Stephen L. Richards

First Counselor in the First Presidency (April 9, 1951 – May 19, 1959)

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (January 18, 1917 – May 19, 1959)

General Conference Addresses

  • April 1959 General Conference
    • Blessings
      • “All the blessings of the temples are predicated upon faithfulness, upon obedience to the commandments. No blessing is effective unless it is based upon the good life of him who receives it.”
    • What It Means To Be a Christian
      • “Here is a divine endowment, a marvelous gift to man, which may be lost by failure to exercise the power in its true meaning and spirit. It has been lost, my brothers and sisters and friends, to men of old as in modern times by failure both to understand its true nature and to exercise its functions in a manner compatible with the spirit and essence of the power itself.”
      • “The powers of the priesthood may never be assumed. They must always be conferred, and of course by someone having the power to confer.”
      • “I must ask all of you, my friends, not to forget that truth is not determined by numbers, nor the number of its adherents. Christ began alone. Then as always, as the old saying goes, “God and one man are a majority.” With him we are safe.”
  • October 1958 General Conference
    • Hunger for Religion
      • “We assert that there is no true religion without revelation. Men may contrive all sorts of societies, associations, and establishments, but men of themselves cannot create the gospel of Christ and the kingdom of God. That is a divine function limited to divine power only.”
    • Avoid Vices
      • “There is no gamble about life, as everyone of you knows. You know that it is all planned from the very beginning, and while we cannot foresee all the circumstances that will transpire, we know what life is. We know the course that life should take. We know its rewards and we know its penalties for infractions of the law. Life is not a gamble.”
  • April 1958 General Conference
    • Serving Others
      • “May we not, as members of the Priesthood, without appointment, consider our obligations to our neighbors and our friends, and do them the incomparable blessed service of taking the truth to them and teaching them the way of life?”
    • The Father and the Home
      • “I think that parental disputes before the children are one of the most regrettable and lamentable of all aspects of domestic relations.”
      • “I think that “nagging wives” cannot nag their husbands into doing anything that is worth while. Nagging is futile in the main, and disruptive of any spirit of harmony and peace. In homes where the priesthood presides rebellion and devotion will not thrive together.”
      • “No woman can be a good mother without desiring the goodness and well-being of her children. If the establishment of headship in the family contributes to their welfare, as the learning on the subject seems to indicate, how can she do other than strive to establish respect and regard for her husband?”
  • April 1957 General Conference
    • Honor the Priesthood
      • “This great Gospel is intended for all men. There is no nation to be favored, if the children of our Father will but open their hearts to the reception of the truth, and there is no one to carry that message excepting you, the great Priesthood of the Church, and the sisters who assist us in missionary labors.”
    • The Wayward
      • “I think it is a mistake for those charged with the custody of children to lose sight of or abandon the principle of reproof. The Lord has used that principle in dealing with his children during all the time of which we have record, and he has never given us any indication that it should be abandoned. No one who advocates love as the most important and potent factor in parent and teacher and child relations can go too far to suit me, but let it never be forgotten that reproof may be, and very often is, an important element in that loving relationship.”
      • “It is a kindness to reprove in the spirit of love. It is an unkindness to mitigate the gravity of offenses in those for whose guidance and direction we have responsibility.”
      • “I say morality—private morality—is indispensable to a good society rounded on happy homes in nations of freedom.”
  • October 1956 General Conference
    • Our Message to the World
      • “How essential is this bearing of testimony to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why, it is the first essential credential of a Christian.”
      • “I wish I had the time to read to all our friends the description and attributes of these kingdoms and glories of the hereafter. Here is a revelation which makes plain to all men the transcendent and enduring benefits derived from striving for the best. To those who have the ambition, the courage, and devotion to attain the highest station, there are in store blessings that transcend the comprehension of the finite mind.”
      • “Now, how is entrance into the celestial glory obtained? It is obtained only through compliance with the ordinances of the gospel, and keeping the commandments of God.”
      • “Our missionaries are not infrequently asked: “Do you claim that you are the only ones who will go to heaven?” The answer to this question may well be given by the missionary asking of the inquirer, “What do you mean by heaven? If you mean by heaven, a resurrection from the grave to immortality, the answer is no. Through the atonement of Christ everyone will be resurrected. Do you mean by heaven one of the lesser glories and kingdoms therein? Then generally the answer is no. We believe that many, if not most, of the good men and women of the world will obtain places and recognition in the lesser kingdoms of heaven. But if you mean by going to heaven, gaining exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Father, where God and Christ dwell, then the answer must be yes. No man can attain the highest station without compliance with the higher laws and ordinances, which may be administered only in the restored Church of our Lord Jesus Christ under his authority and delegated power lodged in the priesthood of his Church.””
      • “While many are in the form of injunctions of restraint, there is in the keeping of every commandment a positive element of improvement of life through self-mastery and the subordination of the material to the spiritual.”
    • Missionary Work
      • “No young man, or young woman either, should be pressed into the missionary service. It is true that it is perfectly legitimate to point out the advantages of missionary service, its opportunities, but everyone who goes should be imbued with the remarkable opportunities that a mission affords, and he should also know that he goes to bear witness of the Living Christ to all men, and to the divinity and the vitality of this work of the latter days. It is unfortunate when some get into the mission field and say that they were so pressured into coming that they have no interest in it. There are very few in this category, but we do think that there should always be assurance that those who go into the field go with a full understanding of what their work is to be, and with willingness to perform that work.”
  • April 1956 General Conference
    • Speed Demons
      • “No man has the freedom and the liberty to dispose of even his own life and to be so careless as to endanger the lives of others.”
    • Encouragement for Repenters
      • “A part of the mission of our Savior was to bring the element of mercy to the rigorous, exacting, hard-hearted people among whom his mission began. When he taught forbearance and kindly, merciful consideration for human frailty and weakness, he was accused of violating and dispensing with the law.”
      • “I have never regarded repentance as being a static thing. It is difficult to imagine how men may repent once and for all for a full lifetime of experience. I look upon it as a progressive principle applying to each of us day by day.”
  • October 1955 General Conference
    • The Priesthood
      • “No man, however great his intellectual attainments, however vast and far-reaching his service may be, arrives at the full measure of his sonship and the manhood the Lord intended him to have, without the investiture of the Holy Priesthood, and with that appreciation, my brethren, I have given thanks to the Lord all my life for this marvelous blessing which has come to me.”
    • Missionary Word
      • “I do not want the investigator to be offended. I do not want his right of privacy and thinking and affiliation to be invaded. I do not want to do anything of this nature without his consent, but if he does consent to listen, I believe the greatest good to him comes in a frank statement of the way the principles we teach affect his personal life.”
      • “I am not able to see how we can make great progress in teaching the true gospel to our fellow men without forcefully bringing to their attention in frankness, but good spirit, the differences which in reality represent the essence of revealed truth.”
  • April 1955 General Conference
    • Living with the Priesthood
      • “We are told very definitely in that great section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which I often characterize as the Constitution of the priesthood, that one cannot minister in any degree of unrighteousness, for if he do so, amen to the priesthood of that man. His effort, his labors, his ministry will not be efficacious. He must have the background of righteousness to make him able, capable, of administering the powers of the Holy Priesthood.”
    • Christianity Definitions
      • “Facing the problems that confront the world under the stress of the anxieties of the threat of a devastating and annihilating war, is it going too far to ask men and women in this land which has come to be the leader in the cause of freedom to subject themselves, their lives, and their feelings to their own scrutiny to answer to their consciences whether they are truly Christian in belief and purpose? All who can so conscientiously classify themselves are in a position to make a contribution to the noble cause our country espouses, which I am sure can come from no other source in equal measure.”
  • October 1954 General Conference
    • Divorce and Family
      • “The remedy for domestic problems and irritations is not divorce, but repentance. I am thoroughly convinced in my heart that this is true, and I hope you will approve of that interpretation. I am sure that there is much that can be done to lessen this great evil.”
      • “The home itself should be an institution of law and order. Remember there is no order without law. It is a kindness to children to teach them the necessity for law and also the penalties for violation.”
      • “Any wife and mother who fails to accord to the man of the priesthood who heads her household deference for his position, and who disparages him in the eyes of her children will live to regret her actions, and any man who heads a household who does not make himself worthy of the respect of his wife and children will be sorry.”
    • A Missionary Church
      • “Teaching with testimony is the epitome of missionary effort.”
      • “The consistency of our living will make an invaluable contribution. The influence of our living will spread far and wide, and will furnish eloquent and effective testimony to the principles we proclaim. By courageously living honorable, righteous lives we are all entitled to be counted members of the incomparable missionary force of the Church of Christ.”
  • April 1954 General Conference
    • Repentance and Church Discipline
      • “Godly sorrow is something more than admission after being discovered in sin, and the judges in Zion will do well not to confuse the two. Next after godly sorrow comes confession, which is prompted by the inward sorrow and the earnest desire for relief from the suffering entailed by acute realization of wrongdoing of which we saw an impressive illustration tonight. To whom should confession be made? To the Lord, of course, whose law has been violated. To the aggrieved person or persons, as an essential in making due retribution if that is necessary. And then certainly to the Lord’s representative, his appointed judge in Israel, under whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction the offender lives and holds membership in the Kingdom.”
      • “How can we ever hope to maintain the dignity of the Church and the majesty of the law of the Lord without exercising disciplinary action through the tribunals which the Lord has set up.”
    • Be “Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”
      • “There are some who seem to feel that their liberties are circumscribed by the acceptance and acknowledgment of spiritual forces and that they are much freer and better off to make no profession of faith whatever. Considered in the light of a deterrent to wrongdoing, perhaps they are right, but such a concept is really an abandonment of the underlying principles of righteousness and good character.”
      • “Christ himself was in no sense an outgrowth of his times and environment. He came in shocking contrast to the philosophies and practices prevailing at the time.”
      • “If you are never ashamed of the gospel of Christ, if you will always pray to him and never defame his sacred name, if you will never make light of the Holy Priesthood and the ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel, a spirit of rebellion will never come into your hearts.”
  • October 1953 General Conference
    • Counsels
      • “I am persuaded too that if you approach many of these men in frankness and true friendship, you will touch their hearts. I have long been persuaded that it is something of a waste of time to go to a man’s home who has been neglectful and spend the time in talking about the weather or the crops or politics or something else.”
    • State of the World
      • “Truth is not tolerant of error. Standards of truth are exacting, and the blessings Christ promised are obtainable in their fulness only upon strict observance.”
  • October 1952 General Conference
    • Missionary Work
      • “So if we regard the missionary work in the light of its great potential, if we think of it as being our first assignment to preach the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, may we not be induced to give every consideration possible to the securing of missionaries, to the supplying of missionary funds, and to doing all that lies within our power to carry the Gospel to the peoples of the world.”
      • “The reaction of one personality upon another, the bearing of a personal testimony to a fellow, in order that he may know and feel the truth that the real missionary carries with him,—nothing will take the place of that, so we will always need to supply missionaries.”
    • An Invitation
      • “All are eligible in the kingdom of our Father. Adherence to his law is the only requirement, and the officers of the kingdom are under compulsion to bring this great benefaction to all who are worthy.”
      • “The common man has aspirations, even though their attainment may seem remote and very dim. Improvement and progression are the laws of life. Here, with the investiture of the Holy Priesthood lie opportunities unlimited for the fulfillment of worthy and lofty ambitions for the common man, as for all men of high or low station in life.”
      • “None of us can be sure that he can finish the course of life in perfect faith and devotion, but all of us can be certain that we can never run the course without starting.”
  • April 1952 General Conference
    • The Tabernacle
      • “I stand today in a pulpit sanctified by its history. When I recall the noble servants of our Heavenly Father who have stood here and given inspired counsel to the people, and borne testimony with such power and conviction and spirit as to electrify every soul who heard; when I contemplate the operation of the still, small voice, which has come from simple and lowly word given here, which have touched the hearts and sympathies of the people; when I think of the vast volume of precious truth which has been proclaimed from this stand, I feel very small and weak within it. My only comfort comes from the realization that the noble ones who have graced this pulpit have been called to speak here as I have been called, and that they were common men, so far as the aristocracy of the world is concerned, drawn from all walks of life, just as my brethren and I are today.”
    • Debt
      • “I have never seen a man go broke who was not in debt.”
      • “There is a strength represented here tonight which, it fully employed, would have within itself the power to advance this great cause with which we have the honor to be identified beyond even the finite concept of those who wish it well. If the whole priesthood throughout the Church would live up to the obligations and opportunities coming to them to magnify this glorious calling, we would see advancement that would bring us gratification indeed.”
  • October 1951 General Conference
    • Awake, Ye Defenders of Zion
      • “The foe today is far less tangible and discernible. He is widely diffused and insidious. His methods are multiple, and it is much more difficult to prepare for defense, for the foe of the present-day attacks both within and without the Church.”
      • “There is no fence around Zion or the world, but to one of discernment, they are separated more completely than if each were surrounded with high unscalable walls. Their underlying concepts, philosophies, and purposes are at complete variance one with the other. The philosophy of the world is self-sufficient, egotistical, materialistic, and skeptical. The philosophy of Zion is humility, not servility, but a willing recognition of the sovereignty of God and dependence on his providence.”
      • “The self-sufficient are not in a position to call to their aid the one greatest and most effective force in the world—the Spirit of God. The humble depend upon this power; it does not fail them.”
      • “The battles for righteousness and liberty which is a divine endowment can always be won if those who wage the war are worthy of victory.”
      • “Perhaps when people don’t know where they are going and have no defined objectives, criticism and debate are commendable. Men and women within and without the Church fail to observe this distinction. They want to debate our objectives. They have forgotten that they are divinely set for us and beyond debate. They seem to think our unity belittles us. This is a worldly doctrine. It has no place in Zion.”
      • “Let no man among us be ashamed of his priesthood. Nothing greater will ever come into his life.”
      • “A part of the propaganda is that there is no warrant for official interpretation of the doctrines and standards of the Church, that everyone may read and interpret for himself, and adopt only so much of the doctrine as he chooses, and that he may classify the revelations as essential or non-essential. These propagandists are either ignorant of or ignore the Lord’s declaration that “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” 2 Pet. 1:20. They disparage orthodoxy as such and pride themselves on liberal thinking. Many of them maintain their loyalty to the Church, and some may honestly believe they are doing the Church a favor and a service in advocating their so-called broad-minded concepts.”
      • “Unfortunately, some people within the Church subscribing to these views do not realize that they are falling into a trap themselves. They are giving aid and comfort to the foe; they are undermining their own testimonies and those of others, I warn the Church against them, and I warn them against themselves; and I plead with them to desist, to abandon their agnostic discussions, and to join with the faithful in promoting the cause which in their hearts they once loved, and I think they still love.”
      • “I rebuke the members of the Church who cast aspersion upon the honored name of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and who in any manner disparage his noble work. By so doing they destroy faith, their own and that of others, and the Lord will hold them accountable.”
    • Administration in the Church
      • “You will make far more progress in frankness than in attempting to beat about the bush with these men. I believe if you have the proper spirit you can go to them and talk about their condition, and their needs without spending time in visits talking about the weather and politics and current affairs.”
      • “They say love is, in the end, the only irresistible force in the world, and if we have love sufficient, and friendship, and these brethren know our love for them, I think we can approach them and speak frankly to them, and thus help them. I sincerely trust that we may.”
  • April 1951 General Conference
    • Three Sermons
      • “There was probably never a time, my brethren, when we so much needed men who could go out and cultivate a talent for friendship and talk frankly to their own associates in the priesthood who have become careless and delinquent, to their business friends and to their neighbors, about the gospel and give to them the great blessing which we ourselves enjoy.”
    • Confidence in the Promises of the Lord
      • “I cannot go forward in this work, my brethren and my sisters, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. I must have confidence, however, in the promises of the Lord that if we will faithfully serve him he will sustain us. We must have the faith of Nephi of old. If it is of any qualification for the work, I declare my love for it. I love the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I accept all of its principles. I accept its authority. I accept the great and marvelous organization of the Church as being calculated to raise humanity to the highest destiny men and women may reach.”
    • Kinship of Spirits
      • “It has always seemed to me most difficult to establish fraternity without paternity. Surely those who acknowledge the Omnipotent God to be the Creator of the Universe, should find no difficulty in according to Him His place of distinction as the Father of all men.”
      • “How regrettable it is that man, seemingly oblivious to this honorable and sacred relationship, should profane His holy name and blaspheme Christ. Do you think that a son can damn his father and love him?”
      • “The only place I have been able to discover any failure in the Word is in the novelty of man’s interpretations. The Word of God is not difficult to understand. It is the words of men about God that perplex us.”
      • “The only thing that our country has to fear is spiritual disintegration within ourselves.”
  • April 1950 General Conference
    • Gifts of the Gospel
      • “I place no limitation on the power of the Lord to manifest himself through his children and his chosen servants, however miraculous many may think the manifestation to be. I do place one limitation on those who exercise such powers—that they be very sure the inspiration is from the right source.”
      • “The true gift of discernment is often premonitory. A sense of danger should be heeded to be of value. We give thanks for a set of providential circumstances which avert an accident. We ought to be grateful every day of our lives for this sense which keeps alive a conscience which constantly alerts us to the dangers inherent in wrongdoers and sin.”
      • “Your testimony, your spirit, and your service will direct the application of your knowledge; that is wisdom. Every man needs it a hundred times a day. Every woman needs it. Every youth needs it.”
  • October 1949 General Conference
    • A Message to the Elders of the Church
      • “The final appeal I make to you, my brethren, is do not disappoint and grieve your wives and families. Every understanding faithful Latter-day Saint woman knows that the highest blessings which may come to her and her children must come through the priesthood. She knows that there can be no perpetuation of the family in eternity without a husband and father honoring the Holy Priesthood. Many a good wife and mother today is filled with apprehension and sorrow in the neglect and behavior of the elder who stands at the head of her household.”
  • April 1949 General Conference
    • Keep The Commandments
      • “Keeping the commandments, as President Grant used the phrase, is not news in the modern sense. It is seldom dramatic. It doesn’t often arrest attention, and very infrequently wins a place in the headlines for a man or woman, and there are those who look with a measure of contempt and belittlement upon persons who order their “humdrum” lives in strict conformity with all the commandments.”
      • “In spite of the prosaic and commonplace aspect of this subject, I have long been convinced, my brethren and sisters, that the most challenging, dramatic, and vital thing in our lives is this “keeping the commandments.” It tests every fiber of our beings. It is at once a demonstration of our intelligence, our knowledge, our character, and our wisdom.”
      • “I cannot see how the rank and file of the people who are classed as atheistic communists could accept the godless totalitarianism of Marx and Lenin if they really had a comprehension and knowledge of the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the eternal plans of the Father for the well-being and exaltation of his children. I can understand how their leaders, lustful for power and domination, and beset by the constant fear of losing their unrighteous dominion will subordinate every decent, honorable, and virtuous principle to the gaining of their ends, but I cannot believe that even their own people would support these avaricious leaders if they had the truth.”
      • “The Church needs the undivided allegiance of these men, and they need the Church, as do their families also. Just so sure as they divide their allegiance the world will claim them.”
      • “We all prize wisdom. It is said to be the greatest of gifts. It is really the power to apply beneficent knowledge in all the decisions and vicissitudes of life. How we need wisdom in the composition of the troubles and difficulties of the world. How we need wisdom in our own affairs, with our families, our business, and our associations. Almost every day is a day of decision. What to do. What choice to make. I don’t know of a better way to secure the wisdom that we need than by keeping the commandments. We are enjoined by the commandments to study, to pray, to work and to serve, and be humble and contrite of spirit. The great promises are to the meek who shall inherit the earth. Wisdom is not to be found among the arrogant, the haughty and self-sufficient, nor among the sinful and the anti-Christs of the world. Wisdom is a gift to the prayerful student, to the faithful and the obedient, to those who repose their trust in the counsels of the spirit and the priesthood of God.”
  • October 1948 General Conference
    • Report on a Trip to South America
      • “Our missionaries are trying hard to give these things to the people who so sorely need them. Their work is conducted at great expense. It costs more than one thousand dollars in transportation alone to put a missionary in one of these missions and bring him home. Living costs are very high, even in American money, which sells at a premium. The language is difficult, particularly the Portuguese, and many months pass before a missionary can adequately express himself before the people. However, they, our missionaries, carry with them a spirit, and the testimony of truth which, even imperfectly expressed in the language of the people, touches the hearts of many who hear them.”
  • October 1947 General Conference
    • Practical Usage of Religion
      • “After we have done our best in thought, word, and action, we can but pray that the Lord will add his blessing.”
      • “How do they justify a partial acceptance of divine law and principle? Surely consistency would demand that if the source of religion is accredited, the application must be universal and unvaried.”
  • April 1947 General Conference
    • What Did the Pioneers Bring?
      • “It was ingrained in their very beings that their greatest blessings would come in blessing others. They knew they had a message that was a boon to mankind; they knew they were under obligation to propagate that message among the peoples of the world; and they never for one moment lost sight of that obligation and their endeavor to fulfil it. In the processes of subduing a most stubborn country, with all its discouragements, disappointments, and exactions of time, energy, patience, and courage, they never ceased to give liberally of their hard-earned substance and their limited man power in carrying abroad the sacred principles which dominated their lives.”
      • “What then did the pioneers bring? They brought industry in a measure that has seldom been equaled. They taught and practiced the gospel of work as the foundation for success and happiness. That gospel was perhaps more widely accepted in their day than it is today, unfortunately. They demonstrated its efficacy, and their demonstration stands today as an example and incentive to the world.”
      • “Everyone wants a sound body. Not all are willing to take the steps to secure it.”
      • “I define character as the sum total of all the attributes incorporated into the structure of a man’s life, and the complexion of his character is determined by the preponderance of good or bad qualities.”
      • “I know of nothing more stimulating to the attainment of high character in men and women than a clear concept of their divine origin and eternal destiny.”
  • April 1946 General Conference
    • The Kingdom of God
      • “We know that the kingdom of God, while it must be accepted in one’s heart is, not merely a concept of our thinking or our feeling. The kingdom of God is truly established in this earth. It is established in the land of Zion; and right here, at least for the time being, is the headquarters of the land of Zion.”
  • October 1945 General Conference
  • April 1945 General Conference
    • Essentials for Spiritual Development
      • “There is but one thing more. If you are prompted to give consideration to the things I have written about, I hope you will not be dissuaded in their acceptance by the deficiencies you may observe in the lives of some of us who have espoused this noble cause. We confess our weaknesses. We are trying to develop strength to overcome them. I ask you to try to look at the excellence of the message and overlook the faults of some of its adherents. Please judge it by what it has done in the elevation of the lives of thousands of our Father’s children and by its inherent truth.”
  • October 1944 General Conference
    • Eternal Families
      • “It is today in these tragic times when Latter-day Saint parents receive the sad word that a son has been lost in battle. They know that he is not lost. They weep in the deprivation of his company, but they know that death cannot break the bond which binds their son to them. Only sin can do that. When the family is reestablished in the life to come, his chair will not be vacant. The cruelty of war and battle may have shortened his mortal existence, but the destroying angel has no power over his soul or the tie that binds him to his kin.”
  • April 1944 General Conference
    • Traditional Values
      • “I believe that the soundest growth and evolution come from building on solid and tested foundations. He is reckless who disregards the lessons of experience.”
      • “Purity of life is something more than good diet and immunity from disease. It contemplates a wholesome and reverential respect for the body of man. It looks upon the physical equipment of man as an instrumentality for the achievement of high and noble purposes, not disassociated from the spiritual.”
      • “Today mankind, as probably never before, needs the gifts of the Gospel—wisdom, discernment, vision, and comfort. These precious things come only from good living and prayerful hearts.”
  • October 1943 General Conference
    • Assignment to Youth
      • “I don’t need to argue with you, young men and women of the Church, that the true religion of Jesus Christ is essential to make the kind of world which the thoughtful, high-principled, young men of the Church and of America are fighting to establish. You know that they want to come back to a decent society that has not been ruined by crime and moral perversion.”
      • “To secure spiritual influence is not a joy-killing operation. It is a mistake to think that it robs youth of the zest and beauty of young life. It puts only one limitation on all the aspirations and desires of youth, and that is to do nothing that is not good.”
  • April 1943 General Conference
    • The Need for the Church
      • “The power of the Priesthood is a spiritual power. We know that there is efficacy in it. We have seen its power manifest. We know, too, that these spiritual powers are not developed except through goodness and righteousness.”
  • October 1942 General Conference
    • In Holy Places
      • “Today we find ourselves engaged in a worldwide struggle to preserve liberty and tolerance, the foundations of peace in the earth. Let it be remembered that these were the very principles for which our progenitors have made the tragic sacrifices of which I have briefly reminded you. Every shrine of the Church is a monument to freedom and truth. There have been no more sincere and valiant defenders of true democracy than the Latter-day Saints. No higher concepts of the liberty of man, the Sonship of God, and the brotherhood of race have been given to the world than those which have emanated from the Prophet of the last dispensation.”
  • April 1942 General Conference
    • Had We Listened to the Prophets
      • “We are continually told that self-sacrifice is necessary to our success. Self-sacrifice is of the very essence of the Christian religion.”
  • October 1941 General Conference
    • The Home
      • “Important as schools have been they have never occupied a position more than complementary to the home, which is the nursery not only of all human beings but of all virtue.”
  • April 1941 General Conference
    • Introduction to the Gospel
      • “Equivocation about His divinity not only would rob the Christ of His real power but it likewise robs the professed Christian of the concept and the loyalty which alone make him a true disciple. What the world most needs today is not so much adoration of the attributes of Christ, however beautiful and beneficent they are, as the true worship and acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the Lord and His divine power. When men and nations look to Him as the arbiter of all questions and the principles of His Gospel as the criteria by which all considerations shall be judged, then, and then only, will the world be the beneficiary of the true Christian influence and power.”
  • October 1940 General Conference
    • Repentance
      • “I trust that those who have been thoughtless, careless, and neglectful may repent of their ways. I deem it a great disaster for men who have had hands laid upon their heads in ordination to this divine power to forsake it. We hold out the hand of friendship and brotherhood and kindness and mercy and the principle of repentance and forgiveness to those who will repent.”
  • April 1940 General Conference
    • Beautify Zion
      • “Need I say more to persuade us that every consideration, business, esthetic and religious,—constrains our people to take the lead in this worthy cause of beautifying the land? I understand that expert advice will be made available in the laying out of grounds, in planting and in other features calculated to reach the objectives of the program. With this aid our efforts will be successful if only our interest and our energy are sufficient.”
  • October 1939 General Conference
    • Honest Work
      • “This fundamental principle of the honor of work is sorely needed in application in the world today. All the fraudulent schemes, the rackets, governmental corruption, and wide-spread public demoralization have their inception and support chiefly in the failure to recognize the dignity and the happiness that flow from honest toil.”
  • April 1939 General Conference
    • Agency
      • “Free agency is the inherent right of man. Through it he may exalt or condemn himself.”
      • “A contrite heart is the fertile field for planting the seeds of truth. In such a field they come to fruition in a knowledge, understanding, and conviction of the great concepts of life which defy the reason and philosophy of the arrogant, and self-sufficient, who will not stoop to the methods of the humble.”
  • October 1938 General Conference
    • Unity
      • “Since all Church service is cooperative, we must be congenial to enjoy it. A man is neither happy nor effective in the cause if he is not one with his fellows. The Savior said, “Except ye are one, ye are not mine.””
      • “Discord and dissension are the wrenches thrown in the machinery. Concord is the oil which smooths the operation of the plant and immensely increases the output.”
      • “The most potent enemies of God’s work have always been, ostensibly at least, within it. Internal unity is indispensable to success.”
      • “Our unanimity of thought and action does not arise, as some suppose, from duress or compulsion in any form. Our accord comes from universal agreement with righteous principles and common response to the operation of the Spirit of our Father. It is actuated by no fear except one. That is the fear of offending God, the Author of our work.”
  • April 1938 General Conference
    • Joy of Man
      • “In what does the joy of man consist? There are two things: first, an eternal progression in intelligence, knowledge and power that leads to perfection, even as Christ is perfect; and, second, companionship with God in his presence and in the presence of his Son.”
  • October 1937 General Conference
    • Faith Brings Humility
      • “Faith brings to a man humility—not servility, but a modest, unpretentious, submissive attitude which makes him conscious of and amenable to powers and forces higher and more potential than himself.”
      • “Faith is a divine gift open to all men to receive, if only their attitude and life will permit its reception.”
  • April 1937 General Conference
    • The Priesthood
      • “The Priesthood is not static and a man’s ordination to it is not a static investiture. There may be some men, however, who so regard it, for they seem to be so smug and content with their ordinations.”
      • “A wife does not begrudge a man of the Priesthood his position as head of the household. She honors him as such and teaches her children to do likewise, for she well understands not only what the Priesthood means to her husband but what it means to her too. She knows that if she sustains her husband in his Priesthood calling she has assurance of exaltation with him, and she knows moreover that if he is true to his Priesthood he will always be kind and faithful and righteous.”
      • “The man of the Priesthood loves knowledge and education. He is taught that “the glory of God is intelligence,” that “man cannot be saved in ignorance,” and that knowledge is power. He is enjoined to teach truth and righteousness and he knows that he cannot teach unless he learns.”
      • “It is the truth that makes one free. Error is bondage.”
  • October 1936 General Conference
    • The Contributions of Joseph Smith
      • “Here is the genius of the government of Christ. No compulsion,—just persuasion; no unrighteousness or autocracy,—only goodness and love. Here is the answer to the religious intolerance and crimes of the centuries; the complete refutation of the alleged injustice of God.”
      • “Exaltation is not planned merely for a few select ones. It is designed for all who will prepare to enter the Kingdom. Everyone is given the opportunity to prepare, not only those living but they who have died, as well. Such is the justice of the Father.”
  • October 1935 General Conference
    • Undermining Faith
      • “It is such an easy thing to discourage faith in this world of materiality, in this world of science, where we have laid so much emphasis on all the scientific processes and developments that have been so much in evidence the last few decades. It is so easy to say a word to undermine faith. I wish that those who have within their power the formation of the views of youth, the cultivation of their character, I do wish that they would be careful.”
      • “Our youth are especially susceptible to influences that lead them away from faith because, in my opinion, they do not always have an adequate and proper understanding of the Gospel of Christ. Sometimes I fear they seem to feel so much concerned about the injunctions and the inhibitions and the proscriptions, that they fail to appreciate the positive, beautiful, life-giving, joyful message of the Gospel of Jesus.”
      • “The laws that have been given to us are inexorable and immutable. We cannot change them. We do not want to change them. No one does, who understands them in their comprehensive application to the lives of men and women and the world. Only those would do away with them who really do not grasp their true significance.”
  • April 1935 General Conference
    • Being Orthodox
      • “I think all thoughtful persons must agree that the significance of his Lordship is infinitely greater than the ethics of his teachings.”
      • “I think I can promise to each that if he will scrutinize himself as critically as he does the authorities and the procedure of the Church he will discover the reasons which underly his own disaffection. This is not so easy to do and not nearly so interesting as it is to criticize others. One seldom has company when he is analyzing himself and the conversation he carries on with himself is never very scintillating. The parties to the conversation, he and himself, know all the facts and they have to be so brutally frank that, sometimes it is really painful to listen in. But when the conversation centers about others with sympathetic company it isn’t necessary to have more than a mere smattering of the facts to make a colorful, interesting story.”
  • October 1934 General Conference
    • The Depression
      • “No Latter-day Saint can afford to be other than self-respecting and as self-reliant and independent as the circumstances will possibly permit. We have been taught all during our history the gospel of work, of self-support and freedom from debt. It so hurts me to see a man lose the pride of self-respect and self-reliance that I could wish that it were feasible to take an evidence of obligation for every gratuity bestowed, in order that the recipients might say that they had borrowed the money and would pay it back and thus not be humiliated by the taking of alms.”
      • “Common honesty is the basis of mutual confidence. If we lose confidence in each other we are lost.”
  • October 1933 General Conference
    • Patience and Pity
      • “Brethren and sisters of the Church, we cannot be Latter-day Saints without being honest, honest with ourselves, honest with our neighbors, honest with our country, honest with God. No manner of deception may be practiced by a man without robbing him of the fundamental spirit and genius of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
  • April 1933 General Conference
    • The Members Responsibilities
      • “Constitutions, laws and institutions are but vehicles for the expression of character in the men and women of any state or society. Incorporeal rights may be important but their administrators are infinitely more tangible.”
      • “There is no deceit like religious hypocrisy. There is no crook comparable to the pious crook. I hesitate to use these extreme terms but I cannot conceal my contempt for the man who imposes on his fellows under a church cloak—whose life is a spiritual lie.”
  • October 1932 General Conference
    • Trying Economic Times
      • “I sincerely pray that God in his goodness will inspire every man to do the thing that his circumstances most require, to resist extravagances, to place himself on a careful, saving, economical basis that will ultimately free him from this bondage of debt against which we have always been warned, that the men and the women of the Church may be free to devote their means, to consecrate the products of their lives to this high and holy cause which so commands our attention and our allegiance.”
  • October 1931 General Conference
    • Gospel Education
      • “I know that our work is not one of coercion or of compulsion. I know that it is only by sympathetic, intelligent persuasion that the minds of youth, the intelligence, the reason, the sophisticated minds of youth can be made to ultimately comprehend the glories of the revealed truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I plead for some tolerance in their treatment.”
      • “This is a church of free agency. Man may choose for himself. We are to disseminate the knowledge, that he may choose wisely. When we have done that adequately our duty is performed.”
      • “May we be temperate in our judgments. Sometimes I find myself failing to distinguish between” resentment at the sin and hatred toward the sinner. There is a pronounced distinction. We are not to compromise with truth.”
  • April 1931 General Conference
    • Improvement
      • “We are not perfect. We make no such pretensions, but we are striving to do good. We are striving for betterment and progression, and we are offering to the world the most progressive of all the philosophies and programs which have been offered for the advancement and improvement of individuals, as well as nations and groups.”
  • April 1930 General Conference
    • The Gift of the Gospel
      • “Individual testimony brings a sense of personal responsibility. Every man who has received has felt a duty to give.”
      • “To the poor, they who are so many, the gospel of thrift ; to the rich, who are so few, the gospel of giving; to the intemperate, the gospel of self-control; to the indolent the gospel of work; to the downcast the gospel of hope; to the militant the gospel of peace; to the ignorant freedom from superstition; to the cynical and the wavering a vital, satisfying philosophy; to the sinner the gospel of repentance; and to all faith, purity idealism, happiness and exaltation.”
  • October 1929 General Conference
    • The Youth
      • “Youth should understand that the spirit is the life of man, and the body is its tabernacle; that the tabernacle cannot be polluted or defiled without injuring the spirit, and that the spirit will grow and develop only as the house in which it dwells provides an atmosphere of purity and beauty.”
      • “Play is necessary as work is necessary; that both play and work are to be enjoyed; that service is the pursuit of most lasting satisfaction; that worship is the recreation of the soul.”
  • April 1929 General Conference
    • Tithing
      • “I like to think of the Lord as a partner, because the essence of partnership is a sharing of profits. It is however indispensable in a partnership that there shall also be a sharing of the burdens of the enterprise. The honor and the satisfaction that come to one in realization that he lives his life in partnership with God is to me a lofty and exalting thought. One cannot hope to realize the profits from that venture without bearing his portion of the expense—the giving which is requisite.”
      • “I can scarcely conceive of a man who is honest with his God not being honest with his fellow man.”
  • October 1928 General Conference
    • Reverence
      • “One of the tests of worth is the test of time. Whatever has been tried over a long period of time and not found wanting is worthy of our consideration.”
      • “Reverence is an attitude which shows itself in a deferential behavior.”
      • “I have heard many a parent say: “I want my boy to do what he wants to do.” As for me I want my boy to do what he ought to do. I hope that he will want to do what he ought to do.”
      • “Reverence for God comes of love for God, but love of God arises out of faith in him, and out of an understanding of his greatness, his majesty, his goodness, his kindness and his mercy.”
  • April 1928 General Conference
    • A Message of Joy
      • “It is incumbent upon those who teach the youth to interpret the Gospel for them in such terms that they may see its joys, its encouragements.”
  • October 1927 General Conference
    • The Word of Wisdom
      • “Is it less binding upon us ; does it constrain us the less, because the Lord has said that it is pleasing unto him that we should do; the things here enumerated and avoid the things here enjoined?”
  • April 1927 General Conference
    • On the Right Way
      • “I sometimes think that it is infinitely more important to retain for the Church fine, intelligent men and women, whose fathers and mothers have been associated with the Church, than it is to secure others from distant lands.”
      • “Men today worship at the altar of success pretty much in a godless way. We have come out of the world, it is true, but the world have come in among us.”
  • October 1926 General Conference
    • Thanks and Gratitude
      • “The Lord is good. All his judgments are righteous. He makes no mistakes. Never complain at the judgments of God; never mock him. Always trust him. He will never forsake you. Seek the things of eternity; they are worth while. All other things are of but passing worth and comparatively valueless.”
  • April 1926 General Conference
    • The Priesthood and the Home
      • “This power is to be used, not alone in presiding over the organizations of the Church, and not alone in the administration of the sacred ordinances of the gospel; it is to be used in the administration of our homes. Every man who bears it ought by possession of the power to be a better husband and father.”
  • October 1925 General Conference
    • Testimony
      • “Sometimes I have thought that testimony, this something which has such tremendous force and power in the life of a man, is not uncomparable to those antitoxins which science has discovered to procure immunity from disease.”
      • “Sin is disease and that the testimony of Christ procures immunity from that disease.”
  • April 1925 General Conference
    • A Great People
      • “I believe that without arrogance and undue presumption, I am justified in saying that we are the greatest people on the face of the earth today. I recognize the fact that in making such a statement I should bring myself under some condemnation by those who set themselves up as critics of our work, our faith and our people. The most charitable consideration of them, however, I think is that they do not know and do not understand the genius of our work, and the attitude and spirit of our people.”
      • “We are rich in the love of God, and that is a great source of wealth. I think that is the greatest source of wealth that any people may enjoy.”
  • October 1924 General Conference
    • Cooperation for Good
      • “I am aware that it always seems a highly presumptuous thing to make the statement that here only may be heard the word of God through his living oracles. In a sense it is embarrassing to make that statement, either to ourselves or to the world. We are, however, constrained to make it, because God himself hath said it, and we do but our duty in proclaiming to the children of men that here with this comparably small people is to be found the word of God, delivered to the people of the world, under the only authority existent upon the earth at this time.”
      • “I have long been persuaded that a definite, conscious, genuine reverence for God is essential to the peace and joy of mankind, and I know likewise that no wholesome reverence for the Lord will ever come except there be an understanding and comprehension of him. It follows, too, that there may never be a full understanding of him, his personality, his powers, his attributes, unless men live his commandments and do his will.”
  • April 1924 General Conference
    • Gospel of Joy
      • “A man can, only with the greatest of restraint and of force, take himself out of his environment and stand against the influences inserted against him in society. It is harder for young people than it is for adults to do that, because their natures are more susceptible and impressionable to the influences around about them.”
      • “What we need today is an interpretation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in terms of joyous living. The gospel is not, as many of our young folks think it to be, a hard, a joy-killing rule of life.”
  • October 1923 General Conference
    • The Constitution and the Bible
      • “God is the author of righteousness. The framers of laws have, to a large extent, recognized that doctrine. The gospel is the compilation, the aggregation of all principles of righteousness, and into the form of government which we uphold and support there has been woven the principles of individual and community righteousness which are underlain by truth which emanates from God himself.”
  • April 1923 General Conference
    • Moderation
      • “As I understand it, therefore, it is not only in self denial and in forbearance to purchase the things which we desire, that thrift and economy consists, but in the proper preservation and use of the things with which we are blessed; and I would urge upon my fellow members of the Church a more careful and thoughtful attention to all these various items that go into our economic life and that feature so largely in our successes or in our failures.”
  • October 1922 General Conference
    • Orthodoxy
      • “I am not sympathetic with those who take some degree of pride in saying that they are not orthodox, while they believe in the main the principles of the gospel, they are liberal in their views, and feel at liberty to go beyond the conceptions and regulations which the leaders of the Church have held and sustained from its beginning until the present time. I am orthodox; I am proud to be orthodox. I cannot conceive how one who is impregnated with the great mission of this work in the earth, and who is convinced of its truth and divinity, can be other than orthodox; and when I say I am orthodox, I do not, for one moment, contemplate a situation in which I am not receptive to all good new thought, to the development of true science, and to the extension of the application of the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all circumstances which may arise in life.”
      • “It is one thing to be compassionate and sympathetic with him. who sins; it is another thing to compromise with or to sin, in the least degree, or tolerate sin. A marked distinction should always be drawn between our ideals and the weak human beings who try to live them.”
  • April 1922 General Conference
    • Sustain the Law
      • “I want to appeal for co-operation and support for the municipal authorities of our cities and towns in the enforcement of that legislation which is somewhat paternal, which has for its object the safeguarding of society even though it may not be entirely in consonance with the belief of many men and women as to the proper and legitimate function of the government.”
      • “The Church is not an end in and of itself. The Church is but a great implement to be used by these holy ones, of whom Brother Talmage has spoken, for the enlightenment of the world, for the reclamation of the souls oi men and for the establishment in the hearts of men of the great virtues which go to make character and manhood and womanhood.”
  • October 1921 General Conference
    • Home, The Basic Institution
      • “I believe that the first calling of man and woman is to form a good home. I know of no honor that can come to men and women that exceeds the honor of father and of mother, I regret that not all men who enter into this sacred relationship, which lies at the foundation of home, are real fathers; and I likewise regret that every woman who comes into the temple of the home as its priestess does not in full comprehend the great responsibility and the wonderful, privilege bestowed upon her.”
      • “No man, whatever his accomplishments may be, can, in my judgment, be said to have achieved success in this life if, when he goes hence he may not take his posterity with him, and may not be surrounded by them in the day of the Lord, when he shall be called upon to account for his life in the flesh.”
      • “I believe in home-made men and women. I believe they are more assured of success in life; they will make better citizens; that they will accomplish their destiny far more acceptably to our Father, than will lodge-made and club-made, fraternity-made, union-made, society-made men and women.”
  • April 1921 General Conference
    • Distressing Economic Times
      • “Is not everything that we enjoy a gift of God? Is not all the wealth that comes into our hands to he used by us for the furtherance of his purposes?”
  • October 1920 General Conference
    • Our Relationship with the World
      • “I cannot but think that when the Lord said that we were the salt of the earth, he intended that we should so preserve the great principles of truth committed to our custody that they would not be tainted or polluted by any outside worldly influence; and I regard it as well nigh impossible to keep them in their undefiled purity if we permit an indiscriminate mixture with all the influences and practices and fashions and fads that come into our midst, brought by those who are not of us.”
  • April 1920 General Conference
    • True Happiness and Joy
      • “The gospel of Jesus Christ lays down also the laws which provide for the proper maintenance of our social order. By adherence to its principles man learns, in the first place, his relationship to society; and, in the second place, to act in such manner as to properly discharge his obligations to his fellowman. Every problem that confronts society today has its solution in the application of the simple principles of the gospel to human life and living.”
  • October 1919 General Conference
    • Problems Confronting Our Nation
      • “I take it that there has come, as a natural consequence, from that kind of education, a total disregard for the religious in man’s life. There has come an absolute disregard and disrespect for things divine. God has been left out of consideration; the methods of men alone have prevailed, and everywhere and under all conditions the things that have pertained to this world, the things that have pertained to our temporal life have been made paramount and have predominated over the things that have pertained to our souls and the welfare Of our souls.”
      • “While it may be considered proper for men to organize themselves into clubs and unions and fraternities of one kind and another in order to advance their own selfish interests, I feel constrained to say that in time to come it will prove inimical to the government, and in, time to come these self-same selfish interests Will be against each other. The only way in which a great cause can stand and prevail and persist is that all its adherents shall have an unselfish, altruistic motive in seeking to render service to all and for all. Truth, the great principles of the gospel, the bestowal of the Priesthood itself, teach us that we must serve all and love all, if we shall succeed in God’s work.”
    • True Character Most Valuable
      • “Above all things else, the thing that has been found to be of most value is manhood and womanhood, true character, the genuine quality that goes to make men and women serviceable, useful and efficient.”
      • “Boys, boys, defenders of America, defend yourselves against the incursion of sin, against the ravages of disease, against the temptations and snares of the devil.”
  • June 1919 General Conference
    • Tribute to Joseph F. Smith
      • “I believe that every man and every woman requires an ideal. President Smith was my ideal in so many respects that I have a very large obligation to him for the leading of my life and for the inculcation of the principles which have controlled it.”
  • October 1918 General Conference
    • Obligation to Cultivate the Spiritual
      • “The excellent themes of the gospel, however, can save the souls of men only as they find application in their lives.”
      • “No man can do a bigger thing, nor a better thing in this world, than to save his fellowmen. No man can do a bigger job than to teach boys and girls the principles of truth.”
  • April 1918 General Conference
    • Caring for Children and Youth
      • “There was a time when the amusements and the entertainment among our people were conducted for the benefit of the people themselves. Unfortunately, they have now in some measure, at least in too large a measure, become commercialized, so that the only thing to which attention is paid is the making of money, irrespective of the fact that disgrace and dishonor may be brought upon those who patronize such places.”
      • “When we let them think that it is more important for them to be in fashion and in style than it is for them to keep the commandments of God we are giving them the opportunity of straying away and of becoming estranged from these great truths and from this great plan of life and salvation. And so I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that there never was a time attendant with greater danger to the youth of Israel than the present time.”
      • “Let me caution you never to permit your boys and your girls, if you can help it, to associate with men and women whose influence you are not sure is good.”
      • “There is nothing in this wide world that we need to conserve quite so much as the manhood and the womanhood of the nation. Talk about the value of wheat, talk about the value of war munitions, they don’t compare with the men, and the women, too, who go to make up the state and the nation. You can not have a great nation without great men and women, and while it is not possible for every one of the citizens of a great nation to achieve high places of distinction, this I always remember, as was once said on this subject by a great writer, that while we may not all be Washingtons, we can all be such men and such women as will uphold and sustain a Washington in the path of duty and the way of glory.”
  • October 1917 General Conference
    • Security and Safety
      • “We all seek after eternal life. It is the greatest gift that God can give to men. We pray for it; we work for it; and I believe, my brethren and sisters, that we are doing the things that will bring it to us. Our lives are being conformed, to the life of the Master. There is encouragment wherever one goes in the land of the Saints. On every hand are the evidences, the indisputable evidences of the love of men for God, in the love of men for men, and it is our service to these children of men, no matter how humble they are, no matter how insignificant in the world they may seem to be, that will be accepted by God as our service for him. We can’t help him. He is beyond any help that we can give to him, but we can help his children; we can work for them; we can love them; and we can persuade them with the help of God to live good lives and to come nearer to him, that they may eventually come back into his presence.”
      • “He who serves God’s children in God’s name is doing the greatest service for the Master that can be done.”
  • April 1917 General Conference
    • The Laws of the Gospel
      • “Our religion is not a thing apart from our life. It is incorporated in it, and forms a part of the very tissue and sinews of our being. It provides a rule of conduct and of action for us, not only in our occasional worship but in our lives, in our work, in our play, in all that we do in the whole course of our conduct. It is this intense practicality of it that appeals to me as its greatest strength, constituting its greatest salvation for the human family. There has been in times past, to my thinking, too much of Sunday religion. There is comparatively too much of that notion that our religious views are to be considered separate and apart from the lives we live, and that has led to a devitalization of the religion which has been professed by Christianity.”
      • “Within the purview of the gospel, there has been given to us, as I view it, a remedy for every ill, a precaution for every evil into which we might fall, and a safeguard against all harm.”
      • “If you would build a home filled with love and charity and divine affection, you can go to no place that will give you a more adequate conception of the proper way to rear and maintain a family, of the proper way to lay the foundations of a home than among the Latter-day Saints.”
      • “I tell you a great nation can no more exist without good homes than it can exist without the loyalty and patriotism of a devoted citizenship.”
      • “That to me is one of the greatest blessings which comes to Latter-day Saints, for no matter how engrossed we may be in our life’s work, no matter how intensely interesting it may become to us, we still see above the petty things of life, with which we are so engaged from time to time, and we see the eternal purposes of God being worked out in all our workaday world, and it gives us hope and encouragement and faith and strength to go forth and to devote and consecrate our lives, by doing whatever little duty we may, to God and the accomplishment of his purposes.”
      • “So far as I know there is nothing worth striving for, there is nothing of truth, there is nothing of true beauty, of refinement, of culture, that may not be had within our own Church, within the principles and ordinances of the gospel itself.”

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