179th Annual General Conference Sunday afternoon
Published: Sunday, April 5, 2009
"I pray heaven's blessings be with you," said President Thomas S. Monson as he brought the 179th Annual General Conference to a close Sunday afternoon, April 5. "May your homes be filled with harmony and love. May you constantly nourish your testimonies, that they might be a protection to you against the adversary. ...
"I love you. I pray for you. I would ask that you would remember me and all the General Authorities in your prayers. Until we meet again in six months' time, I ask the Lord's blessings to be upon all of us."
After the conference concluded, President Monson took his time leaving the podium. He paused to shake hands and speak with various members of the Quorum of the Twelve. He stood for a moment, facing the vast congregation in the Conference Center, and then waved. The response was immediate: thousands of hands waved in return.
President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, conducted the Sunday afternoon session, during which Elder Spencer V. Jones and Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Seventy offered the invocation and benediction, respectively. Music for the session was provided by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, directed by Mack Wilberg and Ed Thompson, with Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe on the organ.
Following are quotes from addresses delivered during the Sunday afternoon session of conference:
President Thomas S. Monson
My brothers and sisters, may we strive to live closer to the Lord. May we remember to "pray always, lest [we] enter into temptation (3 Nephi 18:18)."
To you parents, express your love to your children. Pray for them, that they may be able to withstand the evils of the world. Pray that they may grow in faith and in testimony. Pray that they may pursue lives of goodness and of service to others.
Children, let your parents know you love them. Let them know that you appreciate all that they have done and continue to do for you.
Now, a word of caution to all ?— both young and old, both male and female. We live at a time when the adversary is using every means possible to ensnare us in his web of deceit, trying desperately to take us down with him. There are many pathways along which he entices us to go — pathways that can lead to our destruction. Advances in many areas that can be used for our good can also be used to speed us along that heinous pathway. I feel to mention one in particular, and that is the internet. On one hand, it provides nearly limitless opportunities for acquiring useful and important information. Through it we can communicate with others around the world. The Church, itself, has a wonderful Web site, filled with valuable and uplifting information and priceless resources.
On the other hand, however ?— and extremely alarming — are the numbers of individuals who are utilizing the internet for evil and degrading purposes, the viewing of pornography being the most prevalent of these purposes. My brothers and sisters, involvement in such will literally destroy the spirit. Be strong. Be clean. Avoid such degrading and destructive types of content at all costs ?— wherever they may be! I sound this warning to everyone, everywhere. I add — particularly to the young people — that this includes pornographic images transmitted via cell phones.
My beloved friends, under no circumstances allow yourselves to become trapped in the viewing of pornography, one of the most effective of Satan's enticements. And if you have allowed yourself to become involved in this behavior, cease now. Seek the help you need to overcome and to change the direction of your life. Take the steps necessary to get back on the straight and narrow, and then stay there.
May we say, with Joshua of old, "choose you this day whom ye will serve; ...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)."
Elder L. Tom Perry, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
It should be "with great earnestness" that we bring the light of the Gospel to those who are searching for answers the Plan of Salvation has to offer. Many are concerned for their families. Some are looking for security in a world of changing values. Our opportunity is to give them hope and courage and invite them to come with us and join those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord's Gospel is on the earth and will bless their lives here and in the eternities to come.
The Gospel is centered in the atonement of our Lord and Savior. The Atonement provides the power to wash away sins, to heal and to grant eternal life. All the imponderable blessings of the Atonement can only be given to those who live the principles and receive the ordinances of the Gospel — faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Our great missionary message to the world is that all mankind is invited to be rescued and enter the fold of the Good Shepherd, even Jesus Christ.
Our missionary message is strengthened by the knowledge of the Restoration. We know that God speaks to His prophets today, just as He did anciently. We also know that His Gospel is administered with the power and authority of the restored priesthood. No other message has such great, eternal significance to everyone living on the Earth today. All of us need to teach this message in order to bring power and conviction. It is the still small voice of the Holy Ghost that testifies through us of the miracle of the Restoration but, first, we must open our mouths and testify. We must warn our neighbors.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
We live in a time when sacrifice is definitely out of fashion, when the outside forces that taught our ancestors the need for unselfish cooperative service have diminished. Someone has called this the "me" generation — a selfish time when everyone seems to be asking, "What's in it for me?" Even some who should know better seem to be straining to win the praise of those who mock and scoff from the "great and spacious building" identified in vision as the pride of the world (1 Nephi 8:26-28; 11:35-36).
