187th Annual General Conference -Saturday Sessions

Saturday Morning

Henry B. Eyring

• Even if you're not with us in person, we feel you are with us in Spirit. 
• We hope you will feel one with us and feel the spiritual power that comes from gathering together.
• The names, Brother and Sister, are an expression of an eternal truth. God is the literal father of us all. We're all apart of his family.
• We were all given a portion of God's power, known as the Light of Christ. All of us have this. This sense of right and wrong.
• Families are the best way to preserve and pass on moral virtues and true principles that will lead us back to God's Presence.
• Families are at the Heart of God's plan for eternal happiness.
• The internet's power to enhance communications has allowed families to work together to research their family history much faster.
• To gather and unite God's family requires more than just warm feelings. It requires sacred covenants made w/ priesthood power.
• The Lord will always provide a way for us to gain confidence and satisfaction in all our service.
• The computer with all it's power and knowledge can't answer every question we have. Sometimes we need to resort to prayer to solve a problem.
• The work of gathering Heavenly Father's family together is not just for young people, or old people, it's for everyone.
• God the Father wants his children HOME together, in families.

M. Joseph Brough

• Our Father in Heaven knows His children's needs better than anyone else. Trust in Him.
• Proceed with confidence. Know that you are Never really Alone.
• Righteousness IS Happiness.
• Keep the Commandments. In this there is Safety and Peace.
• God will be by your side. Leading, Guiding, Helping you find the way, no matter the occasion.
• Heavenly Father has many resources, but often he uses a person, even US to help Him accomplish His work.
• The time Always comes when Each must Stand Alone. Only Heavenly Father will be nearby to guide us in those moments.

Weatherford T. Clayton

• The world sees birth and death on earth as a beginning and end. But we know under God's plan, that these events are just milestones in our eternal existence.
• When time stands still and life seems so unfair, we can find comfort in our Savior, because he has suffered as well.
• There is so much more to our existence than what happens between Birth and Death. We are eternal beings. We have accomplished much before and after our Earth life passes by.
• You can find peace and purpose in this earth life and in the eternal life to come.

Dale G. Renlund

• The Savior's compassion in the face of our struggles, draws us to him.
• Should the scabs of the sheep cause the shepherd to recoil? NO!
• Jesus views 'diseases' in his 'sheep' as something that needs to be treated, cared for, loved and strengthened.
• Christ replaces fear and despair with hope and joy.
• Christ seeks us out. He wants to help us. Are we letting him do so?
• The Savior condones the Sin, not the Person. He encourages us to change and become better versions of ourselves.
• The Savior's love, compassion, mercy, and love draws us towards him until we're no longer satisfied with our sinful state.
• A repenting sinner draws closer to God than a righteous man who condemns the sinner.
• For us to Ask for Respect. WE Must Be Respectful.
• Christ does not recoil from us because we Sin. He loves us so much that he provided the way for us to become clean.
• Show respect to ALL and Hatred to NONE.

Ulisses Soares

• As we exercise faith in Christ and his Atonement, our burdens will be lightened and our strength increased.
• God blesses us according to our Faith.
• If we are rooted by steadfast trust in God, and our desire to serve him, then the trials of life will not get us down.
• Without faith, we will end up loosing the capacity to appreciate the designs of our God in events that'll happen later in our life.
• I invite you to place ALL of your faith in God.

Mark A. Bragg

• Even in the most difficult and darkest of times. There is light all around us! We just need to look for it.
• The Adversary would rather have us focus on the mists of darkness. But don't do so! Focus on the light!
• That which is of God is LIGHT, and whosoever receive and continueth in light receives more Light.
• Do you Follow the LIGHT?
• Our natural inclination is to go towards the positive and stay away from the negative.
• Take comfort in the fact that there is Always Light available to us.
• The Church will Always have it's critics. It was that way from the beginning and will continue on. But don't allow it to dull our sensitivity to the light.
• Now, more than ever, our Families must be sources of Great Light to everyone around us.
• You cannot speak of the Light IN the world, without speaking of the Light OF the world. Jesus Christ.
• The Spirit of Christ is ALWAYS there. It's as universal as sunlight itself.
• Wherever there is Human Life, there is the Light of Christ.
• Let us put on the Armor of Light.

Russell M. Nelson

• God never intended for us to deal with our problems and issues on our own.
• We Choose to have Faith in Christ and follow him.
• Stand Out. Speak Up. Be Different from the people of the world? Be undaunted, devoted, and courageous.
• There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming powerful disciples of Christ.
• Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we otherwise wouldn't do.
• When you reach up for the Lord's power. With the same intensity as a drowning person needing air. Christ's power will be yours.

Saturday Afternoon Session

Dieter F. Uchtdorf -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Kevin R. Jergensen -Church Auditing Department Report, 2016

Brook P. Hales -Statistical Report, 2016

• Total Membership: 15,882,417
• Full-Time Missionaries: 70,946
• Church Service Missionaries: 30,695

Robert D. Hales

• Genuine disciple ship is a state of being. They live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fibers of their being.
• Weaving a spiritual tapestry of discipleship requires more than a single thread.
• The attributes of the Savior aren't a script to be followed or a list to be checked off.
• We measure our faith by what it leads us to do.
• We can't be part-time disciples.

Jeffrey R. Holland

• There is sunshine in my soul today! For Jesus Is my Light.
• If you are for a time, unable to echo the joyous singing of others. Hold on. Jesus can sing for you the songs you cannot sing.
• Hope for that which we see not. With patience. Wait for it.
• When the melody of joy falters, we may have to stand silent for a time, listening to others and draw strength from others around us.
• In singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as possible to the Savior of the World, who has perfect pitch.
• Take courage that he can hear our silence and that he can sing in our behalf.
• It's by God's design that not all voices in the choir sound the same.
• Don't disparage your uniqueness. Don't try to confirm to stereotypes. Be yourself.
• Diversity is not cacophony. Choirs do require leadership.
• God delights when we sing in Our Own Voice. Not in someone elses.
• Don't abandon your role in the chorus.
• My love is richer than my tongue. I cannot heave my heart into my mouth.
• We live in a mortal world with many songs that we cannot, or do yet know how to sing. But stay faithful. Stay in the choir.
• There is room for everyone no matter who they are in the Choir of God.
• If Love of God is the melody of our shared song. Surely our quest to obey him and be like him is the harmony within the song.
• Come as you are. But. Don't plan to stay as you are.

Gary B. Sabin

• Look on the positive side of things. You may have scored a goal for the wrong team, but you did score Three Goals in the game.
• Don't hold back to see what the minimum is that you can get by with. Jump in with your whole mind and whole heart.
• Are you going to freeze for hours to save on five minutes of work?
• In reality it's much easier to be Full In than Partially In.
• The Righteous shall hold on his way. And he that has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger.
• Are you standing up on the Inside?
• When life knocks you down, do you bounce back up?
• A scale of 1-10, I'm about a 25.
• If I get tired of walking, I can always run.
• We may need to let go of the World to Hang onto Eternity.
• Don't fear. Just live right.
• As we are faithful, we can have equal certainty that things will work out in the end.

Valeri V. Cordon

• Be more diligent, concerned, and observant at home.
• It is not enough to merely speak the language in the home. It must be taught.
• Powerful teaching is extremely important in preserving the gospel in the home.
• It is not enough to just talk to our kids about gospel principles. They must see us making room for the gospel in our lives.
• As Children of God, we are Imperfect people, trying to learn a Perfect Language.

Neil L. Andersen

• Overcoming the world is not one defining moment in a lifetime, but a lifetime of defining moments.
• Humble yourselves, put your trust in God, and remain faithful to the end.
• The World is more interested in Indulging the Natural Man, rather than Subduing him.
• Overcoming the World is Trusting in the One voice that Warns, Enlightens and Gives Peace.
• As our Spiritual Antennas are pointed Heavenwards, the Lord can guide us to those who could use our help.
• If the World Hates You, Know that it hated me (Christ) before it hated you.
• Remember, even when are discouraged, that you can always feel the Love of the Savior.
• Is the Testimony you have of Jesus Christ the compass of your life?

M. Russell Ballard

• Those who accomplish the most in this world, are those who have a vision for their lives.
• If the Goal is clear, but there is no clear plan, it's difficult to reach the destination.
• Short-term goals are only effective if they lead to clearly understood long-term goals.
• The simpler and more straightforward a Goal is, the more Power it will have.
• To stay focused on your goals, You need to regularly take time to ask yourself. "How am I doing?"
• You know yourself best in how you're progressing in your goals and what you need to do to improve if it's needed.

Priesthood Session

Thomas S. Monson

• For if he hath not Charity. He is nothing.
• Cleave unto Charity, for it never faileth for it is the pure love of Christ. And it endureth Forever.
• Kindness should permeate all our words and our actions.

David A. Bednar

• Go Ye, Go Ye, into the World and Preach the gospel unto everyone who cometh under the sound of your voice.
• With God's help you Can Not go amiss in your service.
• You are called to the Work and NOT to a place. Serve where you are.
• Open your Heart. Open yourself to the Holy Ghost.
• Be worthy. Stay worthy.
• Please Learn to Love being and remaining worthy.
• Diligently prepare now for your witness of the Lord and his Work will be strengthened and fill your heart.

Gerald Causse

• The service you do in your younger years can be used as an anchor for your testimony in later years.
• Your role in the church is important, needful and sacred.
• Invite others to help prepare the way for others, so that they can also prepare the way for themselves.
• I Need You.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• A Temple Dedication isn't about US. It's about dedicating a Temple of the Most High God.
• Is your Joy any less if you are Rejoicing at home, instead of in the midst of the Group Celebration?
• You can't get honor in the kingdom of heaven by campaigning for it.
• Rejoice with those who are happy. Weep with those who grieve. Lift up those in distress. And Love ALL regardless of their situation.
• God's greatest reward, goes to those who serve without Expectation of Reward. Who serve without fanfare.
• Always be grateful for the respect others give you, but don't inhale it. Don't let it swell your head.
• Rule Number Six: Don't take yourself so Darn Seriously.
• Leadership in the Church isn't about directing others, as it is about our willingness to be directed by God.
• Accept callings with Grace, Humility, and Gratitude.
• When we reach out to others, we can have humble confidence that God acknowledges our service, our acts of compassion.
• Even though you may be an influential contributor to an event, you may not get to see it to fruition. #perspective
• Be willing to be a leader AND a worker.
• What's the most important calling in the Church? The one YOU hold right now. #perspective
• Lift. Where. You. Stand.
• Those who reach out in Kindness and Compassion to others, will one day know the value of their service.

Henry B. Eyring

• None of us can do the work, and do it well relying solely on our own strength and talents. We need the Lord.
• If you feel overwhelmed. Take it as a good sign.
• Do I bring the power of Godliness into the lives of those I serve?
• Introspection often brings the feeling that we should be doing more. But I hope it also brings the feeling that you WANT to do more.
• He says: Come unto me. And we say: Come unto him.
• Are you accepting the Lord's invitation to Walk with Him?
• You are all Bright and Noble Sons [and Daughters] of God.
• God notices and will support even the newest and youngest member.
• Never feel that you are too small or too insignificant for Him to take notice of you.
• Our Progress IS His Work.
• God's work is not to just solve problems. It's to build people.
• If you walk with the Savior long enough you will begin to see everyone as a noble child of God with limitless potential.

To watch/listen/read these sessions of conference please visit:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP_SA_1-4-2017_dPFD_fGC_xLIDyL2-3_&lang=eng

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi