President Monson Opening Address
We continue to build temples. This morning I am pleased to announce five additional temples for which sites are being acquired and which, in coming months and years, will be built in the following locations: Hartford, Connecticut; Indianapolis, Indiana; Tijuana, Mexico; Urdaneta, Philippines; and Lisbon, Portugal.
First, to young men of the Aaronic Priesthood and to you young men who are becoming elders, I repeat what prophets have long taught — that every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Missionary service is a priesthood duty — an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. Keep yourselves clean and pure and worthy to represent the Lord. Maintain your health and strength. Study the scriptures. Where such is available, participate in Seminary or Institute. Familiarize yourself with the missionary handbook, Preach My Gospel.
A word to you young sisters: While you do not have the same priesthood responsibility as do the young men to serve as full-time missionaries, you also make a valuable contribution as missionaries, and we welcome your service.
And now to you mature brothers and sisters, we need many, many more senior couples. To the faithful couples now serving or who have served in the past, we thank you for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good.
To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full-time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master.
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President Uchtdorf said most Church members intuitively understand how important the fundamentals are, they just get distracted by so many other things that seem more enticing.
"It is so easy for the basic gospel message to get lost amidst the deluge of information that hits us from all sides," he said. "The holy scriptures and the spoken word of the living prophets give emphasis to the foundational principals and doctrines of the gospel. The reason we return to these foundational principles, to the pure doctrines, is because they are the gateway to truths of profound meaning."
President Uchtdorf told the worldwide congregation that they would do well to slow down a little and focus on the things that matter most.
"Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness.... Brothers and sisters, diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."
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In his priesthood meeting address, President Thomas S. Monson spoke of choices and consequences, grouping his categories into "the three R's of choice," which he identified as the right of choice, the responsibility of choice, and the results of choice,
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Thus, President Eyring defined his message as this: "Let us do whatever is required to qualify for the Holy Ghost as our constant companion and then let us go forward fearlessly that we will be given the powers to do whatever the Lord calls us to do. That growth in power may come slowly, it may come in small steps that are difficult for you to see, but it will come."
Priesthood holders, President Eyring said, should never miss an opportunity to participate with all their hearts in the promise of the sacrament prayer: "To take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them."
As did Jesus' disciples when He was in mortality, "we should pray for the manifestations of the Holy Ghost to come to us in our service and to those we serve," President Eyring said. "Humble prayer to our Heavenly Father, in deep faith in Jesus Christ is essential to qualify us for the companionship of the Holy Ghost."
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"I believe there is a difference between being proud of certain things and being prideful," President Uchtdorf said, adding he is proud of many things, including his wife, their children and grandchildren, the youth of the Church and the priesthood bearers to whom he was speaking.
"So what is the difference between this kind of feeling and the pride that President Benson called 'the universal sin'?" he asked. "Pride is sinful … because it breeds hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God and our fellowmen. At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with 'Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,' it always seems to end with 'Therefore, I am better than you.'"
A heart filled with pride violates two great commandments he said, explaining that instead of worshiping God and loving one's neighbor, a prideful person loves and worships the image he sees in the mirror.
"Pride is the great sin of self-elevation," President Uchtdorf said. "It is, for so many, a personal Rameumptom, a holy stand that justifies envy, greed and vanity."
Pride has many faces, he said, leading some to revel in their own perceived self-worth. "At its core is the desire to be admired or envied. It is the sin of self-glorification.
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Elder Uceda said the home has to be a place where the Holy Spirit may dwell. He then quoted Doctrine and Covenants 121:37, 41-42, about the attributes by which priesthood power is maintained: persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness and pure knowledge.
"Contention departs our homes and our lives as we strive to live these Christlike attributes," Elder Uceda affirmed.
He said Christ teaches people how to establish peace in their homes, to be submissive, meek, humble, patient and to be full of love.
"Yes, He teaches us to put off the natural man, like the father in this story who pleaded to the Lord for help," he said. "Yes, just as the father embraced his daughter in the arms of love, so too does the Savior extend out His arms to embrace us during our times of true repentance."
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"When we choose another path from the one we know to be right, as taught by our parents and leaders, and as confirmed to our own hearts by the Holy Ghost, it is like stepping onto the desert sand in flip-flops instead of shoes," Elder Kearon said. "We then seek to justify our rebellious behavior. We tell ourselves we're not really doing anything that wrong, that it doesn't really matter, and that nothing all that bad will result from letting go just a little from the Iron Rod. Perhaps we console ourselves with thought that everyone else is doing it – or doing worse – and we won't be negatively affected anyway. We somehow convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule and therefore immune to the consequences of breaking it."
Elder Kearon drew a lesson from the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in the Book of Mormon who, becoming a righteous people, not only laid down their weapons of war but also their rebellion (see Alma 23:7).
"They qualified themselves for the Lord's healing and peace, and so can we," Elder Kearon remarked.
He said healing and relief are found "only when we bring ourselves to the feet of the Great Physician, our Savior Jesus Christ. We must lay down our weapons of rebellion (and we each know what they are). We must lay down our sin, vanity and pride. We must give up our desires to follow the world, and to be respected and lauded by the world. We must cease fighting against God and instead, give our whole hearts to Him, holding nothing back. Then, He can heal us. Then, He can cleanse us from the venomous sting of sin."
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Saying every member can be an example of the believers, Elder Nelson added, alluding to several scriptural passages, "Brethren, as followers of Jesus Christ, each of you can live in accord with His teachings. You can have a 'pure heart and clean hands.' You can have 'the image of God engraven upon your [countenance].' Your good works will be evident to others. The light of the Lord can beam from your eyes. With that radiance, you had better prepare for questions. The Apostle Peter also counseled: 'Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you' (1 Peter 3:15).
"Let your response be warm and joyful. And let your response be relevant to that individual. Remember, he or she is also a child of God, that very God who dearly wants that person to qualify for eternal life and return to Him one day. You may be the very one to open the door to his or her salvation and understanding of the doctrine of Christ."
Be ready to take the next step, Elder Nelson advised, such as inviting a friend to attend Church. "Many of our friends do not know they are welcome in our Church buildings. 'Come and see' was the Savior's invitation to those who desired to learn more about Him."
He counseled members to reach out to those they do not know and greet them warmly. "Each Sunday extend a hand of fellowship to at least one person you did not know before. Each day of your life, strive to enlarge your own circle of friendship."
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Agency is the ability and privilege God gives His children to choose and to "act for ourselves and not to be acted upon," declared Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve.
"Agency is to act with accountability and responsibility for our actions," he said Saturday afternoon. "Our agency is essential to the plan of salvation. With it, we 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).
Agency — the ability to choose and act for oneself — was an essential element of Heavenly Father's plan of salvation. "Without agency, we would be unable to make right choices and progress. Yet, with agency we could make wrong choices, commit sin and lose the opportunity to be with Heavenly Father again. For this reason, a Savior would be provided to suffer for our sins and redeem us, if we would repent. By His infinite Atonement, He brought 'about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice'" (Alma 42:15).
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