October 2005 General Conference -Saturday Afternoon

Thomas S. Monson -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Dallin H. Oaks -Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church

• Church programs and activities should not be so all-encompassing that families cannot have everyone present for family time. And family activities should not be scheduled in conflict with sacrament meeting or other vital Church meetings.
• Church callings are always temporary, but family relationships are permanent.
• "When we speak of marriage as a partnership, let us speak of marriage as a full partnership. We do not want our LDS women to be silent partners or limited partners in that eternal assignment! Please be a contributing and full partner."
• If men desire the Lord's blessings in their family leadership, they must exercise their priesthood authority according to the Lord's principles for its use.

Jeffrey R. Holland -To Young Women

• Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A woman's abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest. I say to you what the Prophet Joseph said more than 150 years ago: "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates."
• The Church will never deny your moral agency regarding what you should wear and exactly how you should look. But the Church will always declare standards and will always teach principles.
• In the gospel of Jesus Christ, modesty in appearance is always in fashion. Our standards are not socially negotiable.
• Young women, choose your clothing the way you would choose your friends--in both cases choose that which improves you and would give you confidence standing in the presence of God. Good friends would never embarrass you, demean you, or exploit you. Neither should your clothing.
• I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not! But as one adviser to teenage girls said: "You can't live your life worrying that the world is staring at you. When you let people's opinions make you self-conscious you give away your power. ... The Key to feeling [confident] is to always listen to your inner self--[the real you.] 
• There is no universal optimum size.

Benjamin De Hoyos -True Happiness: A Conscious Decision

• Happiness is a condition of the soul. This joyous state comes as a result of righteous living.

C. Scott Grow -The Book of Mormon, the Instrument to Gather Scattered Israel

• The Book of Mormon is its own witness to the people of Latin America and of all nations. Its very coming forth in these latter days bears witness that God has once again  begun to gather scattered Israel.

Paul K. Sybrowsky -"If Christ Had My Opportunities..."

• {Take} time for the one.
• Sometimes it's the one in the corner whom we hadn't considered.
• Seek out and find the one.

Henry B. Eyring -Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady

• However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies.
• Great faith has a short shelf life.
• Some of the protection we need will be direct intervention of God. But more of it will come from building our faith to obey.
• The best time to resist temptation is early.

M. Russell Ballard -What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest

• Parents from all different cultures and faiths are saying and feeling the same things we are as parents in the Church.
• If we live and act upon this knowledge, we will attract the world to us. Parents who place a high priority on their families will gravitate to the Church because it offers the family structure, values, doctrine, and eternal perspective that they seek and cannot find elsewhere.
• The Church itself will continue to be the first and foremost institution--the "scaffolding," as it were--to help build strong families. I can assure you that those who lead the Church have great concern about the well-being of your families, and thus you will see increasing efforts to prioritize and to focus on family needs. But as your leaders, we call upon members of the Church everywhere to put family first and to identify specific ways to strengthen their individual families.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi