Kevin R. Jergensen -Church Auditing Department Report, 2016
Brook P. Hales -Statistical Report, 2016
- Total Membership -15,882,417
- Full-Time Missionaries -70,946
- Church-Service Missionaries -33,695
Robert D. Hales -Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ
- Many people hear the word disciple and think it means only "follower." But genuine discipleship is a state of being.
- Disciples live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry.
- Weaving the spiritual tapestry of personal discipleship requires more than a single thread.
- The attributes of the Savior, as we perceive them, are not a script to be followed or list to be checked off. They are interwoven characteristics, added one to another, which develop in us in interactive ways. In other words, we cannot obtain one Christlike characteristic without also obtaining and influencing others. As one characteristic becomes strong, so do many more.
- We measure our faith by what it leads us to do.
- Faith is a catalyst. Without works, without virtuous living, our faith is without power to activate discipleship. Indeed, faith is dead.
- Virtue is also power.
- It is faith, hope, and charity that qualify us for the work of God.
Jeffrey R. Holland -Songs Sun and Unsung
- If or a time you are unable to echo the joyous melodies you hear coming from others, I ask you to hold tenaciously to the line in this hymn that reassures, "Jesus listening can hear the songs [you] cannot sing."
- Among the realities we face as children of God living in a fallen world is that some days are difficult, days when our faith and our fortitude are tested.
- Challenges may come from a lack in us, a lack in others, or just a lack in life, but whatever the reasons, we find they can rob us of songs we so much want to sing and darken the promise of "springtime in [the] soul."
- In those moments when the melody of joy falters below our power of expression, we may have to stand silent for a time and simply listen to others, drawing strength from the splendor of the music around us.
- Surely it follows that in singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as humanly possible to the Savior and Redeemer of the world--who has absolutely perfect pitch. We then take courage from His ability to hear our silence and take hope from His melodious messianic intercession in our behalf.
- On those days when we feel a little out of tune, a little less than what we think we see or hear in others, I would ask us, especially the youth of the Church, to remember it is by divine design that not all the voices in God's choir are the same.
- Diversity is not cacophony, and choirs do require discipline.
- Heavenly Father delights to have us sing in our own voice, not someone else's. Believe in yourself, and believe in Him. Don't demean your worth or denigrate your contribution. Above all, don't abandon your role in the chorus.
- You are unique; you are irreplaceable. The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir of ours, including the loss of those who feel they are on the margins of society or the margins of the Church.
- We live in a mortal world with many songs we cannot or do not yet sing. But I plead with each one of us to stay permanently and faithfully in the choir, where we will be able to savor forever that most precious anthem of all--"the song of redeeming love."
- "Come as you are," a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, "Don't plan to stay as you are." We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be.
Gary B. Sabin -Stand Up Inside and Be All In
- We don't hold back to see what the minimum is we can get by with.
- When we are fully committed and "all in," heaven shakes for our good. When we are lukewarm or only partially committed, we lose out on some of heaven's choicest blessings.
- When we are complacent with our covenants, we are complicit with the consequences.
- In reality, it is much easier to be "all in" than partially in.
- No matter where we are or where we have been, we are not beyond the reach of the Savior.
- In order to be "all in," we need to "stand up inside," "come what may."
- We stand up inside when we wait patiently upon the Lord to remove or give us strength to endure our thorns in the flesh.
- If we are not able to be "all in" the way we are presently walking, then maybe we need to run; maybe we need to recalculate our route. We might even need to make a U-turn.
- It is hard to measure the impact for good each individual can have by standing up inside.
- Don't fear, just live right.
Valeri V. Cordon -The Language of the Gospel
- Don't wait until it's too late!
- To combat the worldly traditions of our day, we need to use the scriptures and the voice of our modern prophets to teach our children about their divine identity, their purpose in life, and the divine mission of Jesus Christ.
- Just as a mother is compassionate with her little children, our Heavenly Father is patient with our imperfections and mistakes. He treasures and understands our feeblest utterances, mumbled in sincerity, as if they were fine poetry.
- No achievement in this life, important as it may be, will be relevant if we lose the language of the gospel in our families.
Neil L. Andersen -Overcoming the World
- Overcoming the world is not one defining moment in a lifetime, but a lifetime of moments that define eternity.
- The world is more interested in indulging the natural man than in subduing him.
- Overcoming the world is not a global invasion but a private, personal battle, requiring hand-to-hand combat with our own internal foes.
- Overcoming the world is trusting in the one voice that warns, comforts, enlightens, and brings peace "not as the world giveth."
- As our spiritual antennas are pointed heavenward, the Lord guides us to those we can help.
- The world is easily irritated, disinterested, and demanding, loving the cheers of the crowd, while overcoming the world brings humility, empathy, patience, and compassion for those different than yourself.
- Overcoming the world is remembering, even when we are discouraged, the times we have felt the love and light of the Savior.
M. Russell Ballard -Return and Receive
- Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose, and accomplishment to life.
- A goal is a destination or an end, while a plan is the route by which you get there.
- Goal setting is essentially beginning with the end in mind. And planning is devising a way to get to that end. A key to happiness lies in understanding what destinations truly matter--and then spending our time, effort, and attention on the things that constitute a sure way to arrive there.
- Short-term goals are only effective if they lead to clearly understood longer-term goals.
- The simpler and more straightforward the goal is, the more power it will have. When we can reduce a goal to one clear image or one or two powerful and symbolic words, that goal can hen become part of us and guide virtually everything we think and do.
- Despite our mistakes, shortcomings, detours, and sins, Jesus Christ's Atonement allows us to repent, prepared to return and receive the matchless blessings God has promised--to live forever with the Father and the Son in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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