October 2002 General Conference Sunday Morning

Thomas S. Monson -Models to Follow

• All of us living in the world today need points of reference--even models to follow.
• When God speaks and we obey, we will always be right.
• May we have the unfeigned humility of John the Baptist, the unquestioning obedience of Abraham, the unlimited patience of Job, the unwavering faith of Noah, the undeviating loyalty of Ruth, the unflagging determination of Nephi, the undaunted courage of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the unfailing optimism of President Hinckley. Such will be as a fortress of strength to us throughout our lives.
• May we ever be guided by the supreme Exemplar, even the son of Mary, the Savior Jesus Christ--whose very life provided a perfect model for us to follow.

Dallin H. Oaks -I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go

• "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines."
• It is not a sacrifice; it is a privilege.
• "See that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength."
• My brothers and sisters, if you are delinquent in commitment, please consider who it is you are refusing or neglecting to serve when you decline a calling or when you accept, promise, and fail to fulfill.

D. Todd Christofferson -That They May Be One in Us

• We are dual beings of flesh and spirit, and we sometimes feel out of harmony or in conflict. Our spirit is enlightened by conscience, the light of Christ, and naturally responds to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and desires to follow truth. But the appetites and temptations to which the flesh is subject can, if permitted, overwhelm and dominate the spirit.
• Becoming at one within ourselves prepares us for the greater blessing of becoming one with God and Christ.
• Submissiveness is not reached in a day.

Margaret D. Nadauld -A Woman of Faith

• A woman of faith trusts God and faces adversity with hope.
• As she prays, she listens--allowing the communication to be two-way. She trusts that in His still and quiet way, He will lead her by the hand and give her answer to her prayers.
• A woman of faith is confident.
• A woman of faith is fearless. She fears no evil, for God is with her. There is no ambiguity, no uncertain trump in her life.

Henry B. Eyring -Rise to Your Call

• First, you are called of God.
• The Lord knows you. He knows whom He would have serve in every position in His Church. He chose you. He has prepared a way so that He could issue your call.
• Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands.
• Just the way you smile or the way you offer to help someone can build their faith.
• There are no small callings to represent the Lord. Your call carries grave responsibility. But you need not fear, because with your call come great promises.
• Second...the Lord will guide you by revelation just as He called you.
• Third... Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you.
• The forces arrayed against you will try not only to frustrate your work but to bring you down.
• There will be times when you will feel overwhelmed. One of the ways you will be attacked is with the feeling that you are inadequate. Well, you are inadequate to answer a call to represent God with only your own powers. But you have access to more than your natural capacities, and you do not work alone.
• God magnifies those He calls, even in what may seem to you a small or inconspicuous service. You will have the gift of seeing your service magnified. Give thanks while that gift is yours. You will appreciate its wroth more than you can imagine when it is gone.
• It is this: If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me,  I begin to look for evidence of what He had done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power.
• "Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

Gordon B. Hinckley -The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith

• I knew a so-called intellectual who said the Church was trapped by its history. My response was that without that history we have nothing.
• This wondrous Restoration should make of us a people of tolerance, of neighborliness, of appreciation and kindness toward others. We cannot be boastful. We cannot be proud. We can be thankful, as we must be. We can be humble, as we should be.
• We love those of other churches. We work with them in good causes. We respect them. But we must never forget our roots. Those roots lie deep in the soil of the opening of this, the final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi