SPENCER W. KIMBALL
12th President of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(December 30, 1973 – November 5, 1985)

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (July 7, 1972 – December 30, 1973)

Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (October 7, 1943 – December 30, 1973)

General Conference Addresses

  • October 1982 General Conference
    • The Lord Expects Righteousness
      • “There seems to be a general state of wickedness in the world in these perilous yet crucially momentous days. But in the midst of all the turmoil about us, we can have an inner peace.”
      • “The leaders of the Church continually cry out against that which is intolerable in the sight of the Lord: against pollution of mind and body and our surroundings; against vulgarity, stealing, lying, cheating, false pride, blasphemy, and drunkenness; against fornication, adultery, homosexuality, abortion; and all other abuses of the sacred power to create; against murder and all that is like unto it; against all manner of degradation and sin.”
  • April 1982 General Conference
    • Remember the Mission of the Church
      • “Love one another, brothers and sisters! Have love in your homes and in your hearts! Be peacemakers even though we must live in a world filled with wars and rumors of wars!”
  • April 1981 General Conference
    • A Report of My Stewardship
      • “This has been a busy but enjoyable and fruitful six months, during which we have traveled some fifty thousand miles by air. We are grateful to the Lord as he has blessed us, and we have observed the vitality and progress of the Church in many parts of the world. Wherever we have gone, we have been thrilled and humbled by the love and devotion of the members of the Church.”
    • Rendering Service to Others
      • “The consolidated meeting schedule was implemented largely in order to provide several more Sabbath hours for families. Therefore, take time to be together as families to converse with one another, to study the scriptures, to visit friends, relatives, and the sick and lonely. This is also an excellent time to work on your journals and genealogy.”
    • We Are on the Lord’s Errand
      • “Always remember that if this were not the Lord’s work, the adversary would not pay any attention to us. If this Church were merely a church of men and women, teaching only the doctrines of men, we would encounter little or no criticism or resistance—but because this is the Church of Him whose name it bears, we must not be surprised when criticisms or difficulties arise. With faith and good works, the truth will prevail. This is His work. There is none other like it. Let us, therefore, press forward, lengthening our stride and rejoicing in our blessings and opportunities.”
    • Follow the Fundamentals
      • “Few miracles in our history exceed that of establishing our settlements in a desolate land no one else wanted and then making the desert blossom as a rose. Our people not only survived but flourished because of their faith and their family solidarity. Our pioneer character was molded in the crucible of hard work, sacrifice, pulling together, and depending upon the Lord.”
  • October 1980 General Conference
    • Families Can Be Eternal
      • “From the beginning, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has emphasized family life. We have always understood that the foundations of the family, as an eternal unit, were laid even before this earth was created! Society without basic family life is without foundation and will disintegrate into nothingness. Therefore, whenever anything so basic as the eternal family is imperiled, we have a solemn obligation to speak out, lest there be critical damage to the family institution by those who seem to be deliberately destructive of it.”
      • “The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.”
      • “We of all people, brothers and sisters, should not be taken in by the specious arguments that the family unit is somehow tied to a particular phase of development a mortal society is going through. We are free to resist those moves which downplay the significance of the family and which play up the significance of selfish individualism. We know the family to be eternal. We know that when things go wrong in the family, things go wrong in every other institution in society.”
      • “The decline in many of our families is occurring at a time when the nations of the world are moving into some of the most difficult times known.”
      • “Permissiveness will not pull us through such crises. Materialism will not sustain us, for moth and rust will still lay waste and corrupt all mortal treasures.”
      • “Our political institutions—parliaments, congresses, and assemblies—cannot rescue us if our basic institution, the family, is not intact. Peace treaties cannot save us when there is hostility instead of love in the home. Unemployment programs cannot rescue us when many are no longer taught how to work or do not have the opportunity to work or the inclination, in some cases, to do so. Law enforcement cannot safeguard us if too many people are unwilling to discipline themselves or be disciplined.”
      • “Rising generations who have been taught that authority and loving discipline are wrong will not keep the fifth commandment, honoring their fathers and mothers. How can the rising generations honor their parents if their parents have dishonored themselves—especially by breaking the seventh commandment?”
    • Ministering to the Needs of Members
      • “We are rightly known as a chapel-building people. I hope we will become even better known as a family-building people. Do not neglect your own families, brethren.”
    • Do Not Weary by the Way
      • “The Lord’s program will succeed even if some individuals in the Church fail. We will see the constant progress of the Lord’s work, even in the midst of problems in the world. It will roll forth until it fills the whole earth. He has given us his assurances so many, many times. He has told us that if we will keep his commandments he is bound to keep his promises to us. He does! He will!”
    • The Law of Tithing
      • “We have uniformly replied that the simplest statement we know of is the statement of the Lord himself, namely, that the members of the Church should pay “one-tenth of all their interest annually” which is understood to mean income.”
      • “At times when we are inclined to think it is vain to serve the Lord, we should stir our faith, believe in the rich promises of God, and obey—and patiently wait. The Lord will fulfill all his rich promises to us.”
    • Learn—Then Teach
      • “My dear sisters, stay close to the Church, all of you. Follow its prophets, so that you do not lose your way and so that you can help to guide back any of those who may have lost their way. Love and care for your families and be sure to hold your family home evenings regularly, every week. Home is a place of peace and love and caring. Be good neighbors as well, so that even if the love of many in the world waxes cold, your families and your neighbors are not deprived of your ministry and compassionate service. Continue to be good wives and mothers, daughters and sisters, so that even if love and peace diminish in the world, there is still peace and love in your homes.”
      • “Let other women pursue blindly what they selfishly perceive as their interests. But you, my dear sisters, can be a much-needed force for love and truth and righteous example on this earth.”
  • April 1980 General Conference
    • No Unhallowed Hand Can Stop the Work
      • “Do not falter nor be distressed when others misrepresent us, sometimes deliberately and sometimes in ignorance. This has been the lot of the Lord’s people from the beginning, and it will be no different in our time.”
    • Introduction to the Proclamation
      • “On that historic Tuesday of April 6, 1830, one and a half centuries ago, six men from those assembled in this house organized the Church as a religious society. Three of the descendants of those men are here with us today—Sister Lorena Horner Normandeau, a great-granddaughter of Joseph Smith; Eldred G. Smith, a second great-grandson of Hyrum Smith; and Melvin Thomas Smith, a great-grandson of Samuel Harrison Smith.”
    • Remarks and Dedication of the Fayette, New York, Buildings
      • “That is my witness to all within the sound of my voice. He is risen! He lived. He died. He was resurrected—the Son of God, who opened the door of immortality to all men and the blessings of eternal life to those who live his commandments. Of his reality and divinity, I add my solemn testimony this beautiful Easter Sabbath.”
    • Let Us Not Weary in Well Doing
      • “One cannot study the history of the Church without being impressed with how steadfast the majority of the Saints have always been in the midst of difficulty. I sense that same steadfastness in the Church today. Our members know their Lord. They know his leaders. They know their Master’s voice and follow it. They do not follow strange voices nor the spurious enticements of strangers.”
    • A Deep Commitment to the Principles of Welfare Service
      • “Nearly every family in the Church is feeling the effects of worldwide inflation in one way or another. May I remind all of us that if we will live the gospel and follow the counsel of the leaders of the Church, we will be blessed to avoid many of the problems that plague the world. The Lord knows the challenges we face. If we keep his commandments, we will be entitled to the wisdom and blessings of heaven in solving them.”
  • October 1979 General Conference
    • “We Need a Listening Ear”
      • “Some things are best prayed over only in private, where time and confidentiality are not considerations. If in these special moments of prayer we hold back from the Lord, it may mean that some blessings may be withheld from us. After all, we pray as petitioners before an all-wise Heavenly Father, so why should we ever think to hold back feelings or thoughts which bear upon our needs and our blessings? We hope that our people will have very bounteous prayers.”
      • “Living the completely chaste life, committing no adultery or fornication, being completely true to one’s spouse, and honoring the marriage covenant would rid the world of the ravages of the ugly, painful, and costly venereal diseases. It would strengthen the home, abolish the evils of divorce, and eliminate the necessity for the calamity of unwarranted abortions—one of the major evils of our day.”
    • Our Sisters in the Church
      • “Our wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends are all the spirit children of our Heavenly Father. I hope we will always bear that in mind, my brothers, in terms of how we treat women. The sisters in this dispensation include many of the most noble daughters of our Heavenly Father. Let us always remember that God is no respecter of persons, but he loves us all, men and women, boys and girls, with a perfect love.”
      • “Sometimes we hear disturbing reports about how sisters are treated. Perhaps when this happens, it is a result of insensitivity and thoughtlessness, but it should not be, brethren. The women of this Church have work to do which, though different, is equally as important as the work that we do. Their work is, in fact, the same basic work that we are asked to do—even though our roles and assignments differ.”
      • “Our sisters do not wish to be indulged or to be treated condescendingly; they desire to be respected and revered as our sisters and our equals. I mention all these things, my brethren, not because the doctrines or the teachings of the Church regarding women are in any doubt, but because in some situations our behavior is of doubtful quality.”
    • “Give Me This Mountain”
      • “Humbly, I give this pledge to the Lord and to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, fellow workers in this sacred cause of Christ: I will go forward, with faith in the God of Israel, knowing that he will guide and direct us, and lead us, finally, to the accomplishment of his purposes and to our promised land and our promised blessings.”
  • April 1979 General Conference
    • Fortify Your Homes against Evil
      • “We again are reemphasizing, however, that the greatest blessing we can give our own children and that can be extended to all the children of the world will come through the simple processes of teaching and training them in the way of the Lord.”
      • “Home life, proper teaching in the home, parental guidance and leadership—these are the panacea for the ailments of the world and its children. They are the cure for spiritual and emotional diseases and the remedy for its problems. Parents should not leave the training of children to others.”
      • “Selfishness is an element that breaks and corrodes and destroys marriages as it destroys lives and all that is good. It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so. It is a crime next to murder itself to destroy and abort the fetus except for extreme reasons which would endanger the life of the mother.”
    • Preparing for Service in the Church
      • “Young children are just as much entitled to the blessings of the Lord as are their parents. Joseph Smith was only fourteen years of age when the Father and the Son appeared to him to usher in this dispensation. He was seventeen when Moroni visited him and revealed to him the hiding place of the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated.”
      • “Young people should study the gospel, prepare themselves for service in the Church, and keep the commandments as diligently as it is possible to do.”
    • Let Us Move Forward and Upward
      • “The encroachment of the world into our lives is threatening. How hard it seems to many people to live in the world but not of the world.”
      • “The gospel gives purpose to our lives. It is the way to happiness. Our success, individually and as a church, will largely be determined by how faithfully we focus on living the gospel in the home.”
      • “Now the Lord has said that to every man, woman, and child in this congregation and in this world who has joined his church: “Lovest thou me?” Then show me! Show me: feed my sheep. We have in many of the lands of this world large, fast-growing, delightful, wonderful congregations; and we say to you again that the Lord is saying, “Feed my sheep.” And he knows whether we are or not. He knows all the time. We don’t need to put it into words; we don’t need to express that for ourselves. All we need to do is to feed his sheep.”
    • Applying the Principles of Welfare Services
      • “My father practiced what he preached. He didn’t just tell others to be self-reliant; we were taught to exemplify it as a family. We raised almost all of our own food. He always wanted a garden—he wanted a garden to eat from and a garden to smell. I used to pump the water by hand to water the garden, and also I learned to milk the cows, prune the fruit trees, mend the fences, and all the rest. I had two older brothers, who, I was convinced, took all the easy jobs and left me all the hard ones. But I don’t complain; it made me strong.”
      • “May I conclude by once again reminding us that we are not about our work or any work but the Lord’s work. We are building his kingdom. We are privileged to be members thereof. As such we are under obligation to the dictates of the Lord.”
  • October 1978 General Conference
    • Privileges and Responsibilities of the Sisters
      • “My dear sisters, choose to keep the commandments of God. For men, for women, for young, for old, this is the secret to happiness, here and hereafter. Keeping them with self-mastery and personal discipline allows the real freedoms that exalt and sustain us. The basic commandments are as simple as they are true: the Ten Commandments as given by God to Moses and the addition to them of what the Savior said—to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, might and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.”
      • “Be chaste and do everything in your power to help others to be. Be so absorbed with uplifting, enriching pursuits and pastimes that you leave no room for the negative or the evil that might move in to fill some bored or thoughtless void.”
      • “The words of all inspired prophets will teach you that violations of the law of chastity are sins in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. It is a transgression to be involved in any illicit sex activity such as fornication or adultery. It is a transgression to become involved in lesbianism or to engage in any lustful activity.”
      • “In a true marriage there must be a union of minds as well as of hearts. Emotions must not wholly determine decisions, but the mind and the heart, strengthened by fasting and prayer and serious consideration, will give one a maximum chance of marital happiness.”
      • “We have no choice, dear sisters, but to continue to hold up the ideal of the Latter-day Saint family. The fact that some do not now have the privilege of living in such a family is not reason enough to stop talking about it. We do discuss family life with sensitivity, however, realizing that many sisters do not presently have the privilege of belonging or contributing to such a family. But we cannot set aside this standard, because so many other things depend upon it.”
    • The Fruit of Our Welfare Services Labors
      • “We have been attempting to get our welfare services house in order for forty-two years. We have come a long way, but there remains much to be done. In many parts of the Church, stakes and wards are just getting underway in implementing their welfare services. To them we say: Do things in order and the Lord will prosper you. In other parts of the Church, welfare services is flourishing. But regardless of whether, in your particular stake, you are just beginning or have fully implemented the system, I feel it timely to talk about the fruit of our welfare labors.”
    • An Eternal Hope in Christ
      • “We are eternal beings. We have no way of comprehending how long we dwelt in the presence of God as his spirit children. We are here in mortality for a moment of testing and trial. Then we will come forth in the resurrection, receive an inheritance in whatever kingdom we deserve, and go on living the commandments to all eternity.”
    • Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live
      • “Let our homes be filled with praise and commendation for all those of our household. Let us also, brethren, not get so concerned with our priesthood peers, those men we are associated with in our church assignments, that we neglect our eternal companions, for our association with our wives will be forever.”
    • Hold Fast to the Iron Rod
      • “Godlessness seems to reign everywhere. Satan is unfettered apparently. We have previously said that the growing permissiveness in modern society gravely concerns us.”
      • “We, too, are faced with powerful, destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful.”
      • “Kindness, helpfulness, love, concern, generosity—we could go on for the list of virtues is endless. The development of these traits is what the Lord asks of us.”
  • April 1978 General Conference
    • The True Way of Life and Salvation
      • “The home is the seedbed of Saints. There are not enough good homes. Children still come to some homes where they will be abused, not loved, and not taught the truth.”
      • “Women also have a claim on their husbands for respect, fidelity, and thoughtfulness for in that subtle, sweet relationship that should obtain between men and women, there is partnership with the priesthood.”
    • Strengthening the Family—the Basic Unit of the Church
      • “My beloved brethren, as I close I bear testimony to you that I hold the priesthood. You hold the priesthood. This is the priesthood that Elijah held, and the prophets Peter, James, and John also. They and their associates held the priesthood. But without the sealing power we could do nothing, for there would be no validity to that which we do. That’s the thing that counts. That is why Elijah came. That is why Moses came, for he conferred upon the head of Peter, James, and John in that dispensation these privileges and these powers, these keys, that they might go forth and perform this labor.”
    • Listen to the Prophets
      • “The holy prophets have not only refused to follow erroneous human trends, but have pointed out these errors. No wonder the response to the prophets has not always been one of indifference. So often the prophets have been rejected because they first rejected the wrong ways of their own society.”
      • “The prophets have always been free from the evil of their times, free to be divine auditors who will still call fraud, fraud; embezzlement, embezzlement; and adultery, adultery.”
      • “Honest toil in subduing sagebrush, taming deserts, channeling rivers, helps to take the wildness out of man’s environment but also out of him. The disdain for work among some today may merely signal the return of harshness and wildness—perhaps not to our landscape but to some people. The dignity and self-esteem that honest work produces are essential to happiness. It is so easy for leisure to turn into laziness.”
      • “Far from freeing those involved, sin is an admission of surrender to the herd. It is a capitulation to the carnal in man and a rejection of joy and beauty in this life and in the world to come. Because sin is such sadness, the righteous do not stress an attitude of “I told you so”—because the righteous, in their love, truly wish they had been more effective in communication and in testifying so that there could be less misery and more happiness in the world. No wonder we who bear the plan of salvation feel a special urgency in sharing the gospel, because we love our own neighbor. May God help us in the opportunities which are ours to live righteously as a way of witnessing to the world, to speak out humbly but forthrightly, to lead out effectively and thoughtfully, ever using the gospel of Jesus Christ as our constant guide.”
    • Becoming the Pure in Heart
      • “May we be on guard against accepting worldly substitutes for the plan to care for his poor in this, the Lord’s own way. As we hear talk of governmental welfare reforms and its myriads of problems, let us remember the covenants we have made to bear one another’s burdens and to succor each according to his need.”
      • “We must eliminate the individual tendency to selfishness that snares the soul, shrinks the heart, and darkens the mind.”
  • October 1977 General Conference
    • The Foundations of Righteousness
      • “Some are inclined toward formal university training, and some are inclined more toward the practical vocational training. We feel that our people should receive that kind of training which is most consistent with their interests and talents. Whether it be in the professions, the arts, or the vocations; whether it be university or vocational training, we applaud and encourage it.”
      • “The growing permissiveness in modern society gravely concerns us. Certainly our Heavenly Father is distressed with the increasing inroads among his children of such insidious sins as adultery and fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, abortions, pornography, population control, alcoholism, cruelty expressed in wife-beating and child-abuse, dishonesty, vandalism, violence, and crime generally, including the sin of living together without marriage.”
      • “We call upon our Church members everywhere to renew their efforts to strengthen the home and to honor their parents, and to build better communications between parent and child.”
      • “We hear more and more each day about the sins of adultery, homosexuality, and lesbianism. Homosexuality is an ugly sin, but because of its prevalence, the need to warn the uninitiated, and the desire to help those who may already be involved with it, it must be brought into the open.”
      • “It is the sin of the ages. It was present in Israel’s wandering as well as after and before. It was tolerated by the Greeks. It was prevalent in decaying Rome. The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are symbols of wretched wickedness more especially related to this perversion, as the incident of Lot’s visitors indicates.”
      • “There is today a strong clamor to make such practices legal by passing legislation. Some would also legislate to legalize prostitution. They have legalized abortion, seeking to remove from this heinous crime the stigma of sin.”
      • “We do not hesitate to tell the world that the cure for these evils is not in surrender.”
    • The Power of Forgiveness
      • “Hard to do? Of course. The Lord never promised an easy road, nor a simple gospel, nor low standards, nor a low norm. The price is high, but the goods attained are worth all they cost. The Lord himself turned the other cheek; he suffered himself to be buffeted and beaten without remonstrance; he suffered every indignity and yet spoke no word of condemnation. And his question to all of us is: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?” And his answer to us is: “Even as I am.””
      • “If we have been wronged or injured, forgiveness means to blot it completely from our minds. To forgive and forget is an ageless counsel. “To be wronged or robbed,” said the Chinese philosopher Confucius, “is nothing unless you continue to remember it.””
      • “Now we come to a realization that the kingdom of God and the church of Jesus Christ constitute a world church. It is fast coming to have world dominion. We, its members, must learn to contain ourselves and love all mankind, all our brothers and sisters of every nation and clime. Certainly we shall be wholly without enmity or grudge or ill feeling. We must forgive to be forgiven. Let God be the righteous judge.”
    • Jesus the Christ
      • “This has been a great conference and as each one of these wonderful sermons has been rendered I’ve listened with great attention, and I have made up my mind that I shall go home and be a greater man than I have ever been before. I have listened to all the instructions and the suggestions, and I am hoping that every person who has heard them has done likewise. We have heard many things, all in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ. They have been beautifully given by men who are dedicated to the service of the Lord. I urge you to take much thought in your return home from this conference and think again of the things that have been brought to your attention; and so far as they approach your life in any way, see if you can use them to bring you back—all of us—toward the perfection which the Lord has asked of us.”
    • Welfare Services: The Gospel in Action
      • “There is no mistaking their intent; and while often seen as temporal in nature, clearly we must understand that this work is spiritual at heart! It is people-centered and God-inspired.”
      • “Work brings happiness, self-esteem, and prosperity. It is the means of all accomplishment; it is the opposite of idleness. We are commanded to work.”
  • April 1977 General Conference
    • The Lord Expects His Saints to Follow the Commandments
      • “God does what he promises, and many of us continue to defile the Sabbath day.”
      • “Certainly many of us know better than we do. Is this a time to terminate adultery and homosexual and lesbian activities, and return to faith and worthiness? Is this a time to end our heedless pornographies? Is this the time to set our face firmly against unholy and profane things, and whoredoms, irregularities, and related matters? Is the time to enter new life?”
    • Our Great Potential
      • “God has taken these intelligences, given to them spirit bodies, and given them instructions and training. Then he proceeded to create a world for them and sent them as spirits to obtain a mortal body, for which he made preparation. And when they were upon the earth, he gave them instructions on how to go about developing and conducting their lives to make them perfect, so they could return to their Father in heaven after their transitions. Then came the periods of time when souls were to be placed upon the earth and born to parents who were permitted to furnish the bodies. But no parent has ever yet on this earth been the parent of a spirit, because we are so far yet from perfection. Remember what was said a while ago, that “As man is, God once was; and as God is, man may become.” They came with the definite understanding that they could return to become like God and go forward in their great development and progress.”
    • Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets
      • “Of all things, that for which we should be most grateful today is that the heavens are indeed open and that the restored church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the rock of revelation. Continuous revelation is indeed the very lifeblood of the gospel of the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
      • “However, it is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright his children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.”
      • “Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is continuous, and light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been no interruption.”
  • October 1976 General Conference
    • A Report and a Challenge
      • “And so we say to you: Teach your children to avoid smut as the plague it is. As citizens, join in the fight against obscenity in your communities. Do not be lulled into inaction by the pornographic profiteers who say that to remove obscenity is to deny people the rights of free choice. Do not let them masquerade licentiousness as liberty.”
      • “Abortion, the taking of life, is one of the most grievous of sins. We have repeatedly affirmed the position of the Church in unalterably opposing all abortions, except in two rare instances: When conception is the result of forcible rape and when competent medical counsel indicates that a mother’s health would otherwise be seriously jeopardized.”
      • “In family life, men must and should be considerate of their wives, not only in the bearing of children, but in caring for them through childhood. The mother’s health must be conserved, and the husband’s consideration for his wife is his first duty, and self-control a dominant factor in all their relationships.”
    • Our Own Liahona
      • “We hope that you who teach in the various organizations, whether on the campuses or in our chapels, will always teach the orthodox truth. We warn you against the dissemination of doctrines which are not according to the scriptures and which are alleged to have been taught by some of the General Authorities of past generations.”
      • “You must realize that you have something like the compass, like the Liahona, in your own system. Every child is given it. When he is eight years of age, he knows good from evil, if his parents have been teaching him well. If he ignores the Liahona that he has in his own makeup, he eventually may not have it whispering to him. But if we will remember that everyone of us has the thing that will direct him aright, our ship will not get on the wrong course and suffering will not happen and bows will not break and families will not cry for food—if we listen to the dictates of our own Liahona, which we call the conscience.”
    • A Program for Man
      • “As we close this great conference, I again implore the hearer of these messages to do the things which the Lord says and which have been so clearly outlined during this conference.”
      • “I know without question that God lives and have a feeling of sorrow for those people in the world who live in the gray area of doubt, who do not have such an assurance.”
    • Loving One Another
      • “Idleness is of the devil, and we are not kind to our children when we become affluent and take from them their labors, their opportunities to serve and to be trained and to do things for themselves and for others.”
  • April 1976 General Conference
    • The Stone Cut without Hands
      • “Someone has said, “Nobody ever lost his shirt when his sleeves were rolled up.” Too much leisure for children leaves them in a state of boredom, and it is natural for them to want more and more of the expensive things for their recreation. We must bring dignity to labor in sharing the responsibilities of the home and the yard.”
      • “Prophets say the same things because we face basically the same problems. Brothers and sisters, the solutions to these problems have not changed. It would be a poor lighthouse that gave off a different signal to guide every ship entering a harbor. It would be a poor mountain guide who, knowing the safe route up a mountainside, took his trusting charges up unpredictable and perilous paths from which no traveler returns.”
      • “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830 after numerous revelations from the divine source; and this is the kingdom, set up by the God of heaven, that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and would fill the whole earth.”
      • “We give these truths to you, not in arrogance or worldly pride, but with a deep sincerity and a kindly offer—the gospel without price, the gospel of truth, the gospel of salvation and exaltation.”
    • Boys Need Heroes Close By
      • “Please do your duties as citizens of your communities, states, and nations. Uphold and sustain the law. Work within the law to be an influence for that which is good, as the Prophet Joseph Smith counseled us.”
      • “Please avoid, even by implication, involving the Church in political issues. It is so easy, if we are not careful, to project our personal preferences as the position of the Church on an issue.”
    • Seeking Eternal Riches
      • “We, the members of the Church, proclaim our liberty and our renewal of our faith and our assurance that we do have control in our own families and can rear our children to love truth and to be happy in the deathless dignity of man, governed by the eternal and moral laws of God.”
      • “The enemies of faith know no God but force, no devotion but the use of force. They tutor men in treason; they feed upon the hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially the truth. So we move forward, all the earth around, with clear vision and sound judgment and rededicate our homes and our families to high moral and spiritual values.”
    • Family Preparedness
      • “As we become more affluent and our bank accounts enlarge, there comes a feeling of security, and we feel sometimes that we do not need the supply that has been suggested by the Brethren. It lies there and deteriorates, we say. And suppose it does? We can reestablish it. We must remember that conditions could change and a year’s supply of basic commodities could be very much appreciated by us or others.”
      • “We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities.”
      • “We encourage all Latter-day Saint families to become self-reliant and independent. The greatness of a people and of a nation begins in the home. Let us dedicate ourselves to strengthening and beautifying the home in every way we can.”
      • “Through the ages there have been many laws repealed, but we know of no divine repeal of the law of work. From the obscure life organs within the body to the building of the moon landing craft, work is one of the conditions of being alive. We have been told that everyday work is a purposeful activity requiring an expenditure of energy with some sacrifice of leisure.”
  • October 1975 General Conference
    • The Time to Labor Is Now
      • “We mention another matter of importance. We note that in our Christian world in many places we still have business establishments open for business on the sacred Sabbath. We are sure the cure of this lies in ourselves, the buying public. Certainly the stores and business houses would not remain open if we, the people, failed to purchase from them. Will you all please reconsider this matter. Take it to your home evenings and discuss it with your children. It would be wonderful if every family determined that henceforth no Sabbath purchase would be made.”
      • “When we love the Lord, why do we still break his laws? We implore you, then, earnestly, to discontinue the purchase of things on the Sabbath day.”
      • “We decry divorce and feel that there are relatively few divorces which are justifiable. Great care should be taken in forming marriage alliances; then both parties should do their utmost to keep these marriages happy ones. This can be done.”
      • “We decry abortions and ask our people to refrain from this serious transgression.”
      • “Sin is still sin and always will be. We stand for a life of cleanliness. From childhood through youth and to the grave, we proclaim the wickedness of sexual life of any kind before marriage, and we proclaim that every one in marriage should hold himself or herself to the covenants that were made.”
    • The Privilege of Holding the Priesthood
      • “I am wondering how many of you know the Articles of Faith? How many of you big men, as well as the little men? Do you know them? Have you repeated them? You are always prepared with a sermon when you know the Articles of Faith. And they are basic, aren’t they? I would think it would be a wonderful thing if all the boys, as they learn them, would learn them word perfect. That means that you don’t miss and you don’t forget.”
      • “Brethren, it is really something to hold the priesthood—to hold this advancing priesthood from deacon to teacher to priest—and then to hold the priesthood which is permanent, permanent as long as we are worthy of it and which can be our shield and our way unto the eternal worlds. I pray the Lord will bless us that we may never consider it a common, ordinary thing to just be an elder—“He is only an elder.” “He is only a seventy.” “He is only a high priest.” To be a high priest, a high priest, is really something in the life of any man. And to consider it less than unusual and wonderful would be to not understand the blessings that have been given.”
    • Spoken from Their Hearts
      • “Well, now, brothers and sisters, this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to all who are listening in, we have not been fooling. What we have said to you in these three days is truth, downright truth, and it has a definite bearing upon the salvation and exaltation of every soul that could listen and hear.”
      • “This is the gospel of Christ. He is our Lord. This is a Christian church. We follow him. We love him. We praise him. We glorify him. And now we must go forward and follow him in every detail. The gospel has been restored. It is here for us in all its fulness. Never before has it been so full and so complete, so comprehensive, never before that we know of in the world. And here it is, available to us and available to millions of people, some of whom are listening. We hope they will not make the mistake of casting it aside or ignoring it. God bless you who have been listening.”
  • April 1975 General Conference
    • “Why Call Ye Me Lord, Lord, and Do Not the Things Which I Say?”
      • “We make a conscientious effort to look out for our own members, and we teach them to practice economy, to store a year’s supply of basic commodities.”
      • “We fear that never in the history of the world have there ever been so many more people bowing to the god of lust than there were bowing to golden calves and the images of wood and stone and metal. This idolatry, so closely associated with the destruction of mind and body, could inundate the world. We note the great increase in divorces. We disavow them. We sorrow with them, realizing that if there are justifiable ones, the justifiable ones are few. Generally, divorce is spelled SELFISHNESS on the part of one party, generally both. It is ugly and generally most destructive for the people concerned, in their loss, their sorrow, their loneliness and frustration, particularly with the many children who are greatly deprived. It is easy to rationalize and justify the divorce. Our study reveals the fact that all too often it is because of their immoralities and their idolatrous worship of the god of lust.”
    • To Bear the Priesthood Worthily
      • “We are concerned that too many times the interviewing leader in his personal sympathies for the transgressor, and in his love perhaps for the family of the transgressor, is inclined to waive the discipline which that transgressor demands.”
      • “Too often a transgressor is forgiven and all penalties waived when that person should have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated. Too often a sinner is disfellowshipped when he or she should have been excommunicated. Remember that President Taylor said you will have to carry that sin yourself. Are you willing to do it, brethren?”
      • “It is so easy to let our sympathies carry us out of proportion; and when a man has committed sin, he must suffer. It is an absolute requirement—not by the bishop—but it is a requirement by nature and by the very part of a man. This discipline is especially applicable to adults and married people and more especially to those who have been to the temple. They must understand that they cannot tamper with the holy laws of God.”
    • Why Do We Continue to Tolerate Sin?
      • “We know that it is true. We testify that to all the world. We hope that they will set aside any prejudices they might have had, or misconceptions, and that they might come to the fold of Jesus Christ where it is pure and undefiled.”
      • “Now, my brothers and sisters, as we close this conference, we hope you return to your homes with new spirituality to a greater degree, that you will take to your families, to your friends, to your wards and stakes and branches the testimonies that you have received and the good feelings that have come into your hearts as you have listened to the Brethren as they spoke and bore witness.”
    • Address Given by President Spencer W. Kimball at Welfare Services Session
      • “Well I am sure that there are ways and means. I want to mention a story I have told about Uncle Golden. You have heard about my Uncle J. Golden Kimball, who was a rather interesting person. I don’t think it is true, but it was told of him that his creditors kept coming and bothering him all the time and they wanted payments on their accounts. And he began to get a little tired of it, and he said, “Now listen here, fellows. You know the way I handle my accounts. I take all of the bills at the end of the month and I put them in the waste basket. Then I stir them around and if I see one that looks good and I can I’ll pay it. But,” he said, “if you don’t quit bothering me I won’t even put yours in the waste basket.””
  • October 1974 General Conference
    • God Will Not Be Mocked
      • “It is ridiculous to imply that pornography has no effect. There is a definite relationship to crime. Murder, robbery, rape, prostitution, and commercialized vice are fed on this immorality. Sex statistics seem to reflect a relationship between crime and pornography.”
      • “More than a million American women each year resort to illegitimate abortions. This is one of the most despicable of all sins—to destroy an unborn child to save one from embarrassment or to save one’s face or comfort.”
      • “God made man in his own image, male and female made he them. With relatively few accidents of nature, we are born male or female. The Lord knew best. Certainly, men and women who would change their sex status will answer to their Maker.”
      • “The earth cannot justify nor continue its life without marriage and the family. Sex without marriage, for all people, young or older, is an abomination to the Lord, and it is most unfortunate that many people have blinded their eyes to these great truths.”
      • “May we repeat: Sex perversions of men and women can never replenish the earth and are definitely sin without excuse, and rationalizations are very weak; God will not tolerate it.”
      • “Remember, God is in his heavens. He knew what he was doing when he organized the earth. He knows what he is doing now. Those of us who break his commandments will regret and suffer in remorse and pain. God will not be mocked. Man has his free agency, it is sure, but remember, GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED.”
    • The Davids and the Goliaths
      • “This is also true as to your missionary work. If your little brothers see you faithful in seminary and institute and that you have the right attitudes and that you are preparing yourself to fill a mission, their thoughts will be along the same line.”
      • “I remind you young men that regardless of your present age, you are building your life; it will be cheap and shoddy or it will be valuable and beautiful; it will be full of constructive activities or it can be destructive; it can be full of joy and happiness, or it can be full of misery. It all depends upon you and your attitudes, for your altitude, or the height you climb, is dependent upon your attitude or your response to situations.”
      • “Now, my young brothers, remember that every David has a Goliath to defeat, and every Goliath can be defeated. He may not be a bully who fights with fists or sword or gun. He may not even be flesh and blood. He may not be nine feet tall; he may not be armor-protected, but every boy has his Goliaths. And every boy has his sling, and every boy has access to the brook with its smooth stones.”
      • “And you, my fine young men, must not be just average. Your lives must be clean and free from all kinds of evil thoughts or acts—no lying, no theft, no anger, no faithlessness, no failure to do that which is right, no sexual sins of any kind, at any time.”
    • Ocean Currents and Family Influences
      • “Accordingly, if we can create in our families a strong, steady current flowing toward our goal of righteous life, we and our children may be carried forward in spite of the contrary winds of hardship, disappointment, temptations, and fashion.”
      • “Analysts of our modern time point out that in a fast-changing world, people suffer a kind of shock from losing a sense of continuity. The very mobility of our society means that our children are often moved from place to place and lose close contact with the extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and longtime neighbors. It is important for us also to cultivate in our own family a sense that we belong together eternally, that whatever changes outside our home, there are fundamental aspects of our relationship which will never change.”
      • “There is one important way in which we are different from icebergs. We have motive power and are therefore able, the same as with ships, to move ourselves as we want to go. If we are aware of the currents, we can take advantage of them.”
    • Address Given by President Spencer W. Kimball at Welfare Services Meeting
      • “And that is true, brethren and sisters. In my feeling, the gospel is the answer to all the problems of the world, if we go deeply enough and all are united in solving them. And that is why we work harder in missionary work, so that we can gradually bring the gospel to all the people, this part of the gospel, as well as their testimonies, the gospel of serving the poor, taking care of those who are less fortunate than ourselves.”
  • April 1974 General Conference
    • Guidelines to Carry Forth the Work of God in Cleanliness
      • “We are interested in numbers only incidentally. We are obsessed first to see that all men obtain eternal life.”
      • “We call upon all people to accept normal marriage as a basis for true happiness. The Lord did not give sex to man for a plaything. Basically marriage presupposes a family.”
      • “Certainly anyone who purposely denies himself or herself honorable parenthood is to be pitied, for the great joy of parenthood is fundamental in the normal, full life.”
      • “Certainly, selfishness is near its greatest peak when innocent children must suffer for the sins of their parents. Almost like a broken record come from divorcees that it is better to have them grow up in a single-parent home than a fighting home. The answer to that specious argument is: there need be no battling parents in fighting homes.”
      • “Immorality is totally selfish. Can you think of a single unselfish element in that sin? Accordingly, if two good people will discard selfishness, generally they can be compatible.”
    • What Do We Hear?
      • “Today you have seen the Church in action. You have seen the mighty works of the Lord, how that everything is done by common consent, and those who are led sustain those who lead them. This is a constituent assembly, and all members of the Church were invited to attend.”
      • “We shall serve you, our people, and love you and do our utmost to guide you to your righteous, glorious destiny, with our hearts overflowing with love and appreciation for you.”
    • Planning for a Full and Abundant Life
      • “To be sure your life will be full and abundant, you must plan your life.”
      • “Every person has his free agency. He may steal or curse or drink; he may defile himself with pornographic material; he may lazy away his life, fail to do his duty, commit sexual sins, or even take life. There is no force, but he must know that sin brings its proper punishment, sooner or later and in total, so that one is stupid indeed to choose to do the wrong things.”
      • “Every person can fail to attend his meetings, fail to pay his tithing, fail to fill a mission, ignore his temple obligations and privileges, but if he is smart, he must know that he is the deprived one.”
      • “Every experience we have adds to or draws from our lives. We cannot think ugly thoughts or do ugly things without retribution.”
    • The Cause Is Just and Worthy
      • “Brethren and sisters, I want to add to these testimonies of these prophets my testimony that I know that He lives. And I know that we may see him, and that we may be with him, and that we may enjoy his presence always if we will live the commandments of the Lord and do the things which we have been commanded by him to do and reminded by the Brethren to do.”
  • October 1973 General Conference
    • The Rewards, the Blessings, the Promises
      • “All this—what more could be desired or asked for? All these blessings and numerous others to every one of us who is willing to live the commandments and be truthful and honorable in our dealings.”
  • April 1973 General Conference
    • The Family Influence
      • “To any thoughtful person it must be obvious that intimate association without marriage is sin; that children without parenthood and family life is tragedy; that society without basic family life is without foundation and will disintegrate into nothingness and oblivion.”
      • “Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith.”
  • October 1972 General Conference
    • “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”
      • “Full provision has been made by our Lord for changes. Today there are fourteen apostles holding the keys in suspension, the twelve and the two counselors to the President, to be brought into use if and when circumstances allow, all ordained to leadership in their turn as they move forward in seniority.”
  • April 1972 General Conference
    • Keep the Lines of Communication Strong
      • “Deeply disturbing are the numerous signs of dwindling faith in our world. Matches are dropped. The grass is burned.”
      • “We are living in a sagging world. There has been sin since Cain yielded to Satan, but perhaps never before has the world accepted sin so completely as a way of life. We shall continue to cry repentance from this and thousands of other pulpits. We shall continue to warn the people all too ready to accept the world as it pushes in upon them.”
  • October 1971 General Conference
    • Glimpses of Heaven
      • “The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches men to live righteously, to make the family supreme, the home inviolate. It moves the characters of its adherents toward faultlessness. It is the true way. If lived rightly it will ennoble men toward Godhood.”
  • April 1971 General Conference
    • Voices of the Past, of the Present, of the Future
      • “Yes: Free to commit sin; free to break laws. Free to contract VD. Free to shorten life; free to deny God; free to be free of all real freedoms.”
      • “We see our world sinking into depths of corruption. Every sin mentioned by Paul is now rampant in our society.”
      • “There are said to be millions of perverts who have relinquished their natural affection and bypassed courtship and normal marriage relationships. This practice is spreading like a prairie fire and changing our world. They are without “natural affection” for God, for spouses, and even for children.”
      • “Immorality seems to now receive the wink of approval of the once honorable people. Debauchery never gave birth to good of any kind.”
      • “Many voices, loud and harsh, come from among educators, business and professional men, sociologists, psychologists, authors, movie actors, legislators, judges, and others, even some of the clergy, who, because they have learned a little about something, seem to think they know all about everything.”
  • October 1970 General Conference
    • The Years That the Locust Hath Eaten
      • “Another young man who was a faithful member of the Church became infatuated with a beautiful girl not a member of the Church, and when their courtship reached the marriage state, it was set to be a civil one, “till death do you part.” He weakly remonstrated, but she with greater strength prevailed. Temple and eternal marriage had no meaning for her. He would hope someday to bring her into the Church, but the years moved on at a rapid pace, and the children came and grew up without the gospel. The opportunities passed; years were lost—years never to be recovered, for time flies on wings of lightning, and you cannot call it back. Were these locust years?”
  • April 1970 General Conference
    • The Need for a Prophet
      • “A prophet needs to be more than a priest or a minister or an elder. His voice becomes the voice of God to reveal new programs, new truths, new solutions. I make no claim of infallibility for him, but he does need to be recognized of God, an authoritative person. He is no pretender as numerous are who presumptuously assume position without appointment and authority that is not given.”
      • “It is said that certain Russian fliers reported that as they penetrated the far outer space, they saw no God nor angels. Our prediction to any unbelieving, godless spacemen is that though they could go a thousand times farther and a thousand times higher, that they will be still farther from God and eternal things, for the spiritual is not understood by the finite.”
  • October 1969 General Conference
    • Spiritual Reservoirs
      • “I realized that there should be reservoirs of knowledge to meet the future needs; reservoirs of courage to overcome the floods of fear that put uncertainty in lives; storage of physical strength to help us meet the frequent contaminations and contagions; reservoirs of goodness; reservoirs of stamina; reservoirs of faith. Yes, reservoirs of faith so that when the world presses in upon us, we stand firm and strong; when the temptations of a decaying world about us draw on our energies, sap our spiritual vitality, and seek to pull us down to the level of the worldly world, we need a storage of faith that can carry youth through the tantalizing teens and through the problems of later years. Faith to carry us over the dull, the difficult, the terrifying moments, disappointments, disillusionments, and years of adversity, want, confusion, and frustration.”
      • “I like to compare the home evening, family prayer, and other associated activities of the Church for the saving of the family, when they are conscientiously carried out, with an umbrella. If the umbrella is not opened up, it is little more than a cane and can give little protection from the storms of nature. Likewise, God-given plans are of little value unless they are used.”
      • “The umbrella spread out makes the silken material taut. When the rain falls, it runs off; when the snow falls, it slides off; when the hail comes, it bounces off; when the wind blows, it is diverted around the umbrella. And in like manner, this spiritual umbrella wards off the foes of ignorance, superstition, skepticism, apostasy, immorality, and other forms of godlessness.”
  • April 1969 General Conference
    • The Certainty of the Resurrection
      • “Sometimes our celebrations of notable occurrences seem to take on earthly color, and we do not fully realize the significance of the reason for the celebration. This is true of Easter, when too often we celebrate the holiday rather than the deep significance of the resurrection of the Lord. They must be unhappy indeed who ignore the godship of Christ, the sonship of the Master. We feel sorry indeed for those who call the supreme miracle of the resurrection “but a subjective experience of the disciples, rather than an actual historical event.” We know truly that all this is real.”
  • October 1968 General Conference
    • Wisdom and Great Treasures of Knowledge, Even Hidden Treasures
      • “Spiritual knowledge is not available merely for the asking; even prayers are not enough. It takes persistence and dedication of one’s life. The knowledge of things in secular life are of time and are limited; the knowledge of the infinite truths are of time an eternity.”
  • April 1968 General Conference
    • Render Unto God That Which Is God’s
      • “When God had created man and woman he placed them upon the earth to “dress it and to keep it and subdue it.” It seems this landlord-tenant relationship is fair—the Lord, the owner, furnishes the land, the air, the water, the sunshine, and all the elements to make it fruitful. The tenant gives his labor.”
      • “Does not the law of tithing apply to all the children of men, regardless of church or creed? All who believe the Bible really must believe that this is a law of God.”
  • October 1967 General Conference
    • Liquor: The Devil in Solution
      • “Satan boasted he would buy his helpers, and he has devised and concocted every plan imaginable to deceive and fetter man. He is clever. He is experienced. He is brainy. He seeks to nullify all the works of the Savior. He is the arch deceiver.”
  • April 1967 General Conference
    • The Mistletoe
      • “The so-called “new morality” is but the old immorality in a new setting, except perhaps less restrained, less inhibited. Freedom of sex, freedom to drink and smoke, and freedom to rebel and march—all come into the picture. Such evils as glue sniffing and LSD are taking their toll, and narcotics are introduced by dope pushers to unsuspecting youth. Mugging, brutality, and many other aberrations—all come in turn supposedly to relieve boredom as new “kicks.” All these and more fester themselves like a leech upon unprotected folks, later to become the tyrannical master. The simple experiment becomes a complex habit; the embryo becomes a giant; the little innovation becomes a dictator; and the person becomes the slave with a ring in his nose. The so-called freedom becomes abject slavery.”
      • “How could these young people know except through advice and counsel from others that the bottle was a demon, that it would become master, that like the mistletoe it would take over and bleed the host?”
  • October 1966 General Conference
    • Continuous Revelation
      • “Transportation and communication shorten time and distance, yet the world goes on. With war and pestilence and famine, with increased numbers, poverty, desolation, and with more graft, dishonesty, and immorality, certainly the people of this world need revelation from God as never before. How absurd to think that the Lord would give to a small handful of people in the Palestine world his precious direction through revelation and that now, in our extremity, he would close the heavens as he told the children of Israel he would if they would not live his commandments.”
      • “The Lord will not force himself upon people; and if they do not believe, they will receive no visitation. If they are content to depend upon their own limited calculations and interpretations then, of course, the Lord will leave them to their chosen fate.”
      • “Nothing short of this total vision to Joseph could have served the purpose to clear away the mists of darkness of the centuries. Merely an impression, a hidden voice, or a dream could hardly have dispelled the old vagaries and misconceptions of the ages.”
  • April 1966 General Conference
    • Hidden Wedges
      • “Let those take care who postpone the clearing of bad habits and of constructively doing what they ought. “Some day I’ll join the Church,” says one. “I’ll cease my drinking soon,” says another. “One day I’ll smoke no more,” others pledge. “Some day we’ll be ready for our temple sealings,” promise a delayed-action husband and wife. “Some day, when they apologize, I’ll forgive those who injured me,” small souls say. “Some day I’ll get my debts paid.” “We’ll get around soon to having our family prayers, and next week we’ll start our home evenings.” “We shall start paying tithing from our next pay check.” Tomorrow—yes, tomorrow.”
  • October 1965 General Conference
    • A Changing World for the Barry Begays
      • “Yesterday they were deprived, weakening, vanishing; today thousands are benefiting in the Indian seminaries, in regular seminaries and institutes as they become involved in the placement program and church work within the stakes and missions. Numerous are receiving secular as well as spiritual training in Mexico, South America, and Hawaii and the isles of the sea. Many are now in college and large numbers in full-time mission service. Tens of thousands are now eligible for superior training and service through church organizations in all the Americas and in the Pacific. Lamanite-Nephite leaders are now standing forth to direct and inspire their people. The day of the Lamanite is come, and tomorrow will be even better.”
  • April 1965 General Conference
    • Home Training—the Cure for Evil
      • “A woman would have no fears of being imposed upon nor of any dictatorial measures nor of any improper demands if the husband is self-sacrificing and worthy. Certainly no sane woman would hesitate to give submission to her own really righteous husband in everything.”
      • “Oh, my brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of God, the members of Christ’s Church, the people of all religious affiliations, the people of all nations, let us take hold of this general panacea and heal our wounds and immunize our children against evil by the simple process of teaching and training them in the way of the Lord. Every father and mother in Zion, and every Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mohammedan, and all other parents have the same responsibility: to teach their children to pray and walk uprightly before the Lord!”
  • October 1964 General Conference
    • So Long as You Both Shall Live
      • “May I address my remarks to the numerous happily married couples who were united for the relatively short period of time as stated by the bishop, “so long as you both shall live,” and to those millions of well-adjusted couples in the world who were united by their ministers, priests, rabbis, or other prelates for the period stated “until death do you part.” I plead with you peace-loving, sincere, but uninformed couples who love you companions and children, but who, in your vaunted false security, permit the days to pass, and the months and the years without protecting your precious marriages against sure dissolution, when certain efforts and activities could preserve through eternity your warm and pleasant family relationships.”
      • “Life is eternal. Death does not terminate the existence of man. He lives on and on. Man will be resurrected whether good or evil. His spirit will be reunited with his body from the grave, and if he has perfected his life and magnified his God-given opportunities, that spirit and body will be brought together in a new, fresh, never-ending immortality.”
      • “The greatest joys of true married life can be continued. The most beautiful relationships of parents and children can be made permanent. The holy association of families can be never-ending if husband and wife have been sealed in the holy bonds of eternal matrimony. Their joys and progress will never end, but this will never fall into place of its own accord.”
      • “Civil marriage is an earthly contract, completed in the death of either party. Eternal celestial marriage is a sacred covenant between man and woman, consecrated in the holy temple by servants of God who hold authoritative keys. It bridges death; it includes both time and eternity.”
      • “An eternal marriage plus a worthy continuing consecrated life will bring limitless happiness and exaltation.”
  • April 1964 General Conference
    • For They Shall See God
      • “Men who know God and love him and live his commandments and obey his true ordinances may yet in this life, or the life to come, see his face and know that he lives and will commune with them. Our friends, I invite further inquiry.”
  • October 1963 General Conference
    • Keep Mothers in the Home
      • “The maid, the neighbor, the sister, the grandmother may clothe and feed and diaper the child, but no one can take the place of mother.”
      • “The Lord has indicated long ago the perfect pattern of prevention. He has organized the family in a home with unified pursuits. It takes no magician nor social authority to know where the error lies, and that the cure is prevention. With the home a sweet religious one with discipline and love and parental bliss and sweet parent-child relationships, there would be few, if any, prodigals. Reformatories and correction institutions could close; social agencies could lock their doors; jails would have few prisoners, and war be outlawed.”
  • April 1963 General Conference
    • The Book of Vital Messages
      • “The book of which I speak is the keystone of true religion, the ladder by which one may get near to God by abiding its precepts. It has been named “The most correct of any book on earth.” My beloved friends, I give to you the Book of Mormon. May you read it prayerfully, study it carefully, and receive for yourselves the testimony of its divinity.”
  • October 1962 General Conference
    • Spouses and None Else
      • “Infidelity is one of the great sins of our generation. The movies, the books, the magazine stories all seem to glamorize the faithlessness of husbands and wives. Nothing is holy, not even marriage vows. The unfaithful woman is the heroine and is justified, and the hero is so built up that he can do no wrong.”
      • “Home-breaking is sin, and any thought, act, or association which will tend to destroy another’s home is a grievous transgression. A certain young woman was single and was therefore free to properly seek a mate, but she gave attention to and received attention from a married man. She was in transgression. She argued that his marriage was “already on the rocks” and the wife of her new boy friend did not understand him and that he was most unhappy at home, and he did not love his wife. Regardless of the state of the married man, the young woman was in serious error to comfort him and listen to his disloyal castigation of his wife and to entertain him. The man was in deep sin. He was disloyal and unfaithful. So long as he is married to a woman he is duty bound to protect her and defend her and the same responsibility is with his wife.”
  • April 1962 General Conference
    • Spiritual Communication
      • “How else except through interplanetary messages could landlubber Nephi, without experience, have built a seaworthy ship which would safely cross an ocean? How else could Noah have known the minute specifications for an ark to ride the flood successfully? How else could Moses know the dimensions, materials, and uses of the tabernacle, and how else could Solomon know the specifications for his temple?”
  • October 1961 General Conference
    • Listen to the Prophet’s Voice
      • “Our world is in turmoil. It is aging toward senility. It is very ill. Long ago it was born with brilliant prospects. It was baptized by water, and its sins were washed away. It was never baptized by fire, for that is still to come. It has had shorter periods of good health, but longer ones of ailing. Most of the time there have been pains and aches in some parts of its anatomy, but now that it is growing old, complications have set in, and all the ailments seem to be everywhere.”
      • “Why should there be spiritual blindness in the day of brightest material vision? Why must men rely on fortifications and armaments when the God of heaven yearns to bless them? One stroke of his omnipotent hand could make powerless all nations who oppose and save a world even in its death throes.”
      • “Yet today we worship the gods of wood and stone and metal. Not always are they in the form of a golden calf, but equally real as objects of protection and worship. They are houses, lands, bank accounts, leisure. They are boats, cars, and luxuries. They are bombs and ships and armaments. We bow down to the god of mammon, the god of luxuries, the god of dissipation.”
  • April 1961 General Conference
    • The Unforgettable Holy Land
      • “Not so important to know where he was born and died and resurrected but to know for a certainty that the Eternal, Living Father came to approve his Son in his baptism and later in his ministry, that the Son of God broke the bands of death and established the exaltation, the way of life, and that we may grow like him in knowledge and perfected eternal life.”
