April 2001 General Conference Priesthood Session

Henry B. Eyring -"Watch with Me"

• "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
• We must watch over ourselves as well as others.
• We will be tempted to go near the edges of sin. But sin in any form offends the Holy Ghost. You must not do anything or go anywhere that offends the Spirit. You cannot afford that risk. Should sin cause you to fail, you would not only be responsible for your own sins but for the sorrow you might have prevented in the lives of others had you been worthy to hear and obey the whisperings of the Spirit.

David E. Sorensen -You Can't Pet a Rattlesnake

• Tonight I would like to talk to you about the dangers of petting poisonous snakes. The ones I refer to do not have long, slithering bodies but come in many other forms. Often the world makes these dangers look harmless--even exciting and interesting. But petting such snakes fills the mind with poison--poison that drives away the Holy Spirit.
• Decide now, before you face a challenge, where to draw the line.
• Knowingly petting poisonous spiritual snakes is doubly dangerous. Those who do remind me of the little boy who was overheard praying, "Heavenly Father, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

John H. Groberg -Priesthood Power

• Just as clean wires, properly connected, are required to carry electrical power, so clean hands and pure hearts are required to carry priesthood power. Filth and grime slow or prevent the flow of electrical power. Unclean thoughts and actions interfere with individual priesthood power. When we are humble, clean, and pure of hand, heart, and mind, nothing righteous is impossible.
• "If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him."
• There is no individual power in the priesthood outside of individual purity.
• Since there is nothing Satan can do about the power of the priesthood, he concentrates his energy on trying to limit our individual power in the priesthood by attempting to dirty our hands, hearts, and minds.
• He knows if he can sufficiently soil us individually, he can, to that degree, keep us from the purity needed to properly exercise the priesthood and thus bring more light, life, and love to this earth and all the inhabitants thereof--past, present, and future.

James E. Faust -"Them That Honour Me I Will Honour"

• For you to achieve your potential, you will need to honor four sacred principles in your lives. These four are:
• 1. Reverence for Deity
• 2. Respecting and honoring family relationships.
• 3. Reverence for and obedience to the ordinances and covenants of the holy priesthood.
• 4. Respect for yourself as a son of God.
• All mothers go down into the valley of the shadow of death as they labor in birth to give us life.
• Noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse of the divine attributes of our Father in Heaven.
• A father should never consciously disappoint his wife.
• "When I look upon the faces of intelligent beings I look upon the image of the God I serve."

Thomas S. Monson -To the Rescue

• Amidst the storms of life, danger lurks; and men, like boats, find themselves stranded and facing destruction. Who will man the lifeboats, leaving behind the comforts of home and family, and go to the rescue?
• "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom  you might have saved had you done your duty."
• "If we don't try, then we don't do; and if we don't do, then why are we here?"
• Wishing will not  make it so. The Lord expects our thinking. He expects our action. He expects our labors. He expects our testimonies. He expects our devotion.
• Men cannot really long rest content with mediocrity once they see excellence is within their reach.
• Another principle of truth which will guide us in our determination is that boys and men can change.
• I'm reminded of the words of a prison warden who taught this fact. A critic who knew of Warden Duffy's efforts to rehabilitate men said, "Don't you know that leopards can't change their spots?" Warden Duffy responded, "You should know I don't work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day."
• "If you would win a man to your cause first convince him that you are his sincere friend."
• A friend cares. A friend loves. A friend listens. And a friend reaches out.
• Acquire the language of the Spirit. It is not learned from textbooks written by men of letters, nor is it acquired through reading and memorization. The language of the Spirit comes to him who seeks with all his heart to know God and keep His divine commandments. Proficiency in this "language" permits one to breach barriers, overcome obstacles, and touch the human heart.

Gordon B. Hinckley -The Perpetual Education Fund

• There is an old saying that if you give a man a fish, he will have a meal for a day. But if you teach him how to fish, he will eat for the remainder of his life.
• Participation in the program will carry with it no stigma of any kind, but rather a sense of pride in what is happening. It will not be a welfare effort, commendable as those efforts are, but rather an education opportunity. The beneficiaries will repay the money, and when they do so, they will enjoy a wonderful sense of freedom because they have improved their lives not through a grant or gift, but through borrowing and then repaying. They can hold their heads high in a spirit of independence. The likelihood of their remaining faithful and active throughout their lives will be very high.
• There is nothing that the priesthood cannot accomplish if we will work unitedly together in moving forward a program designed to bless the people.
• I believe the Lord does not wish to see His people condemned to live in poverty. I believe He would have the faithful enjoy the good things of the earth. He would have us do these things to help them. And He will bless us as we do so.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi