Change

Because of some slight changes in my life I am only going to be able to update once a week. Sundays is my only day I will have access to the internet so I apologize for the lack of updates the past few weeks. 
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‎"If you will respond to the invitation to share your beliefs and feelings about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, a spirit of love and a spirit of courage will be your constant companion." - Elder L. Tom Perry
Watch the full address from the October 2011 general conference now http://bit.ly/sdMIPn

Faith

"Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Ne. 31:20.) That is to say all the faithful Saints, all of those who have endured to the end, depart this life with the absolute guarantee of eternal life. There is no equivocation, no doubt, no uncertainty in our minds. Those who have been true and faithful in this life will not fall by the wayside in the life to come. If they keep their covenants here and now and depart this life firm and true in the testimony of our blessed Lord, they shall come forth with an inheritance of eternal life."
--Bruce R. McConkie, "The Dead Who Die in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1976, 106

Humility

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven"
--Orson F. Whitney, in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 98

Family

Last week I had something come up and was unable to post but that is ok. I am back. So to continue sharing the gospel I am going to share some revelation about the family.
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The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Spirit World

I do apologize for the length, but I believe it is very important to understand where we came from before we were born into mortality and I also believe it is very important to understand where we will be going after we leave this mortal life. I know that what Brother Mouritsen says is true and i know that the veil of forgetfulness that was placed on our mind when we were born is thinning and all people will be able to see and talk to our relatives that have passed on. I know this to be true. In the name of our glorious Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Dale C. Mouritsen, The Spirit World, Our Next Home, Ensign January 1977

The Spirit World, Our Next Home

As I’ve listened to and participated in conversations on “after death, what?” with students and family in various areas in the Church, I’ve nearly always found two feelings expressed: a great desire to know about the postearthly spirit world (hereafter referred to as the spirit world), and an apologetic feeling for having questions, as though the spirit world were a subject that we should not discuss.

My feeling is that caution in discussing a sacred subject is always proper, especially when much popular “information” in contemporary society about the spirit world involves sensational ghost stories, devil worship, and other problem areas. However, the desire to know is, in itself, a good one. Our beloved relatives who have passed on inhabit that world, and we will soon join them there. It is a healthy, holy subject and should be discussed in that tone.

Furthermore, the Prophet Joseph Smith declared that the Saints shouldstudy the purpose of life and death, in fact should study it “more than any other” subject—“study it day and night.” He observed that “if we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 324; italics added.)

We have a right, then, to understand the true nature of our existence. We also have a responsibility to search it out, for the more aware we become that the spirit world is a real extension of our mortal existence, the less likely we are to fasten our hearts on the treasures of this world.

One of the most beautiful stories in our heritage, an experience of President Heber J. Grant’s, bears witness that a testimony about the right relationship between life, death, and the spirit world can comfort us in times of sorrow, help us understand God’s purposes, and teach us the true nature of our existence. President Grant writes:

“I have been blessed with only two sons. One of them died at five years of age and the other at seven. My last son died of a hip disease. I had built great hopes that he would live to spread the Gospel at home and abroad and be an honor to me. About an hour before he died I had a dream that his mother, who was dead, came for him, and that she brought with her a messenger, and she told this messenger to take the boy while I was asleep; and in the dream I thought I awoke and I seized my son and fought for him and finally succeeded in getting him away from the messenger who had come to take him, and in so doing I dreamed that I stumbled and fell upon him.

“I dreamed that I fell upon his sore hip, and the terrible cries and anguish of the child drove me nearly wild. I could not stand it and I jumped up and ran out of the house so as not to hear his distress. I dreamed that after running out of the house I met Brother Joseph E. Taylor and told him of these things.

“He said: ‘Well, Heber, do you know what I would do if my wife came for one of her children—I would not struggle for that child; I would not oppose her taking that child away. If a mother who had been faithful had passed beyond the veil, she would know of the suffering and the anguish her child may have to suffer; she would know whether that child might go through life as a cripple and whether it would be better or wiser for that child to be relieved from the torture of life; and when you stop to think, Brother Grant, that the mother of that boy went down into the shadow of death to give him life, she is the one who ought to have the right to take him or keep him.’

“I said, ‘I believe you are right, Brother Taylor, and if she comes again, she shall have the boy without any protest on my part.’

“After coming to that conclusion, I was waked by my brother, B. F. Grant, who was staying that night with us, helping to watch over the sick boy. He called me into the room and told me that my child was dying. I went in the front room and sat down. There was a vacant chair between me and my wife who is now living, and I felt the presence of that boy’s deceased mother, sitting in that chair. I did not tell anybody what I felt, but I turned to my living wife and said: ‘Do you feel anything strange?’ She said: ‘Yes, I feel assured that Heber’s mother is sitting between us, waiting to take him away.’

“Now, I am naturally, I believe, a sympathetic man. I was raised as an only child, with all the affection that a mother could lavish upon a boy. I believe that I am naturally affectionate and sympathetic and that I shed tears for my friends—tears of joy for their success and tears of sorrow for their misfortunes. But I sat by the deathbed of my little boy and saw him die, without shedding a tear. My living wife, my brother, and I, upon that occasion experienced a sweet, peaceful, and heavenly influence in my home, as great as I have ever experienced in my life.” (Improvement Era,June 1940, pp. 330, 383.)

According to Latter-day Saint doctrine, the postearthly spirit world is the place of residence for all those who have died and are awaiting theresurrection’s inseparable connection of their spirits and bodies. Thus, it is not the place where God the Father, the resurrected Lord, and other resurrected beings dwell. Rather, it is an intermediate condition or state where people await the resurrection—a tangible sphere where disembodied spirits live in one of several conditions according to what their mortal lives have merited.

Speaking of those conditions, Alma declared to his son Corianton that an angel had made known to him “that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.” (Alma 40:11.) Not that they are taken to the literal presence of God or the planet upon which he resides (see Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Deseret Book Company, 1958, 2:84–87), but rather into the spirit world. Alma continues: “The spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.” (Alma 40:12.) Shortly before his death, Moroni contemplated entering this same blessed condition in the spirit world. He wrote: “I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead.” (Moro. 10:34.)

But not all people will be entitled to rest and paradise. Alma clarified: “The spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.” (Alma 40:13.)

Just as paradise is not the eternal abode of the righteous, hell in the spirit world is not the eternal abode of the wicked. Reporting his vision of the telestial world, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: “These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work.” (D&C 76:85.) He added: “These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work.” (D&C 76:106. See also Rev. 20:13.) Hell in the spirit world will end when all people have been resurrected. Because of the atonement of Christ, there is an eventual release. (See 2 Ne. 9:6–12.) Those who remain “filthy still” (the sons of perdition) will remain in hell, but it will be a place separate from the hell of the spirit world. (See D&C 76:43–49.) After the sons of perdition are resurrected, the spirit world will have no inhabitants. (Bruce. R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 762.)

Peter refers to the spirit world as “prison,” and it is for some. (1 Pet. 3:18–20, 1 Pet. 4:6.) However, it is chiefly a place of learning and waiting, not a place of suffering. Here those who did not have an opportunity in mortality to receive the gospel, and those who had a partial opportunity but rejected it will be taught. In 1893, President Lorenzo Snow, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve, declared in general conference his strong belief “that when the Gospel is preached to the spirits in prison, the success attending that preaching will be far greater than that attending the preaching of our Elders in this life. I believe there will be very few indeed of those spirits who will not gladly receive the Gospel when it is carried to them. The circumstances there will be a thousand times more favorable.” (Millennial Star 56:50.)

In short, the spirit world is the temporary home of the spirits of all mankind, be they good or evil. Thus Joseph Smith could declare that “the righteous and the wicked all go to the same world of spirits until the resurrection.” (Teachings, p. 310.) Yet some have wondered why Jesus promised the dying thief that after his death he would join the Savior in paradise. The Prophet Joseph taught: “King James’ translators make it out to say paradise. But what is paradise? It is a modern word: it does not answer at all to the original word that Jesus made use of. Find the original of the word paradise. You may as easily find a needle in a haymow. Here is a chance for battle, ye learned men. There is nothing in the original word in Greek from which this was taken that signifies paradise; but it was—This day thou shalt be with me in the world of spirits: then I will teach you all about it and answer your inquiries. And Peter says [Jesus] went and preached to the world of spirits (spirits in prison, 1 Peter, 3rd chap. 19th verse [1 Pet. 3:19]), so that they who would receive it could have it answered by proxy by those who live on the earth, etc.” (Teachings, p. 309.) Moreover, the Prophet added: “Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the Hebrew, these two significations mean a world of spirits. Hades, Sheol, paradise, spirits in prison, are all one; it is a world of spirits.” (Teachings,p. 310.) This clarification by the Prophet helps us understand the words of the Savior.

Latter-day revelation also helps us understand the nature of existence in the spirit world. For one thing, spirits are tangible entities. President Brigham Young said: “Spirits are just as familiar with spirits as bodies are with bodies, though spirits are composed of matter so refined as not to be tangible to this coarser organization.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 379. See also D&C 131:7–8.)

In terms of location, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the spirit worldis very close to us. During a funeral sermon, he declared that the righteous spirits “are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us.” (Teachings, p. 326.)

One sister who visited the spirit world and was recalled to mortality by President Lorenzo Snow had personal experience with what the Prophet taught: “Some inquired about their friends and relatives on the earth. Among the number was my cousin. He asked me how the folks were getting along and said it grieved him to hear that some of the boys were using tobacco, liquor and many things that were injurious to them.” (LeRoi C. Snow, “Raised from the Dead,” story of Ella Jensen, Improvement Era,October 1929, p. 974.) Indeed, our deceased loved ones are greatly concerned about our well-being and happiness and can be appointed, when there is need, to bring messages of warning, reproof, or instruction to us. (See Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 436.)

President Young confirmed that the spirit world “is on this earth.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 376.) In a recent general conference, President Ezra Taft Benson declared that “the spirit world is not far away. Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us.” (Ensign,June 1971, p. 33.)

Apparently the spirit world is incorporated with the physical world. The earth has a spirit in it just as our physical bodies have spirits in them. Elder Parley P. Pratt wrote that the spirit world “is here on the very planet where we were born; or in other words, the earth and other planets of like sphere, have their inward or spiritual spheres, as well as their outward, or temporal. The one is peopled by temporal tabernacles, and the other by spirits. A veil is drawn between the one sphere and the other, whereby all the objects in the spiritual sphere are rendered invisible to those in the temporal.” (Key to Theology, 9th ed., Deseret Book, 1965, pp. 126–27.)

Apparently, righteous people in the spirit world are organized just as they are here, arranged in families and quorums. Priesthood operates there as it operates here. President Brigham Young declared: “When the faithful Elders, holding this Priesthood, go into the spirit world they carry with them the same power and Priesthood that they had while in the mortal tabernacle.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 132. See also D&C 124:130.) The blessings of the priesthood are thus present in the spirit world. One elder who passed beyond the veil and returned spoke of the order he saw there:

“While I was in the spirit world I observed that the people there were busy, and that they were perfectly organized for the work they were doing. It seemed to me a continuation of the work we are doing here,—something like going from one stake to another. There was nothing there that seemed particularly strange to me, everything being natural.” (Peter E. Johnson, Relief Society Magazine, Aug. 1920, p. 455.) Ella Jensen had a similar experience when she visited the spirit world. Elder Rudger Clawson, a late member of the Council of the Twelve who spoke of her experience, said that a “guide was there to meet her and by him she was conducted into a very large building where there were many people, all of whom appeared to be extremely busy, no evidence of idleness whatever.” (LeRoi C. Snow, Improvement Era, Oct. 1929, p. 977.) But it is possible that not all people in the spirit world are thus organized, since all have not received the ordinances necessary for exaltation.

President George Albert Smith, after an experience with the spirit world, described the part of that world he saw:

“One day … I lost consciousness of my surroundings and thought I had passed to the Other Side. I found my self standing with my back to a large and beautiful lake, facing a great forest of trees. There was no one in sight, and there was no boat upon the lake or any other visible means to indicate how I might have arrived there. I realized, or seemed to realize, that I had finished my work in mortality and had gone home. I began to look around, to see if I could not find someone. There was no evidence of anyone’s living there, just those great, beautiful trees in front of me and the wonderful lake behind me.

“I began to explore, and soon I found a trail through the woods which seemed to have been used very little, and which was almost obscured by grass.” President Smith followed the trail and after some time met his grandfather, with whom he conversed. (Improvement Era, March 1947, p. 139.)

Apparently, there are no infants or children in the spirit world. All who reside there possess the stature of adult men and women, the same appearance they possessed prior to mortal birth. If infants or children die, their spirits immediately resume their former adult stature while in thespirit world. However, when they regain their bodies during the resurrection, they naturally come forth as children to be raised to maturity by righteous and worthy parents. President Joseph F. Smith explained this concept:

“The spirits of our children are immortal before they come to us, and their spirits, after bodily death, are like they were before they came. They are as they would have appeared if they had lived in the flesh, to grow to maturity, or to develop their physical bodies to the full stature of their spirits. If you see one of your children that has passed away it may appear to you in the form in which you would recognize it, the form of childhood; but if it came to you as a messenger bearing some important truth, it would perhaps come as the spirit of Bishop Edward Hunter’s son (who died when a little child) came to him, in the stature of full-grown manhood, and revealed himself to his father, and said: ‘I am your son.’

“Bishop Hunter did not understand it. He went to my father and said: ‘Hyrum, what does that mean? I buried my son when he was only a little boy, but he has come to me as a full-grown man—a noble, glorious, young man, and declared himself my son. What does it mean?’

“Father (Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch) told him that the Spirit of Jesus Christwas full-grown before he was born into the world; and so our children were full-grown and possessed their full stature in the Spirit, before they entered mortality, the same stature that they will possess after they have passed away from mortality, and as they will also appear after the resurrection, when they shall have completed their mission.” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., Deseret Book Company, 1939, p. 455.)

Some worry because departed children have apparently lost the privilege of courtship, marriage, and other opportunities. But revelations concerning the spirit world assure us that normal relationships leading to eternal sealings are an ongoing part of that life. Elder Melvin J. Ballard observed:

“You mothers worry about your little children [who have died]. We do not perform sealings for them. I lost a son six years of age, and I saw him a man in the spirit world after his death, and I saw how he had exercised his own freedom of choice and would obtain of his own will and volition a companionship, and in due time to him, and all those who are worthy of it, shall come all of the blessings and sealing privileges of the house of the Lord. Do not worry over it. They are safe; they are all right.

“Now, then, what of your daughters who have died and have not been sealed to some man? … The sealing power shall be forever and ever with this Church, and provisions will be made for them. We cannot run faster than the Lord has provided the way. Their blessings and privileges will come to them in due time. In the meantime, they are safe.” (Bryant S. Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, Deseret Book Company, 1949, p. 260.)

In Joseph Smith’s Vision of the Celestial Kingdom he saw “that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” (D&C 137:10) Moreover, President Joseph F. Smith made the following explanation:

“Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: ‘You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.’ There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us.” (Gospel Doctrine,pp. 455–56. See also Teachings, pp. 196–97, 200, 368.) And so we should understand, in the words of Joseph Smith, that “the only difference between the old and young dying is, one lives longer in heaven [the spirit world] and eternal light and glory than the other, and is freed a little sooner from this miserable wicked world. Notwithstanding all this glory, we for a moment lose sight of it, and mourn the loss, but we do not mourn as those without hope.” (Teachings, p. 197.)

This does not imply that people should be anxious to leave mortality, but it does suggest that parents who have lost children can be comforted by the truths of the gospel. Indeed, we should be anxiously engaged in successfully completing life’s mission. For example, after Wilford Woodruff’s young wife Phoebe passed away, he was inspired to administer to her and rebuke the power of death. He wrote of the incident:

“Her spirit returned to her body, and from that hour she was made whole; and we all felt to praise the name of God, and to trust in Him and to keep His commandments.

“While this operation was going on with me (as my wife related afterwards) her spirit left her body, and she saw it lying upon the bed, and the sisters weeping. She looked at them and at me, and upon her babe, and, while gazing upon this scene, two personages came into the room. … One of these messengers informed her that she could have her choice: she might go to rest in the spirit world, or, on one condition she could have the privilege of returning to her tabernacle and continuing her labors upon the earth. The condition was, if she felt that she could stand by her husband, and with him pass through all the cares, trials, tribulations and afflictions of life which he would be called to pass through for the gospel’s sake unto the end. When she looked at the situation of her husband and child she said: ‘Yes, I will do it!’

“At the moment that decision was made the power of faith rested upon me, and when I administered unto her, her spirit entered her tabernacle. …” (Leaves From My Journal, 4th ed., The Deseret News, 1909, pp. 59–60.)

The Latter-day Saint view of the spirit world reveals that there is work being performed there. The most magnificent and extensive missionary program the mind can contemplate is centered in the spirit world. President Brigham Young declared: “Compare those inhabitants on the earth who have heard the Gospel in our day, with the millions who have never heard it, or had the keys of salvation presented to them, and you will conclude at once as I do, that there is an almighty work to perform in the spirit world.” (JD, 4:285.) How is this great work to be accomplished? Some sublime insights to this question are revealed in President Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead. (See especially D&C 138:29–37.)

Who will accept the message of this divine ministry? Joseph Smith’s Vision of the Celestial Kingdom provides the answer. Marveling how his dead brother Alvin could be entitled to celestial inheritance since he died before the restoration of the gospel, Joseph Smith heard the voice of the Lord saying:

“All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;

“Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;

“For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” (D&C 137:7–9.)

And yet this ministry in the spirit world is not sufficient to achieve the ultimate salvation of the noble dead. Why? Because it takes as much to save a dead man as it does a living man. Joseph Smith declared that the “ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles.” (Teachings, p. 308.) Moreover, the Prophet declared that “if a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.” (Teachings, p. 308.) Dead men and women are not excepted. We can only do the ordinance work for them. They must believe, repent, and obey the gospel for themselves.

In summary, the spirit world is the place where disembodied spirits go. It is a tangible, substantial sphere incorporated with our earth, the focal point of a massive missionary effort in which we share. It is a world closer than we realize, and tied to us by the family lines of many dearly beloved relatives.

Small Success

‎"In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences." --Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Pride

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.

Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position.

President Ezra Taft Benson

April 1989 General Conference

Prayer

President Thomas S. Monson, The Power of Prayer, Ensign May 1991

President Monson quoting President Benson "President Benson has stated: “The price of peace is righteousness. Men and nations may loudly proclaim, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there shall be no peace until individuals nurture in their souls those principles of personal purity, integrity, and character which foster the development of peace. Peace cannot be imposed. It must come from the lives and hearts of men. There is no other way.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, p. 703.)

President Benson has urged: “If we would advance in holiness—increase in favor with God—nothing can take the place of prayer. … Give prayer—daily prayer, secret prayer—a foremost place in your lives. Let no day pass without it. Communion with the Almighty has been a source of strength, inspiration, and enlightenment through the world’s history to men and women who have shaped the destinies of individuals and nations for good.” (God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 8.)"

Priesthood Blessings

Julie B. Beck, An Outpouring of Blesssings, May 2006 Ensign

I saw the power of priesthood blessings when I visited a family where the young father lay dying. Surrounding him were his wife and beautiful daughters. On each wall of that room was at least one picture of the family or the temple. The mother testified of their blessings when she said: “We are empowered and protected by our covenants. Our family will endure forever. The Lord is watching over us, and we are not alone.” All faithful members are equally blessed by the outpouring of blessings they receive through priesthood ordinances.(emphasis added)

Because the priesthood has been restored, we also share equally in the blessings of spiritual gifts. The Lord gives us these gifts for our own benefit ¹⁰ and to help each other. ¹¹

Moroni said that “there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

“For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;

“And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

“And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.” ¹² 

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I know the priesthood is true. I have been blessed many times by the power of the priesthood. I have woken up sick in the middle of the night and asked my father for a priesthood blessing and I can testify, they work. It is the power of God on the earth today. It is real. If you dont have a priesthood holder in your home, please talk to your hometeachers or a brother in the ward and ask them. By you asking them for a blessing, you allow them to fulfill that priesthood responsibility. Dont worry about what time it is. I have often asked my dad for a blessing around 1-3am when i am sick and unable to get any sleep what so ever. When you need advice or guidance from the Lord, ask a worthy priesthood holder for a blessing. When you comfort, ask a worthy priesthood holder for a blessing, when you are sick as a worthy priesthood holder for a blessing. Great power comes into your life as you allow the priesthood into your life. If you hold the priesthood, make sure the people you hometeach know that you are available to give them a blessing if they need one.When my dad is out of town due to work, she calls our hometeachers and they are more then willing to give of their time, are you? Let the sisters of the Church know that you are ready and willing to answer the call when the time arises.     Honor your priesthood. It is a gift from God. You hold his power. Always be worthy to hold his power.

Conference Review

Conference is a very personal experience. What one speaker says can mean one thing to a person and a totally different thing to another person. So with this in mind I am going to post the notes I took over Saturday and Sunday. The first part is a summary of each session (minus priesthood-for now) then there is the rest of my notes  for each session. I challenge you who read this that you will find what you are looking for. As President Uchtdorf said in the September Ensign, "Dont discount a message because you have heard it before." Please excuse my grammar and spelling errors and the half written sentences. My family asked me something and it distracted me and I lost my train of thought. I am far from perfect and what I write i know to be true. If there is error then it is due to my weakness of being mortal. As I have heard often, the Church is perfect but the people within are not. Do not judge the Church in whole based on a single bad experience you had with it (or even many). People make mistakes, forgive and forget.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

181^st Semi Annual General Conference October 2011

Summary Saturday Morning

Topics:	Scriptures: (blue is scriptures Mastery)
Scriptures	Psalms 24:3-4
	Proverbs 3:5-6
	Moroni 7:45-48
Personal Revelation	1 Nephi 15:8-11
	D&C 6
Stone cut out of the mountain	Daniel 2:44-45
Temples
Do the right thing	Mosiah 2:17
Family	2 Nephi 32:3
	Proverbs 3 :5-6
	D&C 58:42-43
You are NOT forgotten	Exodus  33:11
	D&C 18:10, 15-16
	Mosiah 3:19
	Mosiah 2:17

Summary Saturday Afternoon

Topics	Scriptures
Spirit of Elijah
Families	Moses 1:39
Service and time	Alma 34:32-34
Its better to look up
Atonement
Repentance/atonement
Share the gospel

Summary Sunday Morning

Topics	Scriptures
Baptismal Promise	Mosiah 18:9
	Mosiah 2:17
	Moroni 7:47
Wait upon the Lord	Psalms 123:2
	Yet in my flesh shall I see God
	Here a little, there a little
	Mosiah 2:17
	Mosiah 3:19
	D&C 89:18-21
The Book of Mormon is true	John 3:5
	2 Nephi 32:3
	Helaman 5:12
	Amos 3:7
Guardian of Virtue	D&C 121:45
	If all men were and would be like moroni then the devil would quake
Name of Jesus Christ	3 Nephi 27:8
	Ye should remember to retain His name in your heart always
	Mosiah 18:9

Summary Sunday Afternoon

Topics	Scriptures
Abrahamic Covenant/missionary work
Jesus Christ	God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son
	D&C 127:7
	Matthew 16:19
	3 Nephi 11:29
	“behold the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.”
	Seek and ye shall find, knock and
	If you do his will you shall know if I speak of myself or speak of God
Be a REAL parents, leaders, and teachers	Isaiah 28:10
Missionary work/Holy Spirit
Gift of Choice	2 Nephi 2:27
Prayer	D&C 64:9-11
Trials/adversity	Psalms 46:10
Jesus Christ/Father in Heaven

Here is a list of speakers in order.

Saturday Morning session speakers	Saturday Afternoon Session Speakers	Saturday Night Priesthood Session Speakers	Sunday Morning Session speakers	Sunday Afternoon Session Speakers
Elder Richard G. Scott	Elder David A. Bednar	Elder Jeffrey R. Holland	President Henry B. Eyring	Elder Russell M. Nelson
Barbara Thompson	Elder Neil L. Andersen	Bishop Keith B. McMullin	Elder Robert D. Hales	Elder Dallin H. Oaks
L. Whitney Clayton	Ian S. Ardern	W. Christopher Waddell	Tad R. Callister	Matthew O. Richardson
Choir/congregation	Choir/congregation	President Dieter F. Uchtdorf	Choir/congregation	Choir/congregation
President Thomas S. Monson	Carl B. Cook	President Henry B. Eyring	Elaine S. Dalton	Kazuhiko Yamashita
Jose L. Alonso	LeGrand R. Curtis Jr.	President Thomas S. Monson	Elder M. Russell Ballard	Randall K. Bennett
Elder Boyd K. Packer	Elder D. Todd Christofferson		President Thomas S. Monson	J. Devn Cornish
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf	Elder L. Tom Perry			Elder Quentin L. Cook
				President Thomas S. Monson

10am October 1, 2011

Song: The Morning Breaks

Conducting: President Henry B. Eyring

Choir: Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Song: Songs of Praise

Prayer: Gary J. Coleman

 Elder Richard G. Scott:

·         One set of the tools we have are the scriptures

·         We have ready access to this treasure

·         Scriptures are like packets of light

·         They can become the key to open the channel between father in heaven and Jesus Christ

·         They can become stalwart friends.

·         Provide a foundation of truth.

·         Like filling a filing cabinet with

·         Memorizing a new scripture is like finding a new friend

·         Psalms 24:3-4

·         A memorized scripture can become a enduring friend

·         Pondering a scripture ….

o   Calm a soul

o   Bring help and hope

·         HOW DO YOU PERSONALLY  USE THE SCRITPURES?         

o   Mark?

o   Write in margins?

o   Use all the standard works?

·         Precious jewels in all the scriptures

·         To obey is to better then to sacrifice.

·         Proverbs 3:5-6

·         Seek first to obtain mine word before you seek to declare my word.

·         Moroni 7:45-48

·         Source of testimony and teaching

·         Those who consistently read the BoM have a added measure of

Choir: We ever pray for thee

Barbara Thomson 2^nd Councilor RS presidency

·         We need the divine help that comes through the HG

·         Nephi asked the Father in the name of Jesus Christ if what his father said was right.

·         “have ye inquired of the Lord?” “we have not because we know that the lord doesn’t tell us these things”

·         1 Nephi 15:8-11

o   Desire to receive revelation

o   Harden not your heart

o    Ask in faith believing you will receive

o   Diligent in keeping the commandments

·         D&C 6

·          Seek wisdom instead of power

·         Seek guidance from the HG

·         A testimony comes slowly. A little at a time

·         Our testimonies fortify us and strengthen us

·         Testimony combined with faith and…help us

·         “The testimony kept me” –daughters in my kingdom

·         It is the word of god that keeps us close to god.

·         The lord desires to direct us.

·         You need to DESIRE revelation to get it

L. Whitney Clayton

·         Daniel 2:44-45 –stone cut out of the mountain

·         We are living in the time that the stone has been cut out of the mountain without hands and is rolling out across the earth.

·          It is the work of the Father and his Almighty Son Jesus Christ.

·         The time has come that the knowledge of the Savior is spreading across the earth.

Choir and congregation: redeemer of Israel

Thomas S. Monson-

·         48 years since I was called as an apostle

·          No church built facility is more important then the temple

1.       Rebuild the provo tabernacle as second temple!!!!!!!!!!

2.       Columbia

3.        Africa

4.       Africa-Republic of Congo

5.       Star Valley, WY

6.       Paris, France

·         Temple going fund

Jose L. Alonso

·         Mosiah 2:17

·         Do the right thing without delay

Boyd K. Packer

·         Warning

o   Family is center of the plan

·         JS taught “all being who have a body have power over satan”

·         PB-source of inspiration and guidance

·         2 Nephi 32:3

·         Speaks in a still small voice

·         Critics say you cant feel a voice

·         You will be protected when you heed the still small voice

·         You must learn to trust the Lord

·         Proverbs 3 :5-6

·         D&C 58:42-43

Choir: I am a child of God

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

·         Moses

·         Exodus  33:11

·         Retain in remembrance the greatness of God-Mosiah

·         D&C 18:10, 15-16

·         We are EVERYTHING to God

·         We have a spark of eternal fire burning within us

·         It is God’s greatest desire to help us achieve it

·         A person’s true value has nothing to do with the world’s….

·         Those who

·         Mosiah 3:19

·         Mosiah 2:17

·         We are not forgotten

·         God knows that some of the greatest souls are those who are not in the “spotlight” and are humble and meek

·         The Lord uses a very different scale then the world does to weigh the worth of a soul

·         ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU MATTER TO TIM          

1.       God loves the humble and meek

2.       The lord entrusts the fullness of the gospel ….unto the end of the

3.       You are NOT invisible to your Heavenly Father

4.       Understand what you see and experience NOW will not always be.

·         Hold on. Hang in there.

·         God sees you as his child

·         God sees you as the being you are able to become

·         You matter to him.

·         Be worthy of the blessings

Choir: press forward saints

2pm October 1, 2011

Song: ?

Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Choir: Primary Children’s Choir

Song: ?

Prayer:?

Song: Families Can Be Together

General Officers

David A. Bednar

·         Spirit of Elijah

·         We have the covenant responsibility to seek out and find out ancestors

o   Family history

o   Temple work

·         We are the lords agents in the work of salvation

·         This is our duty and great blessings

·         The lord has made available many ways to do family history

·         Ou have been trained to text and tweet and to spread the gospel and NOT just to communicate one to another.

·         You will be safe-guarded when you do the Lords work

·         Explore

·         Experience

·         Learners to act

·         We can ALL do family history

·         You have been prepared for this day to do the work of the Lord

Neil L. Andersen

·         We believe in families and joy

·         Moses 1:39

·         Family is ordained of God

·         Motherhood is a calling NOT a hobby

o   It is what God gave you time for

·         Where is your faith?

·         Go forward in faith

·         Do not judge one another on how many children they want to have

·         Sometimes life seems unfair

·         Faithful member who’s circumstances do not permit them to have a family in THIS life, will have the opportunity in the next life.

·         We should not be judgmental with one another

·         Let us humbly seek to understand God’s command

Ian S. Ardern

·         There is still  sufficient time to visit the sick and to give of our time

·         Our savior will be true to his word

·         Time is never for sale

·         If wisely used its value is immeasurable

·         The time we have, we must use wisely

·         The Lord will require of us a account of our time

·         We must prioritize our time

·         Alma 34:32-34

·         Being busy needs to equate to being productive

·         There is much to do with all our access to internet

·         We cannot…..

·         To have the peace the savior speaks of we must devote our time to what matters most. The things of God matter most

·         Read and study the scriptures

·         Apply and learn the lessons

·         Seek diligently the best books

·         Identify the time wasting….

·         There is an increase in happiness when you put the Lord first

·         While the clock of mortality ticks now is the time to….

Choir & Congregation: Praise to the Man

Carl B. Cook

·         Its better to look up

·         We receive strength from the lord when we look up rather then down

·         Looking up is NOT a one time thing

·         Look up

·         Cheer up

·         He will heal our wounds

LeGrand R. Curtis Jr.

·         All have sinned and come short of the redemption

D. Todd Christofferson

·         Repentance is a divine gift

·         Points us to freedom and peace

·         Cause for true celebration

·         It is his infinite sacrifice that allows us to return back to God the Father

·         We know that justification and……

·         Sanctification is just and true to all those that…

1.       Invitation to repent is an expression of love

2.       Striving to change

a.       We should pray for time and opportunity to…

b.      Virtue loveth virtue

c.       Light cleaveth unto light

3.       Abandoning sin and …

a.       Turn to the Lord

4.       Requires a seriousness to…and perceiver...

5.       The cost of repentance is swallowed up in the happiness

·         The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Repent now

L. Tom Perry

·         The Church and its meanings are all over the world

·         People have noticed the church

·         There are still many people who do not understand the Church

·         Provides many opportunities

·         WE CAN SHARE WHO WE ARE

1.       Be Bold in your declaration of Jesus Christ

a.       Central figure

b.      2 Nephi 32:3

2.       Be righteous examples

a.       Matthew 5:14-16

3.       Speak up about the Church

a.       1 John 4:18

b.      It’s a pearl of great price

10am October 2, 2011

Song: Lead me into life eternal

Conducting: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Choir: Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Song: Guide us oh thou great Jehovah

Prayer: ?

Song: Consider the Lilies

Henry B. Eyring

·         Mosiah 18:9

·         Becoming charitable

·         Mosiah 2:17

·         Moroni 7:47

·          Teach with increased…

·         Be determined to endure to the end

·         Be fully converted to the gospel

Robert D. Hales

·         Psalms 123:2

·          Hope=anticipate,  enduring to the end

·         Enduring to the end means to have faith….

·         Continue in patience until you are perfected

·         As we wait upon the lord, we are

·         Cast not  away your confidence

·         Flesh –worms-“yet in my flesh shall I see God”

·         “here a little there a little”

·         His answers will come

·         Some answers will have to wait until we are after

·         Mosiah 2:17

·         Mosiah 3:19

·         D&C 89:18-21

Tad R. Callister

·         The Book of Mormon is true

·         Do they draw us closer to God or the devil?

·          John 3:5

·         2 nephi 32:3

·          Hel 5:12

·          In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall my word be established

·            Amos 3:7

Choir and congregation : we thank thee of god for a prophet

Elaine S. Dalton YW general Presidency

·         To the fathers:

·          Love her mother

·         “Live after the manner of happiness”

·         Don’t let anything come into your life that will compromise your temple covenants

·         Stay close to your daughter

·         The world today tries to…

·         You must be the guardian of virtue

·         Join with us in leading the world to a return to virtue

·         D&C 121:45

·         If all men were and would be like moroni then the devil would quake

M. Russell Ballard

·         A name is extremely

·         D&C 115: even the name of Christ

·         Mosiah: name that should never be blotted out except you transgress

·         Do we realize how blessed we are to take upon us the name of our Savior?

·         Obedient to revelation we call our selves our self The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

·         The name is a descriptive of our purpose

·         The Church of Jesus Christ….

·         3 Nephi 27:8

·         Ye should remember to retain His name in your heart always

·         Mosiah 18:9

Choir I’ll go where you want me to go

President Thomas S. Monson

·         Although the world has changed, the Laws of God have not

·         The 10 Commandments are everyday…..

·         They are NOT negotiable

·         The commandments are a anchor that we can hold fast and not be swept  away into uncharted waters

·         There can come into our lives the spirit when we do not participate in the worldly things

·         Be in the world but not of the world

·         Laundry story

o   $5

o   Turn to prayer

o   Communicate with your Father in Heaven

·         Frankfurt Germany Temple Dedication story

o   Importance of being worth to receive inspiration and follow it

o   Inspiration is important to get through the pitfalls of life.

·         Stand in holy places and be not moved

Choir: I Believe in Christ

2pm October 2, 2011

Song:

Conducting: President Henry B. Eyring

Choir: MoTab

Song:

Prayer:

Song:  I feel my saviors love

Russell M. Nelson

·         The abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled in the last days

·         We receive the blessings of the covenant if we keep the commandments

·         Those who receive the father receive all that he has

·         Ours is the responsibility to …

·         This is the time of the promised gathering of Israel

·         The lord is counting on us and our sons and is grateful for the daughters that serve

·         The Lord has not forgotten

·         they keep the covenant when they…

·         the greatest compliment is to be called a covenant keeper

·         we will be blessed now and forever

Dallin H. Oaks

·         God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…..

·         If ye know me ye know the father

·         We return to the father if we do his will

·         Jesus showed us how to do the work of the Father

·         The Father guides us by the light and by the commandments

·         D&C 127:7

·         Matthew 16:19

·         3 Nephi  11:29

·          Focus on God not the world

·         Give nourishment to eternal life

·         “behold the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.”

·         Examine ourselves and are we in the faith

·         There is no middle ground.

·         Keep the commandments

·         Honor his name

·         Seek not the things of the world

·         He will reveal them to you.

·         The way is desire and obedience

·         Seek and ye shall find, knock and

·         If you do his will you shall know if I speak of myself or speak of God

Matthew O. Richardson

·         A key  to be a REAL member is to teach in a way that does not restrict learning

·         The Spirit is the only REAL teacher

·         All parents, leaders and such need to best BY THE SPIRIT rather then in front or behind the spirit

·         Diligent effort to hike after the manner of my hike

·         Such is the case in the manner of teaching

1.       The Holy Ghost teaches individuals in a personal way

                                                               i.      Isaiah 28:10

2.       The Holy Ghost teaches by inviting, prompting, and…to act

                                                               i.      Learn, feel, and act

·         Teachers helps learners understand the gospel

·         PLEASE DO NOT BECOME DISCOUAGED

·         One step at a time

·         You can parent, teach, and lead after the manner of the spirit

·         And lives will change

·         Invite you to align the matter of all you do after the manner of the Spirit

·         We must we REAL parents, leaders, and teachers

Choir and congregation: now let us rejoice

Kazuhiko Yamashita

·         How beautiful are the feet  of them that publisheth good tidings

·         Become a missionary long before you are a missionary

·         Three things to take on a mission:

o   1. A desire to preach the gospel

§  Go quickly

o   2. Strengthen testimony

o   3. Love others

Randall K. Bennett

·         Be grateful for the rescue  

·         Gift of choice

·         Decisions determine destiny-Monson

·         You know there would be struggles

·         2 Nephi 2:27

·         Are you choosing eternal life?

·         Choose to follow the savior and get eternal life OR choose the worldliness and be eternally separated from God.

·          The prophets are always inviting, teaching, reminding, etc us to stay close to God.

·         We all face adversity, mistakes, etc

·         Repentance is one of the correct choices

·         Am I seeking divine direction through daily scripture study and prayer?

·         Am I choosing to follow the counsel of living prophets?

·         Am I consistently reaching out to assist?

·         Not of chance but of CHOICE.

J. Devn Cornish

·         If its important to us then its important to Him

·         Your Heavenly Father wants to bless and help you. He doesn’t want to mess with your agency and so we MUST ask for his help for me to help us.

·         BD-prayer= prayer is the time when the will of the Father and the will of the child are one.

·         D&C 64:9-11

·         Must not just say our prayers you must live it as well

o   Like saying

·         Prayer is the provider of spiritual peace…speak to him and…-Monson

Quentin L. Cook

·         Why does a just God allow bad things to good people?

·         1. Father in heaven who knows us and……

·         2. Jesus Christ is our savior and redeemer

·         3. Plan of happiness includes eternal life as well.    

·         Don’t look at the world with the mortal lens

·         Don’t look through this life with a mortal lens.

·         Be appreciative for what you have and what you have avoided.

·         Be grateful for all you have

·         Extremely important to have  spirit of gratitude

·         Have the spirit in your life.

·         Adverse reverse ….does not prove that you have no faith

·         Some stuff happens due to others agency

·         Some changes come due to personal choices

·         Many trials and adversity can be avoided by obedience to the commandments

·         The saviors atonement is life boat for EVERYONE.

·         Hymn- can jesus listening can hear, the songs I cannot sing!

·         Psalms 46:10

President Thomas S. Monson

·         Most inspiring conference

·         Felt the spirit in abundance

·         Testimonies of this divine work strengthened

·         I acknowledge the Lord’s hand in….

·         Express gratitude….

·          Seek Him through prayer.

·         It provides answers through revelation

·         Gives meaning and purpose to life

·         You are Gods hands here on earth.

·         Each is important in furthering the work of the Lord.

·         Show increased kindness

·         Do God’s will and ….

·         Pray for you

·         We are one with you with moving this marvelous work

·         As we all in this together.

·         May god give us the strength and …….

·         Savior lives and guides and directs his church

·         God the Father lives and loves us

·         He loves us.

Choir: Lord we ask thee ere we part.