Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts

On December 1, 1838, the Prophet Joseph Smith was incarcerated with five companions in Liberty, Missouri. The men described it as, "hell surrounded by demons." The filthy basement cell was cramped with very little light, the food was poisoned, odors hung in the frigid winter air, and guards and passers-by would harass the prisoners at every opportunity. The six men were held in this cell for four long months.

On March 20, 1839, the Prophet dictated a 29-page letter to the Saints. Some historians have noted that the letter is similar in diction and tone to Paul's letters to the Ephesians or Romans, which were also written from prison. Excerpts from the letter are now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants Sections 121, 122, and 123.

While much of the letter focuses on the trials of the Saints in Missouri, and we often use these verses to talk about our own trials, Joseph Smith also spoke these inspired words in that dingy cell at Liberty Jail: "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men... and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven" (D&C 121:45). Additional promised blessings include exaltation and the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

That Joseph Smith could preach charity while he was unjustly imprisoned and the Saints were being oppressed, driven from their homes, and killed is a demonstration of divine meekness and the very charity he preached. President Nelson reminded us in his most recent address that we are also expected to be peacemakers even when those around us are hostile.

But what of virtue? Often, virtue is used to refer specifically to chastity or sexual purity, but this is too limited of a definition. When the woman with an issue of blood touched the hem of Christ's garment and He felt virtue gone out of him (Luke 8:46), He wasn't somehow losing chastity.

Virtue simply means strength. It refers to a cadre of characteristics, or virtues, that give a person strength or power as we make them part of who we are. So, chastity, yes, but also gratitude, faith, integrity, discipline, generosity, temperance, kindness, modesty, patience, humility, meekness, and love.

When Christ healed the woman with an issue of blood, He felt power go out of Him.

When Christ taught Joseph Smith that we should include virtue in our thoughts, He is teaching us that there is strength in not only chaste thoughts, but also in grateful thoughts, in patient thoughts, in humble thoughts, and in faithful thoughts.

When we are charitable to others and overlay our thoughts with virtue, or in other words, when we keep our covenant to always remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, God will keep His covenant to give us the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. Through the Holy Ghost, He will teach us all we need to know to receive exaltation and stand with confidence in the presence of God, even if some of those lessons come while we feel like we're in our own metaphorical cell at Liberty Jail.

President Nelson taught, "As we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives, our confidence in approaching God will increase... Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes."

Upon This Rock

Not long after the death of John the Baptist, Christ led his disciples to the base of Mount Hermon in the northern reaches of Galilee. Soon he would ascend that mountain with Peter, James, and John and be transfigured before them. God the Father would be present to testify of His Beloved Son. Moses, Elijah and John the Baptist would appear to relay priesthood authority and keys. In short, the Church of Christ and the power to administer the ordinances thereof would be restored. Before the Church could be built however, the Savior sought an opportunity to lay the foundation.

At the base of the mountain was the city of Caesarea Phillipi. Though proximate to Israel, this was a Gentile resort city in the same vein as a modern Las Vegas. Since the time of Alexander the great several hundred years earlier, it had also become a place dedicated to the worship of Pan, the faun-like Greek god of nature and the wild often associated with sexuality. Unlike other Greek gods, Pan was worshiped almost exclusively in natural settings such as the hot springs present at Caesarea Phillipi. The springs at this site were so warm that they emitted a constant wave of steam through the entrance gates, which became known locally as the "Gates of Hades".

Had the disciples been aware of what was about to occur, they might have recognized the similarities between their setting in Caesarea Phillipi and their Israelite ancestors that worshiped a golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai. It was on Mount Sinai that God revealed himself to Moses. Now that same God sought to reveal himself to his disciples.

"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am," he asked. In that worldly setting, his disciples responded with worldly speculations. Then the Savior asked, "But whom say ye that I am?"

Peter responded resolutely, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

It is worth remembering that some time just prior to the 16-mile journey to Caesarea Phillipi, Peter had a life-changing spiritual experience. In the dark of night, exhausted from more than nine hours of rowing in a storm and surrounded by the fears of his peers, Peter had hearkened to the voice of the Lord to leave the boat and walk on water. Somewhere along the way, or perhaps gradually all along the way, Peter had prepared himself to receive and follow spiritual promptings. Now his confidence in those promptings allowed him to answer the Lord's inquiry with conviction.

The Lord commended Peter for his answer and emphasized that "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Christ continued:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18-19).

What was the rock that Christ would use to build his church? What was the foundation that had to be laid for the pending restoration to succeed?

Was it Peter himself, whose name means "small rock" in Greek? They were, after all, in a Greek city; but if Peter were the foundation wouldn't it be the Church of Peter rather than the Church of Christ?

Or did Christ mean the rock of the mountain where he would soon ascend with Peter, James and John to restore priesthood authority and keys? Certainly it would be hard to miss the large rock face that was the strength of Caesarea Phillipi. Was Christ simply hinting that his church would be restored on that mountain and that Peter would be present?

Or did Christ refer to the city built into the rock? Didn't the apostles build the church of Christ largely upon similar Gentile cities in Turkey, Greece and Syria after the ascension of Christ?

All of these theories and many more have been debated by scripture scholars for hundreds if not thousands of years. Perhaps all of them have some merit. Thankfully, the Lord taught the Prophet Joseph Smith the primary intention of this expression. He explained, "Jesus in His teachings says, 'Upon this rock I will build my Church...' What rock? Revelation" (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 195. emphasis added). 

Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. This is the rock emphasized by the Savior as the foundation of His Church. It was His Church. Peter would be chosen to serve as Christ's mouthpiece on the earth for a time, but the Savior himself would continue to lead the Church by revelation just as he had periodically revealed his will to Moses on Mount Sinai. 

Christ leads his restored church today through revelation to prophets, just as he has always done. As Joseph Smith testified, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded upon direct revelation, as the true Church of God has ever been, according to the Scriptures" (TPC: JS, 195). This distinguishes the Church from all other religious sects.

Likewise, we have the promise of our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, that if we will rely on the foundation of revelation in our lives the world will not prevail against us. Even if it seems as though we stand at the gates of hell, if we are prepared and willing to follow the promptings we receive the best is yet to come. There is a glorious experience for each of us at the top of the mountain.

Twice each year, living prophets address the Church to share the mind and will of the Lord as it has been revealed to them. If we are prepared and willing to follow the promptings we receive, the Lord will teach us what we need to do to get out of the boat, to be protected from the evils of the world and to see his plan from a higher altitude. As we are all children of God, we are all encouraged to listen to what the Lord has to say. Archived messages and information about how to view these messages live can be found at lds.org.

Prophetic Priorities

Each of us face many decisions on how we use our time each day. Some of these decisions are routine or mundane and do not require much thought: Each morning I know I will spend time getting ready for work. I will use some of my time each day for eating and sleeping. On Sundays my family will use our time to go to church. These decisions-- and thousands of others-- are made without much conscious thought.

Other decisions require many devoted hours of study and research. Perhaps we are considering a career change, a college major, a move to someplace we've never been or a change in our family life.

The decisions we make without conscious thought or while racking our brains can both have major implications for our lives. As we consider our choices, Elder Oaks has reminded us that it is, 'not enough' to do something good. 'The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them,' he explains. 'Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.'

Though the agency to allocate our time is ours alone, living prophets provide guidance and counsel that will inform our judgment and direct our lives toward those things that are best. These choices may not always be popular or easy. A particular choice may require we do something difficult or carry a burden we'd prefer not to carry. Elder Oaks reminds us in such times that 'even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all.'

Prophetic priorities also protect us against dangers that could derail our lives and destroy our futures. Though the Word of Wisdom was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1833, it was President Heber J. Grant that emphasized adherence to this principle from 1918 to 1945. This was the time of prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II, when smoking and drinking were accepted norms and even considered glamorous.

Beginning in the 1960s, while illegal drug use was reaching epidemic proportions, researchers began to discover the significant health risks of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Elder Quentin L. Cook recently explained that 'obeying the Word of Wisdom gave our members, especially our youth, a preventative inoculation against drug use and the resulting health problems and moral hazards.' The prophets, like watchmen on a tower, saw the danger afar off and prepared those who would listen from the influences and addictions that could have destroyed them (see D&C 101:44-54).

In a January 2013 devotional, Sister Elaine S. Dalton taught that 'as dedicated disciples we must act and make prophetic priorities our priorities. In order to do this we will need to be riveted on the words of the current prophets, seers, and revelators.' The most recent general conference included a major announcement on missionary work and the announcement of several new temples. From the topics listed in the Ensign, there were nine talks about serving others, six about discipleship, six about the priesthood, eight about marriage, family or children, and twelve about Christ, repentance or the Atonement.

Are these priorities our priorities? Could a passer-by identify our priorities with a quick glance at our daily planner or by observing how we use our time today?

As another general conference approaches, we should remember to ask ourselves what we will strive to become because of what we hear from the Lord's prophets. In a separate address, Elder Oaks taught, 'We are accountable and will be judged for how we use what we have received... The principle of accountability also applies to the spiritual resources conferred in the teachings we have been given and to the precious hours and days allotted to each of us during our time in mortality.'

There are more opportunities to do something good than any of us could possibly have time enough to do. If we seek to make prophetic priorities our own, decisions of any size will contribute to a life filled with what is best. We will be protected from danger, find peace and joy in our decisions, and be led home to that God who, like any good father, is rooting for us to pass the tests we face. If we've let prophetic priorities be our guide, that will be the best of all.

A Time to Prepare

In the October 2011 General Conference, Elder Ian S. Ardern delivered an address titled, 'A Time to Prepare'. It was an excellent talk worth reviewing again and again. In his remarks, Elder Ardern reminded us:

Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use... What time we have we must use wisely.

Though it often seems like we own the time that is granted to us, the Lord has made it clear that he is very interested in how we use that time. He has instructed us to 'cease to be idle' and to be 'anxiously engaged in a good cause' (Alma 38:12, D&C 88:124, D&C 58:27). President Brigham Young taught that 'we are all indebted to God for the ability to use time to advantage, and he will require of us a strict accounts of [its] disposition' (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 286). Indeed, the Lord has said that 'he who is faithful and wise in time is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father' (D&C 72:4).

While our choices certainly determine how we use our time, clearly our relationship with time is one of stewardship. The gift of time we receive from our Heavenly Father is also a responsibility and an opportunity to prove our ability to manage ourselves well.

In the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25, Christ taught us something about how stewardship assignments work. The master of the house gave three of his servants some coins to invest while he was away. Two of the servants had doubled the investments assigned to their care to the pleasure of their master. 'Well done, good and faithful servant,' the master told them. 'Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'

The third servant hid the coin given to him in the dirt. The master of the house was angry with this servant's slothfulness and took away this servant's stewardship, casting him out of the house.

As the stewards of our time, the Lord has commanded us that we 'shalt not idle away [our] time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent' (D&C 60:13). We are idle when we are 'uninvolved in righteous works'. The For the Strength of Youth pamphlet explains a few of the reasons why: 'Idleness can lead to inappropriate behavior, damaged relationships, and sin.' It continues, 'One form of idleness is spending excessive amounts of time in activities that keep you from productive work, such as using the Internet, playing video games, and watching television.'

Elder Ardern had the same message last October. He said:

The poor use of time is a close cousin of idleness. As we follow the command to 'cease to be idle', we must be sure that being busy also equates to being productive... I sense that some are trapped in a new time-consuming addiction—one that enslaves us to be constantly checking and sending social messages and thus giving the false impression of being busy and productive... Electronic games and cyber acquaintances are no lasting substitute for real friends who can give an encouraging hug, who can pray for us and seek after our best interest.

Perhaps this kind of idleness--when hours are wasted while appearing or even believing we a busy--is more dangerous than the bored image of idleness as a void of activity. In a recent CES Fireside, Elder David A. Bednar shared a similar concern as Elder Ardern. He said:

Sadly, some young men and young women in the Church today ignore 'things as they really are' and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value. My heart aches when a young couple—sealed together in the house of the Lord for time and for all eternity by the power of the holy priesthood—experiences marital difficulties because of the addicting effect of excessive video gaming or online socializing. A young man or woman may waste countless hours, postpone or forfeit vocational or academic achievement, and ultimately sacrifice cherished human relationships because of mind- and spirit-numbing video and online games...

I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.

If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, earbuds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.

 

In the Book of Mormon, Alma taught Zeezrom that though we all die, this life is a 'probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God' (Alma 12:24). Brigham Young taught that when we do meet God, we will be expected to give an accounting of that time. And Christ taught that if we are accounted worthy, we may be admitted into the 'joy of the lord' where we will be made 'rulers over many things' because of our wise stewardship.

Our use of time matters. With so many warnings to use our time well, we should be careful to put first the things that matter most, particularly our families and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. I join my testimony to Elder Ardern's:

I know our greatest happiness comes as we tune in to the Lord (see Alma 37:37) and to those things which bring a lasting reward, rather than mindlessly tuning in to countless hours of status updates, Internet farming, and catapulting angry birds at concrete walls. I urge each of us to take those things which rob us of precious time and determine to be their master, rather than allowing them through their addictive nature to be the master of us.

To have the peace the Savior speaks of (see John 14:27), we must devote our time to the things that matter most, and the things of God matter most. As we engage with God in sincere prayer, read and study each day from the scriptures, ponder on what we have read and felt, and then apply and live the lessons learned, we draw nearer to Him... 

Time marches swiftly forward to the tick of the clock. Today would be a good day, while the clock of mortality ticks, to review what we are doing to prepare to meet God. I testify that there are great rewards for those who take time in mortality to prepare for immortality and eternal life.

New Lessons from Ancient Scripture

Elder Richard G. Scott spoke in the most recent General Conference about scripture study. It's a topic most of us have heard about on a number of occasions. Some of those familiar lessons were woven into Elder Scott's remarks. At the same time, Elder Scott also brought up a number of insights about the scriptures that are not as commonly shared and/or understood, at least in the wards where I have attended. Several principles, familiar or otherwise, are worth repeating. Here's a short list.

1. The scriptures are a record of 'solutions to life's most perplexing problems'. Notice the omission here-- not life's most perplexing spiritual problems, but the scriptures contain solutions to work problems, societal problems, family problems, confidence problems, health problems... life's problems.

2. The scriptures function as 'a type of handbook for those of His children who have faith in His plan of happiness and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ'. Faith is necessary to unlock the power of scripture.

3. 'Because scriptures are generated from inspired communication through the Holy Ghost, they are pure truth.'

4. The scriptures, 'can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ'. The primary goal of scripture study is to commune with God. Remembering that the scriptural definition of enduring to the end is to study the scriptures, hearken to the spirit, pray and keep our covenants, it becomes increasingly clear that the way to endure is to communicate frequently with our Father in Heaven.

5. 'Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. Memorizing scriptures can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change.'

6. 'Pondering a passage of scripture can be a key to unlock revelation and guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one's ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior, They can accelerate physical healing.'


7. 'Scriptures can communicate different meanings at different times in our life, according to our needs.'


8. 'Those who consistently read the Book of Mormon are blessed with an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a greater resolve to obey His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the divinity of the Son of God.'

Whether these insights are familiar or new to us, each of us can experience the power of the scriptures in our lives as we have faith in Christ and seek to commune with our Heavenly Father. There we can find the answers to the questions of our souls, strength that can motivate emotional or physical healing, the will to change, and a clear view of reality and truth amid a world swirling with the philosophies of men.

Each of us seeking answers, strength, happiness, peace, communion or clarity will find what we seek as we accept Elder Scott's invitation to study, memorize, and ponder the scriptures.

General Conference

There are prophets on the earth today as authentic as Moses, Elijah, Abraham and Noah. As in the time of Christ, there are twelve apostles with authority to direct the work of the Lord and spread his gospel. The prophets and apostles of our time share with us the teachings of Christ and the will of God for our lives, our families and His church. To watch, listen or read what they have to say, click this link.

If you will listen with humility and approach God in prayer about what you learn, I know that God will confirm the reality of these prophets and the truth of their teachings to your heart and mind through the Holy Ghost. I know because He has confirmed their reality and truth to my heart. I invite you to listen with an open heart and ask God; the resulting truth, direction, love and inspiration that will pour into your life, as it has into mine, will be among the greatest gifts from God that you will ever receive.

Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God

Eternal Families

My wife and I were asked to talk in sacrament meeting today. With the special help of Sister Beck, here's what I came up with:

I love to read the Book of Mormon. I testify that it is the word of God to our dispensation; I know that I have grown closer to God as I have pondered and applied its teachings.

One of the things I have noticed in the Book of Mormon is that it is a story of families. Most of us are familiar with the struggles, blessings, conflicts and miracles of Nephi’s family, for example. Though the specific details may be different, I have often been able to relate to members of that family. Sometimes I have been one of the siblings that were not getting along or the son causing concern for my parents. At other times I have been directed by the Spirit to help a family member or provided support to a brother or sister in need. Though a young parent, I am beginning to better understand Lehi’s concerned pleas and Sariah’s desperation-turned-to-joy when her sons return home safely from a long journey. The families of the Book of Mormon provide invaluable, real-life lessons. Because they faced challenges similar to our own, Book of Mormon families can also show us ahead of time how our decisions today may affect our family’s future.

Most of us are also familiar with the story of the stripling warriors. These 2,060 young men, “did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness… and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” All 2,060 survived conflicts that could be called the World War II of their generation. Their unusual strength astonished the armies around them and even Helaman, their prophet and their general. The Lord was able to preserve these young men because the habits of their childhood homes had established sincere, unwavering faith in each of their hearts.

Tragically, less than 65 years later and in the aftermath of the miraculous signs of the birth of Christ, a converted Lamanite people “began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation.” Like the stripling warriors, these young men and women were raised in homes that knew of and believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the rising generation of this time period were not as unwavering. The scriptures record that when these young adults “became for themselves”, they were “led away by some who were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers.”

If we’re not careful, we might look at the stories of the stripling warriors and the rising generation of Gadianton robbers and conclude that it doesn’t matter what we do as parents or as siblings or as children. What’s the point of raising a child in a gospel home of they still may grow up to be robbers and terrorists? This is the type of subtle lie told by our adversary that is increasingly embraced by the world around us.

In truth, God has revealed that every member of a family that desires to be together forever plays a role in helping the family reach their celestial destination. As the mothers of the stripling warriors taught their sons, understanding the role and doctrine of the family can help us and our spouses and children become unwavering in our faith in Christ.

In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Church leaders we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators proclaimed 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.” That plan is based on the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.

The Creation of the earth provided a place where families could live. God created a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a family. It was part of Heavenly Father’s plan that Adam and Eve be sealed and form an eternal family.

The Fall provided a way for the family to grow. Adam and Eve were family leaders who chose to have a mortal experience. The Fall made it possible for them to have sons and daughters.

The Atonement allows for the family to be sealed together eternally. It allows for families to have eternal growth and perfection. The plan of happiness, also called the plan of salvation, was a plan created for families. As stated in proclamation on the family, the main pillars of our theology are centered in the family.

That means that when we speak of living the gospel or of qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualifying for the blessings of eternal families. This was Christ’s doctrine, and it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 2:1–3:

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”

This scripture is talking about temple blessings—ordinances and covenants without which “the whole earth [is] utterly wasted.”

Without the family, there is no plan; there is no reason for mortal life. Understanding the family’s central role in God’s plan for us, we can rightly ask ourselves whether we give our families that same status on our list of priorities. Perhaps the importance of family had something to do with why the stripling warriors were so willing to defend what later generations were recruited to destroy.

I have learned a lot about making family a priority from my in-laws. They do all they can—they use their vacation time at work and drive long distances at odd times of the morning-- to be present for every baby blessing, every baptism and every wedding of every sibling, every nephew, every niece and every grandchild. My wife’s aunts and uncles reciprocate this prioritization and effort. It was easy to see the fruits of their efforts this past Christmastime when all 63 members of their extended family gathered in a Salt Lake City hotel conference room. Not a soul of them were missing, some were there at great sacrifice. None of them would have had it any other way. Over three days I saw this family laugh together, cry together, dance together and pray together—and I laughed, cried, danced and prayed with them. Every member of that family knew they were included, they were loved, and they had something to live up to.

Knowing that the family is central in God’s plan for us, we must also understand that the command to “multiply, and replenish the earth” remains in force. Bearing children is a faith-based work. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so.” Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles. Each carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan.

Elder Hales has taught: “The family is not an accident of mortality. It existed as an organizational unit in the heavens before the world was formed; historically, it started on earth with Adam and Eve, as recorded in Genesis. Adam and Eve were married and sealed for time and all eternity by the Lord, and as a result their family will exist eternally.”

As we are sealed to our families in the temple and keep those sacred covenants, our families may partake in the blessings of Abraham. Included in these blessings is the promise of numerous posterity, descendants who would receive the gospel and bear the priesthood, and descendants who will bring the gospel to all the world. In effect, if we are truly keeping our temple covenants, we will be doing the things that will help our children become stripling warriors instead of Gadiantons.

The prophets and apostles are constantly reminding us to keep the covenants we have made to God and our families. Listen to some of the counsel given just this last conference about our families:

Elder Bednar counseled, “Each of us should consider seriously and ponder prayerfully how we can reject the devil’s enticements and righteously “apply unto it,” even the spirit of revelation, in our personal lives and families.”

Elder Scott taught us beautifully: “If you are a young man of appropriate age and are not married, don’t waste time in idle pursuits. Get on with life and focus on getting married. Don’t just coast through this period of life. Young men, serve a worthy mission. Then make your highest priority finding a worthy, eternal companion… If you have found someone, you can form an extraordinarily wonderful courtship and marriage and be very, very happy eternally by staying within the bounds of worthiness the Lord has established.”

He encouraged the brethren to lead out in family activities such as scripture study and family home evening. He encouraged us to express our love and gratitude out loud and often, and to nurture our children in love.

President Monson asked us to: “Realize that you will not be able to anticipate every challenge which may arise, but be assured that almost anything can be worked out if you are resourceful and if you are committed to making your marriage work…. if you are committed to the success of your marriage, there is nothing in this life which will bring you greater happiness.”

He encouraged us to be fiercely loyal and ever so kind to our spouses and our families, and reminded us successful marriages are generally more about being the right person than marrying the right person. He concluded his remarks on family with this plea:

“If any of you are having difficulty in your marriage, I urge you to do all that you can to make whatever repairs are necessary, that you might be as happy as you were when your marriage started out. We who are married in the house of the Lord do so for time and for all eternity, and then we must put forth the necessary effort to make it so. I realize that there are situations where marriages cannot be saved, but I feel strongly that for the most part they can be and should be. Do not let your marriage get to the point where it is in jeopardy.”

Our charge is to live in our homes, in our families, and in our marriages so that our spouses and our children will develop hope for eternal life from watching us. We must live and teach our families with so much clarity that what we teach will cut through all the noise of the world. We must be brilliant in the basics and intentional about our roles and responsibilities in the family. Great hope will come in a family that studies their scriptures together, has family home evening, makes mealtimes a priority and speaks respectfully of one another.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are sons and daughters of heavenly parents, who sent us forth to have this earthly experience to prepare us for the blessing of eternal families. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become perfect and equal to our responsibilities in our earthly families and have the promise of eternal families after death.

On the Path

It is natural to wonder from time to time just how strait and narrow the paths of our lives are. We may ask ourselves if we are still as converted as we once were or whether we are enduring well. Are we still making progress or have we drifted-- even just a few inches-- from the iron rod?

Thankfully, prophets of ancient and modern times have given guidelines that we can use to evaluate our lives. The prophet Alma asked a group of members in his stewardship whether they still felt to "sing the song of redeeming love" (Alma 5:26). President Hinckley taught that optimism is another indicator of the strength of our faith and trust in God.

King Benjamin had this to say about knowing whether we are walking along the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life. If we are, we:

"...shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of... that which is just and true. And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due. And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another... And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor."

As you evaluate your progress in life during this General Conference weekend, and in sacrament meetings and on quiet Sunday afternoons to come, this counsel can be used to guide our evaluation. Are we growing in knowledge of things that are just and true? Are we generous and compassionate to the less fortunate, including in our fast offerings? Do we teach our children to obey?

These prophetic guidelines, and others like it, will help us know where we are along the path back to our Heavenly Father. What guidelines will be given at conference this year?

You'll have to watch and see.