October 2008 General Conference -Sunday Afternoon

Boyd K. Packer -The Test

• As we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend [unchanged] to our posterity.

Russell M. Nelson -Celestial Marriage

• Marriage between a man and a woman is sacred--it is ordained of God.
• The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
• Mortal misunderstandings can make mischief in a marriage. In fact, each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people. Happiness can come to them only through their earnest effort. Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concerted effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort. That effort will succeed if each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness.

William D. Oswald -Gospel Teaching--Our Most Important Calling

• "Every position in the Church requires an effective teacher."

Eduardo Gavarret -Returning Home

• To the less active, the offended, the critical, the transgressor--to come back. "Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints."
• The interest, attention, and care towards our brethren are profound manifestations of love for our Heavenly Father. In fact, we express our love for God when we serve and when this service is focused on our neighbor's well-being.
• Let us remember that love and service are like twins who seek each other's companionship.

Carlos A. Godoy -Testimony as a Process

• Sometimes we think that to have a testimony of the Church, we need some great, powerful experience, or a single event which would erase any doubts that we have received an answer or a confirmation.
• "The voice of the Spirit is described in the scripture as being neither 'loud' nor 'harsh.' It is 'not a voice of thunder, neither ... [a] voice of a great tumultuous noise.' But rather, 'a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,' and it can 'pierce even to the very soul' and 'cause [the heart] to burn.'
• "The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all."
• "Occasionally it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, 'Speak [Lord], for thy servant heareth.'
• Great events are not a guarantee that our testimony will be strong.

Quentin L. Cook -"Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time"

• The challenges we face today are in their own way comparable to challenges of the past.
• We know from the scriptures that some trials are for our good and are suited for our own personal development. We also know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. It is also true that every cloud we see doesn't result in rain. Regardless of the challenges, trials, and hardships we endure, the reassuring doctrine of the Atonement wrought by Jesus Christ includes Alma's teaching that the Savior would take upon Him our infirmities and "succor his people according to their infirmities."
• Regardless of our trials, with the abundance we have today, we would be ungrateful if we did not appreciate our blessings.
• "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you."

Thomas S. Monson -Until We Meet Again

• I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of the challenges we face in the world today. He loves each of us and will bless us as we strive to keep His commandments and seek Him through prayer.

General Relief Society Meeting

Julie B. Beck -Fulfilling the Purpose of Relief Society

• President Joseph F. Smith taught that Relief Society was "divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God," "according to the law of heaven," to help the Lord "bring to pass the ... eternal life of man."
• Whether we are married or single, old or young, we have a duty to defend and practice the truths found in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."
• "However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform." Children being born no ware growing up in an increasingly sinful world. Our homes are to be their refuge from the daily encounters they have with evil.
• We can do the work of the Lord in His way when we seek, receive, and act on personal revelation. Without personal revelation, we cannot succeed. If we heed personal revelation, we cannot fail.
• The Holy Ghost will show us "all things what [we] should do.
• Revelation is not a matter of pushing buttons, but of pushing ourselves, often aided by fasting, scripture study, and personal pondering.

Silvia H. Allred -Holy Temples, Sacred Covenants

• "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?"
• "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." His house is holy, and no unclean thing may enter it.

Barbara Thompson -Now Let Us Rejoice

• Remember, most often the help needed is in our own homes, neighborhoods, and communities. A kind word of encouragement, a note of thanks, a phone call, a loving smile, a helpful deed, and a reminder that God loves us are often what is needed most. We can lift and bless others in so many ways.
• "The Relief Society might be likened to a refuge--the place of safety and protection. ... You will be safe within it. It encircles each sister like a protecting wall."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf -Happiness, Your Heritage

• To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities--they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are.
• Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
• Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty--and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.
• What you create doesn't have to be perfect.
• Don't let fear of failure discourage you. Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you--whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.
• If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.
• As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.
• "When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated."
• "Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
• Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you. We love and admire you.

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi