Ken [Almost!] Live-Blogs Conference

[Kenngo1969]

Apologies for the delay in getting these up.  In the past when I have attempted, literally, to live blog, formatting issues have gotten in the way, been distracting, made it difficult to focus on what's being said, made it difficult to take notes, made it difficult to do both at the same time, ad infinitum and ad nauseam.  So ... I "punted"!  What's a guy to do?

With apologies to Church News and Deseret News, who have provided address summaries, whatever my notes may leave to be desired, even they are more comprehensive than the two sources noted above, which tend to focus on "money quotes" (my term).  I should note that, no doubt, I missed things, I may have gotten side tracked, may have included other things that occurred to me that, while, hopefully, they were along the same lines, were not part of the talk, and that may or may not have been inspired by the Spirit.  Deal with it!   Any correspondence between my notes and the actual addresses given is purely coincidental!

So this doesn't become unwieldy, I'll post my notes from each talk separately.  If anyone cares to comment, you might want to mention the session and the talk, respectively, you're commenting on.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Kenngo1969

[Kenngo1969]

193rd Semiannual General Conference
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Saturday Morning Session

Elder David A. Bednar of the Twelve
    • Expressed gratitude for faithful-if-unsung Church members throughout the world
    • 1947 Centennial of Pioneers’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley: Gratitude for trailblazers
    • President J. Reuben Clark’s October 1947 Tribute to Pioneers noted contributions of noteworthy individuals whom most all of us would know; however, mostly, it heralded the unsung
    • “They of the Last Wagon”: Heralded unsung pioneers who “choked on the dust” stirred up by the livestock, wagons, and people who went before them
    • Borne up by faith that God loved them, that the Gospel is true, and that God leads those who led them
    • “If all men were, and had been, and ever would be like unto Moroni, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever …”
    • “Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable to people than Moroni …” That is, they were helpful or useful, even though less noticeable
    • “Most of the best people who ever lived weren’t famous, either”
    • Faith, consecrated lives inspire Elder Bednar to be better
    • Samuel the Lamanite: “The more part of them are in the path of their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God …”  Elder Bednar praised various Church members in various circumstances who are “in the path of their duty,” even if unsung
    • “Eye hath not seen, neither hath ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him …”
    • “Whosoever shall receive one of these”—children—“shall receive Me; and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me”
    • We must “press forward in the path of [our] duty”
    • Come and see, come and help, come and stay

 

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Kenngo1969

[Kenngo1969]

President Amy A. Wright, 1st Counselor, Primary General Presidency
    • Parable of the Ten Virgins: Are you wise or are you foolish?  Do you have extra oil in your vessel?  Will you need to go to buy oil when the Bridegroom comes?  “Watch, therefore: For ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man cometh …”
    • President Oaks: “If we knew we would meet the Lord tomorrow, what would we do today?”
    • After her cancer diagnosis: “Am I going to live?  Am I going to die?”  The answer was, “Everything will be OK”  
    • They didn’t need to teach their children to pray, to read the scriptures, to pray, about repentance, about the resurrection: Already, they had done so.  They had put oil in their lamps already
    • In the end, because of Jesus Christ, everything will be okay
    • “They that are wise, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, shall abide the day, and shall not be hewn down”
    • A magnifying glass can focus light and make it more powerful: We can simplify
    • Even deserts can be nourished, little by little, by dew
    • “Master, carest thou not that we/I perish?”
    • “Where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding?”
    • “Believest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?”
    • “Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of Him who created you”
    • We cannot share our oil, but we can share our light
    • Jesus Christ is our hope: Nothing we have done, or not done, is beyond the Hope he provides
    • “Ye must press forward, with a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men …”
    • “Look to Jesus Christ and live”

[Speaking of formatting issues, I'm not sure why the second line, when my bullet points get that far, isn't indented in Sister Wright's talk while it is in Elder Daines's.]

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Kenngo1969

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Robert M. Daines, of the Seventy

• Soldier woke up wounded in a hospital: He suffered from face blindness
• Elder Daines’s mom was “the rulemaker”: She who must be obeyed
• She wore the same two skirts, but he got new school clothes every year
• Do we suffer from “spiritual face blindness”? Do we see God as “The Rulemaker”? Do we wonder if God loves us?
• Do we worry more about getting into Heaven than we do about being with Heavenly Father?
• We all want to see Jesus for who He is, and to feel his love
• “Will this help people see and love Jesus Christ?”
• Do we “know not that it was Jesus?”
• Do we “pray with all the energy of heart” to be filled with God’s love?
• Jesus came “to heal the brokenhearted, to liberate the captive, and to restore sight to the blind”
• Jesus offered hope to people on the margins: The leper, sinners, and so on
• “The more you learn about the Savior, the easier it will be to trust in His love and in His mercy”: Paul – The Lord is “the God of all mercy”
• Do we follow God or His commandment
• Our covenants are a window through which we can see God
• We learn to see God by serving others
• “Let us seek God’s face, His loving embrace”

Edited October 1, 2023 by Kenngo1969

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Carlos A. Godoy, Presidency of the Seventy

• Taxi driver, Omar: “You’re Mormon, aren’t you” – The taxi driver was an inactive Latter-day Saint

• The taxi driver sang softly, “I am a child of God”

• Elder Godoy promised to be at the church when Omar returned; a few months later, Omar baptized his wife and children

• Purposes: To address those who have fallen away and to address those who, perhaps, have not been as faithful as they should be

• Omar returned to Church for his childrens’ sake

• The decision of one can impact dozens of descendants

• A broken chain can be repaired

• As we make decisions, always, we should ask, “Where will this lead?”

• Should we be more valiant and less lukewarm for the sake of our posterity?

 

[Kenngo1969]

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve

• In the latter-days, the Lord’s ancient covenant people shall be gathered in and restored to the lands of their inheritance

• Purposes of Gathering

  • For a defense and a refuge from the storm and from wrath

  • To bring blessings of salvation and exaltation to all who will receive them

• Keys of gathering restored at Kirtland Temple dedication

• All who will are gathered in, and become the church, and kingdom, and elect of God

• Elijah restored power to validate all priesthood ordinances

• If the sealing power were the only good thing to come out of all of the pain and travail of the restoration, still, it would have been worth it

• For those of us for whom all of the promises have not been fulfilled, we wait on Christ and trust in His promises

• One broken link in a chain does not break the other links

• A birth date is not important; a death date is not important; but a sealing date is all important

 

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Ian S. Ardern of the Seventy

• Women walk 30 minutes each way each day to secure water for their families

• Described visit of President Camille Johnson, Sister Sharon Eubanks, their spouses, and he and his spouse to Uganda

• “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat”

• “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven”

• Parable of the Good Samaritan

• “Jesus wept” is a witness of His compassion

• “Have ye any that are inflicted in any manner? Bring them hither, and I will heal them”

• We cannot heal everyone, as He did, but we can make a difference for good in the life of at least one person

• We should do and give what we are able, and invite Christ to magnify our efforts

• As we love God, we will be inspired to turn our hearts to bless the lives of others

• Are we willing to “bear one another’s burdens” and to “bind up the brokenhearted”?

 

[Kenngo1969]

President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency

• “How is your church different from other Christian churches?”

  • Fullness of the doctrine of Jesus Christ

  • God loves us all so much that He wants all of us to live in a Kingdom of Glory

    • “In my Father’s House are many mansions”

    • Ultimately, all of God’s children will inherit a kingdom of glory, even the least of which surpasses all understanding

    • Revealed covenants and commandments offer all of God’s children the opportunity to qualify for His greatest blessings in the highest kingdom

    • He wants all of us to live with Him

      • “All kingdoms have a law given”: What kingdom we inherit depends on what law we abide

    • Requirements for each kingdom

      • • Celestial – Highest

          • Those who have received the fullness of His Glory

          • Exaltation can be obtained only through faithfulness to sealing covenants

          • That is why gender is an essential characteristic of eternal identity and purpose

          • Those who do not choose to abide the law of a celestial glory will receive a glory commensurate with the law they can abide

• Terrestrial – Receive of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father

• Telestial – “He who cannot abide a terrestrial glory”: “Received not the Gospel of Christ, nor the testimony of Jesus”

• The Plan of Salvation honors agency completely

• All may “obtain the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ”

• Being convinced is not enough: We must be converted

• We must do more than know something; we must become something

• Our final judgment is not just a tally of good and bad acts; it is a measurement of what we have become as a result of how we have acted

• Plan of Salvation shows us, not simply what God wants us to do, but, rather, what God wants us to become

The Proclamation on the Family is based on eternal doctrine, not changeable policy

• Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter

• A loving Heavenly Father will ensure that we receive every blessing our choices will allow

• The blessings of a sealed relationship are ensured to all those who keep their covenants

[Kenngo1969]

Saturday Afternoon Session

 

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Twelve

• Venezuelan baker decided to give away all the goods in his store amid civil unrest

• All surrounding businesses were destroyed, but his remained intact

• “Papa, I know why the bakery was safe: You and Mama always pay your tithes”

• “I will pour you out a blessing such that there shall not be room to receive it”

• Trust in the Lord’s timing: The blessings always come

• The only permanent solution to the poverty of this world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ

• Tithing is principally a matter of faith

• “I promise you that as you trust in the Lord, the blessings of heaven will follow”

• “This shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people. And they shall pay one tenth of all their interest annually. And this shall be a standing law to my people forever”

• Disbursement of tithing is overseen by the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes

• When I pay tithing, that which I give is no longer mine

• The Lord will require an accounting of those who oversee the use of Tithing funds

• Tithes allow the blessings of the Temple to be in places only the Lord could foresee

• Tithes enable the Church to be established in faraway places you may never visit, among faraway people you may never know

• “In time, we will see all of the purposes of the Lord fulfilled”

• “I am deeply grateful for this commandment. As I live it, I am abundantly blessed”

• One of the final things his mother-in-law did before she died is pay her tithing

• “If this work be of men, it will come to naught. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest ye be found to fight against God”

• “In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen”

[Kenngo1969]

Jan E. Newman of the Sunday School General Presidency

• Christ commanded that their little children be brought; he blessed them one by one

• “Behold your little ones”; They saw angels descending out of heaven who ministered to their children

• Just as Christ invited the people of the Book of Mormon to bring their children to Him, He invites us to bring our children to Him

• “To build our lives on the rock of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we need to dig deep”

• As we are built upon a deep, solid foundation, we are enabled to withstand the storms of the world

• “The Spirit has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts …”

• Despite the covenant made by their parents, the rising generation did not share that conviction: “They were a separate people as to their faith”

• How can we instill a desire in our children to make sacred covenants with God

• “We talk of Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ and we write according to our prophecies so that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins …”

• “Where can we go to Hear Him? We can go to the scriptures.” —Russell M. Nelson

• Small and simple moments and steady effort is better than occasional “lightning bolt” moments [my term]

• “We cannot allow our covenant voice to become muted or silenced when it comes to our testimony of Him”

• Wards should hold teacher counsel meetings for parents

• “My dear friends in Christ, you are doing much better than you think”

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Joaquin E. Costa of the Seventy

• “In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen”

• “The source of power amid the world’s problems is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”

• “He suffereth the pains of every living soul”

• “Faith in Jesus Christ is what gives us the energy to begin the journey”

• “We do not come to Christ because we are perfect. We come to Him to be protected”

• Beginning his day with prayer and scripture study helps Elder Costa keep his covenant to “Remember Him”

• To “endure to the end” we must “endure to the end” each day

• “Covenants are not merely transactional; they are transformational”

• We must “let God prevail” in our lives

• Don’t ask, “Why me?” Ask, “What for?”

• Don’t distance yourself from the Lord; cling to Him

• “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” “Peace, be still” “How is it that ye have no faith?”

   

Edited October 1, 2023 by Kenngo1969

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Twelve

• God-given gifts are honed by a lifetime of study and practice

• Covenant keeping members of the Church have gifts of the Spirit

• We are commanded to seek earnestly the best gifts

• “A gift alone does not a master make”

• Even gifts received and unwrapped often are accompanied by the dreaded words, “Some assembly required”

• Exercising gifts of the Spirit brings spiritual promptings that can help us in every aspect of our lives

• “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritual without the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.” –Russell M. Nelson

• How to Receive Guidance of the Spirit

  • Stand in Holy Places

    • “Even the air that I breathe in this room feels different”

    • Temples, homes, Seminaries and Institutes, churches

  • Stand with Holy People

    • Described atmosphere in arena with Saints assembled to commemorate Joseph Smith’s life

    • “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be in the midst of them”

    • Testify of Holy Truths as Often as You Can

• Listen to the Holy Spirit

  • Lord’s voice “not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire”

  • The Spirit’s voice is so subtle that, when we are busy, distracted, and so on, perhaps it comes to us through others

  • Spiritual impressions will align with the scriptures and words of living prophets

  • Spiritual matters cannot be forced

  • We will receive spiritual impressions related to our own stewardships

  • Use your own best judgment

  • Desire to be led by the Spirit is a strength, but we must understand that the Lord leaves many things to our own best judgment

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Alan T. Philips of the Seventy

• “Where is Jasper?” Five year old son, who was left after visit to service station (He related “finding” his son to the Prodigal Son’s reunion with his father)

• Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son

• We are Children of God – This identity gives us a sense of belonging and purpose

  • Where there is design, there is a designer: Your life has meaning and purpose

  • Religion is not only about our relationship with God, it is about our relationship with each other

  • “True religion is the tie that binds us to God and to one another” –Jeffrey R. Holland

  • “Are we passively attending church, or are we actively creating a community of Saints and reaching out to those around us?”

  • “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”

• A burden that is impossible for one to bear may be borne by two

• “We are not alone”; We can be bound together with Christ

• Turn to Him; pray to Him

These truths are “simple but foundational”

 

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Twelve

Gathering of Israel

The gathering of Israel is “the most important thing taking place on the Earth today.” –Russell M. Nelson

There were ten senior couples to fill three hundred requests

“If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work”

“Both he that soweth and he that reapeth rejoice together …”

“Every fiber of my soul knew it was true.” –Rebecca

 

[Kenngo1969]

Saturday Evening Session

 

Elder Gary B. Sabin of the Seventy

• Elder Sabin met a “Professor of Happiness”

• Alma: “The time is not far distant when the Redeemer liveth, and cometh among His people”

• We must build on the sure foundation of Christ

• Son with Cystic Fibrosis tried to get the archery merit badge: “Dad, I got a bullseye! It was on the target next to mine, but I got it!”

• We cannot move with the crowd and also toward Jesus

• We must remember that we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father

• “We have all been bought with a price”

• Look at your life through Heaven’s eyes

• “Love one another”; “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me”

• I love the smell of tobacco in Church, because it means someone is trying to change

• “And be ye kind one to another … even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you”

• In God’s eyes, greatness is synonymous with kindness

• Maintain an eternal perspective

• His daughter: “Tomorrow I will wake up with new lungs, or I will wake up in a better place. Either way, it will be okay”; “It’s just so good to breathe”

• When nothing is expected and everything is appreciated, life becomes magical

• You will never be happier than you are grateful

• The greatest happiness in mortality will be found in who we have become

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Joni l. Koch of the Seventy

• “Could ye say if ye were called upon to die at this time that ye hath been sufficiently humble”

• The natural, prideful man often is very much alive within us

• Him, to security: “Do you know who you are talking to?” The guard asked him how he could know, since he hadn’t seen his ID

• To be poor is not to be humble: Some poor are prideful, some rich are humble

• To have low self-esteem is not to be humble: Some with high self-esteem are humble, and some with low self-esteem are prideful

• We should use the full name of the Church; we should “let God prevail” in our lives; we must overcome the world; we must become peacemakers

• “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy we can say about another person, we should do so” –Russell M. Nelson

• “Because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of the way, there were many who perished”

• We cannot overcome challenges or achieve our full potential on our own, through our own efforts: The world believes in the arm of flesh; “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”

• “Be thou humble, and the Lord, thy God, shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers”

[Kenngo1969]

Sister Tamara Runia of the Young Women General Presidency

• Viewing from a new vantage point changes everything

• For the first time, Apollo 8 astronauts saw the entire earth (“The Overview Effect”)

• We can “zoom out” and view ourselves and our families with joy: Because of Christ, it all works out

• We must look with an eye of faith

• Worry feels a lot like love, but it is not the same

• We must show by our example that eating the fruit of the tree of life is a happy thing

• She didn’t focus on what her children weren’t doing, but on what they were

• Our words are one of our superpowers

• Our messages should be hopeful and encouraging

• Families are a laboratory where we are trying to figure things out: Missteps are not just possible, but probable

• In a fallen world, there is no way to be perfect, but there are a million ways to be good

• It’s easy to panic in a fallen world

• “Cheerfully do all things that lie within our power, and then stand still”

• “All things wherewith we have been afflicted shall work together for our good”

• Love is the thing that changes hearts

• “No home is a failure unless it quits trying”

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Twelve

• “I call on our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning actions and attitudes of prejudice” –Russell M. Nelson

• We are all created in the image of God, so we are all equal before Him

• We all have a divine nature, heritage, and potential

• We must knit our hearts together in unity and love

• “And surely, there could not be a happier people among all the people that had been created by the hand of God”

• Just as Jesus dealt lovingly with the Samaritan woman at the well, so, too, we can deal lovingly with people who are different from us

• If everyone who is different from me is inferior to me, that’s an awfully big club—and my “club of one” is an awfully lonely one!

• There is no place for prejudiced thoughts and actions in the community of Saints

• Whatever our differences, we have a common Divine Identity and Kinship

• “With malice toward none, and charity for all …” –Abraham Lincoln

• Wearing all white in the Temple symbolizes our equality and divine sonship and daughtership of God

 

[Kenngo1969]

Sunday Morning Session

 

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve

• “I can’t see the Teleprompter” “Well, your eyes are old”

• He bore a touching testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his vision of the Father and of the Son

• From a Restored Gospel perspective everything that we know and everything that we have hinges on that vision

• “My testimony to you this morning is how abundantly blessed we are to know all that we know because we have Joseph Smith, the prophet of this dispensation. We have the Book of Mormon. What a marvelous, wonderful gift it is to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

• The Book of Mormon is “another testimony of Jesus Christ”

• He expressed his love for Joseph Smith and for everyone who was willing to sustain him, especially his mother

• Likewise, he expressed thanks for Joseph’s brothers, sisters, and family

• “My testimony this morning is that Jesus Christ is the Savior and redeemer of the world. I also know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and spoke to him, and prepared him to become the prophet to restore the everlasting gospel to the earth”

• We must be a little better, be a little kinder, be a little more prepared to enter back into the presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

• He expressed his gratitude for being able to travel throughout the world to meet the Saints and bear testimony of Jesus Christ

• “I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer”

 

[Kenngo1969]

Sister Emily Belle Freeman of the Young Women General Presidency

• She walked the trail by the Sea of Galilee with a broken leg—and the help of her guide, Maya

• Jesus Christ doesn’t ask us to face our challenges alone

• Regardless, He will invite us to walk with him

• The Dream of Jacob’s Ladder

• God’s promises to Jacob: “I am with you. I will keep you safe. I will bring you home again. I will not leave you.”

• “God answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way that I went.” This is walking the covenant path

• “As your trail shall demand, so your succor shall be”

• The Lord does not intend to leave any of us where we are. His is a mission of ascension. He will lift us up to where He is.

• The course alone will not exalt us. The Companion who walks the trail with us will.

• I want to live in a committed covenant relationship with Him

• Pace or placement on the path is not as important as progress

• Jesus Christ is the guide. We have a rope that tethers us to Him.

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Adilson de Paola Parella of the Seventy

• “Have they not read the scriptures, that state they must take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, which is my name? And whoso taketh my name upon him shall be saved at the last day”

• We have the privilege of standing as witnesses of Christ wherever we are

• We witness of Christ in word by sharing what we believe, feel, or know

• Nonmember who attended Church of Jesus Christ in Spain: “I love to come here because you speak of Christ”

• “Our meetings are blessed opportunities to testify of Jesus Christ”

• Also, we can bear testimony of Jesus Christ in our actions

• Calling the Church of Jesus Christ by its correct name is a commandment

• When he called the Church of Jesus Christ by its correct name, he felt Christ’s influence more directly in his life

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Twelve

Christ’s followers always have experienced trials, tribulations, and adversity

• We don’t “pass on”: We “graduate to the other side of the veil”

• Whenever trials occur, we mourn with those that mourn, and succor those who need our succor

• Abraham learned the eternal nature of Spirits

• “We will make an earth, whereon these may dwell, and we will prove them herewith”

• “This is the time allotted for us to prepare to meet God”

• “It has never been easy for His followers, nor was it easy for the Savior”

• Followers of Christ engage with the community, love, share, and invite

• We choose the role of a peacemaker, always

• “Fear not, little flock. Do good. Let earth and hell conspire against you … you shall inherit the Kingdom of Heaven”

• “Come boldly to the throne of grace”

• “Commending the peaceable followers of Christ because of your peaceable walk with the children of men”

• “We do not know all the answers, but we do know important principles that allow us to face trials with faith”

• “If the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee … Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever”

• Christ understands our suffering perfectly

• “In His atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ took upon himself our pains, sicknesses, and infirmities … Because of this, he knows how to succor us … All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” –Preach My Gospel

• This life is the middle act of a three-act play: We don’t remember the first act, and the third act hasn’t happened yet. All will be made right eventually

• “Give heed to the words of the prophets … Prepare ye, prepare ye, for that which is to come”

• On the trek west, the Lord placed special emphasis on caring for the poor, widows, etc.

• We should praise the Lord with music, with singing, with dancing

• If ye are sorrowful, ye should call upon the Lord: Be joyful, and call upon the Lord through prayer

• “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal”

[Kenngo1969]

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Twelve

• The greatest short story ever told: It is possible that the sun has not set somewhere in the world without the story being recited

• The Prodigal Son: “A certain man had two sons”

• The son may have felt the thrill of adventure; the father felt the pain of loss

• He wanted to live life on his own terms

• His friends championed his profligacy: #LivingMyBestLife, #ShouldHaveDoneThisLongAgo

• He ran out of money: The once “high-roller” could not afford a meal or a place to stay. The friends who had joined him in his revelry refused to support him in his poverty.

• Not only an empty stomach dogged him, but an empty soul

• Pride made it hard for him to return to his family, his neighbors, and his friends, but hunger, loneliness, and remorse would not go away until he did what he needed to do

• Notwithstanding their long separation, the father ran while his son was still afar off

• “I am no longer worthy to be called thy son, but will be thy servant”: But the father celebrated his son’s return

• The older brother had stood by the father, comforting his father, never once refusing to do what the father asked

• Who among us has not departed from the path of holiness? Who has not felt desperate, broken-hearted, and lonely

• Is it better to just “stay lost”? How will God react if I try to return? This parable gives us the answer: “Today, we celebrate for My Child”

• “It not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s atoning sacrifice shines.” –Jeffrey R. Holland

• “Your return will not diminish the blessings of others … What is given to one does not diminish the birthright of others”

• “The moment you decide to return and walk in the way of the Savior, His power will enter your life and transform us”

• We are all prodigals. All of us rely daily on the Atoning power of Christ

• We must “rely wholly upon the merits of Him who is Might to Save”; “Press forward with a steadfastness of Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men”

[Kenngo1969]

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency

• The Lord speaks to us personally through the Holy Ghost

• As we pray, and then heed the Spirit’s promptings, the Lord will guide us

• “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost” –Russell M. Nelson

• We should think about, and pray about, Nephi and Lehi, and the other servants of the Lord laboring with them

• “And in the seventy-and-ninth year, there began to be much strife. But it came to pass that Nephi, and Lehi, and their brethren, who knew of the true points of doctrine did preach to the people and did put an end to their strife”

• We can be taught by the Spirit, line upon line

• Nephi retrieved the plates of Laban: “I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded.” Nephi’s experience with the Holy Ghost has given him courage many times

• “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do”: “I have been encouraged by knowing that Nephi was guided by the Spirit minute by minute”

• We each think, do, and say things that offend the Spirit. We may feel we are alone. As we repent and partake of the sacrament … “we may always have His Spirit” to be with us

• “Whenever these moments of our extremity come, we must not succumb to the fear that God has abandoned us.” –Jeffrey R. Holland

• We must review our lives for opportunities to repent: “Daily repentance is the path to purity, and purity brings power.” –Russell M. Nelson

• If we are to receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we must desire it for the right reasons

• We must want what the Savior wants; Our motives must be pure

• We can be assured that we will receive whatever is best for ourselves and for our loved ones

• The most precious witness we can receive is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

• “Let thy bowels be full of charity … and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly”

 

[Kenngo1969]

Sunday Afternoon Session

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Twelve

• Archaeologists received permission to excavate in Valley of the Kings; they spent five years searching for King Tuthankhamen’s tumb

• The whole area had been excavated—except around their base camp, which is where they found it: It was literally under their feet

• Book of Mormon Prophet Jacob spoke of taking the nearby and the familiar for granted as “looking beyond the mark”; blindness comes by looking beyond the mark

• Many looked “beyond the mark”—beyond Him—during Jesus’s ministry

• If we look beyond the mark, we may miss Jesus Christ in our lives

• Christ is the ultimate source, our Champion, our Advocate with the Father

• We should “cast about our eyes” and begin to believe in the Son of God

• Jesus Christ is our treasure

• The opportunity to focus on Him includes the opportunity to repent daily

• The water of baptism isn’t what washes away sins: The blood of Jesus Christ and his Atonement are what cleanses us

• The Sacrament is part of a virtuous cycle that enables us to remain clean

• We should approach the Sacrament the way a new convert approaches baptism

• Our spiritual foundation is strengthened through repentance and conscientiously preparing for and partaking of the Sacrament

• The Holy Ghost inspires us to make and to keep these and other covenants, including Temple covenants

• As Temples become more accessible, have we become more casual about our Temple worship

• Don’t let the flexibility afforded by proximity to a temple make our Temple worship more casual

• We don’t need to seek counsel from novel sources over humble prophets of God: Naaman – “If the servant of God had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it?”

• It is “by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass”

• It was “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it” that the people would not look to the brazen serpent and live