Ted E. Davis -The Church Audit Committee Report
F. Michael Watson -Statistical Report, 1998
- Total Membership - 10,354,241
- Each spasm of selfishness narrows one's universe that much more by reducing his awareness of or concern with others.
- Long ago it took a Copernicus to tell a provincial world that this planet was not the center of the universe. Some selfish moderns need a Copernican reminder that they are not the center of the universe either!
- There is no room for road rage on the straight and narrow way.
- Unselfishness is best grown in the family garden.
- The unselfish are also more free.
- If we can be interested in others, even if they are not interested in us, we will find ourselves "under a freer sky, [and] in a street full of splendid strangers."
- Meekness is the real cure, for it does not merely mask selfishness but dissolves it!
- We can also meekly let our ideas have a life of their own without over sponsoring them. Rather, let the Spirit impel our worthy ideas.
- "The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
- Today, in place of some traditionally shared values is a demanding conformity pushed, ironically, by those who eventually will not tolerate those who once tolerated them.
- Selfishness is actually the detonator of all the cardinal sins.
- Unsurprisingly therefore, selfishness leads to terrible perceptual and behavioral blunders.
- Strange as it seems, when severely selfish people are no longer little in their own sight, everybody else shrinks!
- We actually have an obligation to notice genuine, telltale societal signs.
- Historically, of course, it is easy to criticize bad leaders, but we should not give followers a free pass. Otherwise, in their rationalization of their degeneration they may say they were just following orders, while the leader was just ordering followers!
- Power is most safe with those, like Washington, who are not in love with it! A narcissist society, in which each person is busy looking out for number one, can build neither brotherhood nor community.
- Before entering the temple, you will be interviewed by your bishop and stake president for your temple recommend. Be honest and candid with them. That interview is not a test to be passed but an important step to confirm that you have the maturity and spirituality to receive the supernal ordinances and make and keep the edifying covenants offered in the house of the Lord.
- As you seek an eternal companion, look for someone who is developing the essential attributes that bring happiness: a deep love of the Lord and of His commandments, a determination to live them, one that is kindly understanding, forgiving of others, and willing to give of self, with the desire to have a family crowned with beautiful children and a commitment to teach them the principles of truth in the home.
- I suggest that you not ignore many possible candidates who are still developing these attributes, seeking the one who is perfected in them. You will likely not find that perfect person, and if you did, there would certainly be no interest in you. These attributes are best polished together as husband and wife.
- Occasionally a man attempts to control the destiny of each family member. He makes all the decisions. His wife is subjected to his personal whims. Whether that is the custom or not is immaterial. It is not the way of the Lord. It is not the way of Latter-day Saint husband treats his wife and family.
- You do your part. Don't abandon hope for a temple marriage.
- If you are single and haven't identified a solid prospect for celestial marriage, live for it. Pray for it. Expect it in the timetable of the Lord. Do not compromise your standards in any way that would rule out that blessing on this or the other side of the veil. The Lord knows the intent of your heart.
- Come to the temple now. It will greatly bless your life and provide essential ordinances for those beyond the veil that they cannot obtain by themselves.
- May we take courage, faith, and comfort from the small, quiet, and gentle acts of caring, loving, humble, and dedicated followers of Christ.
- It's not enough to say we believe and that we love Him; we must be found possessed with His kind of love for others at that last day. It is not necessary for us to lay down our life for others as He did, but like the Savior, we should bless the lives of others by giving of what our life is made up of--our time, our talents, our means, and ourselves.
- Like faith, love must be exercised to grow.
- And motherhood, like priesthood, is a divine call to serve and to nurture others. Who that has witnessed the pure love of a mother for her child can deny that this kind of love is of God?
- We must understand that each of our children comes with varying gifts and talents.
- As parents, we should never let the searching and struggling of our children make us waver or lose our faith in the Lord.
- The family is strengthened as we draw near to the Lord, and each member of the family is strengthened as we lift and strengthen and love and care for one another. "Thee lift me and I'll lift thee, and we'll ascend together."
- People who deny the possibility of supernatural beings may reject this remarkable testimony, but people who are open to believe in miraculous experiences should find it compelling. The solemn written testimony of three witnesses to what they saw and heard--two of them simultaneously and the third almost immediately thereafter--is entitled to great weight. Indeed, we know that upon the testimony of one witness great miracles have been claimed and accepted by many religious people, and in the secular world the testimony of one witness has been deemed sufficient for weighty penalties and judgments.
- Furthermore, their testimony stands uncontradicted by any other witnesses. Reject it one may, but how does one explain three men of good character uniting and persisting in this published testimony to the end of their lives in the face of great ridicule and other personal disadvantage? Like the Book of Mormon itself, there is no better explanation than is given in the testimony itself, there is no better explanation than is given in the testimony itself, the solemn statement of good and honest men who told what they saw.
- 1. Witnesses are important, and the testimony of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon is impressive and reliable. 2. Happiness and spiritual progress lie in following the leaders of the Church. 3. There is hope for each of s, even if we have sinned and strayed from a favored position.
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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