American nation, and especially the Latter-day Saints, must be virtuous. |p15 The Book of Mormon warns us relative to our living in this free land: "Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a |P7|p1 land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever" (2 Nephi 1:7). |p2 "And now," warned Moroni, "we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity" (Ether 2:9). |p3 Two great American Christian civilizations--the Jaredites and the Nephites--were swept off this land because they did not "serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ" (Ether 2:12). What will become of our civilization? |p4 Second, we must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers. |p5 Have we read the Federalist papers? Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles? Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others? Could we defend the Constitution? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound? Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it? |p6 As Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free . . . it expects what never was and never will be" (Letter to Colonel Charles Yancey, 6 Jan. 1816). |p7 Third, we must become involved in civic affairs to see that we are properly represented. |p8 The Lord said that "he holds men accountable for their acts in relation" to governments "both in making laws and administering them" (D&C 134:1). We must follow this counsel from the Lord: "Honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil" (D&C 98:10). |p9 Note the qualities that the Lord demands of those who are to represent us. They must be good, wise, and honest. |p10 Fourth, we must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, our teaching, and our advice. We must become accurately informed and then let others know how we feel. The Prophet Joseph Smith said: "It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound. 'Tis right, politically, for a man who has influence to use it . . . From henceforth I will maintain all the influence I can get" (History of the Church, 5:286). |p11 I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church--among others--men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution. |p12 I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it. |p13 I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it. |p14 We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, "a land which is choice above all other lands" (Ether 2:10). |p15 May God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. |p16 May we be equally as valiant and as free, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 3, 1987 General Priesthood Meeting President Ezra Taft Benson To the Fathers in Israel President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My dear brethren, I am grateful to be here with you in this glorious assembly of the priesthood of God. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with me and with you as I address you on a most vital subject. This evening I would like to speak to the fathers assembled here and throughout the Church about their sacred callings. |p2 I hope you young men will also listen carefully, inasmuch as you are now preparing to become the future fathers of the Church. |p3 Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released. Callings in the Church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place. But a father's calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity. |p4 President Harold B. Lee truly stated that "the most important of the Lord's work that you [fathers] will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home. Home teaching, bishopric's work, and other Church duties are all important, but the most important work is within the walls of your home" (Strengthening the Home, pamphlet, 1973, p. 7). |p5 What, then, is a father's specific responsibility within the sacred walls of his home? May I suggest two basic responsibilities of every father in Israel. |p6 First, you have a sacred responsibility to provide for the material needs of your family. |p7 The Lord clearly defined the roles of providing for and rearing a righteous posterity. In the beginning, Adam, not Eve, was instructed to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow. |p8 The Apostle Paul counsels husbands and fathers, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Timothy 5:8). |p9 Early in the history of the restored Church, the Lord specifically charged men with the obligation to provide for their wives and family. In January of 1832 He said, "Verily I say unto you, that every man who is obliged to provide for his own family, let him provide, and he shall in nowise lose his crown" (D&C 75:28). Three months |P49|p1 later the Lord said again, "Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken" (D&C 83:2). This is the divine right of a wife and mother. While she cares for and nourishes her children at home, her husband earns the living for the family, which makes this nourishing possible. |p2 In a home where there is an able-bodied husband, he is expected to be the breadwinner. Sometimes we hear of husbands who, because of economic conditions, have lost their jobs and expect the wives to go out of the home and work, even though the husband is still capable of providing for his family. In these cases, we urge the husband to do all in his power to allow his wife to remain in the home caring for the children while he continues to provide for his family the best he can, even though the job he is able to secure may not be ideal and family budgeting may have to be tighter. |p3 Also, the need for education or material things does not justify the postponing of children in order to keep the wife working as the breadwinner of the family. |p4 I remember the counsel of our beloved prophet Spencer W. Kimball to married students. He said: "I have told tens of thousands of young folks that when they marry they should not wait for children until they have finished their schooling and financial desires. . . . They should live together normally and let the children come. . . . " |p5 "I know of no scriptures," President Kimball continued, "where an authorization is given to young wives to withhold their families and go to work to put their husbands through school. There are thousands of husbands who have worked their own way through school and have reared families at the same time" ("Marriage Is Honorable," in Speeches of the Year, 1973, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1974, p. 263). |p6 Brethren of the priesthood, I continue to emphasize the importance of mothers staying home to nurture, care for, and train their children in the principles of righteousness. |p7 As I travel throughout the Church, I feel that the great majority of Latter-day Saint mothers earnestly want to follow this counsel. But we know that sometimes the mother works outside of the home at the encouragement, or even insistence, of her husband. It is he who wants the items of convenience that the extra income can buy. Not only will the family suffer in such instances, brethren, but your own spiritual growth and progression will be hampered. I say to all of you, the Lord has charged men with the responsibility to provide for their families in such a way that the wife is allowed to fulfill her role as mother in the home. |p8 Fathers, another vital aspect of providing for the material needs of your family is the provision you should be making for your family in case of an emergency. Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle. It is even more urgent today. |p9 I ask you earnestly, have you provided for your family a year's supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel? The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah. |p10 Also, are you living within your income and saving a little? |p11 Are you honest with the Lord in the payment of your tithes? Living this divine law will bring both spiritual and material blessings. |p12 Yes, brethren, as fathers in Israel you have a great responsibility to provide for the material needs of your family and to have the necessary provisions in case of emergency. |p13 Second, you have a sacred responsibility to provide spiritual leadership in your family. |p14 In a pamphlet published some years ago by the Council of the Twelve, we said the following: "Fatherhood is leadership, the most important kind of leadership. It has always been so; it always will be so. Father, with the assistance and counsel and encouragement of your eternal companion, you preside in the home" (Father, Consider Your Ways, pamphlet, 1973, pp. 4-5). |p15 However, along with that presiding position come important obligations. We sometimes hear accounts of men, even in the Church, who think that being head of the home somehow puts them in a superior role and allows them to dictate and make demands upon their family. |P50|p1 The Apostle Paul points out that "the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church" (Ephesians 5:23; italics added). That is the model we are to follow in our role of presiding in the home. We do not find the Savior leading the Church with a harsh or unkind hand. We do not find the Savior treating His Church with disrespect or neglect. We do not find the Savior using force or coercion to accomplish His purposes. Nowhere do we find the Savior doing anything but that which edifies, uplifts, comforts, and exalts the Church. Brethren, I say to you with all soberness, He is the model we must follow as we take the spiritual lead in our families. |p2 Particularly is this true in your relationship with your wife. |p3 Here again the counsel from the Apostle Paul is most beautiful and to the point. He said simply, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church" (Ephesians 5:25). |p4 In latter-day revelation the Lord speaks again of this obligation. He said, "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else" (D&C 42:22). To my knowledge there is only one other thing in all scripture that we are commanded to love with all our hearts, and that is God Himself. Think what that means! |p5 This kind of love can be shown for your wives in so many ways. First and foremost, nothing except God Himself takes priority over your wife in your life--not work, not recreation, not hobbies. Your wife is your precious, eternal helpmate--your companion. |p6 What does it mean to love someone with all your heart? It means to love with all your emotional feelings and with all your devotion. Surely when you love your wife with all your heart, you cannot demean her, criticize her, find fault with her, or abuse her by words, sullen behavior, or actions. |p7 What does it mean to "cleave unto her"? It means to stay close to her, to be loyal and faithful to her, to communicate with her, and to express your love for her. |p8 Love means being sensitive to her feelings and needs. She wants to be noticed and treasured. She wants to be told that you view her as lovely and attractive and important to you. Love means putting her welfare and self-esteem as a high priority in your life. |p9 You should be grateful that she is the mother of your children and the queen of your home, grateful that she has chosen homemaking and motherhood--to bear, to nourish, to love, and to train your children--as the noblest calling of all. |p10 Husbands, recognize your wife's intelligence and her ability to counsel with you as a real partner regarding family plans, family activities, and family budgeting. Don't be stingy with your time or with your means. |p11 Give her the opportunity to grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially as well as spiritually. |p12 Remember, brethren, love can be nurtured and nourished by little tokens. Flowers on special occasions are wonderful, but so is your willingness to help with the dishes, change diapers, get up with a crying child in the night, and leave the television or the newspaper to help with the dinner. Those are the quiet ways we say "I love you" with our actions. They bring rich dividends for such little effort. |p13 This kind of loving priesthood leadership applies to your children as well as to your wife. |p14 Mothers play an important role as the heart of the home, but this in no way lessens the equally important role fathers should play, as head of the home, in nurturing, training, and loving their children. |p15 As the patriarch in your home, you have a serious responsibility to assume leadership in working with your children. You must help create a home where the Spirit of the Lord can abide. Your place is to give direction to all family life. You should take an active part in establishing family rules and discipline. |p16 Your homes should be havens of peace and joy for your family. Surely no child should fear his own father--especially a priesthood father. A father's duty is to make his home a place of happiness and joy. He cannot do this when there is bickering, quarreling, contention, or unrighteous behavior. The powerful effect of righteous fathers in setting an example, disciplining and training, nurturing and loving is vital to the spiritual welfare of his children. |p17 With love in my heart for the fathers in Israel, may I suggest ten specific ways that fathers can give spiritual leadership to their children: |p18 1. Give father's blessings to your children. Baptize and confirm your children. Ordain your sons to the priesthood. These will become spiritual highlights in the lives of your children. |p19 2. Personally direct family prayers, daily scripture reading, and weekly family home evenings. Your personal involvement will show your children how important these activities really are. |p20 3. Whenever possible, attend Church meetings together as a family. Family worship under your |P51|p1 leadership is vital to your children's spiritual welfare. |p2 4. Go on daddy-daughter dates and father-and-sons' outings with your children. As a family, go on campouts and picnics, to ball games and recitals, to school programs, and so forth. Having Dad there makes all the difference. |p3 5. Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children. |p4 6. Have regular one-on-one visits with your children. Let them talk about what they would like to. Teach them gospel principles. Teach them true values. Tell them you love them. Personal time with your children tells them where Dad puts his priorities. |p5 7. Teach your children to work, and show them the value of working toward a worthy goal. Establishing mission funds and education funds for your children shows them what Dad considers to be important. |p6 8. Encourage good music and art and literature in your homes. Homes that have a spirit of refinement and beauty will bless the lives of your children forever. |p7 9. As distances allow, regularly attend the temple with your wife. Your children will then better understand the importance of temple marriage and temple vows and the eternal family unit. |p8 10. Have your children see your joy and satisfaction in service to the Church. This can become contagious to them, so they, too, will want to serve in the Church and will love the kingdom. |p9 Oh, husbands and fathers in Israel, you can do so much for the salvation and exaltation of your families! Your responsibilities are so important. |p10 Remember your sacred calling as a father in Israel--your most important calling in time and eternity--a calling from which you will never be released. |p11 May you always provide for the material needs of your family and, with your eternal companion at your side, may you fulfil your sacred responsibility to provide the spiritual leadership in your home. |p12 To this end I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 4, 1987 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson "Come unto Christ" President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My beloved brethren and sisters, this has been another glorious conference, for which I thank the Lord and commend my brethren for their inspired counsel and the choirs for their uplifting music. |p2 The major mission of the Book of Mormon, as recorded on its title page, is "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." |p3 The honest seeker after truth can gain the testimony that Jesus is the Christ as he prayerfully ponders the inspired words of the Book of Mormon. |p4 Over one-half of all the verses in the Book of Mormon refer to our Lord. Some form of Christ's name is mentioned more frequently per verse in the Book of Mormon than even in the New Testament. |p5 He is given over one hundred different names in the Book of Mormon. Those names have a particular significance in describing His divine nature. |p6 Let us consider some of the attributes of our Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, that show that Jesus is the Christ. Then let us confirm each of those attributes about Him with a brief quote from the Book of Mormon. |p7 He is Alive: "The life of the world . . . a life which is endless" (Mosiah 16:9). |p8 He is Constant: "The same yesterday, today, and forever" (2 Nephi 27:23). |p9 He is the Creator: "He created all things, both in heaven and in earth" (Mosiah 4:9). |p10 He is the Exemplar: He "set the example. . . . He said unto the children of men: Follow thou me" (2 Nephi 31:9,10). |p11 He is Generous: "He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation" (2 Nephi 26:24). |p12 He is Godly: He is God (see 2 Nephi 27:23). |p13 He is Good: "All things which are good cometh of God" (Moroni 7:12). |p14 He is Gracious: "He is full of grace" (2 Nephi 2:6). |p15 He is the Healer: The "sick, and . . . afflicted with all manner of diseases . . . devils and unclean spirits . . . were healed by the power of the Lamb of God" (1 Nephi 11:31). |p16 He is Holy: "0 how great the holiness of our God!" (2 Nephi 9:20). |p17 He is Humble: "He humbleth himself before the Father" (2 Nephi 31:7). |p18 He is Joyful: "The Father hath given" Him a "fulness of joy" (3 Nephi 28:10). |p19 He is our Judge: We "shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him" (Mosiah 16:10). |p20 He is Just: "The judgments of God are always just" (Mosiah 29:12). |p21 He is Kind: He has "loving kindness . . . towards the children of men" (1 Nephi 19:9). |p22 He is the Lawgiver: He "gave the law" (3 Nephi 15:5). |p23 He is the Liberator: "There is no other head whereby ye can be made free" (Mosiah 5:8). |p24 He is the Light: "The light . . . of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened" (Mosiah 16:9). |p25 He is Loving: "He loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life" (2 Nephi 26:24). |p26 He is the Mediator: "The great Mediator of all men" (2 Nephi 2:27). |p27 He is Merciful: There is a "multitude of his tender mercies" (1 Nephi 8:8). |p28 He is Mighty: "Mightier than all the earth" (1 Nephi 4:1). |p29 He is Miraculous: A "God of miracles" (2 Nephi 27:23). |p30 He is Obedient: Obedient unto the Father "in keeping his commandments" (2 Nephi 31:7). |p31 He is Omnipotent: He has "all power, both in heaven and in earth" (Mosiah 4:9). |p32 He is Omniscient: "The Lord knoweth all things from the beginning" (1 Nephi 9:6). |p33 He is our Redeemer: "All mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer" (1 Nephi 10:6). |p34 He is the Resurrection: He brought to pass "the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise" (2 Nephi 2:8). |p35 He is Righteous: "His ways are righteousness forever" (2 Nephi 1:19). |p36 He is the Ruler: He rules "in the heavens above and in the earth beneath" (2 Nephi 29:7). |p37 He is our Savior: "There is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ . . . whereby man can be saved" (2 Nephi 25:20). |p38 He is Sinless: He "suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation" (Mosiah 15:5). |p39 He is Truthful: "A God of truth, and canst not lie" (Ether 3:12). |p40 He is Wise: "He has all wisdom" (Mosiah 4:9). |p41 As I reflect on these and many other marks of our Lord's divinity, as found in the Book of Mormon, my heart cries out with the hymnist: |P84|p1 Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy pow'r thru-out the universe displayed; |p2 Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, How great thou art! How great thou art! (Hymns, 1985, no. 86). |p3 Once one is convinced, through the Book of Mormon, that Jesus is the Christ, then he must take the next step; he must come unto Christ. Learning the precepts found in what the Prophet Joseph Smith called the most correct book on earth, the Book of Mormon, is but the first step. Abiding by those precepts found in the "keystone" of our religion gets a man nearer to God than through any other book (see History of The Church, 4:461). Can we not see why we should be reading this book daily and practicing its precepts at all times? |p4 We have an increasing number who have been convinced, through the Bcok of Mormon, that Jesus is the Christ. Now we need an increasing number who will use the Book of Mormon to become committed to Christ. We need to be convinced and committed. |p5 Let us turn again to the Book of Mormon, this time to learn some principles about coming unto Christ, being committed to Him, centered in Him, and consumed in Him. We will quote but a few of the numerous passages on the matter. |p6 First we need to know that Christ invites us to come unto Him. "Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, . . . Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life" (Alma 5:33-34). |p7 Come, for he stands "with open arms to receive you" (Mormon 6:17). |p8 Come, for "he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause" (Jacob 3:1). |p9 "Come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him" (Omni 26). |p10 As Moroni closed the record of the Jaredite civilization, he wrote, "I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written" (Ether 12:41). |p11 In Moroni's closing words written toward the end of the Nephite civilization, he said, "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, . . . and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you" (Moroni 10:32). |p12 Those who are committed to Christ "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" that they may be in "even until death" (Mosiah 18:9). They "retain the name" of Christ "written always" in their hearts (Mosiah 5:12). They take upon themselves "the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end" (Moroni 6:3). |p13 When we live a Christ-centered life, "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ" (2 Nephi 25:26). We "receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love" (Jacob 3:2). Even when Nephi's soul was grieved because of his iniquities, he said, "I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support" (2 Nephi 4:19-20). |P85|p1 We remember Alma's counsel: "Let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings" (Alma 37:36-37). |p2 "Remember, remember," said Helaman, "that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, . . . that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, . . . [they] shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery" (Helaman 5:12). |p3 Nephi said, the Lord "hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh" (2 Nephi 4:21). Those who are consumed in Christ "are made alive in Christ" (2 Nephi 25:25). They "suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ" (Alma 31:38). They are "clasped in the arms of Jesus" (Morm. 5:11). Nephi said, "I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul" (2 Nephi 33:6). Lehi said, "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15). |p4 Now, my beloved brethren and sisters, let us read the Book of Mormon and be convinced that Jesus is the Christ. Let us continually reread the Book of Mormon so that we might more fully come to Christ, be committed to Him, centered in Him, and consumed in Him. |p5 We are meeting the adversary every day. The challenges of this era will rival any of the past, and these challenges will increase both spiritually and temporally. We must be close to Christ, we must daily take His name upon us, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. |p6 In the final letter recorded in the Book of Mormon from Mormon to his son Moroni, he gave counsel that applies to our day. Both father and son were seeing a whole Christian civilization fall because its people would not serve the God of the land, even Jesus Christ. Mormon wrote, "And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God" (Moroni 9:6). You and I have a similar labor to perform now--to conquer the enemy and rest our souls in the kingdom. |p7 Then that great soul Mormon closes his letter to his beloved son, Moroni, with these words. |p8 "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever. |p9 "And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him, be, and abide with you forever" (Moroni 9:25-26). |p10 My prayer for each of us is that we too will follow that inspired counsel: "Be faithful in Christ." Then He will lift us up and His grace will be and abide with us forever. That this may be so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 2, 1988 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson The Great Commandment--Love the Lord President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My dear brethren and sisters, I thank the Lord that He in His kindness has permitted me to join with you in another glorious general conference of the Church. How I have been blessed as a result of your faith and prayers during the past few months. |p2 My heart has been touched as I have learned of the many children, youth, and adults of the Church whose lives are being changed by the study of the Book of Mormon. You are helping to cleanse the inner vessel. God bless you for it. |p3 The great test of life is obedience to God. "We will prove them herewith," said the Lord, "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (Abraham 3:25). |p4 The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. |p5 The great commandment of life is to love the Lord. |p6 "Come unto Christ," exhorts Moroni in his closing testimony, " . . . and love God with all your might, mind and strength" (Moroni 10:32). |p7 This, then, is the first and great commandment: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength" (Mark 12:30; see also Matthew 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:27, Moroni 10:32, D&C 59:5). |p8 It is the pure love of Christ, called charity, that the Book of Mormon testifies is the greatest of all--that never faileth, that endureth forever, that all men should have, and that without which they are nothing (see Moroni 7:44-47; 2 Nephi 26:30). |p9 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren," pleads Moroni, "pray unto the Father with all the energy of [your] heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him" (Moroni 7:48). |p10 In the closing accounts of both the Jaredites and the Nephites, Moroni records that except men shall have this pure love of Christ, called charity, they cannot inherit that place which Christ has prepared in the mansions of His Father nor can they be saved in the kingdom of God (see Ether 12:34; Moroni 10:21). |p11 The fruit that Lehi partook of in his vision and that filled his soul with exceeding great joy and that was most desirable above all things was the love of God. |p12 To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing. It is no lukewarm endeavor. It is total commitment of our very being--physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually--to a love of the Lord. |p13 The breadth, depth, and height of this love of God extend into every facet of one's life. Our desires, be they spiritual or temporal, should be rooted in a love of the Lord. Our thoughts and affections should be centered on the Lord. "Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord," said Alma, "yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever" (Alma 37:36). |p14 Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. "For this is the love of God," says John, "that we keep his commandments" (1 John 5:3; see also 2 John 1:6). |p15 We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). |p16 When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. |p17 We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives. |p18 When Joseph was in Egypt, what came first in his life--God, his job, or Potiphar's wife? When she tried to seduce him, he responded by saying, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9). |p19 Joseph was put in prison because |P5|p1 he put God first. If we were faced with a similar choice, where would we place our first loyalty? Can we put God ahead of security, peace, passions, wealth, and the honors of men? |p2 When Joseph was forced to choose, he was more anxious to please God than to please his employer's wife. When we are required to choose, are we more anxious to please God than our boss, our teacher, our neighbor, or our date? |p3 The Lord said, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37). One of the most difficult tests of all is when you have to choose between pleasing God or pleasing someone you love or respect--particularly a family member. |p4 Nephi faced that test and handled it well when his good father temporarily murmured against the Lord (see 1 Nephi 16:18-25). Job maintained his integrity with the Lord even though his wife told him to curse God and die (see Job 2:9-10). |p5 The scripture says, "Honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12; see also Mosiah 13:20). Sometimes one must choose to honor a Heavenly Father over a mortal father. |p6 We should give God, the Father of our spirits, an exclusive preeminence in our lives. He has a prior parental claim on our eternal welfare, ahead of all other ties that may bind us here or hereafter. |p7 God our Father, Jesus, our Elder Brother and our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost, the Testator, are perfect. They know us best and love us most and will not leave one thing undone for our eternal welfare. Should we not love them for it and honor them first? |p8 There are faithful members who joined the Church in spite of the objections of their mortal relatives. By putting God first, many later became the instruments to lead those loved ones into the kingdom of God. |p9 Jesus said, "I do always those things that please [God]" (John 8:29). |p10 What is the condition in our homes? Are we striving to put the Lord first and to please Him? |p11 Fathers, would it please the Lord if there were daily family prayer and scripture reading in your home? And what about the holding of weekly home evenings and periodically having individual time with your wife and each child? And if your child went temporarily astray, do you think it would please the Lord and He would honor your efforts if you continued to live an exemplary life, consistently prayed and frequently fasted for that child, and kept the name of that son or daughter on the temple prayer roll? |p12 You mothers who are especially charged with the righteous rearing of the youth of Zion, are you not putting God first when you honor your divine calling by not leaving the homefront to follow the ways of the world? Our mothers put God first when they fill their highest mission within the walls of their own homes. |p13 Children, do you pray for your parents? Do you try to support them in their noble endeavors? They will make mistakes like you, but they have a divine mission to accomplish in your life. Will you help them do so? Will you add honor to their name and bring comfort and support to them in their older years? |p14 If someone wants to marry you outside the temple, whom will you strive to please--God or a mortal? If you insist on a temple marriage, you will be pleasing the Lord and blessing the other party. Why? Because that person will either become worthy to go to the temple--which would be a blessing--or will leave--which could also be a blessing--because neither of you should want to be unequally yoked (see 2 Corinthians 6:14). |P6|p1 You should qualify for the temple. Then you will know that there is no one good enough for you to marry outside the temple. If such individuals are that good, they will get themselves in a condition so that they too can be married in the temple. |p2 We bless our fellowmen the most when we put the first commandment first. |p3 "Whatever God requires is right," said the Prophet Joseph Smith (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, p. 256)--and so Nephi slew Laban. And God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. |p4 Had Abraham loved Isaac more than God, would he have consented? As the Lord indicates in the Doctrine and Covenants, both Abraham and Isaac now sit as gods (see D&C 132:37). They were willing to offer or to be offered up as God required. They have a deeper love and respect for each other because both were willing to put God first. |p5 The Book of Mormon teaches that "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11)--and so there is. Opposition provides choices, and choices bring consequences--good or bad. |p6 The Book of Mormon explains that men "are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil" (2 Nephi 2:27). |p7 God loves us; the devil hates us. God wants us to have a fulness of joy as He has. The devil wants us to be miserable as he is. God gives us commandments to bless us. The devil would have us break these commandments to curse us. |p8 Daily, constantly, we choose by our desires, our thoughts, and our actions whether we want to be blessed or cursed, happy or miserable. One of the trials of life is that we do not usually receive immediately the full blessing for righteousness or the full cursing for wickedness. That it will come is certain, but ofttimes there is a waiting period that occurs, as was the case with Job and Joseph. |p9 In the meantime the wicked think they are getting away with something. The Book of Mormon teaches that the wicked "have joy in their works for a season, [but] by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return" (3 Nephi 27:11). |p10 During this testing time the righteous must continue to love God, trust in His promises, be patient, and be assured, as the poet said, that-- |p11 Who does God's work will get God's pay, |p12 However long may seem the day, |p13 However weary be the way. |p14 No mortal hand, God's hand can stay, |p15 He may not pay as others pay, |p16 In gold, or lands, or raiments gay, |p17 In goods that perish and decay; |p18 But God's high wisdom knows a way, |p19 And this is sure, let come what may-- |p20 Who does God's work will get God's pay. |p21 (Anonymous) |p22 I testify to you that God's pay is the best pay that this world or any other world knows anything about. And it comes in full abundance only to those who love the Lord and put Him first. |p23 The great test of life is obedience to God. |p24 The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. |p25 The great commandment of life is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength" (Mark 12:30). |p26 May God bless us to put the first commandment first and, as a result, reap peace in this life and eternal life with a fulness of joy in the life to come, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 2, 1988 General Priesthood Meeting President Ezra Taft Benson To the Single Adult Brethren of the Church President Ezra Taft Benson |p1 My dear brethren of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood, how happy I am to be with you this evening. |p2 I rejoice in the messages of my brethren who have preceded me, and I now ask you for your faith and prayers in my behalf as I address you. |p3 For some time I have wanted to speak directly to the great body of single adult brethren of the Church. Many of you have served full-time missions. Many of you are giving outstanding service in your wards and stakes. |p4 To you single adult brethren, I want you to know of my great love for each of you. I have great expectations for you and a great hope in you. You have so much to contribute to the Lord and to the kingdom of God now and in the future. You may be twenty-seven years of age, or thirty, or possibly even older. |p5 Just what are your priorities at this time in your life? |p6 May I suggest for your careful consideration the counsel we give to returning missionaries. This counsel applies just as much to those who have been home for a while as to those who may not have served full-time missions for the Church. |p7 Here are some of the priorities we pray that you single adult brethren will consider to be essential in your life. |p8 First, continue to draw close to the Savior through private, sincere, heartfelt prayer. Remember always, "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). |p9 "Feast upon the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:3) by consistently studying the scriptures every day and by following the counsel of the living prophets. Particularly make the study of the Book of Mormon a lifetime pursuit and daily sup from its pages. |p10 Be an example in your Church activity--honor the Sabbath day, attend your meetings, observe the Word of Wisdom, pay your tithes and offerings, support your leaders, and otherwise keep the commandments. Serve cheerfully and gratefully in every calling you receive. Live worthy of a temple recommend and enjoy the sweet, sacred spirit that comes from frequent temple attendance. |p11 Dress and groom yourself in a way that reflects your lifelong commitment to share the gospel with others. |p12 Be thoughtful, loving, helpful, and appreciative of your family as you seek to deepen those eternal relationships. |p13 In your dating and courting, fully maintain the standards of the Church. Be morally clean. "Let virtue garnish [your] thoughts unceasingly" (D&C 121:45). |p14 Remember the counsel of Elder Bruce R. McConkie that "the most important single thing that any Latter-day Saint ever does in this world is to marry the right person in the right place by the right authority" (Choose an Eternal Companion, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, Provo, 3 May 1966, p. 2). |p15 Understand that temple marriage is essential to your salvation and exaltation. |p16 Carefully select practical and worthwhile goals and, in an organized way, work to reach them. |p17 Apply yourself prayerfully and diligently to selecting and pursuing academic and vocational goals. |p18 Share the gospel and your testimony with those who are not members of the Church or who are less active. |p19 Improve your community by active participation and service. Remember in your civic responsibility that "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" (Edmund Burke, in George Seldes, comp., The Great Thoughts, New York: Ballantine Books, 1985, p. 60). Do something meaningful in defense of your God-given freedom and liberty. |p20 Remember that your entire life is a mission and that each new phase of it can be richly rewarding as you magnify your talents and take advantage of your opportunities. |p21 May I now say an additional word about an eternal opportunity and responsibility to which I have referred earlier and which is of greatest importance to you. I am referring to celestial marriage. |p22 Just a few weeks ago, I received a letter from two devoted parents, part of which reads as follows: |p23 "Dear President Benson: We are concerned about what seems to be a growing problem--at least in this part of the Church familiar to us--that is, so many choice young men in the |P52|p1 Church over the age of thirty who are still unmarried. |p2 "We have sons thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-three in this situation. Many of our friends also are experiencing this same concern for unmarried sons and daughters." |p3 Their letter continues: |p4 "In our experience these are usually young men who have been on missions, are well educated, and are living the commandments (except this most important one). There does not appear to be a lack of choice young ladies in the same age bracket who could make suitable companions. |p5 "It is most frustrating to us, as their parents, who sometimes feel we have failed in our parental teachings and guiding responsibilities." |p6 My dear single adult brethren, we are also concerned. We want you to know that the position of the Church has never changed regarding the importance of celestial marriage. It is a commandment of God. The Lord's declaration in Genesis is still true: "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18). |p7 To obtain a fulness of glory and exaltation in the celestial kingdom, one must enter into this holiest of ordinances. |p8 Without marriage, the purposes of the Lord would be frustrated. Choice spirits would be withheld from the experience of mortality. And postponing marriage unduly often means limiting your posterity, and the time will come, brethren, when you will feel and know that loss. |p9 I can assure you that the greatest responsibility and the greatest joys in life are centered in the family, honorable marriage, and rearing a righteous posterity. And the older you become, the less likely you are to marry, and then you may lose these eternal blessings altogether. |p10 President Spencer W. Kimball recounted an experience he once had: |p11 "Recently I met a young returned missionary who is 35 years old. He had been home from his mission for 14 years and yet he was little concerned about his bachelorhood, and laughed about it. |p12 "I shall feel sorry for this young man when the day comes that he faces the Great Judge at the throne and when the Lord asks this boy: `Where is your wife?' All of his excuses which he gave to his fellows on earth will seem very light and senseless when he answers the Judge. `I was very busy,' or `I felt I should get my education first,' or `I did not find the right girl'--such answers will be hollow and of little avail. He knew he was commanded to find a wife and marry her and make her happy. He knew it was his duty to become the father of children and provide a rich, full life for them as they grew up. He knew all this, yet postponed his responsibility" (Ensign, Feb. 1975, p. 2). |p13 I realize that some of you brethren may have genuine fears regarding the real responsibilities that will be yours if you do marry. You are concerned about being able to support a wife and family and provide them with the necessities in these uncertain economic times. Those fears must be replaced with faith. |p14 I assure you, brethren, that if you will be industrious, faithfully pay your tithes and offerings, and conscientiously keep the commandments, the |P53|p1 Lord will sustain you. Yes, there will be sacrifices required, but you will grow from these and will be a better man for having met them. |p2 Work hard educationally and in your vocation. Put your trust in the Lord, have faith, and it will work out. The Lord never gives a commandment without providing the means to accomplish it (see 1 Nephi 3:7). |p3 Also, do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation--that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success in the single state. |p4 Honorable marriage is more important than wealth, position, and status. As husband and wife, you can achieve your life's goals together. As you sacrifice for each other and your children, the Lord will bless you, and your commitment to the Lord and your service in His kingdom will be enhanced. |p5 Now, brethren, do not expect perfection in your choice of a mate. Do not be so particular that you overlook her most important qualities of having a strong testimony, living the principles of the gospel, loving home, wanting to be a mother in Zion, and supporting you in your priesthood responsibilities. |p6 Of course, she should be attractive to you, but do not just date one girl after another for the sole pleasure of dating without seeking the Lord's confirmation in your choice of your eternal companion. |p7 And one good yardstick as to whether a person might be the right one for you is this: in her presence, do you think your noblest thoughts, do you aspire to your finest deeds, do you wish you were better than you are? |p8 God bless you single adult brethren of the Church. May your priorities be right. I have suggested some very important priorities this evening. May you seriously consider and ponder them. |p9 Know, my good brethren, that I have spoken from my heart and by His Spirit because of my love and concern for you. It is what the Lord would have you hear today. With all my heart I echo the words of the prophet Lehi from the Book of Mormon, "Arise from the dust, my sons, and be men" (2 Nephi 1:21), in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 3, 1988 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson "Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him" President Ezra Taft Benson (Read by President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency) |p1 We heard President Benson's strong voice yesterday morning and again last evening, and we were all encouraged by what he said. I am happy to respond to his request that I read the message which he prepared as the closing benediction of this conference. |p2 My dear brethren and sisters, this has been a wonderful general conference of the Church. We have felt a marvelous spirit in all of our meetings. |p3 I commend my brethren of the General Authorities for the excellent addresses they have given. My humble prayer is that all of us will follow the counsel and instruction we have received. |p4 As we have felt the Spirit and made new and sacred resolves, may we now have the courage and fortitude to carry out those resolves. |p5 For the next six months, your conference edition of the Ensign should stand next to your standard works and be referred to frequently. As my dear friend and brother Harold B. Lee said, we should let these conference addresses "be the guide to [our] walk and talk during the next six months. These are the important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this day" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1946, p. 68). |p6 May we all go to our homes rededicated to the sacred mission of the Church as so beautifully set forth in these conference sessions--to "invite all to come unto Christ" (D&C 20:59), "yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32). |p7 This grand mission of the Church is accomplished by proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead. |p8 In the next few days, in each of our homes, may we prayerfully consider specific ways we as families and individuals can accomplish this mission. While we still feel the spirit of this great conference and while the words still ring in our ears, let us determine how each of us can be doers of the word and not hearers only (see James 1:22). |p9 In proclaiming the gospel, would you prayerfully consider and ponder the following as it applies to you: |p10 As a young man, are you earnestly preparing to serve a full-time mission? The Lord needs every young man between the ages of nineteen and twenty-six worthy, prepared, and excited about serving in the mission field. |p11 As a mature couple, having reared your children, have you prayerfully considered serving a full-time mission? The Lord needs many more couples in the mission field who can love and fellowship and lead people to Christ. |p12 As a single sister, where marriage is not in your immediate future, have you prayed about serving a full-time mission and sought counsel from your parents and your bishop? Our single sisters are serving marvelous missions throughout the world. |p13 Finally, as a member of the Church, do you realize that, as a member-missionary, you have a sacred responsibility to share the gospel with friends and family? The Lord needs every member of the Church having the faith and the courage to set a date to have someone prepared to be taught by the missionaries. Would each member of the Church prayerfully consider this sacred challenge? |p14 Another way we come unto Christ is by perfecting the Saints. How do we accomplish this? One way to help perfect ourselves and our families is by daily reading from the scriptures. |p15 Are we as families and individuals reading daily from the Book of Mormon and using its teachings to bless and perfect our lives and those of our children? I rejoice in the thousands of members who are responding to this invitation and who testify of the blessings they are receiving. |p16 Communicating with our Father in Heaven through prayer also brings a spiritual power and strength found in no other way. Are we praying both morning and night as a family and as individuals? |p17 Again, are we holding family home evenings each week? Your immediate results may seem far from ideal at times, but by holding weekly family home evenings, as we have been counseled, we help to perfect that eternal family unit. |p18 And what about family preparedness? |P85|p1 Family preparedness has always been an essential welfare principle in perfecting the Saints. Are each of us and our families following, where permitted, the long-standing counsel to have sufficient food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel on hand to last at least one year? |p2 Finally, let us consider the divine charge to redeem the dead. As you ponder this responsibility, would you give serious consideration to the following: |p3 Have we prepared ourselves to receive our own endowments, and have sealings for our families been performed in the holy temple? By precept and example, our posterity should understand the transcendent importance of marrying the right person in the right place and sealing families for time and eternity. |p4 Also, have we identified and received the ordinances for at least one of our ancestors? All members of the Church should be actively engaged in working on their family histories and receiving the help they need from trained stake and ward temple and family history consultants. |p5 Do we periodically participate in all of the temple ordinances and thus receive the full blessings of vicarious work for our ancestors? |p6 Do we return to the temple often to receive the personal blessings that come from regular temple worship? Prayers are answered, revelation occurs, and instruction by the Spirit takes place in the holy temples of the Lord. |p7 Yes, brothers and sisters, the mission of the Church is glorious--to invite all of us to come unto Christ through proclaiming the gospel, perfecting our lives, and redeeming our dead. As we come unto Christ, we bless our own lives, those of our families, and our Father in Heaven's children, both living and dead. |p8 Now, as we conclude this general conference of the Church, I feel to say to you what Alma said to the members of the Church in his day: |p9 "I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. |p10 "And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works. |p11 "And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began. . . . |p12 "And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word. |p13 "And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever" (Alma 7:23-27). |p14 Now, may I express my love for the Latter-day Saints everywhere. There are no better people in all the world. |p15 I pray that we will be obedient to God, learn His will and do it, and, above all, that we will keep the first and great commandment--to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. |p16 I testify to you that this is His work, that the kingdom of God has been restored, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the living God, and that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. |p17 As your humble servant, I desire with all my heart to do God's will and to faithfully serve you and Him to the end. |p18 Let us all come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. |p19 To which I add my testimony that these are the words of the Lord's anointed, the prophet of the Living God, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Ezra Taft Benson. October 1, 1988 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson President Ezra Taft Benson My beloved brethren and sisters, I rejoice to be with you in another glorious general conference of the Church. I am always filled with great anxiety as I approach these conferences. But I humbly pray that the Holy Spirit will be with us in rich abundance as we listen to the inspired counsel and messages of the Lord. Landmark use of the Book of Mormon This has been a landmark year in the history of the Church in the use of the keystone of our religion-the Book of Mormon. This sacred volume of scripture has brought more souls to Christ, both within and without the Church, than ever before. There are so many who could be commended for this progress, but time will permit mention of only a few. We commend all those who had a part in producing and distributing the Church video on the Book of Mormon entitled How Rare a Possession. That video has had a powerful impact in the lives of its viewers, and tens of thousands of copies were distributed in the first weeks after its initial showing. We commend you leaders and teachers of the various Church organizations for your inspired use of the Book of Mormon in helping to rear a generation that can redeem Zion. In many cases a little child has led a parent to the Lord through the Book of Mormon reading program in the Primary. We commend the members of the Church who have participated in the family-to-family Book of Mormon program, placing their pictures and testimonies inside copies of the Book of Mormon. These testimonies have been translated into many languages, and the books have been given away by our missionaries around the world. This is helping to bring in tens of thousands of converts each year. We commend those responsible for the excellent articles on the Book of Mormon which have appeared in our Church publications. We commend the personnel of radio stations who broadcast excerpts from the Book of Mormon. We commend those who have sponsored and supported faith-building Book of Mormon lectures and symposiums. We commend many of you who in an edifying manner have taught classes, given talks, authored articles, and written books on the Book of Mormon. And finally and most important, we commend that vast number of faithful Saints who individually and as families are changing their lives, cleansing the inner vessel, through the daily reading of the Book of Mormon. Book of Mormon must be central The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to "sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect" (Moses 7:62). This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work. At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a man "nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (History of the Church, 4:461). And when we are called upon to study or teach other scriptures, we need to strengthen that undertaking by frequent reference to the additional insights which the Book of Mormon may provide on the subject (see I Nephi 13:40, 2 Nephi 3:12). The recent, well-done video on the Book of Mormon entitled How Rare a Possession carried many messages. First was the power of the Book of Mormon to convert men to Christ and hence to His church. Another message was that a man could study and preach the contents of the Book of Mormon for so many years without either his or his associates' knowing the name of the book or the Church which published it. Flood the earth with the Book of Mormon The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given. In-this age of the electronic media and the mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way. We have the Book of Mormon, we have the members, we have the missionaries, we have the resources, and the world has the need. The time is now! My beloved brothers and sisters, we hardly fathom the power of the Book of Mormon, nor the divine role it must yet play, nor the extent to which it must be moved. "Few men on earth," said Elder Bruce R. McConkie, "either in or out of the Church, have caught the vision of what the Book of Mormon is all about. Few are they among men who know the part it has played and will yet play in preparing the way for the coming of Him of whom it is a new witness.... The Book of Mormon shall so affect men that the whole earth and all its peoples will have been influenced and governed by it.... There is no greater issue ever to confront mankind in modem times than this: Is the Book of Mormon the mind and will and voice of God to all men?" We testify that it is. (The Millennial Messiah [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 19821, pp. 159, 170, 179.) Now, my good Saints, we have a great work to perform in a very short time. We must flood the earth with the Book of Mormon-and get out from under God's condemnation for having treated it lightly (see D&C 84:54-58). Challenges to Church members I challenge the members of the Church to participate in the family-to-family Book of Mormon program-to send copies of the Book of Mormon on a mission for you. Sister Benson and I have been doing this for some time now, and we intend to do more. We should be sending out millions of copies of the Book of Mormon to the missionaries every month. I challenge our mission leaders to show their missionaries how to challenge their contacts to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. Missionaries need to know how to use the Book of Mormon to arouse mankind's interest in studying it, and they need to show how it answers the great questions of the soul. Missionaries need to read with those they teach various passages from the Book of Mormon on gospel subjects. I challenge our Church writers, teachers, and leaders to tell us more Book of Mormon conversion stories that will strengthen our faith and prepare great missionaries. Show us how to effectively use it as a missionary tool, and let us know how it leads us to Christ and answers our personal problems and those of the world. I challenge those who are in business and other professions to see that there are copies of the Book of Mormon in their reception rooms. I challenge owners of cassette players to play Book of Mormon cassettes from time to time and to listen to them at home and while walking, jogging, or driving. I challenge the homes of Israel to display on their walls great quotations and scenes from the Book of Mormon. I challenge all of us to prayerfully consider steps that we can personally take to bring this new witness for Christ more fully into our own lives and into a world that so desperately needs it. A vision I have a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive, and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages. I have a vision of home teachers and visiting teachers, ward and branch officers, and stake and mission leaders counseling our people out of the most correct of any book on earth-the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon. I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world. I have a vision of the whole Church getting nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon. Indeed, I have a vision of flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon. An absolute need My beloved Saints, I am now entering my ninetieth year. I am getting older and less vigorous and am so grateful for your prayers and for the support of my younger Brethren. I thank the Lord for renewing my body from time to time so that I can still help build His kingdom. I do not know fully why God has preserved my life to this age, but I do know this: That for the present hour He has revealed to me the absolute need for us to move the Book of Mormon forward now in a marvelous manner. You must help with this burden and with this blessing which He has placed on the whole Church, even all the children of Zion. Moses never entered the promised land. Joseph Smith never saw Zion redeemed. Some of us may not live long enough to see the day when the Book of Mormon flows the earth and when the Lord lifts His condemnation (see D&C 84:54-58). But, God willing, I intend to spend all my remaining days in that glorious effort. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. October 2, 1988 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson President Ezra Taft Benson My beloved brethren and sisters, my heart is full and my feelings tender as we conclude this great general conference of the Church. We have been richly blessed as we have listened to the counsel and testimonies of those who have spoken to us. As a special witness of Jesus Christ, and as His humble servant, it is now my obligation and privilege, as the Spirit dic tates, to bear pure testimony and witness to that which I know to be true (see Alma:19). This I will do. Premortal existence I testify that we are the spirit offspring of a loving God, our Heavenly Father (see Acts 17:29, 1 Nephi 17:36). He has a great plan of salvation whereby His children might be perfected as He is and might have a fullness of joy as He enjoys (see I Nephi 10: 18; 2 Nephi 2:25; Alma 24:14, 34:9; 3 Nephi 12:48, 28: 1 0). I testify that in our premortal state our Elder Brother in the spirit, even Jesus Christ, became our foreordained Savior in the Father's plan of salvation (see Mosiah 4:6-7, Alma 34:9). He is the captain of our salvation and the only means through whom we can return to our Father in Heaven to gain that fullness of joy (see Hebrews 2:10, Mosiah 3:17, Alma 38:9). I testify that Lucifer was also in the council of heaven. He sought to destroy the agency of man. He rebelled (see Moses 4:3). There was a war in heaven, and a third of the hosts were cast to the earth and denied a body (see Revelation 12:7-9, D&C 29:36-37). Lucifer is the enemy of all righteousness and seeks the misery of all mankind (see 2 Nephi 2:18, 27; Mosiah 4:14). I testify that all those who come into mortality accepted our Father's plan (see Abraham 3:26). Having proved faithful in their first estate in heaven, they are now subject to the test of mortality in this second estate. That test entails doing all things whatsoever the Lord requires (see Abraham 3:25). Those who prove faithful in this second estate will have glory added upon their heads forever and ever (see Abraham 3:26). God guides us I testify that God reveals His will to all men through the Light of Christ (see Moroni 7:16, D&C 93:2, John 1:9). They receive the additional light of the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by God's authorized servants following baptism (see Articles of Faith 1:4, D&C 20:41). I testify that throughout the ages God has spoken to His children through His prophets (see Amos 3:7, Helaman 8:13-20). Only when His children rejected the prophets were the prophets taken out of their midst, and then tragedy followed (see 1, Nephi 3:17-18, 7:14; Helaman 13:24-27). Jesus' birth, ministry, and sacrifice I testify that Christ was born into mortality with Mary as His mother and our Heavenly Father as His father (see I Nephi I 1: 18 - 2 1, Mosiah 3:8). He lived a sinless life, providing us a perfect example (see D&C 45:4; 3 Nephi 12:48, 27:27). He worked out the great Atonement, which, through His grace, provides for every soul a resurrection and, for the faithful, the means to become exalted in the celestial kingdom (see Articles of Faith 1:3; 2 Nephi 25:23; Mosiah 4:6-7; Alma 11:41-45; D&C 76:50-70,132:19). I testify that during His mortal ministry Christ established His church on the earth (see Matthew 16:18, Acts 2:47, 3 Nephi 21:22). He called and ordained men to be Apostles and prophets with authority so that what they bound on earth would be bound in heaven (see Matthew 16:19, John 15:16). They received revelation, which provided new scripture (see 2 Peter 1:20-21, D&C 68:4). The Apostasy and Restoration I testify that a world so wicked that it killed the Son of God soon began killing the Apostles and prophets and so plunged itself into a spiritual dark age (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2-7). Scripture ended, apostasy spread, and the church that Christ established during His earthly ministry ceased to exist (see 2 Nephi 27:4-5). 1 testify that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820, thus bringing to an end the long night of apostasy (see Joseph Smith-History 1:15-20). To Joseph Smith appeared other beings, including John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John, who ordained him with authority to act in the name of God (see Joseph Smith-History 1:68-72, D&C 27:5-13). The church and kingdom of God was restored in these latter days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with all the gifts, rights, powers, doctrines, officers, and blessings of the former-day Church (see D&C 65, 115:3-4). The Book of Mormon I testify that through the Book of Mormon God has provided for our day tangible evidence that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is His prophet (see D&C 20:8-33). This other testament of Jesus Christ is a scriptural account of the early inhabitants of America. It was translated by Joseph Smith through the gift and power of God (see D&C 135:3). Those who will read and ponder the Book of Mormon and ask our Eternal Father in the name of Christ if it is true pay know for themselves of its truthfulness through the power of the Holy Ghost, provided they will ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ (see Moroni 10:3-5). America I testify that America is a choice land (see 2 Nephi 1:5). God raised up the founding fathers of the United States of America and established the inspired Constitution (see D&C 101:77-80). This was the required prologue for the restoration of the gospel (see 3 Nephi 21:4). America will be a blessed land unto the righteous forever and is the base from which God will continue to direct the worldwide latter-day operations of His kingdom (see 2 Nephi 1:7). Living prophets I testify that there have been, and there are now, and there will be legal successors to the Prophet Joseph Smith who hold the keys of the kingdom of God on earth, even the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see D&C 21:1-7, 107:91-92, 112:15). He receives revelation from God to direct His kingdom. Associated with him are others who are prophets, seers, and revelators, even those who make up the presiding quorums of the Church, namely the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (see D&C 112:30). Confrontations between good and evil I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society (See D&C 1:14-16, 84:49-53). It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguise and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world (see Ether 8:18-25). I testify that the church and kingdom of God is increasing in strength. Its numbers are growing, as is the faithfulness of its faithful members. It has never been better organized or equipped to perform its divine mission. I testify that as the forces of evil increase under Lucifer's leadership and as the forces of good increase under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there will be growing battles between the two until the final confrontation. As the issues become clearer and more obvious, all mankind will eventually be required to align themselves either for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the devil. As these conflicts rage, either secretly or openly, the righteous will be tested. God's wrath will soon shake the nations of the earth and will be poured out on the wicked without measure (see Joseph SmithHistory 1:45, D&C 1:9). But God will provide strength for the righteous and the means of escape; and eventually and finally truth will triumph (see 1 Nephi 22:15-23). It is time I testify that it is time for every man to set in order his own house both temporally and spiritually. It is time for the unbeliever to learn for himself that this work is true, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom which Daniel prophesied God would set up in the latter days, never to be destroyed, a stone that would eventually fill the whole earth and stand forever (see Daniel 2:34-45, D&C 65:2). It is time for us, as members of the Church, to walk in all the ways of the Lord, to use our understanding in every segment of our society. Our influence to make popular that which is right.(see D&C 1: 14-16, 84:49-53). It is sound and to make unpopular that which more highly organized, more cleverly is unsound. We have the scriptures, the prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now we need eyes that will see, ears that will hear, and hearts that will hearken to God's direction. The cleansing and Judgment I testify that not many years hence the earth will be cleansed (see D&C 7.6:41). Jesus the Christ will come again, this time in power and great glory to vanquish His foes and to rule and reign on the earth (see D&C43:26-33). In due time all men will gain a resurrection and then will face the Master in a final judgment (see 2 Nephi 9:15, 41). God will give rewards to each according to the deeds done in the flesh (see Alma 5:15). I testify to you that a fullness of joy can only come through the atonement of Jesus Christ and by obedience to all of the laws and ordinances of the gospel, which are found only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see Articles of Faith 1:3). To all these things I humbly testify and bear my solemn witness that they are true, and I do so in the name of Him who is the head of this church, even Jesus Christ, amen. April 1, 1989 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson President Ezra Taft Benson (Read by President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency) President Hinckley We are grateful for President Benson's presence. He honors us. We love him, as we know he loves us. I shall now read the message which he has prepared for the opening of this conference. President Benson My beloved brethren and sisters, I rejoice to be with you in another glorious general conference of the Church. How grateful I am for the love, prayers, and service of the devoted members of the Church throughout the world. May I commend you faithful Saints who are striving to flood the earth and your lives with the Book of Mormon. Not only must we move forward in a monumental manner more copies of the Book of Mormon, but we must move boldly forward into our own lives and throughout the earth more of its marvelous messages. This sacred volume was written for us-for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves (see 1 Nephi 19:23). The sin of pride The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the "record of a fallen people" (D&C 20:9). Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: "Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction" (Moroni 8:27). And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, "Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old" (D&C 38:39). I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I strive to bring forth light on this Book of Mormon message the sin of pride. This message has been weighing heavily on my soul for some time. I know the Lord wants this message delivered now. "Beware of pride" In the premortal council, it was pride that felled Lucifer, "a son of the morning" (2 Nephi 24:12-15; see also D&C 76:25-27; Moses 4:3). At the end of this world, when God cleanses the earth by fire, the proud will be burned as stubble and the meek shall inherit the earth (see 3 Nephi 12:5, 25:1; D&C 29:9; Joseph Smith History 1:37; Malachi 4: 1). Three times in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord uses the phrase "beware of pride," including a warning to the second elder of the Church, Oliver Cowdery, and to Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet (D&C 23:l; see also D&C 25:14; 38:39). God's definition of pride Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance (see Mosiah 3:11; 3 Nephi 6:18). In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride-it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby (see 2 Nephi 4-.15; Mosiah 1:3 - 7; Alma 5:61). Most of us think of pride as self centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity -enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means "hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition." It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. Enmity toward God Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God's. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of "my will and not thine be done." As Paul said, they "seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's" (Philippians 2:21). Our will in competition to God's will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled (see Alma 38:10; 3 Nephi 12:30). The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives (see Helaman 12:6). They pit their perceptions of truth against God's great knowledge, their abilities versus God's priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works. Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hardheartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's. Enmity toward fellowmen Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them (see Helaman 6:17; D&C 58:41). The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone" (Mere Chris tianity [New York: Macmillan, 19521, pp. 109-10). In the preearthly council, Lucifer placed his proposal in competition with the Father's plan as advocated by Jesus Christ (see Moses 4:1-3). He wished to be honored above all others (see 2 Nephi24:13). In short, his prideful desire was to dethrone God (see D&C 29:36; 76:28). Consequences of pride The scriptures abound with evidences of the severe consequences of the sin of pride to individuals, groups, cities, and nations. "Pride goeth before destruction" (Proverbs 16:18). It destroyed the Nephite nation and the city of Sodom (see Moroni 8:27; Ezekiel 16:49-50). It was through pride that Christ was crucified. The Pharisees were wroth because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which was a threat to their position, and so they plotted His death (see John 11:53). Saul became an enemy to David through pride. He was jealous because the crowds of Israelite women were singing that "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7; see also 18:6, 8). The proud stand more in fear of men's judgment than of God's judgment (see D&C 3:6-7; 30:1-2; 60:2). "What will men think of me?" weighs heavier than "What will God think of me?" King Noah was about to free the prophet Abinadi, but an appeal to his pride by his wicked priests sent Abinadi to the flames (see Mosiah 17:11-12). Herrod sorrowed at the request of his wife to behead John the Baptist. But his prideful desire to look good to "them which sat with him at meat'; caused him to kill John (Matthew 14:9; see also Mark 6:26). Fear of men's judgment manifests itself in competition for men's approval. The proud love "the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43). Our motives for the things we do are where the sin is manifest. Jesus said He did "always those things" that pleased God (John- 8:29). Would we not do well to have the pleasing of God as our motive rather than to try to elevate ourselves above our brother and outdo another? Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else's. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride. When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men's judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod (see 1 Nephi 8:19-28; 11:25; 15:23-24). Manifestations of pride Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us (see 2 Nephi 9:42). There is, however, a far more common ailment among us and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous. Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position. Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. "How everything affects me" is the center of all that matters self conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking. Pride results in secret combinations which are built up to get power, gain, and glory of the world (see Helaman 7:5; Ether 8:9, 16, 22-23; Moses 5:31). This fruit of the sin of pride, namely secret combinations, brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and has been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations (see Ether 8:18-25). Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fail into this category of pride. Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that "only by pride cometh contention" (Proverbs 13:10; see also Proverbs 28:25). The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges (see 1 Nephi 16:1-3). They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings. The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily (see Proverbs 15:10; Amos 5:10). Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures (see Matthew 3:9; John 6:30-59). The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individual if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, If you succeed, I am a failure." If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men's, we will have self-esteem. "A damning sin" Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression (see Alma 12:10-11). The proud are not easily taught (see 1 Nephi 15:3, 7-11). They won't change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong. Pride adversely affects all our relationships -our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others? Pride fades our feelings of sonship to God and brotherhood to man. It separates and divides us by "ranks," according to our "riches" and our "chances for learning" (3 Nephi 6:12). Unity is impossible for a proud people, and unless we are one we are not the Lord's (see Mosiah 18:21; D&C 38:27; 105:2-4; Moses 7:18). The cost of pride Think of what pride has cost us in the past and what it is now costing us in our own lives, our families, and the Church. Think of the repentance that could take place with lives changed, marriages preserved, and homes strengthened, if pride did not keep us from confessing our sins and forsaking them (see D&C 58:43). Think of the many who are less active members of the Church because they were offended and their pride will not allow them to forgive or fully sup at the Lord's table. Think of the tens of thousands of additional young men and couples who could be on missions except for the pride that keeps them from yielding their hearts unto God (see Alma 10:6; Helaman 3:34-35). Think how temple work would increase if the time spent in this godly service were more important than the many prideful pursuits that compete for our time. The universal sin Pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees. Now you can see why the building in Lehi's dream that represents the pride of the world was large and spacious and great was the multitude that did enter into it (see 1 Nephi 8:26, 33; 11:35-36). Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Humility: the antidote for pride The antidote for pride is humility, meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 7:23). It is the broken heart and contrite spirit (see 3 Nephi 9:20; 12:19; D&C 20:37; 59:8; Psalm 34:18; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2). As Rudyard Kipling put it so well: The tumult and the shouting dies; The captains and the kings depart. Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget. ' ("God of Our Fathers, Known of Old," Hymn, no. 80) Choose to be humble God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, "Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble" (Alma 32:16). Let us choose to be humble. We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are (see D&C 38:24; 81:5; 84:106). We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement (see Jacob 4:10; Helaman 15:3; D&C 63:55; 101:4-5; 108: 1; 124:61, 84; 136:31; Proverbs 9:8). We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us (see 3 Nephi 13:11, 14; D&C 64:10). We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service (see Mosiah 2:16-17). We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others (see Alma 4:19. 31:5; 48:20). We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God (see D&C 58:43; Mosiah 27:25-26-, Alma 5:7-14, 49). We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives (see 3 Nephi 11: I 1; 13:33; Moroni 10:32). Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can. The great stumbling block to Zion My dear brethren and sisters, we must prepare to redeem Zion. It was essentially the sin of pride that kept us from establishing Zion in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was the same sin of pride that brought consecration to an end among the Nephites (see 4 Nephi 1:24-25). Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride (see Alma 6:2-4; Matthew 23:25-26). We must yield "to the enticings of the Holy Spirit," put off the prideful natural man," become "a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord," and become "as a child, submissive, meek, humble" (Mosiah 3:19; see also Alma 13:28). That we may do so and go on to fulfill our divine destiny is my fervent prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. April 2, 1989 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson President Ezra Taft Benson (Read by President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency) My dear brethren and sisters, how I have rejoiced in the messages I have heard delivered from this pulpit at this great general conference of the Church. The messages are true. They are important. They are vital to our personal salvation, and with all my heart I commend them to you. To the children of the Church In previous general meetings of the Church, I have spoken specifically to the mothers and to the fathers, to the young men and to the young women, to the single adult sisters and to the single adult brethren. For my closing message at this conference, I would now like to speak to the children of the Church yes, to you, our precious children. And as you listen, I pray that you will know that this is a personal message just for you. How I love you! How our Heavenly Father loves you! Just like the beautiful Primary song you sing, each of you truly is a child of God. For you, rich blessings are in store, and if you learn to do His will, you will live with Him once more. I know this to be true. (See "I Am a Child of God," Hymns, no. 301.) Today I desire to teach you what our Heavenly Father wants you to know so that you can learn to do His will and enjoy true happiness. It will help you now and throughout your life. Read the Book of Mormon First, may I say how thrilled I am to know how you children are learning about the Book of Mormon. This is one of the very important things Heavenly Father wants you to do. I know you are reading the Book of Mormon, for I have received hundreds of personal letters from you telling me that you are reading this sacred book. It makes me weep for joy when I hear this. Many of you have read the Book of Mormon all the way through. In family home evening and in Primary you have dramatized Book of Mormon stories, you have sung songs about the Book of Mormon, you have teamed the names of the books in the Book of Mormon, You have played Book of Mormon games, you have learned about wonderful Book of Mormon prophets. Some of you have even earned money to send copies of the Book of Mormon around the world. How pleased I am to hear of your love for the Book of Mormon. I love it too, and Heavenly Father wants you to continue to learn from the Book of Mormon every day. It's Heavenly Father's special gift to you. By following its teachings, you will learn to do the will of our Father in Heaven. I also hope your parents and leaders will give you opportunities to learn from the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible as well. Pray every day Now, there are other important things Heavenly Father wants you to do. He wants you to pray to Him every day. He wants to help you because He loves you, and He will help you if you pray to Him and ask Him for His help. In your prayers, also thank Him for your blessings. Thank Him for sending our oldest brother, Jesus Christ, into the world. He made it possible for us to return to our heavenly home. Thank Him for your family. Thank Him for the Church. Thank Him for this beautiful world you live in. Ask Him to protect you. In your prayers, ask Him to help you know what to do in your life. When you make mistakes, your Heavenly Father still loves you. So pray to Him, and He will help you try again to do right. Pray to Heavenly Father to bless you with His Spirit at all times. We often call the Spirit the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is also a gift from Heavenly Father. The Holy Ghost helps you to choose the right. The Holy Ghost will protect you from evil. He whispers to you in a still, small voice to do right. When you do good, you feel good, and that is the Holy Ghost speaking to you. The Holy Ghost is a wonderful companion. He is always there to help you. Be a true Latter-day Saint My dear boys and girls, honor your fathers and mothers. They will help you make good decisions. Enjoy and respect your grandparents. Be a real friend to your brothers and sisters. Choose friends who have high ideals. Choose friends who will help you to be good. Attend sacrament meeting. Listen carefully to what your bishop says. He is an important spiritual leader who has a special calling from Heavenly Father to help you. Enjoy Primary, and attend every week. Bring your member and nonmember friends to Primary. Learn the Primary songs well. They are wonderful. Memorize the Articles of Faith and earn the Gospel in Action Award. Be honest. Do not lie nor steal. Do not cheat. Do not use profanity, but be clean in your thoughts and speech. Be a true Latter-day Saint. Stand up for your beliefs. One of my favorite Primary songs is "Dare to Do Right." Some of the words are: Dare to do right! dare to be true! You have a work that no other can do; Do it so bravely, so kindly, so we Angels will hasten the story to tell. (Sing with Me, B-81) Remember, Satan does not want you to be happy. He does not want you to dare to do right. He wants you to be miserable, as he is. He has captured the hearts of wicked men and women who would have you participate in bad things such as pornography, drugs, profanity, and immorality. Stay away from these evils. Avoid books, magazines, videos, movies, and television shows that are not good. As the scriptures tell us, avoid the very appearance of evil (see 1 Thessalonians 5:22). Dress modestly. Choose clothing that cover's your body properly. Behave in a courteous and polite way. Live the Word of Wisdom. Keep the Sabbath da holy. Listen to good music. Do your best to be good. Do well in your school work and strive to be a good student. With help from your parents, begin your own library of favorite tapes, books, and pictures which are available at Church distribution centers. Enjoy reading each month in your home the Friend magazine or the international magazines. Love the country in which you live. Be a good citizen. Be patriotic. Fly your country's flag on special holidays. Pray for your country's leaders. Primary boys, plan and look forward to serving a full-time mission for the Lord. Young girls, be prepared for missionary service if you are called. But also, young girls, learn from your mothers the important homemaking skills you will use in your own home. To children who do not feel safe Now I want to say something to you children who do not feel safe and who are frightened or hurt and do not know what to do. Sometimes you may feel all alone. You need to know that even when it seems that no one else cares, your Heavenly Father does. He will always love you He wants you to be protected and safe. If you are not, please talk to someone who can help you a parent, a teacher, your bishop, or a friend. They will help you. Angels will minister unto you I am sure each of you has favorite stories from the scriptures. One of my favorite stories is found in the seventeenth chapter of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. It tells about the visit of Jesus to the people on the American continent after His resurrection. It tells about Jesus healing the sick and teaching the people and praying to Heavenly Father for them. Now, this is one of my favorite parts of that story: "And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of tile multitude that they were overcome. "And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise. "And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. "And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again; . "And he spake unto the multitude, and, said unto them: Behold your little ones. "And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them" (3 Nephi 17:18-24). I promise you, dear children, that angels will minister unto you also. You may not see them, but they will be there to help you, and you will feel of their presence. Favored little ones were they, Who towards him Jesus drew! Who within his arms he took Just as loving parents do, Christ the Lord "Our living head. This of little children said, "Such shall of my kingdom be, Suffer them to come to me." Listen to the Savior's plea, "Let the children come to me." ("Let the Little Children Come," Sing with Me, B - 14) Walk in the light Dear children, our Heavenly Father sent you to earth at this time because you are some of His most valiant children. He knew there would be much wickedness in the world today, and He knew you could be faithful and obedient. Dear child, you are God's gift to your parents, and the gift your parents can give God is to bring you back to Him sweet and pure and faithful. He expects your parents and leaders to teach you, to walk beside you, and to be shining examples to you so that you will know the way you should go. They must spend time with you and love you and pray with you and for you. Your leaders must call faithful men and women to teach you in Primary. We must provide experiences for you early in your life that will help you know how to live the gospel. And bless the children of this Church. How I love you! How Heavenly Father loves you! And may we, as your parents, teachers, and leaders, be more childlike more submissive, more meek, and more humble. I close my message to you this day with the prayer that we may ever respond to your plea as you so sweetly sing, Teach me to walk in the light of his love; Teach me to pray to my Father above; Teach me to know of the things that are right; Teach me, teach me to walk in the light. And then, as your parents, we sing to you, Come, little child, and together we'll learn Of his commandments, that we may return Home to his presence, to live in his sight Always, always to walk in the light. And together we sing: Father in Heaven, we thank thee this day For loving guidance to show us the way. Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight! Gladly, gladly we'll walk in the light. ("Teach Me to Walk in the Light," Hymns, no. 304) For this I fervently pray for the children of the Church, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. September 30, 1989 General Conference President Ezra Taft Benson President Ezra Taft Benson (Read by President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency) My beloved brethren and sisters, it is a joy to be able to meet with you again in another glorious general conference of the Church -to feel of your spirit and support and to know of your love of the Lord. I look forward to hearing the inspiring messages of the General Authorities of the Church. I am so grateful for their sustaining power and in particular for the great help of my noble Counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve. May I express to them and to all of you my deep appreciation for your kind remembrances to me on my recent ninetieth birthday. To the elderly in the Church In the past I have directed my remarks to the children of the Church, to the young men and young women, to the single adult brethren and sisters, and to the mothers and fathers in Israel. This morning I would like to speak to the elderly in the Church and to their families and to those who minister to their needs. I hold special feelings for the elderly - for this marvelous group of men and women. I feel that in some measure I understand them, for I am one of them. The Lord knows and loves the elderly among His people. It has always been so, and upon them He has bestowed many of His greatest responsibilities. In various dispensations He has guided His people through prophets who were in their advancing years. He has needed the wisdom and experience of age, the inspired direction from those with long years of proven faithfulness to His gospel. The Lord blessed Sarah, in her old age, to bear Abraham a child. Perhaps King Benjamin's greatest sermon was given when he was very elderly and nigh unto death. He was truly an instrument in the hands of the Lord as he was able to lead and establish peace among his people. Many other men and women throughout the ages have accomplished great things as they went forth to serve the Lord and His children, even in their elderly years. In our dispensation, of the thirteen prophets who have been called of the Lord, many were called when they were in their seventies or eighties, or even older. How the Lord knows and loves His children who have given so much through their years of experience! We love you who are the elderly in the Church. You are the fastest-growing segment of our population in the world today, as well as within the Church. Our desires are that your golden years will be wonderful and rewarding. We pray that you will feel the joy of a life well spent and one filled with fond memories and even greater expectations through Christ's atonement. We hope you will feel of the peace the Lord promised those who continue to strive to keep His commandments and follow His example. We hope your days are filled with things to do and ways in which you can render service to others who are not as fortunate as you. Older almost always means better, for your wealth of wisdom and experience can continue to expand and increase as you reach out to others. May we suggest eight areas in which we can make the most of our senior years: Temple work 1.Work in the temple and attend often. We who are older should use our energies not only to bless our predecessors, but to ensure that, insofar as possible, all of our posterity might receive the ordinances of exaltation in the temple. Work with your families; counsel with and pray for those who may yet be unwilling to prepare themselves. We urge all who can to attend the temple frequently and accept calls to serve in the temple when health and strength and distance will permit. We rely on you to help in temple service. With the increasing number of temples, we need more of our members to prepare themselves for this sweet service. Sister Benson and I are grateful that almost every week we can attend the temple together. What a blessing this has been in our lives! Family histories 2.Collect and write family histories. We call on you to pursue vigorously the gathering and writing of personal and family histories. In so many instances, you alone have within you the history, the memory of loved ones, the dates and events. In some situations you are the family history. In few ways will your heritage be better preserved than by your collecting and writing your histories. Missionary service 3.Become involved in missionary service. We need increasing numbers of senior missionaries in missionary service. Where health and means make it possible, we call upon hundreds more of our couples to set their lives and affairs in order and to go on missions. How we need you in the mission field! You are able to perform missionary service in ways that our younger missionaries cannot. I'm grateful that two of my own widowed sisters were able to serve as missionary companions together in England. They were sixty-eight and seventy-three years of age when they were called, and they both had a marvelous experience. What an example and a blessing it is to a family's posterity when grandparents serve missions. Most senior couples who go are strengthened and revitalized by missionary service. Through this holy avenue of service, many are sanctified and feel the joy of bringing others to the knowledge of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, through the Family-to-Family Book of Mormon Program, send copies of the Book of Mormon on missions with your testimonies enclosed. Family togetherness 4. Provide leadership by building family togetherness. We urge all senior members, when possible, to call their families together. Organize them into cohesive units. Give leadership to family gatherings. Establish family reunions where fellowship and family heritage can be felt and learned. Some of the sweetest memories I have are of our own family reunions and gatherings. Foster wonderful family traditions which will bind you together eternally. In doing so, we can create a bit of heaven right here on earth within individual families. After all, eternity will be but an extension of righteous family life. Church callings 5.Accept and fulfill Church call ings. We trust that all senior members who possibly can will accept callings in the Church and fulfill them with dignity. I am grateful to personally know brethren who are in their seventies and eighties who are serving as bishops and branch presidents. How we need the counsel and influence of you who have walked the pathway of life! We all need to hear of your successes and how you have risen above heartache, pain, or disappointment, having become stronger for experiencing them. There are rich opportunities for you to serve in most of the organizations of the Church. You have the time and solid gospel foundation which enable you to render a great work. In so many ways you lead out in faithful service in the Church. We thank you for all that you have done and pray that the Lord will strengthen you to do more. Finances 6. Plan for your financial future. As you move through life toward retirement and the decades which follow, we invite all of our senior members to plan frugally for the years following full-time employment. Let us avoid unnecessary debt. We also advise caution in co-signing financial notes, even with family members, when retirement income might be jeopardized. Be even more cautious in advancing years about "get-rich" schemes, mortgaging homes, or investing in uncertain ventures. Proceed cautiously so that the planning of a lifetime is not disrupted by one or a series of poor financial decisions. Plan your financial future early, then follow the plan. Christlike service 7.Render Christlike service. Christlike service exalts. Knowing this, we call on all senior members who are able to thrust in their sickles in service to others. This can be part of the sanctifying process. The Lord has promised that those who lose their lives serving others will find themselves. The Prophet Joseph Smith told us that we should "wear out our lives" in bringing to pass the Lord's purposes (D&C 123:13). Peace and joy and blessings will follow those who render service to others. Yes, we commend Christlike service to all, but it is especially sweet in the lives of the elderly. Physical fitness 8.Stay physically fit, healthy, and active. We are thrilled with the efforts being made by so many of the elderly to ensure good health in advancing years. We see many walking in the early mornings. We hear of others who use exercise equipment in their own homes. Some even enter marathons and do remarkably well. Still others have swimming programs to keep them fit. Until recently our own beloved General Authority emeritus, Joseph Anderson, now in his one hundredth year, would swim a mile every day. I am not quite up to that, but I do enjoy a vigorous walk each day, which refreshes me. How we love to see our elderly remain vigorous and active! Through keeping active, both the mind and the body function better. One stake president reported that one of his members went waterskiing on his eightieth birthday. Overcome aloneness by serving others To those who have lost your spouses, we should also like to express our love. Sometimes there is for some of you a feeling of uselessness and aloneness which can be almost overwhelming. In so many instances, this need not be so. In addition to the eight suggestions just mentioned, here is a sampling of activities that have proved helpful to others. Some who are alone keep busy by quilting blankets for each new grandchild to be married or each new baby born into the family. Others write letters on birthdays or attend school and athletic events of grandchildren when they can. Some compile albums of pictures of each grandchild to give on birthdays. We know of one widowed great-grandmother who teaches piano to nearly thirty students. She has spoken to nearly five thousand youth in the last three years. One of them asked her, "Did you cross the plains with the pioneers?" We see numerous others of our widows who volunteer as "pink ladies" at the hospitals or render other kinds of community service. So many find fulfillment helping in these ways. The key to overcoming aloneness and a feeling of uselessness for one who is physically able is to step outside yourself by helping others who are truly needy. We promise those who will render this kind of service that, in some measure, you will be healed of the loss of loved ones or the dread of being alone. The way to feel better about your own situation is to improve someone else's circumstances. Remain strong through illness To those who are ill and suffering pain and the vicissitudes of this life, we extend particular love and concern. Our hearts and prayers go out to you. Remember what father Lehi said in blessing his son Jacob, who had suffered at the hands of his older brothers Laman and Lemuel. He said, "Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" (2 Nephi 2:2). And so he will for you. We pray that you will continue to strive to remain strong in attitude and spirit. We know it is not always easy. We pray that those who now do for you tasks that you no longer are able to do for yourself will do so in love, in gentleness, and with a caring spirit. We hope that you will continue to generate good thoughts and feelings in your heart and mind and quickly dismiss those which are harmful and destructive to you. We trust your prayers are being offered daily and even hourly, if needed. As the Book of Mormon teaches, "Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you" (Alma 34:38). You will find that the daily reading of the Book of Mormon will lift your spirit, draw you nearer to your Savior, and help you to be a student of the gospel who can share great truths with others. To the families of the elderly Now for a few minutes may I speak to the families of the elderly. We repeat a scripture from Psalms: "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth" (Psalm 71:9). We encourage families to give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and attention they deserve. Let us remember the scriptural command that we must care for those of our own house lest we be found "worse than an infidel" (I Timothy 5:8). I am so grateful for my own dear family and for the loving care they have given their parents over so many years. Remember that parents and grandparents are our responsibility, and we are to care for them to the very best of our ability. When the elderly have no families to care for them, priesthood and Relief Society leaders should make every effort to meet their needs in the same loving way. We submit a few suggestions to families of the elderly. Honour thy father and thy mother" Ever since the Lord etched the Ten Commandments into the tablets of stone, His words from Sinai have echoed down through the centuries to "honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12). To honor and respect our parents means that we have a high regard for them. We love and appreciate them and are concerned about their happiness and well-being. We treat them with courtesy and thoughtful consideration. We seek to understand their point of view. Certainly obedience to parents' righteous desires and wishes is a part of honoring. Be grateful and forgiving Furthermore, our parents deserve our honor and respect for giving us life itself. Beyond this they almost always made countless sacrifices as they cared for and nurtured us through our infancy and childhood, provided us with the necessities of life, and nursed us through physical illnesses and the emotional stresses of growing up. In many instances, they provided us with the opportunity to receive an education, and, in a measure, they educated us. Much of what we know and do we learned from their example. May we ever be grateful to them and show that gratitude. Let us also learn to be forgiving of our parents, who, perhaps having made mistakes as they reared us, almost always did the best they knew how. May we ever forgive them as we would likewise wish to be forgiven by our own children for mistakes we make. Allow freedom of choice Even when parents become elderly, we ought to honor them by allowing them freedom of choice and the opportunity for independence as long as possible. Let us not take away from them choices which they can still make. Some parents are able to live and care for themselves well into their advancing years and would prefer to do so. When they can, let them. If they become less able to live independently, then family, Church, and community resources may be needed to help them. When the elderly become unable to care for themselves, even with supplemental aid, care can be provided in the home of a family member when possible. Church and community resources may also be needed in this situation. Support care-givers and include the elderly The role of the care-giver is vital. There is great need for support and help to be given to such a person. Usually this is an elderly spouse or a middle-aged daughter with children of her own to care for as well as caring for the elderly parent. We also hope that you would include the elderly in family activities when possible. What a joy it is for us to see lively, sweet grandchildren with a loving grandparent in the midst of them. Children love such occasions. They love to have their grandparents visit them and to have them over for dinner, for family home eve nings, and for other special events. This provides opportunities for teaching ways to honor, love, respect, and care for those who are in their later years. Opportunities for grandparents Grandparents can have a profound influence on their grandchildren. Their time is generally not as encumbered and busy as the parents', so books can be opened and read, stories can be told, and application of gospel principles can be taught. Children then obtain a perspective of life which not only is rewarding but can bring them security, peace, and strength. It is possible to send letters, tapes, and pictures, particularly where distances are great and it is not possible to see one another often. Those who are blessed with a closeness to grandparents and other elderly people have a rich companionship and association. There might be times when they can attend graduations, weddings, temple excursions, missionary farewells and homecomings, and other special events with family members. We enjoy watching our children and grandchildren grow and achieve in special ways as we share in many of their joys and rejoice in their victories. Happiness blesses our lives as our children strive and achieve in their own lives. In 3 John 1:4 we read, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." And knowing this can bring a renewal of love and courage to continue in our own struggles. To the priesthood leaders of the elderly Finally, we would urge priesthood leaders of the elderly to be sensitive to the Spirit of our Father in Heaven in assessing and meeting the spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial needs of the elderly. We trust you will utilize your counselors, Melchizedek Priesthood quorum leaders, and Relief Society leaders, home teachers, and visiting teachers in this great responsibility, for we must fulfill these duties without reluctance or hesitation. Give church callings We hope that priesthood and auxiliary leaders will continue to give the elderly callings in which they can use their reservoirs of wisdom and counsel. We hope, where possible, that each can be a home teacher or visiting teacher. Even those who are somewhat confined to their beds and homes can sometimes assist in this watch-care through telephone calls, writing notes, or other special assignments. A priesthood leader can do much to assist and encourage individuals and couples as they prepare to serve missions. The temple extraction and welfare programs are blessed greatly by those who are in their senior years and have opportunities to serve in these areas. Assign home teachers and visiting teachers We hope each of the elderly individuals and couples has sensitive and caring home teachers and visiting teachers assigned to them. Great comfort and peace can come to those who know they have someone to whom they can turn in time of emergency or need. It is important that tact, diplomacy, and sincerity be evident in assessing and addressing such needs. We hope you will involve the independent elderly in compassionate service assignments. Include them also in stake and ward social activities, especially single members and those with dependent spouses. So many times they are forgotten. Especially at the time of the death of a spouse, loving care can be given. This is a very tender time for most. Help those who care for the elderly At times temporary relief is very much needed and appreciated by family members who provide constant physical and emotional care to those with special needs. It is important to help the family maintain its functions as a family with periodic freedom from the heavy responsibilities that long-term or terminal illness can impose. All need loving support and relief from the overwhelming duties of serious illness or problems. Transportation is often a great concern to the elderly. We can assist by providing a way for them to attend their Sunday meetings, visit loved ones, shop, and go to the doctor or clinic. Again, we should prayerfully seek inspiration and direction in caring for the elderly. There is always a great diversity of individuals and individual needs. Prophetic testimony and blessing God bless the elderly in the Church. I love you with all my heart. I am one of you. You have so much to live for. May these golden years be your very best years as you fully live and love and serve. And God bless those who minister to your needs-your family, your friends, and your fellow Church members and leaders. I leave you my testimony of the joy of living-of the joys of full gospel living and of going through the Refiner's fire and the sanctification process that takes place. As the Apostle Paul so well said, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). I leave my blessing upon you. The Savior lives. This is His church. The work is true, and in the words of our Lord and Savior, "Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life" (3 Nephi 15:9), to which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. President Benson neither wrote nor gave any further addresses in his tenure as President of the Church. He died in June of 1994.