William Grant Bangerter

Presidency of the Seventy (September 30, 1978 – April 5, 1980; February 17, 1985 – September 30, 1989)
First Quorum of the Seventy (October 1, 1976 – September 30, 1989)
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (April 4, 1975 – October 1, 1976)

General Conference Addresses

• October 1988 General Conference
  • The Quality of Eternal Life
    • “The great preoccupation of humanity is with dying. The general tendency, of course, is to try to avoid it. From time immemorial, the dream has been to extend life indefinitely. There have been potions and elixirs which would supposedly protect a person from death. Legends of the fountain of youth have led men to the ends of the earth.”
    • “Even those who don’t think they will live again or who don’t want to live again will nevertheless arise from the grave and live again. There is nothing they can do to stop it, since life is eternal.”
    • “Now, in view of the almost universal concern over the quality of mortal life, and since some people seem to be happier than others, we might ask the question about eternal life: “How can I be sure to have a happy experience there?” And remember, eternity is a long, long time.”
    • “The doctrine of salvation teaches us that we do not step into the vestibule of the gospel merely by confessing Christ or by being baptized. If we take it seriously, we will reach for all the blessings.”
• April 1987 General Conference
  • What It Means to Be a Saint
    • “Many members of the Church become upset when those terms are used by name-callers. Calling people names to ridicule them or to offend them is an old, childish practice.”
    • “It isn’t very important what impolite people call this Church and its people. Name-calling has been an age-old pastime among people who profess to be religious. The words heretic, blasphemer, bigot, Jew, hypocrite, and heathen have all had their day.”
    • “If, then, we understand that we are born again, having taken upon us the name of Christ, the big question is: Do we act like it?”
    • “A saint is one who follows Christ in holiness and devotion. This is the commitment of a Latter-day Saint.”
    • “The many imperfections which trouble our daily lives require us to be a repenting as well as a repentant people.”
    • “Now, of course the ordinances alone do not make us saints. Our actions do that, but even saints have not the power to return to God’s presence without Christ’s infinite atonement. That is why we enter into the covenants.”
    • “The earth is the Lord’s. We are only stewards.”
    • “Some who have made the covenant do not take it seriously. Having received baptism as a form and not as a covenant, they scarcely advance to the sacrament table. Saints will take it seriously. The ordinances of the priesthood and the covenants entered into in the temple direct us toward the consecrated life God expects of those who have taken the name of Jesus Christ.”
• April 1985 General Conference
  • The Spirit of Gathering
    • “Since the Church was organized in 1830, the gospel net has encircled and drawn together many millions of people who, either through their own personal experience, or through receiving the teachings of their parents and grandparents, have found the way to eternal life.”
    • “The human soul, to be spiritually alive, requires a vision, a yearning, a longing, a desire. The spirit of America reaches out to that longing: the great vision of liberty, the spirit of freedom, the land of opportunity and hope.”
• April 1984 General Conference
  • Coming through the Mists
    • “The warning is against unrighteousness. That means sin and wickedness.”
    • “And, of course, in doing these wicked things they suggest that it is not so bad anymore. Since so much of the world accepts these actions, if we resist them or speak out against them, we will be scoffed at. We will be called prudish, Victorian, puritan, and self-righteous, as if we had become the sinners. We will be accused of being evil-minded in our failure to appreciate the “beauty and naturalness” of the human body.”
• April 1982 General Conference
  • What Temples Are For
    • “As a people, the Latter-day Saints have accomplished a magnificent work in the temples. They serve with commendable devotion to find the names of deceased relatives, to work in extracting names from the records, and then to perform the ordinances for the redemption of the dead as well as for themselves. Over sixteen thousand temple workers give voluntary service in the temples, thus approaching in numbers the force of full-time missionaries who are proclaiming the gospel.”
• April 1980 General Conference
  • Teaching by the Spirit
    • “Certain principles must accompany our teaching through the influence of the Spirit: First, we are to be holy men. This does not mean like the Marlboro man or the macho man—holy men. Then we need confidence in the Holy Ghost; believe in it and expect its presence to be with us. And when it comes, we need to recognize its presence and be able to help others to feel the influence that it brings.”
• October 1979 General Conference
  • The Voice of the Lord Is unto All People
    • “The interesting thing about prophets is that most people don’t listen to them. That is why prophets often seem to be impatient or even angry. That is how the Lord feels about us when we don’t listen. That is how you feel when your children won’t listen.”
    • “To all of you of whom I have made mention—unbelievers; nonmembers; members of the Church, both faithful and those not so devoted; and to the leaders; and all who bear the holy priesthood—I declare as one who knows and has authority, that Spencer W. Kimball, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the prophet of God to all the inhabitants of the earth. He is the direct successor to Isaiah; Malachi; Peter, James, and John; and to Joseph Smith and others in between. He is the chief Apostle of Jesus Christ on the earth and is authorized to announce that the gospel has been restored to the earth in these, the last days, in preparation for the Second Coming and that these are the days to prepare. His is a voice of gladness in the glorious news he bears and a solemn warning to us all.”
• October 1977 General Conference
  • A Special Moment in Church History
    • “As he proceeded with his address, however, he had not spoken very long when a new awareness seemed suddenly to fall on the congregation. We became alert to an astonishing spiritual presence, and we realized that we were listening to something unusual, powerful, different from any of our previous meetings. It was as if, spiritually speaking, our hair began to stand on end. Our minds were suddenly vibrant and marveling at the transcendent message that was coming to our ears. With a new perceptiveness we realized that President Kimball was opening spiritual windows and beckoning to us to come and gaze with him on the plans of eternity. It was as if he were drawing back the curtains which covered the purpose of the Almighty and inviting us to view with him the destiny of the gospel and the vision of its ministry.”
    • “What we heard on April 4, 1974, and what we have heard since, sounds very similar to the declarations of Moses, Malachi, and Brigham Young. I feel, through President Kimball, the Lord’s impatience with leaders who don’t move; with members who won’t listen; especially with a world madly throwing everything overboard, including the anchor, the compass, the helm, and even the pilot. Our purpose is to keep the commandments, proclaim the gospel, baptize to repentance, confer the priesthood, organize the kingdom, and redeem the dead. In all this we are expected to leave footprints.”
    • “Since the Lord has been gracious enough to open the heavens in the last days, speaking to us through angels, messengers, and prophets in order that we might obtain eternal life, we cannot afford to languish in apathy. Let us take it seriously.”
• April 1976 General Conference
  • Relationships
    • “Because of the intensive efforts of my mother and other members of the family, several thousand names have been gathered of my close relatives who are dead. Following the doctrine of the Church, these names have been taken to the temple and ordinances have been performed for them so that when we meet them in the life after death we will recognize them, not only as members of our family, but also as brothers and sisters in the gospel.”
    • “I have also learned that even in a family where extensive work has been done in genealogy, the majority of this research is still ahead of us.”
    • “If this work is true, we may shortly expect the day when we do things for the dead as extensively as we now do them for the living. This may conceivably require many members to devote years of their time, expending substantial amounts of money, just as we do now in missionary service.”
• October 1975 General Conference
  • The Power of the Priesthood
    • “Five years ago if you had asked, “Who’s the ‘minister’ of your Church?” most of us would have answered, “Oh, the bishop.” Today we can’t give that simple answer because we know that many of the duties have now been shifted over to the elders, where the revelations say they rightfully belong. Now a ward should have at least fifty “ministers” in place of the one we thought of a few years ago.”
    • “A person healed of bodily sickness will eventually become sick again and die. When you administer the gospel, the cure can be permanent.”
• April 1975 General Conference
  • The People Who Influence Us
    • “My one qualification today, possessed and treasured by all Latter-day Saints, is a sweet assurance given to me by the Holy Ghost that God really does live—the knowledge that I have talked with him in prayer and that he has answered me many times and given me the influence of his Holy Spirit.”

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