A. Theodore Tuttle – Gospel Study

A. Theodore Tuttle

Presidency of the Seventy (October 1, 1976 – February 22, 1980)
First Quorum of the Seventy (October 1, 1976 – November 28, 1986)
First Council of the Seventy (April 4, 1958 – October 1, 1976)

General Conference Addresses

October 1986 General Conference
- Developing Faith
  - “We need to learn that. We can’t have just faith. We cannot have the miracle until after the exercise of faith.”
April 1984 General Conference
- Covenants, Ordinances, and Service
  - “In order to prepare youth for missionary service and for the temple blessings, parents must have more in mind than schooling. They must have more in mind than preparing for a career. They must have more in mind, really, than just to be a missionary—as though attendance was all that was required.”
  - “The training for covenants, for ordinances, and for service belongs in the home. If these are paramount in the minds of the parents, the youth will be prepared. And they will not, because of this, miss any essential training for their careers.”
  - “When we as parents have a genuine desire to teach the gospel to our children, the Lord will give us entrance into their hearts.”
April 1982 General Conference
- The First and the Last Words
  - “Elijah has returned! Thanks be to God! He bestowed his keys! Work could now commence in the temples to weld eternal links between husbands and wives, between parents and children, through the sealing power of God.”
  - “Surely this is not an onerous burden! It is a privilege. A temple recommend is one of the highest accolades we may receive. To use it regularly permits us to participate in the choicest gifts within the keeping of the Church. Those who attend feel a special spirit there. Peace comes. I know that their service there assists a departed one to gain exaltation.”
April 1980 General Conference
- Eternal Links that Bind
  - “Then go, brethren. Be sealed to your wife and your sons and daughters. Be sealed to your fathers as far back as you can. Temples are built to perform these sacred ordinances.”
October 1979 General Conference
- Therefore I Was Taught
  - “The things that are essential to these homes are essential in every home. In fact, living away from the organized Church might even be a blessing, because family members draw closer together and because they cannot delegate to the Church things that a father and mother should do wherever they live in the world.”
  - “Parenthood imposes a singular responsibility. Not only must parents put good things into the minds of children, we must keep bad things out.”
  - “How much of the gospel would your children know if all they knew is what they had been taught at home? Remember, the Church exists to help the home. Parents, the divine charge to teach has never been changed. Do not abdicate your duty.”
April 1978 General Conference
- Welfare Services Begins with You
  - “When the welfare program was begun in the 1930s, it aimed to eliminate the curse of idleness, reestablish self-respect, and help people to help themselves. The basic principles of the Lord’s economic system had earlier been revealed to the Prophet Joseph. Nearly everything that has happened since then has been to prepare us for the time when this program would be needed to a far greater extent. In the intervening years, many great principles have been declared. I shall review these briefly.”
October 1977 General Conference
- Service Saves
  - “I have heard the testimonies of couples who are presently serving; and in spite of the inconveniences, I can promise you one thing: supreme joy—the joy that comes from diligent labor and selfless service.”
October 1976 General Conference
- Extending Missionary Service
  - “My brethren, we have been too casual about these matters in the past. There is work to do. We need your help to do it. The word is urgency and the time is now. Many of you have the power to open doors of opportunity for the service of others. “
October 1975 General Conference
- A Prophet’s Faith
  - “Just as faith without works is dead, likewise, works without faith are dead.”
  - “There is a place for everyone in the Church to serve as a missionary—either at home or abroad, for people on this side of the veil or on the other.”
April 1975 General Conference
- Come Drink the Living Water
  - “In a lonely world, brotherhood in the Church really means something. Everyone needs to be loved. Everyone needs to be needed. Everyone has some kind of talent and wants to use it. Somehow in the magic of this marvelous organization you can find your place and make your contribution. When you serve, you find purpose to life.”
  - “The Church appeals to people—because it is true! All of the other reasons are secondary to this one.”
October 1974 General Conference
- Your Mission Preparation
  - “President Kimball has said we don’t have half enough missionaries. Can’t you see that it doesn’t matter whether you want to go or not? You’re needed! Do you know what it means to be needed? The bonds of brotherhood are forged deep and strong in the mission field. You will develop a love for a companion with whom you kneel in daily prayer. You will learn to love the people where you serve, no matter what nationality or condition. And they will love you. They will love you because you brought them the gospel.”
  - “We want no flabbiness of character when spiritual strength is required.”
  - “Learn to pray constantly. Kneel down morning and evening. Get on good terms with the Lord.”
October 1973 General Conference
- The Role of Fathers
  - “In reality, each family is a dominion within itself. Father heads that government.”
  - “The father exercises his spiritual leadership in the home by calling his family to prayer each morning and evening. Weekly family home evening, likewise, is called and presided over by the father, though all others participate.”
  - “The father is the protector of the home. He guards it against the intrusion of evil from without. Formerly he protected his home with weapons and shuttered windows. Today the task is more complex.”
  - “It is an unwise father who carries to his family his daily business cares. They disturb the peace existing there.”
April 1973 General Conference
- What Is a Living Prophet?
  - “Foremost, God must choose him as his prophet! This is entirely different than for man to choose God.”
October 1972 General Conference
- Altar, Tent, Well
  - “To Latter-day Saints, the home is a holy place, patterned after the celestial home whence we came. The priesthood-led home is the loftiest spiritual unit we know.”
  - “Wives and mothers do what men cannot do. Men will bow in reverence and in love before mothers who perform this great, this marvelous service.”
  - “Let a man choose an occupation in balance with the other two elements of the triumvirate of which I have spoken. Learn to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. In the farm or shop or office, let that man know that work is not an end in itself, but a means to a noble end.”
  - “Altar, tent, and well: these things are essential. Placed in proper perspective by God’s revealed word, they provide at once our greatest challenge and achievement.”
April 1972 General Conference
- Priesthood—Its Power and Vitality
  - “Each one of these specific duties is designed by the Lord to strengthen the home. You will notice that the word teach is mentioned only indirectly in this scriptural instruction. Perhaps if we as home teachers could catch the whole vision of what our duty is, then the teaching would eventually be done by the ones the Lord ordained to give instruction in the home.”
October 1971 General Conference
- The Things That Matter Most
  - “Our lives are ruled by a schedule and appointments while the Christian acts of kindness wait—ofttimes in vain.”
  - “Fatherhood is a relationship of love and understanding. It is strength and manliness and honor. It is power and action. It is counsel and instruction.”
  - “Where a doctor who stops at the scene of an accident may be sued for administering aid, it is difficult to transmit to children the idea of service and responsibility.”
April 1971 General Conference
- The Message of the Restoration
  - “But then, the Lord has never specified how old or young a prophet should be. Nor has he said how short or tall. He has not required that he be possessed of any particular academic degrees. But he has made it abundantly clear that he must be “called of God” and empowered by him. It is to be so called and ordained that qualifies President Joseph Fielding Smith. He is like other men, it is true. He will chuckle at a pleasantry. If you prick him he will bleed. His great tender heart will cause him to weep at another’s sorrow. He is subject to sickness and pain. But there is one thing different about President Joseph Fielding Smith—you see, he is the prophet of God. I know this man. I love him. He has lived a life of rigorous service in which there was always intense opposition from the evil one. He has withstood all of that. The Lord has honored him by this great call to be his prophet. I love the stalwart counselors at his side. I love the Twelve. I love all my brethren.”
October 1970 General Conference
- The Calling of the Seventy
  - “Our mandate is clear. We have a divine commission. We have been counseled by modern prophets that every member has a missionary obligation. Today, in the new Priesthood Missionary Handbook, a program is outlined that can make that great concept become a reality. The program rests on the members of the priesthood. Since the seventies have a special missionary calling, the Brethren have placed the primary responsibility upon the seventies quorums in the Church. As the First Council of the Seventy, we are determined to accomplish the mission the Twelve have given us. We now call upon all seventies everywhere to learn their duty and to be anxiously engaged in doing it. We propose to have this great work go forward in a better, more effective way than ever before.”
  - “Some may wonder how one soul could be worth the labor of a lifetime. We live in a world of temporal and transitory things. Many fail to understand the nature of man—that his soul is eternal! Man’s soul is indeed worth a lifetime of effort to save.”
April 1970 General Conference
- Principles and Promises
  - “In the world there will be no peace. Among faithful Latter-day Saints things will be better. The spirit of fear is not of God. Let us turn to the principles and promises of the prophets, and prepare so we need not fear. How? Strengthen the home!”
  - “Tithing has to do with faith. People do not pay tithing because they have money. They pay tithing because they have faith.”
  - “Chores are blessings in overalls. Their value remains long after the duty is done.”
October 1969 General Conference
- The Home Is to Teach
  - “The family is the most important relationship in this life. In reality, the bride and groom are called to assignments in the family from which they are never released, except by transgression.”
  - “A man’s home is his most important consideration; not his business nor farm nor political office, not even his church or civic service. It is his family.”
  - “Only in a home filled with unity and love can man or woman find the pure, undiluted heavenly joys.”
  - “It is a cardinal teaching of the Church that the man is the head of the family. He is to be the bread-winner. It teaches him how to preside in that home through his priesthood power. It teaches that the wife is to be a companion to her husband and stand by his side. There is to be no confusion as to the roles of husband and wife. Children are to identify with a strong, manly father. They identify with a lovely mother who sustains and supports but does not usurp the leadership of the father. The mother is queen of the home. The Church teaches that womanhood is glorified by motherhood.”
  - “The husband and wife cannot generate more problems than they can solve if they will follow the counsel the Lord has given. The solution to family problems is not separation, but repentance.”
April 1969 General Conference
- Peace in the World
  - “You may be surprised to learn that even admitting all of this, I have a calm assurance in my soul. All is not, nor will it be, lost. This peace that speaks to my heart has not removed life’s problems, but it gives courage to face them.”
April 1968 General Conference
- Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother
  - “I wanted to share this especially with the youth of the Church—you who are struggling to find yourselves; you who want to love your dad and give expression to this yearning but who do not quite know how; you who are a bit rebellious when counseled or restrained.”
  - “It is one of the salient teachings of this Church that the family is to be perpetuated and perfected in the eternities to come, and that we will enjoy our family relationships there as we do here, if we follow the Lord’s plan.”
October 1967 General Conference
- Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity
  - “Adversity, in one form or another, is the universal experience of man. It is the common lot of all men to experience misfortune, suffering, sickness, or other adversities. Ofttimes our work is arduous and unnecessarily demanding. Our faith is tried in various ways—sometimes unjustly tried. At times it seems that even God is punishing us and ours. One of the things that makes all this so hard to bear is that we ourselves appear to be chosen for this affliction while others presumably escape these adversities.”
  - “Too often we are shortsighted as we view the effects of adversity upon us. We fail to see the purifying and refining effect wrought by the flames of adversity. These flames are not meant to consume but only to purify us. Disguised as adversity, blessings are showered upon us.”
April 1967 General Conference
- Mothers
  - “It is the mother who sets the tone in the home and the spirit of the family. If she is edgy, insecure, frustrated, we ought to look to ourselves, brethren, to let her know that she is loved. If she is calm, secure, and loved, she sets this mood in the home.”
  - “We need to understand the true meaning of fatherhood, which is more than just the biological function. We need to learn to give of ourselves. We need to learn to give our time to our sons. I suppose there isn’t a more precious commodity for any of us to give than to give time to our sons and daughters. It isn’t as easy as it used to be when a father and son worked together on a farm, or where a son became an apprentice to his father and learned his trade working at his side in a shop. Now we have to make opportunities to be physically present together.”
April 1966 General Conference
- The Witness of the Spirit
  - “Some of you may wonder how it is possible to say without reservation and with such certainty that “I know” these things. This witness comes through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and it has come to me. This is characteristic of the true church in this and all other ages. This certainty has always been present with the prophets or whenever the Church with its authority and priesthood has been on the earth.”
  - “Believing is seeing! The Lord hides some choice truths behind obstacles that will melt only before the warmth of faith. Faith, like courage, is tempered by trial.”
October 1965 General Conference
- Keeping God’s Law vs The Burden of Sin
  - “By virtue of the priesthood which we hold, we do have more power to save ourselves and ultimately others than any earthly ruler, for power to move oneself or others toward exaltation comes only from God—from whence this priesthood comes. Our obligation as young people is to honor the priesthood and maintain the high standards of the Church.”
  - “As young people, we ofttimes think it’s hard to live the standards of the Church because they are so high. It is true that no church on earth has higher standards than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—you’d expect that to be so, wouldn’t you? Would the true Church of Christ have lower standards than a man-made church? Because our standards are so high—so different from the standards of the world—we tend to feel that it is difficult, if not impossible, to live them. But it is not nearly so hard to live the standards as not to live them.”
  - “I thought of this girl behind bars—she had not broken God’s laws at all, but rather had broken herself against them, and so it is with anyone who tries to violate the laws which God has given to us for our own happiness.”
April 1965 General Conference
- Field White to Harvest—South America
  - “Others could, if they would, supply the serums, and the seeds, and the tools. They could provide the educational opportunities and other things that our Lamanite brethren so urgently need. But they cannot supply the message of truth that we bear, for we declare with authority from God that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth; we declare that the heavens are again open, that a prophet lives today and directs the Church of Jesus Christ. We declare that the Book of Mormon identifies these millions of people who for so long have been anonymous—making known that they are a chosen people, eligible for the promised blessings of their Father.”
April 1964 General Conference
- The Spirit of Missionary Work in South America
  - “The feelings of fraternity in this Church and the functions of its priesthood quorums bind men together in a bond of brotherhood. It brings warmth of companionship that delights the soul and makes life worthwhile. Love of fellow men penetrates from heart to heart across national borders. It becomes the only effectual process that erases men’s artificial boundaries and unites them in a cause greater than their own political nationalism.”
  - “You, father and husband, as head of your household, should you not find release from the sins of the world that beset you, through faith, sincere repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins? Should you not find the strength to complete the change in your life, for the strength will come through receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost? Should you not possess the priesthood and experience its power? Should you not have the joy of certain knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, that God lives? The Lord will not withhold this blessing from any who sincerely seek it.”
October 1962 General Conference
- The Change in Juan Fulano
  - “Love is not the greatest thing in the world. It is hope.”
  - “The fear of such things as an atomic war is a misunderstanding of the destructive force which causes war. It did not take nuclear physics to destroy the Nephites who lived on this continent fifteen hundred years ago. The destructive power was sin and disobedience to divine law. The weapons used were bows and arrows. Today the destructive power is sin and disobedience to divine law. The weapons differ somewhat but accomplish exactly the same end.”
  - “If we are wicked, we have cause to fear every weapon. If we are righteous, we need fear nothing.”
April 1962 General Conference
- The Gospel Growth in South America
  - “Six months ago, under the direction of the First Presidency, it was our privilege to organize the Chilean Mission—the sixth mission of the Church in South America, and the work is just commencing. It took thirty-three years in order to convert the first 10,000 people to the Church in South America. It took just three years to convert the next 10,000. Last year alone 6,000 came into the Church. Indeed it is a land of promise and of prophecy.”
  - “There is no other way that all men can be united in a cause that is greater than their own nationalism, except in the acceptance of the universal gospel of Jesus Christ.”
  - “How can this be achieved and hastened? By obedience to and acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ—obedience by us who believe and acceptance by the world, for this gospel has the power to change men’s lives. Because I have been in the mission field, I have more readily seen the power of the gospel change lives.”
October 1960 General Conference
- Need for Witness of the Spirit
  - “Does the world need the message of Mormonism? I think it needs nothing more than to know the true concept of the Godhead, to have borne upon their souls the testimony that has been borne here these days of conference—the testimony that comes through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, that bears witness to our souls and our hearts that God does live. He is real.”
  - “I would plead with the parents of this Church to prepare their sons to bear this testimony to the world, the only power that will bring peace, because peace is rooted in righteousness. When the hearts of men on this earth can be prepared to receive the witness of the Spirit, all men will be brothers, and then peace can come to our hearts.”
April 1960 General Conference
- Seminaries and Institutes
  - “I plead with you to help them make the wise choice at this time of their lives. This impressionable age of life is the most appropriate time to impress them with the truths of the gospel. They need the daily association with the message of the scriptures, especially under the pressures of the world that would turn them otherwise, and they need the learning experiences in the subjects of the gospel, where they take Old Testament, New Testament, Church history, and Book of Mormon courses; where they keep journals, take tests, answer questions, give talks, see educational films, handle the scriptures, gain testimonies, and prepare for missions.”
  - “There is no finer program to teach the gospel in this Church. The youth are under teachers who are loyal to these brethren. They know they are prophets of God. These teachers are skilled. They are proud of the noble title of teacher. These men are men of conviction and testimony. They know, as I know, that God lives. They know that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer, that he wrought out the atonement for us. They know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God; that the Book of Mormon is true; and that these men who direct this Church are inspired of our Heavenly Father.”
October 1959 General Conference
- The Wives of the Church
  - “Now, as I pay tribute to my wonderful wife, I pay tribute to another group of women in this Church. I looked into their faces as I came to the pulpit this morning. These are the wives of the General Authorities. I think all of us know that at least once a week they share their husbands with all of the Church—always two days, sometimes three, ofttimes more. For the wives there is no compliment on a fine talk after the conference, no thanks for some question answered, for some help given, ofttimes not even a thought. However, few of these Brethren could serve as well without the quiet, sustaining, invisible, yet real strength that comes from the companionship of a good wife. The women’s work is in the home with their children or grandchildren, sustaining their companions, serving in the Church and community, and sharing their husbands with the rest of the Church. Although their work has an everydayness about it, it requires as much service and dedication as other kinds of work.”
April 1959 General Conference
- Teaching
  - “For if one teacher increases the level of his competence and ability, that class will improve; and if many teachers improve, all classes in the ward will. And if each of us improves the instruction, the whole Church will grow in strength and power and will be blessed. Remember that no class can rise higher than its teacher.”
  - “Secondly, if you would become a better teacher, learn to answer questions the way the Savior did. He gave direct answers, but equally as often he would ask another question of his hearers.”
  - “You do not have to have a college degree to be an efficient teacher. But you do have to become acquainted with the life and teachings of the Master to be an effective teacher in the Church.”
October 1958 General Conference
- Peace and Brotherhood
  - “When you consider the varied talents they bring and the many walks of life that this group of men represent, when you know the individual strength and power that they bring, it is a marvelous thing to me to see the harmonious, intelligent unity that exists among these brethren.”
  - “Now, as I read the record of history, there is but one force strong enough to motivate a universal acceptance of brotherhood. That is, the acceptance of the Fatherhood of God and the divine Sonship of his Son, Jesus Christ, and thence all men as brothers. This has been the power that has united men in the past. This has been the plan of our Heavenly Father from the beginning, and it is no illusion. It has worked. We all know the story of Enoch who taught this gospel plan to his brethren, and when it was accepted they lived happily—so much so that the Lord walked and talked with them, and took them.”
April 1958 General Conference
- Seek Ye First
  - “I must confess that at the present time I do not know why the Lord has called me to this position. I have been taught a principle all of my life to which President Clark has given expression, that we neither seek nor do we decline the calls that come to us in this Church. Acceptance of this principle coupled with my faith that the Brethren who direct the affairs of this Church are acting for the Lord, lends strength sufficient to accept this assignment, and to pledge my heart, might, mind, and strength to the future assignments which shall be given to me. I thank you for your sustaining vote. I trust that in the days to come you will feel inclined to carry out the admonition of President Clark and help sustain me with your prayers.”

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