James M. Paramore

Presidency of the Seventy (August 15, 1987 – August 15, 1998)
First Quorum of the Seventy (April 2, 1977 – October 3, 1998)

General Conference Addresses

• April 1998 General Conference
  • “The Heart and a Willing Mind”
    • “The Lord wants you to have the greatest of all experiences as you make your journey on this earth. This can be a magnificent journey filled with literally thousands of tremendous experiences and spiritual confirmations if you will find your way through the many choices that will be yours along the way. The road given by our Father in Heaven is clearly marked, but the patterns and ways of the world can deceive you.”
    • “The philosophies of men will ever be there, but they do not carry the promise of eternal life or even peace on this earth. Put your whole trust in the Lord. His scriptures and His prophets testify of Him and show the way.”
• October 1992 General Conference
  • “By the Power of His Word Did They Cause Prisons to Tumble”
    • “These types of prisons often cause the offended to lose faith, hope, and even the ability to care for their own, as was the case with my young friend. But they should not happen. They often cause years of anguish. They cause those involved to wonder about justice and mercy. Sometimes they find it impossible to resolve their own personal affairs honorably.”
    • “No Christian should ever be a challenge to another Christian. Many widows, single mothers, and older couples are victimized by those who take advantage of them, who do not honor their commitments and then put them into a type of prison. Those affected find themselves pleading for someone to open their prison doors, often while babies cry for bare necessities.”
• October 1990 General Conference
  • The Many Witnesses of Jesus Christ and His Work
    • “One stands in awe in reading and feeling the profound effect of His teachings and life. He raised the dead and made the blind see. He fed thousands on several occasions from just a few loaves of bread and some fishes. He forgave the repentant sinner, gave hope and encouragement, and administered to others all the days of His life. And then he offered Himself, though in the greatest agony and pain ever known to mankind, upon the cross as a final witness of His love for you and me by taking our sins upon Himself, a pure and sinless Son of God, that we might have eternal life. He did something for us that we could not do for ourselves. But think of the great blessing that came a few days later when the tomb was open and He emerged as the living, resurrected, immortal Christ, showing us that He lives and that we, too, would live.”
    • “So, once again witnesses were given, as during the Old Testament days and during the life of the Savior upon the earth and as He appeared to the inhabitants of the American continent after His resurrection. He always provides witnesses of the truths and blessings He brings.”
• April 1988 General Conference
  • Seek the Blessings of the Church
    • “On and on and on it goes. The Church of Jesus Christ is the organization that the Savior established when He personally walked upon the earth in Palestine and later in America and in 1830 when He reestablished it upon the earth to perfect and exalt all mankind. The Church and its functions are indispensable to the plan of God.”
• April 1986 General Conference
  • They Taught and Did Minister One to Another
    • “Ponder these points as you feel the influence of Ammon’s teachings, his ministry and great example: The desire of his heart was to bring people to God. He was always a servant, a minister. He was out among the people. He prepared himself by fasting, studying the scriptures, and prayer. He went forth believing he could make a difference with the help of God. He anxiously looked for every possible opportunity to serve. He kept all of the commandments.As a result of doing all of these things, he taught with power and authority and established the Church of God.”
• April 1983 General Conference
  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Basic Needs of People
    • “The gospel of Jesus Christ can answer this great need for every man, woman, and child upon this earth—for every family, every single person. Everyone who joins His church immediately belongs, no matter who he is or where he is. There is a brotherhood that goes beyond national and linguistic borders, and it ties all men together. The truths of the gospel, the brotherhood and the sisterhood of the gospel, and active participation in it, satisfies these longings and can overcome all barriers.”
    • “In reality, in His church we are always home—home in the things we believe, the standards we hold dear, the spirit we need, and the help, security, and belonging that are there.”
• April 1981 General Conference
  • Love One Another
    • “As we step back and try to understand this love of God, we are astounded by its profound impact. At its center is the reality of a literal Father in Heaven whose love for His children knows no bounds. All truths, wisdom, power, goodness, and love He desires to share with His children, whom He created and sent to earth. He would have us reach up and know Him as a Father, as one who forgives, as a helper, as friend, as lawgiver—as one anxious to grant to every man the full opportunity of His love and potential and ultimately the blessing to one day become like Him. This love from Father in Heaven and its effects upon one of His children or the whole world is miraculous and contagious. He is constantly and everlastingly watching over us to lovingly and gently nudge us along.”
    • “Then the miracle really happens. Men thus touched and changed by this love of God begin to look upon their neighbors with profound respect and awe for who they are, what their potential really is as children of an eternal father.”
• April 1979 General Conference
  • A Personal Commitment
    • “Commitment, as we have observed, is to be an example of goodness. It is to be “anxiously engaged” and “do many things” of our “own free will.” It is not by compulsion, but because of our desire to “bring to pass much righteousness.” Commitment is not confessing, but doing. It is not convenient. It isn’t easy—it’s never easy. It is example leadership. It is a binding, but happy, response to duty. It is at once peaceful yet compelling, for it obligates one to action. It is essential to the good life. It is doing what everyone can do. It is a beautiful principle to observe in action.”
    • “As we commit ourselves to the Lord and his principles, we are led to share them with our families. The family is eternal. We may be sealed together forever in a patriarchal order if we are righteous. This knowledge we willingly and anxiously share with the world because of the joy we feel. We affirm that every life is sacred and important. Every child is a gift and a blessing. The home is an institution of learning, of loving—to develop the capacities of each of its members to live in accordance to the laws of God. We testify that these laws are eternal and unchanging. A personal commitment to this priority is paramount. Nothing can surpass the inner security of having one’s family committed to God.”
    • “And may I reecho a thought expressed by another? Never give up trying to reach a loved one—never, never, never. The blessings of heaven may be realized after the prayers and personal commitment of the righteous. When one is totally committed to this endeavor, there is a greater inner strength. We not only love more, but we help more.”
• April 1977 General Conference
  • A Thousand Witnesses
    • “I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have received a thousand witnesses in the course of my life with my missionaries and my family. I saw a daughter one night beside herself with the pain of an earache. My wife came and said, “Jim, I think you should give your daughter a blessing.” I went and gave my lovely girl a blessing; and, brethren, before I could finish the words, she was asleep.”

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