I have and this in my documents on my computer for a while now and I decided to do something with it. For two weeks you read the assigned scriptures, ponder the questions asked, and read a few quotes pertaining to the topic of that day. I am going to be doing it and thought I would share it. I have each day one one sheet of paper for me to take it easier to keep track of what day I am on. Day 14 is the exception because it is so long it takes up two sheets. (.5 margins, and single spacing other then what day it is, makes it 15 pages long.) Yes the words are for the Relief Society sisters, but it could easily be changed to fit the brethern of the church as well.
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Day 1 – Am I Seeking Christ’s Help?
Read:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Jacob 4:7
Ether 12:27
Ponder:
Am I seeking the Lords help in all I think and do?
How can He help me overcome my weaknesses?
Dear Friend,
I just had to send you a note to tell you how much I love
you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your
friends. I waited all day hoping you would want to talk with me also. It hurt me, but I still love you because I am
your friend.
I saw you fall asleep last night, and longed to touch
your brow. So I spilled moonlight on your pillow and your face. Again I waited,
wanting to rush down so that we could talk. I have so many gifts for you, but
you awakened late the next day and rushed off to school. My tears were in the
rain.
Today you looked sad, so alone. It makes my heart ache
because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me so many times too. But
I love you. Oh, if you would only listen to me. I really love you. I try to
tell you in the blue sky and green grass. I whisper in the leaves on the trees,
and breathe it in the color of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain
streams and give the birds love songs to sing, clothe you in warm sunshine and
perfume the air with nature scents .My love for you is deeper than the oceans
and bigger than the biggest want or need in your heart.
If you only knew how much I want to help you. I want you
to meet my Father. He wants to help you too. My Father is that way, you know.
Just call me, ask me, and talk with me. Please, please don’t forget me. I have so
much to share with you. But I won’t hassle you any further. You are free to
call me. It’s up to you. I’ll wait because I love you.
Your big brother
Christ
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DAY 2 - Am I abiding in Christ?
Read:
John 15
Ponder: From whom do I get my strength? Am I abiding
in Christ? How can I bring forth much
fruit Lord? Can He call me a friend?
As a Saint you say, “I think I understand my duty, and I
am doing very will.” That may be so. You see the little twig: it is green; it
flourishes and it is the very picture of life. It bears its part and proportion
in the tree, and is connected with the stem, branches, and root. But could the
tree live with out it? Yes it could. It need not boast itself and get uplifted
and say, “How green I am! And how I flourish! And what a healthy position I am
in! How well I am doing! And I am in my proper place and am I doing right?” but
could you do without the root! No: you bear your proper part and position in
the tree. Just so with this people. When they are doing their part- when they are
magnifying their calling, living their religion, and walking in obedience to
the Spirit of the Lord, they have a portion of his Spirit given them to profit
with all. And while they are humble, faithful, diligent, and observe the laws
and commandments of God, they stand in their proper position on the tree: they
are flourishing; the buds blossoms, leaves, and everything about them are all
right, and they form a part and parcel of the tree…” (John Taylor, in Journal
of Discourses, 6:108.)
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Day 3 - Do I Really Understand Repentance?
Read:
D&C 58:41-43
Mosiah 4:9-12
Mosiah 2:38
Ponder:
Have I truly sought forgiveness from the Lord?
Do I really believe He will forgive me?
I learned about the great plan of happiness, that we are
on earth to be tested. We will all make mistakes. The Apostle John taught, “If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Fortunately he
added, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I paid particular attention to that
word cleanse.
I thought that repentance, like soap, should be used
frequently. I found that when I apologized for mistakes, things were better.
But for serious mistakes, an apology was not enough --- sometimes not even
possible. While these mistakes were, for the most part, not major ones, the
spiritual pain called guilt
invariably set in. Sooner or later they must be resolved, but I didn’t know
what to do. That happens when you break something that you alone can’t fix.
Among you young people are those who are “vexed,” as
Peter said, “with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” Some of you joke
about standards and see no need to change behavior. You tell yourselves it
doesn’t matter because “everybody’s doing it.”
