April 2011 General Conference -Sunday Afternoon

Richard G. Scott -The Eternal Blessings of Marriage

• If you are a young man of appropriate age and are not married, don't waste time in idle pursuits. Get on with life and focus on getting married. Don't just coast through this period of life.  Young men, serve a worthy mission. Then make your highest priority finding a worthy, eternal companion. When you find you are developing an interest in a young woman, show her that you are an exceptional person that she would find interesting to know better. Take her to places that are worthwhile. Show some ingenuity. If you want to have a wonderful wife, you need to have her see you as a wonderful man and prospective husband.
• Do you tell your wife often how very much you love her? It will bring her great happiness. I've heard men tell me when I say that, "Oh, she knows." You need to tell her. A woman grows and is greatly blessed by that reassurance.
• It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together.
• I think one of the reasons that we are counseled to get married early in life is to avoid developing inappropriate character traits that are hard to change.
• I feel sorry for any man who hasn't yet made the choice to seek an eternal companion, and my heart weeps for the sisters who haven't had the opportunity to marry. Some of you may feel lonely and unappreciated and cannot see how it will be possible for you to have the blessings of marriage and children of your own family. All things are possible to the Lord, and He keeps the promises He inspires His prophets to declare. Eternity is a long time. Have faith in those promises and live to be worthy of them so that in His time the Lord can make them come true in your life. With certainty, you will receive every promised blessing for which you are worthy.

D. Todd Christofferson -"As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten"

• "The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts--what we have done.  It is an acknowledgement of the final effect of our acts and thoughts--what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.
• I would like to speak of one particular attitude and practice we need to adopt if we are to meet our Heavenly Father's high expectations. It is this: willingly to accept and even seek correction. Correction is vital if we would conform our lives "unto a perfect man, [that is,] unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
• We should take care not to resent the very things that help us put on the divine nature.
• When a person in a position to correct another fails to do so, he is thinking of himself. Remember that reproof should be timely, with sharpness or clarity, "when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy."
• Eventually, much of our chastening should come from within--we should become self-correcting.

Carl B. Pratt -The Lord's Richest Blessings

• It has been my personal experience that the surest way to pay tithing faithfully is to pay it as soon as I receive any income. In fact, I've found it to be the only way.
• Tithing is not a matter of money, really; it is a matter of faith--faith in the Lord.

Lynn G. Robbins -What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?

• To become as He is, we must also do the things He did
• To be and to do are inseparable. As interdependent doctrines they reinforce and promote each other. Faith inspires one to pray, for example, and prayer in turn strengthens one's faith.
• The Savior often denounced those who did without being-- calling them hypocrites: "This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." To do without to be is hypocrisy, or feigning to be what one is not--a pretender.
• Be without do really isn't being--it is self-deception, believing oneself to be good merely because one's intentions are good.
• Do without  be--hypocrisy--portrays a false image to others, while be without do portrays a false image to oneself.
• Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do's are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can't earn checkmarks with to be's.
• Because be begets do and is the motive behind do, teaching be will improve behavior more effectively than focusing on do  will improve behavior.
• A sweet and obedient child will enroll a father or mother only in Parenting 101. If you are blessed with a child who tests your patience to the nth degree, you will be enrolled in Parenting 505. Rather than wonder what you might have done wrong in the premortal life to be so deserving, you might consider the more challenging child a blessing and opportunity to become more godlike yourself. With which child will your patience, long-suffering, and other Christlike virtues most likely be tested, developed, and refined? Could it be possible that you need this child as much as this child needs you?
• When our children misbehave, we must be careful not to say things that would cause them to believe that what they did wrong is who they are. "Never let failure progress from an action to an identity." with its attendant labels like "stupid," "slow," lazy," or "clumsy." Our children are God's children. That is their true identity and potential. His very plan is to help His children overcome mistakes and misdeeds and to progress to become as He is. Disappointing behavior, therefore, should be considered as something temporary, not permanent--an act, not a identity.
• In helping children discover who they are and helping strengthen their self-worth, we can appropriately compliment their achievement or behavior--the do. But it would be even wiser to focus our primary praise on their character and beliefs--who they are.

Benjamin De Hoyos -Called to Be Saints

• "O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.
• It does not matter the circumstances, trials, or challenges that might surround us; an understanding of the doctrine of Christ and His Atonement will be the source of our strength and peace--yes, brothers and sisters, that internal tranquility that is born of the Spirit and which the Lord gives to His faithful Saints. He nourishes us, saying: "Peace I leave with you. ... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

C. Scott Grow -The Miracle of the Atonement

• Through His Atonement, He heals not only the transgressor; but He also heals the innocent who suffer because of those transgressions. AS the innocent exercise faith in the Savior and in His Atonement an forgive the transgressor, they too can be healed.
• When we sin, Satan tells us we are lost. In contrast, our Redeemer offers redemption to all--no matter what we have done wrong--even to you and to me.
• "Men are free ... to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the ... power of the devil."

Jeffrey R. Holland -An Ensign to the Nations

• Consider the variety of the messages that you hear--all the more miraculous with no coordination except the direction of heaven. But why wouldn't they be varied? Most of our congregation, seen or unseen, is made up of members of the Church. However, with marvelous new methods of communication, ever larger proportions of the audience for our conferences are not members of the Church--yet. So we must speak to those who know us very well and those who know us not at all. Within the Church alone we must speak to the children, the youth and young adults, the middle-aged, and the elderly. We must speak to families and parents and children at home even as we speak to those who are not married, without children, and perhaps very far from home. In the course of a general conference, we always stress the eternal verities of faith, hope, charity, and Christ crucified even as we speak forthrightly on very specific moral issues of the day. We are commanded in the scriptures to "say nothing but repentance unto this generation," while at the same time we are to preach "good tidings [to] the meek ... [and] bind up the brokenhearted." Whatever from they take, these conference messages "proclaim liberty to the captives" and declare "the unsearchable riches of Christ." In the wide variety of sermons given is the assumption that there will be something for everyone. In this regard, I guess President Howard B. Lee put it best years ago when he said that the gospel is "to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the [comfortable]."
• We always want our teaching in general conference to be as generous and open-armed as Christ taught originally, remembering as we do the discipline that we always inherent in His messages.
• Clearly anyone who thinks Jesus taught no-fault theology did not read the fine print in the contract! No, in matters of discipleship the Church is not a fast-food outlet; we can't always have it 'our way." Some day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ and that salvation can only come His way.
• In wanting to measure up to the stern as well as embrace the soothing in our general conference messages, please be reassured that when we speak on difficult subjects, we understand not everyone is viewing pornography or shirking marriage or having illicit sexual relationships. We know not everyone is violating the Sabbath or bearing false witness or abusing a spouse. We know that most in our audience are not guilty of such things, but we are under a solemn charge to issue warning calls to those who are--wherever they may be in the world. So if you are trying to do the best you can--if, for example, you keep trying to hold family home evening in spite of the bedlam that sometimes reigns in a household of little bedlamites--then give yourself high marks and, when we come to that subject, listen for another which addresses a topic where you may be lacking. If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.

Thomas S. Monson -At Parting

• We face many challenges in the world today, but I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us. He loves each of us and will bless us as we seek Him through prayer and strive to keep His commandments.
• We are a global church. Our membership is found throughout the world. May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to those of our own. May we be examples of honesty and integrity wherever we go and in whatever we do.

General YW Meeting

Ann M. Dibb -I Believe in Being Honest and True

• "To be honest means to be sincere, truthful, and without deceit at all times." It is a commandment from God to be honest, and "complete honesty is necessary for our salvation."
• "There are some who will admit it is morally wrong to be dishonest in big things yet believe it is excusable if those things are of lesser importance. Is there really any difference between dishonesty involving a thousand dollars or that which involves only a dime? ... Are there really degrees of dishonesty, depending upon whether or not the subject is great or small?"
• When we are honest in all things, big and small, we experience peace of mind and a clear conscience. Our relationships are enriched because they are based on trust. And the greatest blessing that comes from being honest is that we are able to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
• Being true also allows us to have a positive effect on the lives of others.

Mary N. Cook -"Remember This: Kindness Begins with Me"

• "When I make Jesus Christ the center of my life, my day goes better, I'm kinder to my loved ones, and I am filled with joy."
• "Unity is a spiritual quality. It's the sweet feelings of peace and purpose that come from belonging to a family. ... It's wanting the best for others as much as you want it for yourself. ... It's knowing that no one is out to harm you. [It means you will never be lonely.]"
• "My precious young sisters, I plead with you to have the courage to refrain from judging and criticizing those around you, as well as the courage to make certain everyone is included and feels loved and valued."
• Sometimes being benevolent is most difficult in our own families. Strong families require effort. "Be cheerful, helpful, and considerate of others. Many problems in the home are created because family members speak and act selfishly or unkindly. Concern yourself with the needs of other family members. Seek to be a peacemaker rather than to tease, fight, and quarrel." "Remember this: kindness begins with me."

Elaine S. Dalton -Guardians of Virtue

• What is virtue and what is a guardian? "Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It includes chastity and [moral] purity." And what is a guardian? A guardian is someone who protects, shields, and defends. Thus, as a guardian of virtue, you will protect, shield, and defend moral purity because the power to create mortal life is a sacred and exalted power and must be safeguarded until you are married. Virtue is a requirement to have the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost. You will need that guidance in order to successfully navigate the world in which you live.

Henry B. Eyring -A Living Testimony

• You are a believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You believe enough to come here to hear His servants and have enough faith to hope that something you will hear or feel will move you toward a better life. You felt in your heart that following Jesus Christ was the way to greater happiness.
• But, like a growing plant, it must be nurtured or it will wither. Frequent and heartfelt prayers of faith are crucial and needed nutrients. Obedience to the truth you have received will keep the testimony alive and strengthen it. Obedience to the commandments is part of the nourishment you must provide for your testimony.
• I do not depend on what has happened in the past. To keep my living testimony of the Book of Mormon secure, I receive the promise of Moroni often. I don't take that blessing of a testimony for granted as a perpetual entitlement.

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi