Monday, August 12, 2013

October 1995 General Conference Sunday Morning

Thomas S. Monson -Patience--A Heavenly Virtue
  • Oh, precious youth, please give life a chance. Apply the virtue of patience.
  • "What I was doing for my friend was a lot more important than the pain I was having. If I can help her, then the pain is worth it."
  • He will teach us the truth of the beautiful verse: Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.
James E. Faust -Priesthood Blessings
  • If, through our priesthood blessings, we could perceive only a small part of the person God intends us to be, we would lose our fear and never doubt again.
  • The natural leaders of the family unit are the parents, standing side by side as equals in their loving guidance of their children. Each parent brings a separate enriching influence. The power of the priesthood should be the dominant influence in family affairs. Priesthood blessings do not just involve men. They bless equally and fully the women and children of the family.
  • The patriarchal blessing is primarily a guide to the future, not an index to the past.
  • All blessings come from God. Our Heavenly Father knows His children. He knows their strengths and weaknesses. He knows their capabilities and potential. Our patriarchal blessings indicate what He expects of us and what our potential can be.
  • Patriarchal blessings should be read humbly, prayerfully, and frequently. A patriarchal blessing is very sacred and personal, but it may be shared with close family members. It is a sacred guideline of counsel, promises, and information from the Lord; however, a person should not expect the blessing to detail all that will happen to him or her or to answer all questions. The fact that one's patriarchal blessing may not mention an important event in life, such as a mission or marriage, does not mean that it will not happen. In order to receive the fulfillment of our patriarchal blessings, we should treasure in our hearts the precious words they contain, ponder them, and so live that we will obtain the blessings in mortality and a crown of righteousness in the hereafter.
  • Some might be disturbed because members of the same family have blessings declaring them to be of a different lineage. A few families are of a mixed lineage. We believe that the house of Israel today constitutes a large measure of the human family. Because the tribes have intermixed one with another, one child may be declared to be from the tribe of Ephraim and another of the same family from Manasseh or one of the other tribes. The blessings of one tribe, therefore, may be dominant in one child, and the blessing of another tribe dominant in yet another child. So, children from the same parents could receive the blessings of different tribes.
Robert E. Wells -Our Message to the World
  • First is the divine Sonship of Jesus Christ, which is central to understanding the entire plan of salvation.
  • The second part of our gospel message and central to the Restoration is the divine mission of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon to bring people unto Christ.
    • Because of revelations given to Joseph, the memory veil between this life and our premortal existence becomes almost transparent at times. And the veil between this life and the spirit world becomes thinner, causing family ties to become stronger, sweeter, and more meaningful as the hearts of the children turn to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers turn to their children.
  •  Our third declaration is the divine nature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to prepare the way for the Second Coming of Christ.
Jeffrey R. Holland -'This Do in Remembrance of Me"
  • Perhaps we do not always attach that kind of meaning to our weekly sacramental service. How "sacred" and how "holy" is it? Do we see it as our Passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?
  • With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions. As such it should not be rushed. It is not something to "get over" so that the real purpose of a sacrament meeting can be pursued. This is the real purpose of the meeting. And everything that is said or sung or prayed in those services should be consistent with the grandeur of this sacred ordinance.
  • The administration and passing of the sacrament is preceded by a hymn which all of us should sing. It doesn't matter what kind of musical voice we have. Sacramental hymns are more like prayers anyway--and everyone can give voice to a prayer!
  • It is an important element of our worship to unite in such lyrical and moving expressions of gratitude.
  • If you are serving almost anonymously, please know that so, too, did one of the best men who has ever lived on this earth.
  • Even with such a solemn mission given to him, the Savior found delight in living; he enjoyed people and told his disciples to be of good cheer.
  • Jesus found special joy and happiness in children and said all of us should be more like them--guileless and pure, quick to laugh and to love and to forgive, slow to remember any offense.
  • We could--and should--remember the wonderful things that have come to us in our lives and that "all things which are good cometh of Christ."
  • Those of us who are so blessed could remember the courage of those around us who face more difficulty than we, but who remain cheerful, who do the best they can, and trust that the Bright and Morning Star will rise again for them.
  • In fact, in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, our Lord of this sacrament table has chosen to retain for the benefit of his disciples the wounds in his hands and his feet and his side--signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to the pure and perfect. Signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn't love you. It is the wounded Christ who is the captain of your soul--he who yet bears the scars of sacrifice, the lesions of love and humility and forgiveness.
Gordon B. Hinckley -Stay The Course--Keep the Faith
  • We see some around us who are indifferent concerning the future of this work, who are apathetic, who speak of limitations, who express fears, who spend their time digging out and writing about what they regard to be weaknesses which really are of no consequence. With doubt concerning its past, they have no vision concerning its future.
  • "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
  • The Lord never said that there would not be troubles.
  • It seemed the whole world stood against us. But the faithful knew there was sunlight behind those dark clouds, and that if they held on the storm would pass.
  • Today we walk in the sunlight of goodwill. There is a tendency on the part of some to become indifferent. There are those who drift off seeking the enticements of the world, forsaking the cause of the Lord. I see others who think it is all right to lower their standards, perhaps in small ways. In this very process they lose the cutting edge of enthusiasm for this work.
  • "Where doubt is, there faith has no power."
  • Let us not be afraid. Jesus is our leader, our strength, and our king.
  • This is an age of pessimism. Ours is a mission of faith.
  • The owner of the farm had written: Burned out by drought, Drowned out by flud waters, Et out by jackrabbits, Sold out by sheriff, Still here!
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

There was this boy trying to get a date to a dance because he'd managed to steal a couple of tickets from a local basketball event. He did it because he was an outsider and all he really wanted was to not be an outsider, only events transpired against him. He ended up hurting, maybe even killing, a girl. Beautiful and Popular by accident because he lost control of his temper, and the father of the girl was not happy. He started a manhunt looking for this boy. And everyone thought this boy was exactly what they always thought he was, which he wasn't but because of so much opposition...he'd become exactly what he wasn't trying to be but what they thought he would be, so he was running through the school when...

the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

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