But that doesn’t work because you, by nature, are good. How
many times have you heard someone say, after doing some generous or heroic deed
or simply helping others, how good it made them feel? Like any natural feeling
or emotion, that reaction is inborn in you. Surely you have experienced that
yourself! Happiness is inseparably connected with decent, clean behavior.
The prophet Alma bluntly told his wayward son that
because he transgressed he was “in a state contrary to the nature of happiness”
and that “wickedness never was happiness.” Those who don’t know how to erase
mistake often feel cornered and rebellious and lose themselves in unworthy
living. If you travel with transgressors, you will suffer much more that I did
in that restaurant…….
It was through reading the scriptures, and listening,
that I could understand, at least in part, the power of the Atonement. Can you
imagine how I felt when finally I could see that if I followed whatever
conditions the Redeemer had set, I need never endure the agony of being
spiritually unclean? Imagine the consoling, liberating, exalting feeling that
will come to you when you see the reality of the Atonement and the practical
everyday value of it to you individually.
You need not know everything before the power of the
Atonement will work for you. Have faith in Christ; it begins to work the day
you ask!!!! The scriptures speak of “obedience to the laws and ordinances of
the Gospel.” We all well know what it means to obey laws. But how are we at
obeying ordinances?
Generally we understand that, conditioned upon
repentance, the ordinance of baptism washes our sins away. Some wonder if they
were baptized too soon. If only they could be baptized now and have a clean
start. But that is not necessary! Through the ordinance of the sacrament you
renew the covenants made at baptism. When you meet al of the conditions of
repentance, however difficult, you may be forgiven and your transgressions will
trouble your mind on more.
From “Washed Clean”
President Boyd K. Packer
Saturday Morning Session, 5 April 1997
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Day 4 - Am I a Daughter of God?
Read:
D&C 19:15 – 24
Mosiah 4:2-3
Mosiah 5:7-9
Ponder:
How can I get rid of guilt?
How can I put myself in a position to have the power of
the atonement cover my sins?
Do I understand what Christ did for me?
Do I comprehend the great love He has for me?
To those who may feel they have somehow forfeited their
place at the table of the Lord, we say again with the Prophet Joseph Smith that
God has “a forgiving disposition,” (Joseph smith, Com., Lecture on faith (1985,
42) that Christ is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, (is) long-suffering
and full of goodness.” (Lectures on Faith, 42) I have always loved that when
Matthew records Jesus’ great injunction, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
father which is in heaven is perfect,” (Matt. 4:48) Luck adds the Savior’s
additional commentary: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is
merciful” (Luck 6:36) – as if to suggest that mercy is at least a beginning
synonym for the perfection God has and which all of us must strive. Mercy, with
its sister virtue forgiveness, is at the very heart of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and the eternal plan of salvation. Everything in the gospel teaches us
that we can change if we can be made whole, whatever the problems of the past.
Now, if you feel to spiritually maimed to come to the
feast please realize that the church is not a monastery for perfect people,
though all of us ought to be striving on the road to godliness. No, at least
one aspect of the Church is more like a hospital or an aid station, provided
for those who are ill and want to get well, where one can get an infusion of
spiritual nutrition and of sustaining water in order to keep on climbing.
…………
Those who will receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the
source of their salvation will always lie down in green pastures, no matter how
barren and bleak the winter has been. And the waters of their refreshment will
always be still waters, no matter how turbulent the storms of life. In walking
His path of righteousness, our souls
will be forever restored; and though that path made for us, as it did
for him, lead through the very valley of the shadow of death, yet we will fear
no evil. The rod of His priesthood and the staff of His Spirit will always
comfort us. And when we hunger and thirst in the effort, He will prepare a
veritable feast before us, a table spread eve in the presence of our enemies—contemporary
enemies—which might include fear of family worries, sickness or personal sorrow
of a hundreds different kinds. In a crowning act of compassion at such a supper
He anoints our head with oil and administers a blessing of strength to our
soul. Our cup runneth over with His kindness, and our tears runneth over with
joy. We weep to know that such goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days
of our life, and that we will, if we desire it, dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (See Ps. 23.)
From “He Hath Filled the Hungry with Good Things”
Jeffry R. Holland
Sunday Morning Session, 5 October 1997
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Day 5 – Am I a Light to the World?
Read:
Matthew 5
Ponder:
Am I setting a righteous example for others?
How can I let my light shine?
Do my actions glorify God?
Have you ever stopped to think that perhaps you are the
light sent by Heavenly Father to lead another safely home or to be a beacon
from a distance to show the way back to the straight and narrow path that leads
to eternal life? Your light is a beacon and should never stop burning or lead
those who are looking for a way home. Let the lower light keep burning- you may
save a struggling seaman in the turbulent sea of life.
……….
It isn’t just nice to be a light for others; it is
essential for their exaltation as well as for our own. “Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven.” (Matt. 5-16)
We are children of light. As children of light, we walk
in the light and choose the right and stand for the right.
Choosing the right is a decision- making process. Choose
to learn what is the right way to live your life. Learning principles and
keeping the commandments and covenants that guide and protect you as you
exercise your agency in daily choices.
…………….
Choose to do what is right because your greatest desire
is to love the Lord and to be obedient to His laws, ordinances and commandments
so that you can return back into his presence eternally. Choose to do what is
right because you love yourself and because you honor those who love you.
Help others to what is right. Choose to be of service and
be an example of what is right by lifting and strengthening others to do what
is right because you care.
Choose to turn around and repent immediately if you ever
depart from the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. Repentance
is a merciful result of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice because of the love our
Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ have for each of us.
From “That Ye May Be the Children of Light”
Robert D. Hales
Fireside address delivered on 3 Nov 1996 in the Marriott
Center, B Y U, Provo, Ut
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Day 6 – How can I improve my thoughts?
Read:
D&C 6:16
Alma 37:36-37
D&C 121:45-46
Ponder:
Do I keep all idle, unclean, or negative thought out of
my mind?
What would Jesus think about?
How can I improve my thoughts?
Do my thoughts affect my attitude?
What do I think about when I have nothing to think about?
I have to live
with myself, and so-
I want to be fit
for myself to know.
I want to be able
as the days go by,
Always to look
myself straight in the eye.
I don’t want to
stand with the setting sun
And hate myself
for the things I’ve done.
I don’t want to
keep on a closet shelf
I want to deserve
all men’s respect.
And, here in the
struggle for fame and pelf
I want to be able
to like myself.
I don’t want to
think, as I come and go
That I am bluster
and bluff and empty show.
I can never hide
myself from me
I see what others
my never see;
I know what others
may never know
I can never fool
myself!
And so – whatever
happens I want to be
Self respecting
and conscience free!!!
--E A Guest
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Day 7 – How do I guard my speech?
Read:
D&C 88:121
3 Nephi 12:33-37
Matthew 5: 11
Ponder:
Do I speak only kind, uplifting thoughts to everyone?
Gossip
A peasant with a troubled conscience went to a monk for
advice. He said he had circulated a vile story about a friend, only to find
that the story was not true.
“If you would make peace with your conscience,” said the
monk, “you must first fill a bag with goose downs, go to every door in the
village, and drop on each one of them a feather.”
The peasant did as he was told. Then he came back to the
monk and said he had done penance for his folly.
“Not yet,” replied the monk. “Take a bag, and go two
rounds again, and gather up every down that you have dropped.”
“But the wind must have blown them all away,” said the
peasant.
“Yes, my son” said the monk. “And so it is with your vile
words. Words and goose down are quickly dropped, but try as hard as you will; you
can never get them back.”
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Day 8 – How do I guard against pride?
Read:
Proverbs 6:16 – 17
Proverbs 8: 13
Alma 5: 14 – 28
D&C 38:39
Ponder:
Am I being truly honest with others?
Do I guard against pride?
Do I do the right things for the right reasons?
The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they
have value or not. Their self – esteem is determined by where they are judged
to be on the ladders of worldly success. They fell worthwhile as individuals if
the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large
enough. Pride is ugly. It says “If you succeed, I am a failure.” If we love
God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self –
esteem….
The antidote for pride is humility – meekness,
submissiveness. (See Alma 7:23.) It is the broken heart and contrite spirit.
(See Nephi 9:20, Nephi 12:19; D&C 20:37, 59:8: Ps.24:18; Isa.57, 66:2.)…
God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be
compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves
without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.) Let us choose to be
humble.
We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity
toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them
as high or higher than we are. (See D&C 38:24; 81:5; 84:106.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel
and chastisement. (See Jacob 4:10; Hel. 15:3; D&C63:55; 101:4-5; 108:1;
124:61, 84; 136:31; Prov.9:8.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who
have offended us. (See 2 Ne. 13:11, 14: D&C 64:10.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless
service. (See Mosiah 2:16-17.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions
and preaching the word that can humble others. (See Alma 4:19; 31:5; 48:20.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the
temple more frequently.
We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and
forsaking our sins and being born of God.
(See D&C 58:43; Mosiah 27:25-27; Alma 5:7-14, 19.)
We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God,
submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. (See Ne. 11:11;
13:33; Moro. 10:32.)
Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.
From “Beware of Pride”
President Ezra Taft Benson
Saturday Morning Session, 1 April, 1989
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Day 9 – Is the Lord my Light?
Read:
Helaman 5:12
1 Peter 2:21
D&C 84:43-47
Ponder:
In the past nine days, have I tried to make decisions
based on the questions:
What would Jesus do if He were here?
What have I improved on?
What is my specific role?
Read your
Patriarchal Blessing!!!!
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Day 10 – How does the Lord want ME to Serve?
Read:
D&C 4
Moroni 7:5-8
Ponder:
Is the Lord first in my life?
What am I doing to build the Lord’s kingdom?
How do I really feel about the service that I give
others?
Does serving the Lord make me happy?
Our highest priority as the Relief Society general
presidency is to strengthen our sisters, Spiritually, both individually and
collectively….. We must prepare for our
time because our time has come. We must possess the spiritual strength to
overcome our challenges laying our faults on the alter and giving our lives to
the Lord. We must focus our priorities on contributing, as we are able, to the
building of the kingdom of God through service in the Relief Society.
…………..
As the Relief Society general presidency and board, we
have established the guiding objectives for the Relief Society. They are:
Build faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and teach the
doctrines of the kingdom of God.
Emphasize the divine worth of the individual.
Serve, support, and build every sister.
Exercise charity, and nurture those in need.
Strengthen and protect families, and honor our heritage.
Become full participants in the blessings of the
priesthood.
From “For Such a Time as This”
Mary Ellen Smoot
General Relief Society Meeting, 27 September 1997
I feel to invite woman everywhere to rise to the great
potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope
you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try
to set goals for beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do
what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness
miracles come to pass.
President Gordon B. Hinckley
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Day 11 - How can the Holy Ghost help me to be more
like Christ?
Read:
3 Nephi 27:20
D&C 11:12
D&C 46:11-26
Moroni 10:4
D&C 121:45 – 56
John 14:16-17; 26
Ponder:
What are my gifts of the Spirit?
Why is it important to know the truth?
Do I really desire the Holy Ghost to be my constant
Companion?
In on of those difficult times that the faithful and
dedicated young Nephi had with his rebellious brothers, he reminded them of the
following guide to obtaining a
testimony. The Lord declared, “If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in
faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my
commandments, surely these things shall be made know unto you.” (1Ne. 15:11).
Now, we can review the steps Nephi described.
First, don’t harden your heart. Seek to know. In other
words, have an intense, consuming desire to know. Give place for a seed to be
planted in your heart. And if you do this, do you know what the promise is?
Alma tells us, “He that will not harden his heart, to him is given… to know the
mysteries of God” (Alma 12:10).
Second, ask in faith. In your study of the scriptures,
have you noted how many times the phrase “Believing that ye shall receive” accompanies the
commandment of praying and asking? In the process of asking for knowledge, we
have to exercise faith—believing before receiving. To illustrate this part of
our conversation, Alma gives us a good example when he explained how he
obtained his testimony:
“Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might
know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true;
for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this
is the spirit of revelation which is in me” (Alma 5: 46).
Third, keep the commandments. I think that the words of
the Book of Mormon point out the blessings that we can obtain if we abound in
good works. King Benjamin declared to his people, “ If you believe all these
things see that ye do them” (Mosiah 4:10). And the great missionary Ammon said,
“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works,
and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the
mysteries of God” (Alma 26:22).
…… We have analyzed the different steps we should follow
in our search for a testimony. But there is yet the most important help
available that can give us confirmation and absolute assurance, and it is your
right when you live worthy to receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Remember the promise in Moroni; “ And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may
know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). Pay attention that I said to receive
the companionship of the Holy Ghost . The Holy Ghost has the power to bring
light and understanding to our lives, but we must pay the price to seek and win
His companionship.
Elder Marion G. Romney once wrote: “It is the mission of
the Holy Ghost to reveal the truth of heaven to those who qualify to receive
it. Everyone of us, if we will, may so qualify. We must ever keep in mind,
however, that he will not dwell in an unholy environment. He is used to the
society of God, for he is and associate of the Father and the Son. When we
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are commanded to receive him; he is not
commanded to come to us. But is, with all our hearts, we truly seek him, he
will come to us and guide us in the making of decisions at every crisis of our
lives” (“Revelation in Our Personal Affairs,” Relief Society Magazine, Oct.
1955, 647). The Holy Ghost is given to us to witness of the Father and the Son;
that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer; that there is a prophet upon the earth who
presides over the true Church that carries the Savior’s name, even The Church
of Jesus Christ of Ladder-day Saints; and that all the works and promise of God
will be fulfilled in His time and in His own way.
From “Your Own Personal Testimony”
Angel Abrea
Priesthood Session, 1 April 2000
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Day 12 – Do I love Christ?
Read:
John 13:34-35
John 14:15
3 Nephi 13:20-21, 24, 33
Ponder:
Do I love as Christ loves?
DO I keep all of the commandments?
Have I put another God before Christ?
How then do we, as women of God, fill the full measure of
our creation? The Lord rewards “them that diligently seek him” (
Heb. 11:6). We
seek Him not only by studying and searching, by pleading and praying and
watching always lest we enter into temptation, but by giving up worldly
indulgences that straddle the line between God and mammon. Otherwise we risk
being called but not chosen because our “hearts are set so much upon the things
of this world” (
D&C 121:35).
Consider the principle taught in the sequence of this
scriptural injunction: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart,with all thy might, mind, and strength” (
D&C 59:5;
emphasis added). What the Lord requires first is our hearts. Imagine how our
choices would be affected if we loved the Savior above all else. How we would
spend our time and money, or dress on a hot summer day, or respond to the call
to visit teach and take care of one another, or react to media that offend the
Spirit.
It is by letting the world go and coming unto Christ that
we increasingly live as women of God. We were born for eternal glory. Just as
faithful men were foreordained to hold the priesthood, we were foreordained to
be women of God. We
arewomen of faith,
virtue, vision, and charity who rejoice in motherhood and in womanhood and in
the family. We are not panicked about perfection, but we
are working to become more pure. And we know that
in the strength of the Lord we can do all righteous things because we have
immersed ourselves in His gospel (see
Alma 26:12).
I repeat, we cannot be women of the world, for we are latter-day
women of God. As President Kimball taught, “No greater recognition
can come to [us] in this world than to be known as [women] of God” (“The Role
of Righteous Women,”
Ensign, Nov.
1979, 102).
From “We are Women of God”
Sheri L. Dew
General Relief Society Meeting, 25 September 1999
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Day 13 – What is the pure love of Christ?
Read:
Moroni 7:40-48
Ponder:
Have I felt these past 13 days a greater love for my
Savior?
Have I felt His love?
Can I commit myself to live each day as Christ would
live?
We show that we serve the Lord by the way in which we live
the commandments received from Him, by the work we do to help establish the
kingdom of God on earth, and by the way we act towards our neighbor.
…….
