April 1996 General Conference Saturday Afternoon

James E.  Faust -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Ted E. Davis -The Church Audit Committee Report

F. Michael Watson -Statistical Report 1995

• Total Membership: 9,340,898

David B. Haight -This Work Is True

• If Mormonism is able to endure, unmodified, until it reaches the third and fourth generations, it is destined to become the greatest power the world has ever known."
• I pray that you will live and raise your own families in such a way that you will be part of the great army needed to carry the message of hope and salvation to all the world.

Richard G. Scott -Finding Joy in Life

• We have so much freedom, so many opportunities to develop our unique personalities and talents, our individual memories, our personalized contributions.
• Truly, life is beautiful.
• You are one of the noblest of God's creations. His intent is that your life be gloriously beautiful regardless of your circumstances.
• Sadness, disappointment, and severe challenge are events in life, not life itself.
• They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do.
• Some people are like rocks thrown into a sea of problems. They are drowned by them. Be a cork. When submerged in a problem, fight to be free to bob up to serve again with happiness.
• The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow Him to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not.
• If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you.
• Simple, rejuvenating experiences surround us. They can be safety valves to keep the tension down and the spirit up. Don't concentrate on what you don't have or have lost.
• Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings.
• Being creative will help you enjoy life.
• It develops latent talent, sharpens your capacity to reason, to act, and to find purpose in life. It dispels loneliness and heartache. It gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, and zest for life.
• I certainly do not recommend transgression as a path to growth. It is painful, difficult, and so totally unnecessary. It is far wiser and so much easier to move forward in righteousness.
• Don't become so absorbed in a single event that you can't think of anything else or care for yourself or for those who depend upon you.

F. Burton Howard -Commitment

• "A fanatic is a person who does what he thinks the Lord would do if only He had all the facts." But He who really does know all things isn't a fanatic; neither are those who do what He would have them do.
• Promises are not just pretty words.
• Making promises is easy, but to follow through and do what we have promised is another matter. That involves staying the course, being constant and steadfast. It means keeping the faith and being faithful to the end despite success or failure, doubt or discouragement.

Jeffrey R. Holland -A Handful of Meal and a Little Oil

• Thank you for the beauty of your lives, for the wonder of your example, for the godly spirit within you prompting such "charity out of a pure heart."
• "They were poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart." Indeed they were "poor in heart, because of their poverty as to the things of the world."
• It is not intended that we run faster than we have strength and all things should be done in order.
• I know that a talk in general conference is not going to cut through the centuries of temporal inequity that have plagued humankind, but I also know that the gospel of Jesus Christ holds the answer to every social and political and economic problem this world has ever faced. And I know we can each do something, however small that act may seem to be.

Joseph B. Wirthlin -Faith of Our Fathers

• "The words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."
• Let us never forget the faith of our fathers and the selfless sacrifice of our mothers.
• No matter who we are--no matter our talents, abilities, financial resources, education, or experience--we all can serve in the kingdom. He who calls us will qualify us for the work if we will serve with humility, prayer, diligence, and faith.
• This church does not necessarily attract great people but more often makes ordinary people great.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi