Cecil O. Samuelson Jr.

Presidency of the Seventy (August 15, 2001 – April 5, 2003)

First Quorum of the Seventy (October 1, 1994 – October 1, 2011)

General Conference Addresses

• April 2011 General Conference
  • Testimony
    • “While a testimony is simple and clear in this defining declaration, arising from this declaration are several potential questions, such as: Who is entitled to have a testimony? How does one obtain the necessary revelation? What are the steps in obtaining a testimony? Is gaining a testimony an event or an ongoing process? Each of these queries and others have their own subsets, but the fundamentals of gaining and retaining a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ are straightforward, clear, and within the capacity of every person.“
    • “First, who is entitled to have a testimony? Everyone who is willing to pay the price—meaning keeping the commandments—may have a testimony.”
    • “A testimony is similar to a living organism that grows and develops when treated properly. It needs constant nourishment, care, and protection to thrive and prosper. Likewise, neglect or deviance from the pattern of living that a testimony clarifies can lead to its loss or diminishment. The scriptures warn that transgressing or breaking the commandments of God can result in the loss of the Spirit and even to one denying the testimony he or she once possessed (see D&C 42:23).”
    • “We need to remember that a fundamental purpose of life is to be tested and stretched, and thus we must learn to grow from our challenges and be grateful for the lessons learned that we cannot gain in an easier way.”
    • “Teaching someone else what we know strengthens our own testimony as we build that of another. When you give someone money or food, you will have less. However, when you share your testimony, it strengthens and increases for both the bearer and the hearer.”
    • “It is good to remember that being too hard on yourself when you make a mistake can be as negative as being too casual when real repentance is needed.”
      
• October 2004 General Conference
  • Perilous Times
    • “Likewise, in common with all of the human family—everyone being the progeny of our loving Heavenly Father—we share vast congruence in our DNA or genetic physical makeup, as well as the universally possible and promised blessings and characteristics that identify our divine parentage and spiritual potential. It is this special blending of our common origins and characteristics and also of our unique attributes, experiences, and specialized challenges that makes each of us who and what we are. While we may have differences in what constitutes special peril for us individually, we share much that establishes the apt description of “perilous times” for all.“
    • “Surely when we begin to understand the magnitude of His sacrifice and service to us individually and collectively, we then cannot consider anything else to be of more importance or to approach His significance in our lives.”
    • “When we begin to really sense that this hope is real and is actually centered in Jesus, being made possible because of His love for us and especially His love of His Father, then we can gratefully and individually proclaim, using the words of a favorite hymn, “I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me” (“I Stand All Amazed,” Hymns, no. 193).”
• October 2001 General Conference
  • Our Duty to God
    • “As you young men of the Aaronic Priesthood strive to achieve the Duty to God Award even as the Young Women work on their Personal Progress efforts, you will join with them in standing as witnesses of God as well. This witness is expressed by what you say and also by how you live and keep the commandments.”
    • “Thus, holding the priesthood and doing your duty to God is not only a very serious responsibility but also a remarkable privilege.”
    • “You must remember that your duty to God is very clearly linked to your duties to your own family members, particularly your parents. It is not only in being properly subject or submissive to God, but also to parents and priesthood leaders, that we can truly fulfill our duty to God.”
• April 1995 General Conference
  • As Jesus Sees Us
    • “If it is of interest and of importance to recognize how we are viewed by others, particularly those about whom we care the most, then what a gift it must be to understand how the Savior sees us.“
    • “As we strive to better understand how Jesus sees us and contemplate our own attempts to live as the Redeemer would have us live, let us remember his instructing observations and their universal applications in literally all that we do: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) and “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40).”

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