April 2001 General Conference Saturday Morning

Gordon B. Hinckley -The Work Goes On

• We are not without critics, some of whom are mean and vicious. We have always had them, and I suppose we will have them all through the future. But we shall go forward, returning good for evil, being helpful and kind and generous. I remind you of the teachings of our Lord concerning these matters. You are all acquainted with them. Let us be good people. Let us be friendly people. Let us be neighborly people. Let us be what members of The Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ought to be.

Richard G. Scott -First Things First

• Throughout your life on earth, seek diligently to fulfill the fundamental purposes of this life through the ideal family. While you may not have yet reached that ideal, do all you can through obedience and faith in the Lord to consistently draw as close to it as you are able. Let nothing dissuade you from that objective. If it requires fundamental changes in your personal life, make them. When you have the required age and maturity, obtain all of the ordinances of the temple you can receive. If for the present, that does not include sealing in the temple to a righteous companion, live for it. Pray for it. Exercise faith that you will obtain it. Never do anything that would make you unworthy of it. If you have lost the vision of eternal marriage, rekindle it. If your dream requires patience, give it.
• Satan and his hosts will do all in their power to keep you from obtaining the ordinances required for the ideal family. He will attempt to distract you from centering your mind and heart on raising a strong family by nurturing your children as the Lord requires.
• Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction. He would have good people fill life with "good things" so there is no room for the essential ones.
• "You are making choices today that appear to give you what you want: an easy life, abundant enjoyment, and not much sacrifice. You can do that for a while, yet every decision you make narrows your future. You are eliminating possibilities and options. There will come a time and it won't be too distant, where you are going to spend the rest of your life doing things you don't want to do, in places you don't want to be, because you have not prepared yourself.  You are not taking advantage of your opportunities."
• While wholesome pleasure results from much we do that is good, it is not our prime purpose for being on earth. Seek to know and do the will of the Lord, not just what is convenient or what makes life easy. You have His plan of happiness. You know what to do, or can find out through study and prayer. Do it willingly.
• Put first things first.

Marlin K. Jensen -"To Walk Humbly with Thy God"

• In addition to being concerned about what we do, we Latter-day Saints ought also to pay attention to what we are and are striving to become. 
• Consciously trying to acquire humility is also problematic. I remember once hearing one of my colleagues in the Seventy say about humility that "if you think you have it, you don't." He suggested we should try to develop humility and be sure we didn't know when we got it, and then we would have it. But if we ever thought we had it, we wouldn't.
• The greatest act of courage and love in the history of mankind--Christ's atoning sacrifice--was also the greatest act of humility and submissiveness.
• "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.
• It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.  

Sydney S. Reynolds -A God of Miracles

• Now, we know, as you do, that all petitions to the Lord and all fasts do not receive the same hoped-for answer.

Jeffrey R. Holland -"Witnesses unto Me"

• We are entitled to a seat at the abundant table of testimony as well, and fortunately a place has been reserved there for each member of the Church.
• "My heart reaches out to you missionaries. You simply cannot do it alone and do it well. You must have the help of others. That power to help lies within each of us."
• Asking every member to be a missionary is not nearly as crucial as asking every member to be a member!
• Perhaps even more important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they  hold dear? And then listen.

Thomas S. Monson -Compassion

• "Violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness."
• We have no way of knowing when our privilege to extend a helping hand will unfold before us. The road to Jericho each of us travels bear no name, and the weary traveler who needs our help may be one unknown.
• Let us remember that after the funeral flowers fade, the well wishes of friends become memories, and the prayers offered and words spoken dim in the corridors of the mind. Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a departed companion. The clock ticks more loudly, time passes more slowly, and four walls can indeed a prison make.
• "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

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

-Sarnic Dirchi