Sunday Morning (MST) session
Henry B. Eyring spoke about the sacred charge on all of us to be charitable, stand as witnesses of God and endure due to baptismal promises we make. I liked the way he described work that they did as "hard and happy". He quoted Mosiah 2:17 about service, and also from Mormon saying that charity is the pure love of Christ. It made me think about how small my service is- sometimes as simple as making cupcakes- but if I do it with love it is truly charity. He talked about how the Book of Mormon helps us to answer challenges that we face with character, power and courage. The examples in the Book of Mormon life, guide and embolden us. I loved his stories about incredible people he knew that endured to the end, such as a man with terminal illness in hospital waiting on his bed for a blessing with new shoes on, ready to jump up and go to work if that was the Lord's desire. He quoted Marion G. Romney: "In one who is wholly converted, desire for things inimical to the gospel of Jesus Christ has actually died, and substituted therefore is a love of God with a fixed and controlling determination to keep his commandments.", Moroni 10:32 and Mosiah 2:30. He reminded us not to hide the Book of Mormon from our view by piling cares on top of it.
Robert D. Hales talked about trials. I liked that he mentioned "opportunity" in the beginning and that made me think about how everything in life, no matter how hard, is an opportunity. He talked about how the Saviour still follows His father's plan and that prophets also have trials. The reason is that we can grow and develop, being strengthened as we wait on the Lord, knowing that all things are for our experience. Waiting includes hope, anticipation and trust and during this waiting we develop patience, faith and meekness (ALL things I am in desperate need of!). He talked about having a perfect brightness of hope and relying on the merits of Christ. He talked about Job and quoted my favourite OT scripture mastery. That reminded me of the Hugh B. Brown talk about the currant bush. Sometimes the Lord cuts us down but we need to trust Him when he does. I realised, personally, during this talk that I need to remember that I am not just separate parts of myself; I often think of myself as a Medical Student... and a member of the Church... etc... whereas, I am all of these things all the time and He can help me throughout all of it. He is with us in our Gethsemane; and He never sleeps. If we wait on Him our strength is renewed.
Tad R. Callister spoke next and quoted C.S. Lewis's 'Trilemma'. In the same way that Lewis argued that Jesus was either a liar or the son of God, the Book of Mormon is either of God or of the devil. He quote three scriptures (2 Nephi 32:3 and Helaman 5:12 and Moroni 10:32) and asked if they bring us closer to God. He quoted Christ's teachings about a kingdom not being divided against itself, meaning that Satan will not teach us to do good and destroy his own purposes. He talked about the fact that the Bible is one point on its own and if we put a line through that point the line could run anywhere. If the Book of Mormon is another point, only one line will intersect both. This leads to one Lord, one faith and one baptism. He then highlighted some doctrines in the Bible that are supported and clarified by the Book of Mormon; baptism, and present revelation.
Elaine S. Dalton talked to Fathers about raising daughters; citing her source of inspiration as her macho son who has just had a little baby girl. She said that the best thing a Father can do for his daughter is to love her mother. She talked about the temple and how in the scriptures, after the temple was built in Nephi's day it was then that they lived after the manner of happiness. She mentioned that the Young Women are being taught in church by their leaders to have virtue and that a father has the duty to uphold virtue. A Father should be an example of true strength and moral courage; proving that personal purity = power. She talked about how the Priesthood is inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and she cited Abish as an example of a woman who had been taught by her father. She quoted 'rise up, O men of God' and talked about Moroni as an example of a man of perfect understanding. She reminded the daughters and fathers to 'Be loyal to the royal within.'
M. Russell Ballard spoke about the importance of a name, in particular taking Christ's name upon us as part of the name of His Church. He said that we need to remind others that we are 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' because it explains who we are. It is ok to occasionally use the term 'Mormon' - particularly with reference to the website, but that we should explain where that nickname derives from.
Thomas S. Monson (the current prophet!) was the final speaker and I would recommend watching the video of him speaking as I can't do justice to his facial expressions! He talked about how there is a rapidly evolving technological advance and moral decline. He quoted from Jonathan Sacks in the Wall Street Journal who said:
"In virtually every Western society in the 1960s there was a moral revolution, an abandonment of its entire traditional ethic of self-restraint. All you need, sang the Beatles, is love. The Judeo-Christian moral code was jettisoned. In its place came: whatever works for you. The Ten Commandments were rewritten as the Ten Creative Suggestions." and "There are large parts of Britain, Europe and even the United States where religion is a thing of the past and there is no counter-voice to the culture of buy it, spend it, wear it, flaunt it, because you're worth it. The message is that morality is passé, conscience is for wimps, and the single overriding command is "Thou shalt not be found out." "
However, the ten commandments are still in force. President Monson said, "If we listen we hear the echo of God's voice even now.." in telling us that these commandments are still valid. He told us that we can rely on God's constancy. (I personally really felt that in my confusion I need to cling to God.) He warned against being a 'natural man' who does not receive spiritual things. He counselled toward vigilance to ensure that we do not surrender the possibility of living once more with our Heavenly Father. He told us we could have peace through righteousness. Sometimes we don't know what will happen when we follow inspiration but we must act and be worthy to feel the inspiration when it comes. He ended with a message to remind us that we should not be dismayed because we have the Lord's strength on our side.
Tad R. Callister spoke next and quoted C.S. Lewis's 'Trilemma'. In the same way that Lewis argued that Jesus was either a liar or the son of God, the Book of Mormon is either of God or of the devil. He quote three scriptures (2 Nephi 32:3 and Helaman 5:12 and Moroni 10:32) and asked if they bring us closer to God. He quoted Christ's teachings about a kingdom not being divided against itself, meaning that Satan will not teach us to do good and destroy his own purposes. He talked about the fact that the Bible is one point on its own and if we put a line through that point the line could run anywhere. If the Book of Mormon is another point, only one line will intersect both. This leads to one Lord, one faith and one baptism. He then highlighted some doctrines in the Bible that are supported and clarified by the Book of Mormon; baptism, and present revelation.
Elaine S. Dalton talked to Fathers about raising daughters; citing her source of inspiration as her macho son who has just had a little baby girl. She said that the best thing a Father can do for his daughter is to love her mother. She talked about the temple and how in the scriptures, after the temple was built in Nephi's day it was then that they lived after the manner of happiness. She mentioned that the Young Women are being taught in church by their leaders to have virtue and that a father has the duty to uphold virtue. A Father should be an example of true strength and moral courage; proving that personal purity = power. She talked about how the Priesthood is inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and she cited Abish as an example of a woman who had been taught by her father. She quoted 'rise up, O men of God' and talked about Moroni as an example of a man of perfect understanding. She reminded the daughters and fathers to 'Be loyal to the royal within.'
M. Russell Ballard spoke about the importance of a name, in particular taking Christ's name upon us as part of the name of His Church. He said that we need to remind others that we are 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' because it explains who we are. It is ok to occasionally use the term 'Mormon' - particularly with reference to the website, but that we should explain where that nickname derives from.
Thomas S. Monson (the current prophet!) was the final speaker and I would recommend watching the video of him speaking as I can't do justice to his facial expressions! He talked about how there is a rapidly evolving technological advance and moral decline. He quoted from Jonathan Sacks in the Wall Street Journal who said:
"In virtually every Western society in the 1960s there was a moral revolution, an abandonment of its entire traditional ethic of self-restraint. All you need, sang the Beatles, is love. The Judeo-Christian moral code was jettisoned. In its place came: whatever works for you. The Ten Commandments were rewritten as the Ten Creative Suggestions." and "There are large parts of Britain, Europe and even the United States where religion is a thing of the past and there is no counter-voice to the culture of buy it, spend it, wear it, flaunt it, because you're worth it. The message is that morality is passé, conscience is for wimps, and the single overriding command is "Thou shalt not be found out." "
However, the ten commandments are still in force. President Monson said, "If we listen we hear the echo of God's voice even now.." in telling us that these commandments are still valid. He told us that we can rely on God's constancy. (I personally really felt that in my confusion I need to cling to God.) He warned against being a 'natural man' who does not receive spiritual things. He counselled toward vigilance to ensure that we do not surrender the possibility of living once more with our Heavenly Father. He told us we could have peace through righteousness. Sometimes we don't know what will happen when we follow inspiration but we must act and be worthy to feel the inspiration when it comes. He ended with a message to remind us that we should not be dismayed because we have the Lord's strength on our side.
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