This worldly aspiration of our day is to get something for nothing. The ancient evil of greed shows its face in the assertion of entitlement: I am entitled to this or that because of who I am — a son or a daughter, a citizen, a victim, or a member of some other group. Entitlement is generally selfish. It demands much and it gives little or nothing. Its very concept causes us to seek to elevate ourselves above those around us. This separates us from the divine, even-handed standard of reward that when anyone obtains any blessing from God it is by obedience to the law on which that blessing is predicated (see Doctrine and Covenants 130:21).
The effects of greed and entitlement are evident in the multi-million dollar bonuses of some corporate executives. But the examples are more widespread than that. Greed and ideas of entitlement have also fueled the careless and widespread borrowing and excessive consumerism behind the financial crises that threaten to engulf the world.
Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
We live in a great day of temple building around the world. And the adversary surely is mindful of the increasing number of temples that now dot the earth. As always, the building and dedicating of these sacred structures are accompanied by opposition from enemies of the Church as well as by ill-advised criticism from some within the Church.
Such antagonism is not new. In 1861 while the Salt Lake Temple was under construction, Brigham Young encouraged the Saints: "If you wish this Temple built, go to work and do all you can.… Some say, 'I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a Temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.' I want to hear them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move.… But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to" (In Journal of Discourses, 8:355-356).
We as faithful Saints have been strengthened by adversity and are the recipients of the Lord's tender mercies. We have moved forward under the promise of the Lord: "I will not suffer that [mine enemies] shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil" (Doctrine and Covenants 10:43).
Elder Gary E. Stevenson, First Quorum of the Seventy
I remember a warm sunny afternoon when spring was trying to nudge its way through a long winter in Cache Valley, Utah. My father, whose Saturdays were always filled with chores for his grandsons, stopped by our home with an offer to "go for a ride." Always happy to ride in Grandpa's truck our four- and six-year-old sons scurried into the back jump seat, and I joined my father in the front. Our drive took us through the streets of downtown Logan which wrap around the Logan Temple, prominently situated on a hill, centered beautifully in the city. As we moved further away from the city, we turned from paved busy streets to seldom used dirt roads where we crossed old bridges and weaved through trees far into the country. We were far from any other traffic and all alone. Realizing his grandsons were in a place they had not been before, my father stopped the truck. "Do you think we are lost?" he asked the wide-eyed boys as they gazed out the windshield across the valley. Followed by a moment of silent assessment, came the profound reply of a young child. "Look," he said pointing his finger, "Grandpa, you are never lost when you can see the temple." Our eyes turned, focusing with his, seeing the sun glistening off the spires of the Logan Temple, far across the valley.
You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the "mist of darkness" (1 Nephi 8:24). It is the "House of the Lord" ("Temple, House of the Lord," Holy Bible (King James Version) Topical Guide, 519). It is a place where covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed.
Elder Jose A. Teixeira, First Quorum of the Seventy
I remember one day as I drove into an underground parking lot, I was introduced to a new feature of [a pocket size GPS receiver] – a warning voice struck me. … "Lost satellite reception." The concrete structures that surrounded me had interrupted the satellite signal and caused the devise to lose connection.
As I came back again into the open air I also realized that extra time was required while the device recaptured the needed signal.
We, too, have within us a "GPS" allowing us to know at all times what is right and what is wrong as well as assisting us in making correct choices.
We are born with a natural capacity to distinguish between right and wrong because of the Light of Christ that is given to every person. This faculty is called conscience. The possession of it makes us responsible beings.
Additionally, as members of the Church we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost to comfort, protect and guide us.
Elder F. Michael Watson, First Quorum of the Seventy
It is President [Thomas S.] Monson whom we sustain as the prophet, seer and revelator and who serves as the resounding voice to the widow, the fatherless and to all who stand in need. He has truly exemplified in his life the pattern of the Master and the sincere desire to always be found in His service. It is President Monson who is the Lord's mouthpiece and whose counsel and direction we are admonished to follow. In a very real sense, the Master speaks to us through His prophet. I know, and have recorded, in meetings of the brethren assembled, this to be true.
As one who has been taught at the feet of living prophets, and of these latter-day witnesses whom I have known and love, I testify, in all truthfulness, as members of this Church heed the words and commandments the Lord gave to the prophets of the Testaments, and followed by the Lord's prophet even today, we will more fully understand, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
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