Susan W. Tanner

General President of the Young Women (October 2, 2002 – April 5, 2008)

General Conference Addresses

• April 2008 General Conference
  • My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord
    • “I delight in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets with whom I have had the blessed opportunity to serve. I testify that President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth today. I delight that he is truly a Christlike minister to the one, reaching out in warmth and love to each individual.”
• October 2005 General Conference
  • The Sanctity of the Body
    • “Why were we so excited? We understood eternal truths about our bodies. We knew that our bodies would be in the image of God. We knew that our bodies would house our spirits. We also understood that our bodies would be subject to pain, illness, disabilities, and temptation. But we were willing, even eager, to accept these challenges because we knew that only with spirit and element inseparably connected could we progress to become like our Heavenly Father.”
    • “What would happen if we truly treated our bodies as temples? The result would be a dramatic increase in chastity, modesty, observance of the Word of Wisdom, and a similar decrease in the problems of pornography and abuse, for we would regard the body, like the temple, as a sacred sanctuary of the Spirit. Just as no unclean thing may enter the temple, we would be vigilant to keep impurity of any sort from entering the temple of our bodies.”
    • “Likewise, we would keep the outside of our bodily temples looking clean and beautiful to reflect the sacred and holy nature of what is inside, just as the Church does with its temples. We should dress and act in ways that reflect the sacred spirit inside us.”
    • “When we become other-oriented, or selfless, we develop an inner beauty of spirit that glows in our outward appearance. This is how we make ourselves in the Lord’s image rather than the world’s and receive His image in our countenances.”
• April 2003 General Conference
  • Did I Tell You?
    • “First, did I tell you … how to make your home a haven of peace and a fortress of strength? “
    • “My home was a house of order. It was of utmost importance (in spite of many hectic schedules) for us to be together for breakfast and dinner. Mealtime meant more than just refueling. It was a crucial time for nourishing spirits as well as bodies.”
    • “We hope Heavenly Father will bless you with children. Many in the world miss the joy and see children only as an inconvenience. It is true that parenting is physically exhausting, emotionally draining, and mentally demanding. No one will give you good grades or blue ribbons for what you do as a mother.”
    • “You will come to know, as I do, that parenting is not only challenging, but it provides life’s greatest joys.”
    • “Finally, did I tell you … that love is the foundational virtue in building a strong home? Our Father in Heaven exemplifies the pattern we should follow. He loves us, teaches us, is patient with us, and entrusts us with our agency.”

Other Talks

• March 2008 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Stand as a Witness
    • “As you stand as a witness in your home, you will strengthen your family. Too often we think the phrase of the Young Women theme “to strengthen home and family” applies only to the future responsibilities of young women as wives and mothers, but it also applies to their responsibilities as daughters and sisters in their homes here and now.”
• March 2007 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Daughters of Heavenly Father
    • “All over the world and in almost every language, young women ages 12 to 18 declare the same thing: “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him” (“Young Women Theme,” Young Women Personal Progress [booklet, 2001], 5). Yet as they grow up, they often grow away from the confident knowledge of three-year-old Eliza that they are very special. Youth often experience an identity crisis, wondering who they really are. The teenage years are also a time of what I describe as “identity theft,” meaning that worldly ideas, philosophies, and deceits confuse us, buffet us, and seek to rob us of the knowledge of our true identity.”
    • “As you let the knowledge that you are a daughter of God settle deep into your soul, it will comfort you, strengthen your faith, and influence your conduct. If you let this virtuous truth garnish your thoughts unceasingly, you will have confidence in the presence of God, as our Mutual theme scripture promises (see D&C 121:45).”
    • “The same pattern applies to us. As we come to know and feel who we really are, we are enabled to recognize the difference between good and evil and are empowered to resist temptation. One of the ways we can come to understand the divinely appointed mission the Lord has for us is through our patriarchal blessings. These are very specific and individual messages we can each receive by the power of the priesthood.”
• March 2006 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • “I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up”
    • “Good works should not be done for the purpose of receiving recognition.”
    • “Some of us are born into families with very difficult problems. And even good families have many challenges. We must try to do in our homes what Christ did with the Nephites. As the proclamation on the family teaches, “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). We must be the light to help our families overcome sin, anger, envy, and fighting. We can pray together, weep for each other, heal each other’s wounds, and selflessly love and serve one another.”
    • “You young women are preparing now to strengthen your future homes and families by bringing the light of the gospel into your current homes and families.”
• March 2005 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Glad Tidings from Cumorah
    • “As I visited Joseph Smith’s restored small and humble log home, I sensed that I was in a holy place. I was at the site where the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith to usher in this great and marvelous work of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While contemplating the intertwined lives of these two great prophets—Moroni, the last prophet of his age, and Joseph, the first prophet of our dispensation—I have had numerous “likening” moments. Let me share some “likening” lessons as I bear testimony of this great and marvelous work.”
    • “We too can receive spiritual reassurance in response to our prayers. We can receive a witness that our Father in Heaven knows us by name and that He has an earthly mission for us to fulfill.”
    • “Like Moroni, Joseph Smith, and Catherine and Kimball, we too can emerge victorious through trials, wickedness, and persecutions. Priesthood covenants bind us eternally with our earthly and heavenly families and arm us with righteousness and power.”
• March 2004 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • All Things Shall Work Together for Your Good
    • “In a sense all of us are in the middle of our own novels, our own life stories. Sometimes our stories feel very intense, and we would like to read ahead to know our own end, to make sure that everything is going to turn out all right. While we don’t know the particular details of our life’s experiences, fortunately we do know something about our futures, if we live worthily.”
    • “Everywhere there are young women who are in the middle of their own stories, facing dangers and hardships. As with Peter there will be “angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88). They will sustain us as we carry our earthly burdens. Often in our lives, those angels are the people around us, the people who love us, those who allow themselves to be instruments in the Lord’s hands. President Spencer W. Kimball said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom” (“There Is Purpose in Life,” New Era, Sept. 1974, 5).”
• March 2003 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Steadfast In Our Covenants
    • “The Lord has promised us that He will not forget us because He has “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands” (Isa. 49:16). And our promise to Him is that we will not forget Him, for we have engraven Him in our hearts.”
    • “Remember, when we keep our covenants, we feel hope, and we feel love.”
    • “When you promise to take His name and characteristics upon you, it means you should speak a little softer, act a little kinder, serve your siblings more selflessly, and appreciate and help your parents more openly.”
    • “Sometimes it is hardest in our own homes to be our best selves. It requires that diligent effort of “pressing forward.” But when you keep your covenants, you will learn to more fully love those to whom you are eternally bound. Then you will also be able to extend your love beyond that circle to others.”

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