Thank you, President Monson, for your teaching example of
Christlike service and your charge for all of us to be
missionaries.
We ever pray for thee.
In our dispensation, the Savior Jesus Christ referred
to a gathering of the Saints as "my general conference."
Wherever we are in this world, however we receive these
proceedings, I testify that we are gathered in His
conference.
I also testify that we will hear His word, for He has
said, "Whether [it be by my]
own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."
Conferences have always been part of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Adam gathered his posterity and prophesied
of things to come.
Moses gathered the children of Israel and taught them the
commands he had received.
The Savior taught multitudes gathered both in the Holy Land
and on the American continent.
Peter gathered believers in Jerusalem.
The first general conference in these latter days was
convened just two months after the Church was organized and
has continued to this very day.
These conferences are always under the direction of the
Lord, guided by His Spirit.
We are not assigned specific topics.
Over the weeks and months, often through sleepless
nights, we wait upon the Lord.
Through fasting, prayer, study, and pondering, we learn
the message that He wants us to give.
Some might ask, "Why doesn't inspiration come more easily
and quickly?" The Lord taught Oliver Cowdery, "You must
study it out in your mind; then you must ask ...
if it be right." Conference messages come to us after
prayerful preparation through the Holy Ghost.
This principle is true of all members of the Church as they
prepare and participate in ward, stake, and general
conferences.
We study it out in our minds on what we need and desire
from Heavenly Father, and we pray to understand and apply
that which we are taught.
As the time for conference arrives, we sacrifice other
activities, "[laying]
aside the things of this world, [to]
seek ... the things of a better." Then we gather our
families to hear the word of the Lord, as King Benjamin's
people did.
Children and youth love to be included.
We make a serious mistake if we assume that the conference
is above their intellect and spiritual sensitivity.
To the young members of the Church, I promise if you will
listen, you will feel the Spirit well up within you.
The Lord will tell you what He wants to do with your life.
In conferences we can receive the word of the Lord meant
just for us.
One member testified, "As I listened to your address, I
was astounded.
...
Your talk was personal revelation directly from the
Lord to my family.
I have never experienced such a strong manifestation of the
Spirit in my life as those minutes when the Holy Ghost
spoke directly to me."
Another said, "I have never before felt so profoundly that
a talk was being given to me." This is possible because the
Holy Ghost carries the word of the Lord unto our hearts in
terms we can understand.
When I take notes at conference, I do not always
write down exactly what the speaker is saying.
I note the personalized direction the
Spirit is giving me.
What is said is not as important as what I hear and
what I feel.
That is why we make an effort to experience conference in a
setting where the still, small voice of the Spirit can be
clearly heard, felt, and understood.
Oh, how we need general conference!
Through conferences our faith is fortified and our
testimonies deepened.
And when we are converted, we strengthen each other when we
stand strong amid the fiery darts of these last days.
In recent decades the Church has already been spared the
terrible misunderstandings and persecutions experienced by
the early Saints.
It will not always be so.
The world is moving away from the Lord faster and farther
than ever before.
The adversary has been loosed upon the earth.
We watch, we hear, read, study, and share the words of
prophets to be renewed and protected.
For example, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" was
given long before we experienced the challenges now
facing the family.
"The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" was
prepared in advance of when we will need it most.
We may not know all the reasons why the prophets and
conference speakers address us with certain topics in
conference, but the Lord does.
President Harold B. Lee taught: "The only safety we
have as members of this church is to ... give heed to the
words and commandments that the Lord shall give through
his [prophets].
There will be some things that take patience and faith.
You may not like what comes from the
authority of the Church.
It may contradict your personal views.
It may contradict your social views.
It may interfere with some of your social life.
But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth
of the Lord himself, with patience and faith, the
promise is that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against
you; and the Lord ... will disperse the powers of
darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for
your good and his name's glory.'" Amen.
How did President Lee know what we would be
facing in our day?
He knew because he was a prophet, seer, and revelator.
And if we listen and obey the prophets now, including those
who speak in this very conference, we'll be
strengthened and protected.
The greatest blessings of general conference come to us
after the conference is over.
Remember the pattern recorded frequently in the scripture:
we gather to hear the words of the Lord, and we return to our
homes to live them.
After King Benjamin taught his people, "he dismissed the
multitude, ...
they returned, every one, according to their families,
to their ... houses." In his day, King Limhi did the same.
After teaching them, listening to the people at the temple in
Bountiful, the Savior entreated the people, "Go ye
unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have
said, and ask the Father, in my name, that ye may
understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I
[will]
come [again]
unto you."
We accept the Savior's invitation when we ponder and
pray to understand what we've been taught and then go
forward and do His will.
Remember President Kimball's words: "I have made ... my
mind that when I go home from this [general]
conference ...
there are many ... areas in my life that I can perfect.
I have made a mental list of them, and I expect to go to
work as soon as we get through."
President Monson recently said: "I encourage you to read
the talks ...
and to ponder the [message]
contained therein.
I have found in my own life that I gain even more from
these inspired sermons when I study them in greater depth."
In addition to personal and family scripture study,
Heavenly Father wants us to study regularly and apply what
we've learned in conference.
I testify that those who put their trust in the Lord and
heed the counsel in faith will gain great strength to bless
themselves, their families, for generations to come.
Heavenly Father has provided the way.
At this conference, 97 percent of the Church can hear these
messages in their own language.
Millions of members in 197 countries will watch this
conference in 95 languages.
In just two or three days, the messages will appear on
LDS.org in English.
And within one week, they will begin to be
available in 52 languages.
Now we receive the printed Church magazines within three
weeks of the general conference.
No longer do we have to wait months for the talks
to arrive by mail.
On a computer, a phone, or other electronic device, we
can read, listen to, watch, and share the teachings of the
prophets anytime, anywhere.
We can enlarge our knowledge, strengthen our faith and
testimony, protect our families, and
lead them safely home.
The messages of this conference will also be woven
into the online youth curriculum.
Parents, you may access youth lessons
for yourself on LDS.org.
Find out what your children are learning, and make the
subject of your own study, family discussions, family
home evenings, family councils, and personal
interviews with each of your children with what they need
to be taught individually.
I encourage all members to use the resources of the Church
websites and mobile apps.
They're continually being refined so they're easier to
use and more relevant to our lives.
On LDS.org we can find resources to help you study
the gospel, strengthen your home and family, and serve in
your calling, that you can teach and testify.
You can also find your ancestors who need temple
ordinances and resources to support you in the work of
salvation, including sharing the gospel.
Parents can take the lead in preparing their children for
baptism, the priesthood, full-time
missions, and the temple.
They can help us walk the straight and narrow path of
temple ordinances and covenants and qualify for the
blessings of eternal life.
In last April's conference, in the general priesthood
meeting, I told about my father drawing a picture of a
knight in armor to teach me about putting on the whole
armor of God and the spiritual protection it brings.
After that session was over, a father reported to his family
what he had learned.
Inspired, their young son Jason searched LDS.org to hear
the message for himself.
A few days later he appeared in family home evening to
share the lesson with his brothers and sisters.
Here he is.
A simple conference message, inspired of the Lord, received
by a child, who taught it to his family in a personal and
powerful way.
I love his breastplate of righteousness.
I love his shield of faith to thwart the fiery
darts of the adversary.
These are the blessings of conference.
My brothers and sisters, I bear my special witness that
the Lord Jesus Christ lives and stands at the
head of this Church.
This is His conference.
I promise you in His name that if you pray with sincere
desire to hear your Father's voice in the messages of this
conference, you will discover that He has spoken to you to
help you, to strengthen you, and to lead you
home into His presence.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.