For some, putting away worldly gods may mean giving up a
small habit. For others, it may mean giving up serious sins they are
committing. For others still, it may mean forgetting sad events which happened
earlier in their lives. Whatever the situation, in each one of us there is the
power to change our life, the power to transform the bad feelings we have in
our hearts. The Lord
Jesus Christ will give us this power and
will help us. All He asks from us is that we have faith in Him, follow His
example, and obey His commandments.
……
Neither prosperity nor poverty indicate whether a person
is living a
Christian life. Physical suffering is not
evidence of wickedness, nor is it punishment for sin.What then are the rewards
of serving the Lord?
The gospel of Jesus Christ does not promise that we will
be free from tribulation. But it does strengthen our spirit so that we can
accept adversity and face it when it comes. The house founded upon a rock does
not fall with strong winds or rain.
The person whose life is founded upon the gospel of Jesus
Christ is able to: Face adversity with hope; Withstand offense with
forgiveness;
and Face death with serenity. The person who chooses to follow the Lord and who
keeps His commandments: In his weaknesses, he knows where the source of his
strength is; In his strength, he remains humble; In his poverty, he knows what
his riches are; In his prosperity, he remembers his brethren with tenderness. A
person who can live this way, without fear or hate but with love, is a happy
person.
The fruits obtained from serving the Lord are essentially
spiritual. Jesus taught that every tree brings forth fruit according to its
species: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit.”
4
Jesus promised eternal life to His followers: “Verily I
say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or
wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, “Who shall not receive
manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.”
In this life, we are building our eternal dwelling. Are
we building upon the rock which is the gospel of Jesus Christ, or are we
building upon the sand which lies in the falsehoods of this world?
Each moment we must choose whom we will serve, for we
have been placed upon this earth to be proven and tested.
6
We cannot choose to serve God and the world at the same
time. If we want to follow the Lord, we should keep His commandments and follow
our prophet and his teachings: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord,
choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.”
From “Serving the Lord”
Adhemar Damiani
Saturday Afternoon Session, 2 October 1999
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Day 14 – How can I follow in His steps?
Read:
Abraham 1:2
Moroni 7:48
1 Peter 2:21
Ponder:
How can I follow in Christ’s steps today and the rest of
my life? In all my decisions I will ask: “What would Jesus do?” I will hearken to promptings received. I will
think of myself as a disciple and sister of Jesus.
“….I believe our problems, almost every one, arise out of
the homes of the people. If there is to be reformation, if there is to be a
change, if there is to be a return to old and sacred values, it must begin in the
home. It is here that truth is learned, that integrity is cultivated, that
self-discipline is instilled, and that love is nurtured.
The home is under siege. So many families are being
destroyed. Where are the fathers who should be presiding in love in those
homes? Fortunate indeed is the woman who is married to a good man, who is loved
by him, and who in turn loves him; a man who loves his children, provides for
them, teaches them, guides them, rears and protects them as they walk the
stormy course from babyhood to adulthood.
It is in the home that we learn the values by which we
guide our lives. That home may be ever so simple. It may be in a poor
neighborhood, but with a good father and a good mother, it can become a place
of wondrous upbringing. My wife likes to tell of Sam Levenson. He speaks of
growing up in a crowded New York tenement where the environment was anything
but good. Here in this slum, his mother reared her eight precocious children.
He said, “The moral standard of the home had to be higher than that of the
street.” His mother would say to them when they acted the way they acted on the
street, “You are not on the street; you are in our home. This is not a cellar
nor a poolroom. Here we act like human beings.”
If anyone can change the dismal situation into which we
are sliding, it is you. Rise up, O women of Zion, rise to the great challenge
which faces you. Stand above the sleaze and the filth and the temptation which
is all about you.
You women who are single, and some of you who are married,
who are out in the workplace, may I give you a word of caution. You work
alongside men. More and more, there are invitations to go to lunch, ostensibly
to talk about business. You travel together. You stay in the same hotel. You
work together.
Perhaps you cannot avoid some of this, but you can avoid
getting into compromising situations. Do your job, but keep your distance.
Don’t become a factor in the breakup of another woman’s home. You are members
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You know what is expected
of you. Stay away from that which is tempting. Avoid evil—its very appearance.
You who are wives and mothers are the anchors of the
family. You bear the children. What an enormous and sacred responsibility that
is. I am told that between 1972 and 1990 there were 27 million abortions in the
United States alone. What is happening to our appreciation of the sanctity of
human life?
Abortion is an evil, stark and real and repugnant,
which is sweeping over the earth. I plead with the women of this Church to shun
it, to stand above it, to stay away from those compromising situations which
make it appear desirable. There may be some few circumstances under which it
can occur, but they are extremely limited and for the most part improbable. You
are the mothers of the sons and daughters of God, whose lives are sacred.
Safeguarding them is a divinely given responsibility which cannot be lightly
brushed aside.
Nurture and cultivate your marriage. Guard it and work to
keep it solid and beautiful. Divorce is becoming so common, even rampant, that
studies show in a few years half of those now married will be divorced. It is
happening, I regret to say, even among some who are sealed in the house of the
Lord. Marriage is a contract, it is a compact, it is a union between a man and
a woman under the plan of the Almighty. It can be fragile. It requires nurture
and very much effort. I regret to acknowledge that some husbands are abusive, some
are unkind, some are thoughtless, some are evil. They indulge in
pornography and bring about situations which destroy
them, destroy their families, and destroy the most sacred of all relationships.
I pity the man who at one time looked into the eyes of a
beautiful young woman and held her hand across the altar in the house of the
Lord as they made sacred and everlasting promises one to another, but who,
lacking in self-discipline, fails to cultivate his better nature, sinks to
coarseness and evil, and destroys the relationship which the Lord has provided
for him.
Sisters, guard your children. They live in a world of
evil. The forces are all about them. I am proud of so many of your sons and
daughters who are living good lives. But I am deeply concerned about many
others who are gradually taking on the ways of the world. Nothing is more
precious to you as mothers, absolutely nothing. Your children are the most
valuable thing you will have in time or all eternity. You will be fortunate
indeed if, as you grow old and look at those you brought into the world, you
find in them uprightness of life, virtue in living, and integrity in their
behavior.
I think the nurture and upbringing of children is more
than a part-time responsibility. I recognize that some women must work, but I
fear that there are far too many who do so only to get the means for a little
more luxury and a few fancier toys.
If you must work, you have an increased load to bear. You
cannot afford to neglect your children. They need your supervision in studying,
in working inside and outside the home, in the nurturing that only you can
adequately give—the love, the blessing, the encouragement, and the closeness of
a mother.
Families are being torn asunder everywhere. Family
relationships are strained as women try to keep up with the rigors of two
full-time jobs.
I have many opportunities to speak with leaders who decry
what is going on—gangs on the streets of our cities, children killing children,
spending their time in practices that can lead only to prison or to death. We
face a great overwhelming tide of children born to mothers without husbands.
The futures of such children are almost inevitably blighted from the day they
are born. Every home needs a good father and a good mother.
We cannot build prisons fast enough in this country to
accommodate the need.
I do not hesitate to say that you who are mothers can do
more than any other group to change this situation. All of these problems find
their root in the homes of the people. It is broken homes that lead to a
breakup in society.
And so tonight, my beloved sisters, my message to you, my
challenge to you, my prayer is that you will rededicate yourselves to the
strengthening of your homes.
Three years ago, in this same meeting, I read for the
first time in public the proclamation on the family given by the First
Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles. I hope every one of you has
a copy and that you occasionally read it carefully and prayerfully. It sets
forth our great concepts of marriage and family, of a man and a woman in a
sacred bond under the eternal plan of the Almighty.
Now, in closing, I wish to reemphasize my deep
gratitude,
my profound appreciation for the women of this Church and the tremendous sons
and daughters you are teaching, training, helping to take their places in the
world. But the task will never be finished. It will never be complete. May the
light of the Lord shine upon you. May the Lord bless you in your great and
sacred work.
I leave my blessing, my testimony, and my love with you
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
From “Walking in the light of the Lord”
President Gordon B. Hinckley
General Relief Society Meeting, 26 September 1998