  • October 1960 General Conference
    • The Day of the Lamanites
      • “The day of the Lamanites has come. The Indians of this country, particularly of the southwest, have many blessings which are theirs today but which were not theirs yesterday. Government agencies, other groups as well as ourselves, have been conscious of their former serious plight. But today the dark clouds are dissipating. Whereas only a decade ago tens of thousands of children were without schooling, today practically every child has some educational opportunity.”
  • April 1960 General Conference
    • A Prophet Is Born
      • “The answer to all of our problems—personal, national, and international—has been given to us many times by many prophets, ancient to modern. Why must we grovel in the earth when we could be climbing toward heaven! The path is not obscure. Perhaps it is too simple for us to see. We look to foreign programs, summit conferences, land bases. We depend on fortifications, our gods of stone; upon ships and planes and projectiles, our gods of iron—gods which have no ears, no eyes, no hearts.”
  • October 1959 General Conference
    • To You…Our Kinsmen
      • “Many moderns, lay and trained, have speculated on the origin of the early Americans. Your history sets at rest that question. Many people have questioned the divinity of the Holy Bible. Your record establishes it as the Word of God. Many have denied that Jesus was the very Son of God. Your record leaves no doubt. With its companion scripture, the Bible, there is proof for every honest soul that God lives, that Jesus Christ who was begotten by him is the Redeemer, the Savior. It establishes the truth of the exalting gospel which now came rapidly from the throne of God to the Prophet, to you and to us. Missionaries are now teaching the true gospel to you and your children. You heard today of the organization of the first Lamanite mission in the southern hemisphere—the Andes Mission.”
  • April 1959 General Conference
    • Whom Say Ye
      • “There had been a glorification program since, there had been a death, a resurrection, an ascension, and now he had returned to the earth again.”
  • October 1958 General Conference
    • Search the Scriptures
      • “This has kept me on my knees in my holy calling. Whenever I have been inclined to think the honors were coming to me as I go about the Church, then I remember that it is not to me, but to the position I hold that honors come. I am but a symbol.”
  • April 1958 General Conference
    • Are You a Modern Nicodemus?
      • “Now, my beloved, listening friends, you too are generous and kind. You too are prayerful and religious. But are you also like Nicodemus, burdened down with preconceived and prejudiced notions? Do you think that no good thing can come out of Nazareth or Palmyra, or Salt Lake City? Are you too biased to accept new truth? Too wealthy and fettered with the cares of this world to accept the difficult demands of Christ’s Church? Are you so influential as to fear to prejudice your position or local influence? Are you too weak to accept and carry a load of service? Are you too busy to study and pray and learn of Christ and his program? Are you too materialistically trained to accept the miracles, visions, prophets, and revelations? If any of you, my listeners, is a modern Nicodemus, I beg of you to grasp the new world of truths.”
  • October 1956 General Conference
    • The Expanded Indian Program
      • “This is not a proselyting program, for we bring from the reservations those Indian children who are already members of the Church and whose families generally are members. The program will make good young people, stalwart adults. It will fortify them against the evils of the world; it will train them to become self-sufficient; it will develop them into leaders prepared to return to their own people and bring to them the benefits which can come from education.”
      • “Our program is unique. Here is no family of marginal income who must take in a boarder to supplement the family living. Here is no mercenary care. But here non-Indian families in a very real and lovable way absorb the Indian children as new members of the family. These families, give, give, and give as only dedicated people will give. There is no remuneration for them; but their total compensation for the food, clothes, shelter, care, and love they give is the satisfaction which comes in giving opportunity for an enriched life to one who could not otherwise have it.”
  • April 1956 General Conference
    • Jesus the Christ
      • “I think he smiles when he looks upon this his prophet, President David O. McKay, who gives such inspired leadership to his people, who is so close to him, who hears his word, and who receives his revelations. I think the Lord Jesus Christ is smiling when he looks into the homes of this people and sees them on their knees in family prayer night and morning, the children participating also. I think he smiles when he sees young husbands and wives, and older ones, with deep affection for each other, who continue their courtship as our prophet has said, who continue to love each other with all their souls until the day they die and then accentuate it through eternity.”
      • “I think he is pleased with the families which sacrifice and share, like the family I visited a week ago and with whom I had lunch. There were ten wonderful children in one family—all happy together, and working all their problems out together, sharing all their limited assets together! I think the Lord Jesus Christ is smiling when he looks down and sees more than four thousand men this past year—four thousand men with some of their wives and some of their children who were inactive a year ago, but today are happy in the kingdom, many of whom have been to the holy temple of God and had their endowments and their sealings, and who with tears of gratitude thank the Lord for his program.”
      • “I think I see tears of joy in his eyes and a smile on his lips as he sees the twenty-one thousand new souls who have come unto him this year, who have professed his name, who have gone into the waters of baptism, and I think he loves those who helped to convert them also.”
  • October 1955 General Conference
    • Visiting the Saints in Europe
      • “So I come home from Europe, after six months of glorious experiences with the people, with the fine leadership, with the excellent missionaries, the faithful servicemen. I come home with a deeper appreciation for the gospel and the Church and its people.”
  • April 1955 General Conference
    • To Kick Against the Pricks
      • “Are not these the self-planted, self-nourished, and self-harvested grapes of wrath? O stupid man, O egotistical man! Thinking only of self he profanes the way of the Lord and brings, sorrow to his posterity whose roses turn to ashes, whose fruit becomes only skin-covered stones. The grapes are so sour. How terrifying such a responsibility!”
      • “But be it said to the everlasting glory of men, numerous who have tasted of and recovered from offense, having come to realize that so long as mortality exists we live and work with imperfect people; and there will be misunderstandings, offenses, and injuries to sensitive feelings. The best of motives are often misunderstood. It is gratifying to find many who, in their bigness of soul have straightened out their thinking, swallowed their pride, forgiven what they had felt were personal slights. Numerous others who have walked critical, lonely, thorny paths in abject misery, have finally accepted correction, acknowledged errors, cleansed their hearts of bitterness, and have come again to peace, that coveted peace which is so conspicuous in its absence. And the frustrations of criticism, bitterness, and the resultant estrangements have given place to warmth and light and peace. And all those who have come into the warmth of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and his program, could shout with the Prophet Joseph Smith.”
  • October 1954 General Conference
    • Blind Obedience or Obedience of Faith
      • “It was not blind faith when the patriarch Noah built an ark some forty-two centuries ago or when the prophet Nephi built a boat about twenty-five centuries ago. Each was commanded by the Lord to construct a seaworthy vessel. An unprecedented total flood was to envelop the earth in the one case and the greatest ocean to be crossed by the other. No experience of either builder could give guidance in these new adventures—no previous flood or ocean crossing had ever come in the life of either—there was nothing on which to base construction except directions from the Lord. Here was no blind obedience. Each knew the goodness of God and that he had purpose in his strange commands. And so each with eyes wide open, with absolute freedom of choice, built by faith. Noah’s family was saved from physical drowning and spiritual decadence, and Nephi’s people were saved likewise.”
      • “When men speak of all faith and all obedience as blind, are they not covering their own weaknesses? Are they not seeking an alibi to justify their own failure to hearken?”
  • April 1954 General Conference
    • The Evil of Intolerance
      • “I remember that the Lord was long-suffering with ancient Israel. For a long time he endured their pettiness, listened to their eternal complaining, revolted at their filthiness, groaned at their idolatries and their adulteries, and wept at their faithlessness; and yet finally forgave them and led the rising generation of them into the promised land. They had been the victims of four centuries of destructive background of servitude but consistent now with their continued faithfulness, every door was opened to them toward immortality and eternal life.”
  • October 1953 General Conference
    • Keep Your Money Clean
      • “Now, all money is not lucre—all money is not filthy. There is clean money—clean money with which to buy food, clothes, shelter, and other necessities and with which to make contributions toward the building of the kingdom of God.”
      • “Clean money is that compensation received for a full day’s honest work. It is that reasonable pay for faithful service. It is that fair profit from the sale of goods, commodities, or service. It is that income received from transactions where all parties profit.”
      • “Filthy lucre is blood money; that which is obtained through theft and robbery. It is that obtained through gambling or the operation of gambling establishments. Filthy lucre is that had through sin or sinful operations and that which comes from the handling of liquor, beer, narcotics and those other many things which are displeasing in the sight of the Lord. Filthy lucre is that money which comes from bribery, and from exploitation.”
      • “Compromise money is filthy, graft money is unclean, profits and commissions derived from the sale of worthless stocks are contaminated as is the money derived from other deceptions, excessive charges, oppression to the poor and compensation which is not fully earned. I feel strongly that men who accept wages or salary and do not give commensurate time, energy, devotion, and service are receiving money that is not clean. Certainly those who deal in the forbidden are recipients of filthy lucre.”
  • April 1953 General Conference
    • The Lamanites Are Progressing
      • “The Lord bless the Lamanite people. They are a great people. They are intelligent, and I repeat my theme song: The difference between them and us is opportunity. It is your privilege and mine through education, through employment and every other means, and particularly through bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ in all kindliness and brotherliness to them, to give them that opportunity which will make of them enlightened, faithful sons and daughters of God with all of the blessings which are promised to them.”
  • October 1952 General Conference
    • Faith Precedes the Miracle
      • “In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting, the reward before the service, the miracle before the faith. Even the most demanding labor unions would hardly ask the wages before the labor. But many of us would have the vigor without the observance of the health laws, prosperity through the opened windows of heaven without the payment of our tithes. We would have the close communion with our Father without fasting and praying; we would have rain in due season and peace in the land without observing the Sabbath and keeping the other commandments of the Lord. We would pluck the rose before planting the roots; we would harvest the grain before its planting and cultivating.”
  • April 1952 General Conference
    • Tis Not Vain to Serve the Lord
      • “And the interpretation of the parable given by the Lord himself makes clear that the books are not balanced daily but at the harvest-time. The time of reckoning is as sure as is the passage of time and the coming of eternity. All who live shall eventually stand before the bar of God to be judged according to their works. The final assignments will constitute rewards and punishments according to deserts.”
      • “No one will escape the reward of his deeds. No one will fail to receive the blessings earned. Again the parable of the sheep and goats gives us assurance that there will be total justice.”
      • “The blessings following righteousness are enjoyed both in mortality and in eternity.”
      • “Extravagant rewards are offered. Blessings beyond one’s understanding will come. The land will yield bounteously and peace shall abound. The unfaithful, proud, and wealthy can never enjoy the sweet savor of the rewards for fasting and dispensing to the poor.”
      • “Peace, joy, satisfaction, happiness, growth, contentment, all come with the righteous living of the commandments of God. The one who delights in all of the worldly luxuries of today, at the expense of spirituality, is living but for the moment. His day is coming. Retribution is sure.”
  • October 1951 General Conference
    • The Spirit Giveth Life
      • “As the statistics were read this morning of the growth of the Church, the thought came to me that perhaps our beloved President George Albert Smith, President Heber J. Grant, President Joseph F. Smith, all of whom I knew personally, and those others who have presided in this Tabernacle and over this Church, would be gratified to see the tremendous development in the Church. We hope that the spiritual growth has kept pace.”
      • “The test is here. The test has always been here. We came into the world as a test.”
      • “Why did he offer sacrifices—because it was a commandment of his Heavenly Father. He had been told to perform this act by one whom he knew to be his God. He had absolute faith and confidence that blessings would come through such obedience, and he did not hesitate. After he had lived the law, then came the understanding, for the miracle follows the faith rather than faith the miracle.”
      • “Are we interested in what we can get or are we interested in what we can give? The Savior’s life was one of unselfish service. The Savior’s doctrine and gospel is one of selflessness. Are we interested in the glamorous and in the spectacular? Is our Church service like the prayer of the Pharisee or like the Publican?”
      • “All of this is service to others—love of others, not love of nor service to ourselves. May the Lord bless us that we may be unselfish in this kingdom, give of ourselves generously that we may live by the spirit rather than by the letter, that we may continue to rear large families, training them in righteousness to the end.”
  • April 1951 General Conference
    • Be Valiant
      • “In many other places Paul also warned us against the deceivers who would come even before his departing. And they have continued to come, and they are among us today. The authorities which the Lord has placed in his Church constitute for the people of the Church a harbor, a place of refuge, a hitching post, as it were. No one in this Church will ever go far astray who ties himself securely to the Church Authorities whom the Lord has placed in his Church. This Church will never go astray; the Quorum of the Twelve will never lead you into bypaths: it never has and never will. There could be individuals who would falter; there will never be a majority of the Council of the Twelve on the wrong side at any time The Lord has chosen them; he has given them specific responsibilities. And those people who stand close to them will be safe. And conversely, whenever one begins to go his own way in opposition to authority, he is in grave danger. I would not say that those leaders whom the Lord chooses are necessarily the most brilliant, nor the most highly trained, but they are the chosen, and when chosen of the Lord they are his recognized authority, and the people who stay close to them have safety.”
      • “The Lord is at the helm, brothers and sisters, and he will continue to be there, and his work will go forward. The important question is whether we, as individuals, will be going in that same direction. It’s up to us. This is a gospel of individual work.”
      • “I remember a great people of long ago who belonged to the Church of our Lord, who became so righteous as a group that they were translated into heaven. And I wonder why other groups have not been taken. The only conclusion that I can reach is that whole groups have not been sufficiently righteous. We buried a righteous man yesterday. If all of the people in this Church were as righteous as he was, perhaps there might be further translations. But we are not living the commandments of the Lord as well as we know. Many of us are not valiant.”
      • “We are all sinners. We all need to repent.”
  • October 1950 General Conference
    • The Work Among the Lamanites
      • “I have a firm conviction that the Lord led the Pilgrims and the Puritans across the ocean, perhaps permitted the persecutions that would bring them here, so that when they came to the American shores with their righteous blood and their high ideals and standards, they would form the basis of a nation which would make possible the restoration of the gospel. I am sure that since there was not religious liberty, not political liberty here, the Lord permitted these few poorly-armed and ill-clad men at Valley Forge and elsewhere to defeat a great army with its trained soldiery and its many mercenaries, a few against the many, but the few had on their side the Lord God of heaven, that gave them victory. And there came political liberty and religious liberty with it, all in preparation for the day when a young boy would come forth and would seek and make contact with the Lord and open the doors of heaven again. Following that great manifestation to Joseph Smith came the opening of Cumorah Hill and the speaking of the dead from the dust.”
      • “The work among the Lamanites must not be postponed if we desire to retain the approval of God. Thus far we have been content simply to baptize them and let them run wild again, but this must continue no longer; the same devoted effort, the same care in instructing, the same organization and priesthood must be introduced and maintained in the House of Lehi as amongst those of Israel gathered from Gentile nations. As yet God has been doing all, and we comparatively nothing. He has led many of them to us, and they have been baptized, and now we must instruct them further and organize them into churches with proper presidencies, attach them to our stakes, organizations, etc., in one word, treat them exactly in these respects as we would and do treat our white brethren.”
  • April 1950 General Conference
    • Slavery for Security
      • “Some of these destructive trends remind me of the river which drops from Niagara’s precipice. Time and again I have stood on the banks of this river far above the falls and watched its waters flowing normally toward the sea. At this point a small craft, manned by strong oarsmen, could be controlled and sent up or down or across the stream. I watched the river farther downstream. Having started downward there is no stopping. Faster and faster it goes, splashing, boiling, frothing. The boat in full control on the upper reaches would now be at the merciless fury of the lashing stream. Even strong men who a few miles above could control their movements, would now, at the nearing of the falls, lose power to guide their boat to safety. Suffering, sorrow, and destruction are inevitable after a certain point has been reached.”
  • October 1949 General Conference
    • “Except Ye Repent…”
      • “And so, repentance is not for the murderer alone, nor the adulterer. It comes to them, too, but to all those who have been tempted of the evil one to commit sins of omission and sins of commission. As I read the scriptures, I find that all the various sins are condemned.”
      • “Repentance is a glorious and merciful law. It means a sorrow for sin, a confession of sin, abandonment of sin, restitution for sin, and then the living of the commandments of the Lord, which itself includes the forgiving of others, even those who sin against us.”
      • “I met a woman once, demanding and critical. She accused her stake president of harshness and would have displaced him if she could. She had committed adultery, and yet with her comparative debt of 600,000 pence she had the temerity to criticize her leader with a hundred pence debt. I also knew a young man who complained at his bishop and took offense at the leader’s inefficiency and his grammatical errors, yet he himself had in his life sins comparable to the talents and had the effrontery to accuse his bishop of weaknesses comparable only to the pence.”
      • “So long as we are bitter, hold grudges, are unrepentant ourselves, unforgiving to others, how can we partake of the sacrament?”
  • April 1949 General Conference
    • “Who Is My Neighbor?”
      • “Among these children of God were many prophets, and fires would not burn them; stones and arrows could not hit them; prisons could not hold them; pits could not be dug deep enough to imprison them. Among these, the children of the covenant, their lame walked; their blind ones saw; their deaf heard; their dumb spoke; the dead lived again. Among these, the remnant of Jacob, the rich were humble; the poor were provided for; the oppressed were rescued; justice reigned; and freedom was a reality. Among these, the branch of the tree of Israel, the Holy Ghost whispered to them; angels ministered to them; the Creator and Master visited them.”
      • “Among us today we find many who abandon their faith and Church position to go into politics. We found children of the Covenant who gave up judgeships, resigned from the high army posts, and even refused to be king over the nation that they might serve on missions and convert souls to righteousness. We find many today who permit wealth to wedge them from things spiritual. We found Lamanites who sacrificed their wealth to become lowly teachers.”
      • “See what God hath wrought! He has blessed, honored, and preserved his race. He has predicted and warned through their prophets; angels have ministered to them; miracles have been countless among them; two centuries of continuous righteousness was lived by them; supreme faith was manifested by them; martyrs burned and bled among them; the flesh and the world were overcome by them. Peace of long duration was enjoyed by them and the Son of Man visited them.”
  • April 1948 General Conference
    • Build or Destroy
      • “I find that men are like rivers and volcanoes. They construct, and they destroy; they purify and inspire, and they defile and mystify; they give life, and they bring about death.”
      • “There are those today who seem to take pride in disagreeing with the orthodox teachings of the Church and who present their own opinions which are at variance with the revealed truth. Some may be partially innocent in the matter; others are feeding their own egotism; and some seem to be deliberate. Men may think as they please, but they have no right to impose upon others their unorthodox views. Such persons should realize that their own souls are in jeopardy.”
      • “The great objective of all our work is to build character and increase faith in the lives of those whom we serve. If one cannot accept and teach the program of the Church in an orthodox way without reservations, he should not teach. It would be the part of honor to resign his position. Not only would he be dishonest and deceitful, but he is also actually under condemnation, for the Savior said that it were better that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he be cast into the sea than that he should lead astray doctrinally or betray the cause or give offense, destroying the faith of one of “these little ones” who believe in him.”
      • “Man is like the volcano which in a few weeks can devastate the countryside, wreck cities, and smother human lives. And the human destructionist can likewise inject into other human lives in a short time the doubt and skepticism which can mean total loss of faith.”
      • “In our own Society, the murderer who kills the body is hunted, imprisoned, and executed, but the character who kills the soul by implanting doubt and shattering faith is permitted not only to go free but also is often retained in high places.”
      • “And so we admonish the leaders in stakes, wards, and missions to be ever vigilant to see that no incorrect doctrines are promulgated in their classes or congregations. Wolves will come in sheep’s clothing and will deceive the very elect, if that were possible. And we warn again those who write or preach or otherwise teach subversive doctrines, that their punishment is sure for their “worm dieth not.””
  • October 1947 General Conference
    • The Lamanites
      • “Brothers and sisters, in conclusion may I say that we owe a great debt to these people, which we can only pay by giving to them the gospel and the many advantages and opportunities which we enjoy. They are a warmhearted and devoted people. They believe without skepticism. They have a simple, childlike faith which admits of no cheap rationalization.”
  • April 1947 General Conference
    • Weep O World, for the Indian
      • “I do not know when I began to love the children of Lehi. It may have come to me at birth, because those years preceding and after I was born, were spent by my father on missions among the Indians in Indian territory. He was president of the mission. This love may have come in those first years of my childhood, when my father used to sing the Indian chants to us children and show us souvenirs from and pictures of his Indian friends.”
      • “I hope I may help to make the whole world weep for the children of Lehi. Can one refrain from tears as he contemplates the fall of these people who have been brought down from culture and achievement to illiteracy and degradation; from kings and emperors, to slavery and serfdom; from landowners of vast continents, to indigent wards of governments and peons—from sons of God with a knowledge of God, to rude savages, victims of superstition, and from builders of temples to dwellers in dirt hogans.”
      • “I would not justify any evil that the Indians ever did, but can we not see that they were on the defensive, fighting for their liberty, for independence and to perpetuate their rights to the promised land to which they had title from the Creator?”
      • “But the laws had been broken. They had forfeited their rights because they had failed to keep the commands of God. The prophecies must be fulfilled, and the plan of God must now be consummated. It was necessary, for the ultimate good of the Indian himself, that the Gentiles must come from foreign shores to become “nursing fathers” to these benighted people; the Pilgrims and Puritans had to come to settle this land; the Revolutionary War had to be fought and won so that peace and freedom and liberty could be established here, and so that the gospel could be restored, and this that the record of the ancestors of the Indians might come forth, and the gospel of Jesus Christ be made plain to them.”
      • “Down near Lordsburg, New Mexico, there is an unpretentious monument. On it are the words, “Here Geronimo surrendered, thus ending Indian wars in America forever.” The final war of self-defense was waged in the southwest by the Apache chief, the courageous Geronimo. He led his thirty-four warriors with their wives and children against the United States army. And the battle of America lasting four hundred years had ended. We battled but a few short years for our independence from Britain and were rewarded with success. The Indians fought valiantly four centuries for their freedom and lost. This proud people was reduced from wealth to poverty; from two vast continents to crowded reservations. We hail George Washington as the great patriot because he led us successfully against our aggressors. And because they cannot, we erect a tiny monument to mark the spot where the last survivor chief was subdued while resisting our aggression. It is a sad story. Let the world weep.”
      • “How I wish you could go with me through the Indian reservations and particularly Navajo Land and see the poverty, want, and wretchedness, and realize again that these are sons and daughters of God; that their miserable state is the result, not only of their centuries of wars and sins and godlessness, but is also attributable to us, their conquerors, who placed them on reservations with such limited resources and facilities, to starve and die of malnutrition and unsanitary conditions, while we become fat in the prosperity from the assets we took from them. Think of these things, my people, and then weep for the Indian, and with your tears, pray; then work for him.”
  • October 1946 General Conference
    • My Redeemer Lives Eternally
      • “I want to bear testimony today that Jesus is not only a great teacher, a great humanist, and a great dramatist, but is in very deed, the Son of the Living God, the Creator, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind. I want to testify further that he not only lived in the Meridian of Time for approximately thirty-three years, but that he lived eternities before this, and will live eternities beyond it.”
  • April 1946 General Conference
    • The Pattern of Martyrdom
      • “The martyrdom of Jesus the Christ is well established—it followed closely the pattern. His life was the perfect life. His enemies, failing to find any guilt in him, resorted to mobocracy to end his life. He answered their every question, performed miracles which astounded them, did good everywhere, but chastised and rebuked them for their adultery, insincerity, drunkenness. He threatened their vainglorious way of life; he called them hypocrites, vipers, and murderers of prophets. He had restored the gospel and established his kingdom. It was inevitable that he should die to witness eternally of its divinity. His every word was criticized; he was accused of being a deceiver, a glutton, a winebibber, a common person associating with publicans and sinners. They called him a Sabbath breaker, a usurper of authority, a tax evader. They charged him with heresy and sedition. He was said to be an ignoramus, a blasphemer, and accused of being born of fornication. He was arrested, spat upon, torn with thorns, mocked and beaten. He was seized by a vile mob led by one from his inner circle who had maliciously planned to betray him.”
      • “The Savior had told his followers of his approaching death. He must die for the sins of the world and to seal his testimony. This he knew. His hour had come. They crucified him, the Son of God, on Calvary.”
      • “Joseph Smith did not want to die. He had so much to live for, with his family, his friends, with his interest in the expanding kingdom, and he was still a young man, but though he hoped and prayed that the cup could pass, he knew it was inevitable.”
  • October 1945 General Conference
    • “In Mine Own Way”
      • “And as the curtain closes I stand in contemplation—grateful and happy that in the drama of life on the great world stage there are here and there episodes of contrasting brilliance and beauty which show the way to live the commandments of God in his own way.”
      • “My brothers and sisters, let us be true devoted Latter-day Saints. Let us love the Lord and our fellow men and live the commandments of God that we may have a full and abundant life leading to exaltation.”
    • Foundations for Peace
      • “In a word, then, the foundation for peace is righteousness.”
      • “The efforts of peace conferences, and the prayers of suffering humanity, may bring an armistice of uncertain length, but peace with totality and permanence can come only when men repent and turn to the Lord.”
      • “What have we learned by this war? We have learned nothing if hatred, bigotry, and intolerance have not diminished; if covetousness, selfishness, and adultery are unabated; if parents are less dear and the Sabbath of the Lord less holy. In short, if righteousness has not increased, then is our fighting vain, the sacrifices of our sons to no avail, and our tears wasted.”
      • “Are we not inviting eventual destruction as we desecrate all things holy and sacred, even to the common and irreverent use in our daily talk of the names of Deity and making his holy day, the Sabbath, a day of work and of pleasure?”
      • “We call upon the nations and our fellow men everywhere to repent, to cleanse their lives, and to place themselves in harmony with the Lord our God.”
  • April 1945 General Conference
    • “Thy Son Liveth”
      • “In death do we grieve for the one who passes on, or is it self-pity? To doubt the wisdom and justice of the passing of a loved one is to place a limitation on the term of life. It is to say that it is more important to continue to live here than to go into other fields. Do we grieve when our son is graduated from the local high school and is sent away from home to a university of higher learning? Do we grieve inconsolably when our son is called away from our daily embrace to distant lands to preach the gospel? To continue to grieve without faith and understanding and trust when a son goes into another world is to question the long-range program of God, life eternal with all its opportunities and blessings.”
      • “God is good, so good in fact that we can hardly conceive the depth and richness of his goodness. He is just; so just that we mortals cannot comprehend the fairness of his justice. I am sure that no mortal will ever fail to receive every blessing and glory which he merits. Mortal death cannot rob him. There will be a way, and every promise of God will be fulfilled. A virtuous, progressive, active young man will sacrifice no blessing to which he was entitled by his (to us) premature passing into eternity. We may not understand fully just how it will be accomplished, but we may know that it will be.”
  • October 1944 General Conference
    • Ye May Know the Truth
      • “The Lord thus indicated that a knowledge of spiritual things may be had without perception through the five senses. He has keys by which we may have a knowledge of his work.”
      • “What is it to know of the doctrine? It is an unwavering assurance. The Lord has offered a rich reward but has provided that it can be had only by meeting certain requirements.”
      • “One must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and still live the commandments to be given the knowledge of the divinity of the work. Mere passive acceptance of the doctrines will not give the testimony; no casual half-compliance with the program will bring that assurance; but an all-out effort to live his commandments. We often see this in the lives of members of the Church. One said to me in a recent stake I visited, “I assiduously avoid all testimony meetings. I can’t take the sentimental and emotional statements that some of the people make. I can’t accept these doctrines unless I can in a cold-blooded and rational way prove every step.” I knew this type of man as I have met others like him. In no case had they gone all-out to live the commandments: Little or no tithing, only occasional attendance at meetings, considerable criticism of the doctrines, the organizations and the leaders, and we know well why they could have no testimony.”
      • “Such people have failed to “do what he says.” Of course, they have no promise.”
      • “The skeptic will some day either in time or eternity learn to his sorrow that his egotism has robbed him of much joy and growth, and that as has been decreed by the Lord: The things of God cannot be understood by the spirit of man that man cannot by himself find out God or his program; that no amount of research nor rationalizing will bring a testimony, but it must come through the heart when compliance with the program has made the person eligible to receive that reward. The Savior could have taken highly trained minds from the temple porches for the chief builders of his kingdom, but he went to the seashore to get humble fishermen. He wanted men who would not depend upon their own intellects only to ferret out the truths, but unbiased men to whom he might reveal his new program, men who were trusting and sincere and willing to serve.”
      • “There were many trained and educated Jews in Jerusalem who rationalized themselves completely out of a testimony and the rich spiritual life. Though Jesus was among them and they could see his miracles and hear his words, it was still an impossibility for those scribes and Pharisees to prove him to be the Redeemer by any of their mental processes, or by the kind of proof that many moderns require. But Peter and his associates, receptive as they were, knew the process. They lived the truth, and they knew the truth, and the truth made them free and gave them peace.”
      • “To acquire a testimony, then, one must be in tune with the Spirit of the Lord, keep his commandments and be sincere. Because one does not receive this positive assurance is no reason why another cannot. To say that another person cannot see the light because you fail to comprehend it is to place unwarranted limitations on another’s power. To say that no one can know of the doctrine because you do not is like saying that there is no germ or virus because it is not visible to you, and is to deny the word of God.”
  • April 1944 General Conference
    • The Sabbath Day
      • “There came ringing again in my ears the solemn command brought down from the thundering of Mount Sinai : “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” So far as I know, that commandment has never been rescinded nor modified. To hunt and fish on the Lord’s day is not keeping it holy. To plant or cultivate or harvest crops on the Sabbath is not keeping holy the Lord’s day. To go into the canyons for picnics, to attend games or rodeos, or races or shows, or other amusements on that day is not to keep it in holy remembrance.”
      • “Strange as it may seem, some of our brethren, faithful in all other respects, seem to justify themselves in missing their sacrament meetings, and their stake conferences, in order to beat all the other hunters into the wild life area when the season opens. The Church favors legitimate recreation, and urges its people to organize picnic parties and to enjoy the great outdoors for the fellowship that it offers, but with six other days in the week, the Sabbath certainly need not be desecrated.”
      • “By resting is not meant the indolent lounging about the home all day or puttering around in the garden, but a consistent attendance at meetings for the worship of the Lord, drinking at the fountain of knowledge and instruction, enjoying the family and finding uplift in music and song. One good but mistaken man I knew claimed that he could get much more out of a good book on Sunday than he could get in attending a sacrament meeting, saying that the sermons were hardly up to his standards.”
      • “But I say we do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or amused; we go there to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the Gospel. If the sacrament meeting is a failure to you, you are the one that has failed. No one can worship for you, you must do your own serving of the Lord.”
  • October 1943 General Conference
    • Response to a Call
      • “I want to tell you that for eighty-five nights I have gone through that experience, wrestling for a blessing. Eighty-five times, the breaking of the day has found me on my knees praying to the Lord to help me and strengthen me and make me equal to this great responsibility that has come to me. I have not sought positions nor have I been ambitious. Promotions have continued to come faster than I felt I was prepared for them.”
      • “In these long weeks since July eighth, I can tell you that I have been overwhelmed and have felt that I was unable to carry on this great work; that I was unworthy; that I was incapable because of my weaknesses and my limitations. I have felt many times that I was up against a blank wall. And in that interim I have been out in the desert and in high mountains alone, apart, and have poured out my soul to God.”
      • “I appreciate deeply the unparalleled honor that has come to me. I shall do my utmost to show my appreciation to my Lord and my brethren by being a faithful servant. I am grateful for the opportunity of working with these honored and great men of the Authorities toward whom I have always had almost a worshipful devotion. I glory in the opportunity to serve the people of this Church, to share their disappointments and sorrows, and their joys and achievements.”

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