Francis M. Lyman – Gospel Study

Francis M. Lyman

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (October 6, 1903 – November 18, 1916)

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (October 27, 1880 – November 18, 1916)

General Conference Addresses

October 1916 General Conference
- We Should Be Active
  - “We are all industrious and persevering in regard to the things of this world, what we call temporal things, things of earth, which call for a good share of our attention; and it is just as important, and a little more so, that we should be industrious and occupied with the spiritualities, the religious side of our natures, and the service which the Lord requires of us for our salvation and the salvation of the children of men.”
April 1916 General Conference
- Temporal Salvation
  - “Let the Latter-day Saints take this warning and advice and see that there is a saving in this respect; for in the way of every family, there is none so poor but what there are times and opportunities where something can be saved.”
October 1915 General Conference
- Peace and Prosperity
  - “When a Latter-day Saint becomes immoral, he ceases to be a Latter-day Saint. If he becomes dishonest, if he is wicked and corrupt in any degree whatever, it deprives him of being a Latter-day Saint.”
  - “There is no sense, no judgment, no wisdom in the prosecution of wars as is being done in the world today. It is a shame and a disgrace to Christians or pagans to do what is being done today in tne world. It ought not to be, and we are laboring to correct those conditions as far as we possibly can in our own lives.”
April 1915 General Conference
- Duties of the Priesthood
  - “Every man who bears the priesthood is entitled to the right and privilege of magnifying that priesthood, at home or abroad, and we exhort you my brethren who have charge of these matters and are appointed and ordained for that purpose, we want you to see to it that employment is furnished every man that you lay your hands upon and ordain to the lesser priesthood or to the Melchizedek priesthood.”
October 1914 General Conference
- A Prayerful People
  - “We are sometimes high strung, and sin with our lips and tongues; we talk hastily and say things inconsiderately. We ought to have ourselves in good training so that whatever we do is well and properly done.”
  - “There isn’t any excuse for men to do wrong, no justification; we can’t plead any excuse. I care not what my neighbor does, what my brother does and others do, and how much they may be wrong, I have no excuse or justification for doing wrong, for the law is we should do good for evil.”
  - “It is the sick that need the physicians, but often it is the well that receive the chief attention from the physicians. That is the trouble, because those that are well we find easily, they are right in our way all the time, but those that are sick need to be hunted up by the physicians, and receive treatment at their hands.”
April 1914 General Conference
- Healing of the Sick
  - “The house of God is a house of order, so that it is not necessary for us to be moving about from place to place, from ward to ward. It sometimes occurs that brethren are inclined to make merchandise of their ministry, which is not proper to be done. All who are authorized should administer to the sick and wait upon them gratuitously; it is not proper that we should make merchandise of that ordinance.”
October 1913 General Conference
- Admonitions to the Priesthood
  - “I desire to say that if any man desires any office in this Church he desireth a good work, and yet I believe that no man in this Church should seek after either the office of a bishop or any other office, but yet should be ready and prepared to receive any official responsibility which the Lord has to bestow upon him.”
  - “It has never been designed of the Lord that men should receive responsible positions in His Church, and then disregard them, give no thought or attention to them; but they are required to listen to the counsels and commandments of the Lord and to observe them most perfectly.”
April 1913 General Conference
- Unity of Understanding
  - “There has been nothing required by the Lord through his servants that was not necessary, and that was not indispensible,—everything that is necessary for our salvation is indispensible. We must not forsake the way of life and salvation that is marked out for us.”
October 1912 General Conference
- Continuously Doing Good
  - “It is a difficult thing for men to do good always, and I want to show you, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord expects us to do so.”
  - “We should not be employed at any time, on any occasion, anywhere, doing anything that is not a good cause. Where we have done things that were not proper and right, and were not a good cause, we have departed from the obligation and undertaking that we entered into in the beginning, and our beginning was when we entered into covenant with the Lord.”
  - “I can’t think of a wrong that I ever did in my life, nor a wrong that you have ever done, that I have known about, but what we could just as well, and better, have done what was right. It has always been so with me, I could have done better.”
April 1912 General Conference
- Knowledge of God
  - “It is necessary, and it will take as much to save others as it will to save us; and the Lord requires of us that we shall be devoted and faithful, and keep the commandments of the Lord, and serve the Lord, and honor Him, and walk uprightly in His presence all the time; and those that can’t come here, we must go to them.”
October 1911 General Conference
- Duties of the Priesthood
  - “We have come to understand that faith, genuine living produces the very important principle of repentance, and that without repentance it is not possible to please God. Without baptism for the remission of sins it is not possible to please Him. Without the gift of the Holy Ghost it is not possible to please Him. But, with these great and superior, and primary principles in the gospel of life and salvation, we have discovered and have proven in our lives that men may be saved.”
  - “No man in this Church is entitled to receive divine authority from the Lord, and then forget Him. No man is entitled to receive the Priesthood in this Church, and stay at home on the Sabbath Day, and not partake of the sacrament. No man is entitled to have the Priesthood who does not remember the Lord and bow his knee before Him in the season thereof.”
  - “It is possible for us to endure, it is possible for us to serve the Lord; it is possible for us to do what is right, and nothing that is wrong. It is not necessary for us to do wrong, and we want to quit doing wrong and work righteousness and serve the Lord.”
  - “If a man remembers the Lord he will keep His commandments, and we do keep them just to the measure of our love of God. You know where you are at, without me trying to find out.”
  - “We have gone for the good and virtuous in the world, and called men to repentance. We do not want men who do not repent.”
April 1911 General Conference
- Judgment by Principles of the Sermon on the Mount
  - “You will not find good people persecuting bad people. Now, you look for persecutors, look for people right at home that are trespassers and you will find that the righteous are not transgressors. The righteous are not seeking to do injury to the wicked, but it is the wicked that persecute, that speak evil, and that revile their neighbors.”
  - “Let us be a sober people, and let us help those who are weak. If we are strong ourselves, and feel that we can get along, that we do not need any law or anything to help us, let us help those who need to be helped; let us strengthen them.”
October 1910 General Conference
- Guided By Inspiration
  - “Be humble and faithful, and do not forget the Lord, and do not forget your prayers, and remember the prayers that are acceptable to the Lord. The prayers of faith will save us. The prayer of faith and the prayer that is the sincere intent of the heart will bring forth the blessings of the Lord.”
April 1910 General Conference
- Works Manifest the Measures of Faith
  - “Every Latter-day Saint is entitled to this witness and testimony. If we have not received this witness and testimony, my brethren and my sisters, I want you all to remember that the fault is ours, and not the Lord’s; for every one is entitled to that witness, through faith and repentance, forsaking all sin baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands.”
  - “We can be moral, upright, true, and faithful. We can love one another; we can deal justly by one another; and we cannot please God without all these virtues developed in us.”
  - “It is not possible to please the Lord with faith alone. A genuine, living faith, never goes alone; it always produces works; it moves upon intelligences, and requires them and propels them to works of righteousness.”
October 1909 General Conference
- Reward of a Faithful Life
  - “We are not perfect, but I believe that we are doing better, that we are getting more thoroughly acquainted with doctrines and principles; I believe that we are making improvement and that the Gospel of redemption and of salvation and of restoration is producing fruit that can be measured in the conditions of the people, can be measured in the conditions of individuals.”
  - “If we have wrought righteousness, if we are redeemed, so that we do not want to do wrong any more, so that we do not want to be wicked, that we do not want to indulge in falsehood, intemperance, in profanity, or in any other measure of wickedness; if we are in that condition, we will know the virtue and the power of this Gospel.”
  - “We should see to it that our example, our conversation, shall be proper, and that their faith shall never be weakened by our example, nor by our precepts, but that everything that we do as parents shall tend to strengthen faith in the hearts of our children.”
  - “I know of nothing that is so degenerating and so dangerous as idleness, for the brain will seek out mischief. Satan is just as ready to tempt and to lead astray as the Spirit of the Lord is willing to lead us in ways of righteousness.”
April 1909 General Conference
- Responsibility of Parents
  - “Our trouble is, much as others, we have our agency, and our children, just like ourselves, have their agency; and although we may possibly set before them reasonably good examples, and be solicitous for them, prayerful and anxious for their salvation, yet they take their choice—your boys and mine, and our girls, they do just about as they please.”
  - “I believe it is generally understood, and advocated, that if we were better parents, better fathers and mothers, attended more faithfully to our duties in teaching our children and training them, we would have better children. I presume there is much truth in it; but sometimes good people, good parents, have bad boys and bad girls. I understand that the Lord has more bad boys and girls than anybody else; yet, He teaches, and instructs, and inspires, and is ready to do everything He. can for them; and aren’t you and I ready also to do what we can for our children.”
October 1908 General Conference
- The Word of Wisdom and the Sabbath
  - “On that day we should refrain from all labor, from all secular and improper pleasures, and spend the day in the service and worship of the Lord. Efforts have been made in numbers of cases to bring this matter before the presiding brethren and sisters in the various stakes of Zion. to try to bring them not only to observe the Word of Wisdom and the law of tithing, not only to meet together and partake of the Sacrament, but to make the legitimate and proper use of the Sabbath day.”
April 1908 General Conference
- The Word of Wisdom and Temperance
  - “I believe that every man who bears the Priesthood, every man who has entered into covenant with the Lord as we have done at the waters of baptism, to keep the commandments of the Lord, to observe them faithfully so far as we know them, and as fast as they shall be revealed unto us, I say I believe the time has come when they should observe the Word of Wisdom, as well as to pay their tithing, as well as to attend to their prayers and the worship of the Lord.”
  - “It is a good thing to do what is right among men—not only among Latter-day Saints, but in the world. Why, a man is absolutely safe in this world if he will only do what is right. This is what the law of the Gospel requires: that men should do what is right—work righteousness, for on no other principle can we obtain salvation.”
  - “If you be converted and are true Latter-day Saints, we want you to convert your neighbors—and convert them by your living. No stronger testimony can be borne in regard to the principles of honesty, temperance, justice, mercy, truth and morality, than for a man to live those principles and doctrines.”
  - “The leading brethren do not want to be lonesome in keeping the commandments of God. We want you to be temperate as we are temperate. It is not any more important that we should keep the commandments of God than that you should keep them.”
October 1907 General Conference
- Diligence
  - “We live only a little while, just a few years, and if we are wise we will strive to accomplish all that the Lord enables us to do; for we are laying the foundation of the most remarkable work that has ever been undertaken on this earth.”
  - “Let them be so trained that they will enjoy home reading and home society at night; make them feel that there is no place so comfortable, so safe, and congenial, as the home. They will never go astray while they are in good company.”
  - “There is nothing more dangerous than idleness. It is a good thing for boys and girls to be trained to labor.”
  - “There is a joy that comes to those who earn what they possess, who make their living by the sweat of their brows. I believe the Lord so designed. I believe that we are constructed to work with hands and brain.”
  - “We should remember that we have but a little time in this world; that this school in which we are entered is ours for only a brief season. It will be profitable to us if we lay a proper foundation and build upon it, showing by our lives that we are in earnest, that we are sincere, and that we keep the commandments of the Lord.”
April 1907 General Conference
- Priesthood Duties
  - “It is important that we should be well trained from our first reception of the Priesthood, for no man is fully justified who does not magnify the authority which the Lord confers upon him.”
  - “Now, we want your lives to be at least as good as ours. No man should be worse than we are. It is not pleasing to the Lord that your lives should be worse than ours. We want you to be better, to set us a good example, and to help us. You pray for us; we want you to live and labor with us.”
October 1906 General Conference
- Joy Obtained By Doing Good
  - “I love the Gospel because it is the truth; because it corrects our errors and reproves us for our sins. The spirit of this work always condemns our transgressions. We are so trained and schooled under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord that we cannot do wrong with impunity.”
  - “We cannot steal, nor lie, nor be immoral, impure or intemperate, nor in any manner trespass upon the rights of men or women, without feeling the condemnation which comes to our souls at the offense, and the departure of the Spirit of the Lord from us.”
  - “By doing right we are absolutely safe, free and fearless. We do not fear when we do right, we are afraid only when we transgress the law, when we break the ordinances, and when we disobey what is required of us; for sin makes cowards of us all.”
April 1906 General Conference
- The Lord Will Sustain His Church
  - “We need have no trouble or fear, for we have been made free by the Truth. The Gospel we have embraced has made us able to endure the trials and hardships of life.”
October 1905 General Conference
- Gospel Principles
  - “The principles of the Gospel have always been and will always be true. They have been revealed to us in the latter days. They have not been created in this dispensation.”
  - “Our lives offend them, not because we are wicked, but because we are not of them. They were not offended with the Savior because of his transgressions; they were not offended with His apostles because of their sins.”
April 1905 General Conference
- Proclaiming the Gospel
  - “The Gospel makes us free; but it is necessary that we should have a measure of freedom among the children of men, through the governments of the earth, before we can move the cause of Zion effectually among the nations.”
  - “By our natural senses we comprehend the things of the world; and just as information and knowledge come to us by hearing and feeling and seeing, so does the inspiration of the Holy Ghost fill the hearts and souls of all men who sincerely repent.”
October 1904 General Conference
- Material Prosperity of the Nation
  - “My brethren and sisters and friends who dwell in the state of Utah, let us join together and utilize the ability, the wisdom and the capital that we have for the prosperity of this great State. I feel that it will be profitable for us to consider these things, and to make as much progress as we can, and not too slowly. It is wonderful what has been accomplished in some directions.”
  - “We love peace; we seek peace; we preach it, we teach it, we advise and counsel it, all the time; for this is the work of the Lord that the Latter-day Saints are engaged in. This is the land of Zion—the land of peace—the land of the pure in heart. The pure in heart will be happy; and those who are not pure and are not conscientious in their lives will reap the reward of sorrow.”
  - “Avoid bankruptcy and ruin; for a man cannot be comfortable spiritually who is in bondage financially.”
April 1904 General Conference
- Unity Among the Saints
  - “The Lord has spoken to us today by the inspiration of His Spirit. He has been present with us by His Spirit. Every Latter-day Saint has been moved upon by that same Spirit, and record has been borne in our hearts that we have listened to the word and the will of the Lord. That is the power, the secret power, that binds our hearts together and makes them respond as one, no matter where we may be.”
  - “He needs our righteous services that we may be saved; He needs my services that I may be saved and redeemed; He needs my devotion and faithfulness every day of my life.”
  - “Do not try to speak without the Spirit of the Lord; do not try to build up the kingdom of God without the direction of His Spirit. If we endeavor to do these things by our own wisdom we will be sure to go astray and make mistakes.”
  - “Men make mistakes, but God never does. He knows what is right and proper. He knows what should be done, and how and when it should be done; and He leads His Church and people gently along, and will lead them unto salvation.”
April 1901 General Conference
- The True Aim of Life
  - “This work is of the Lord, and it is only understood and accomplished by the Spirit of the Lord. The natural man is unable to comprehend it. It looks foolish and unreasonable to him, because it is beyond his comprehension. But to the simplest one who has repented and been baptized with water and with fire and the Holy Ghost, this work appears quite reasonable and natural.”
  - “The Lord requires His people to bow the knee before Him every night and morning, and to remember Him in their secret prayers. Every Latter-day Saint who neglects this requirement has not that supply of oil which is necessary to prepare him for the coming of the Son of man.”
  - “We hardly expect to be perfect in this life; but we do want to be perfect. That is the object of our being—to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect; to do as the Son of God has done, to live as He lives, in the light and inspiration of the Lord, to serve the Lord, to be His sons and daughters, to keep His commandments, to know Him as He is, and have the inspiration and light of His countenance always in our hearts, in our homes, and in all our operations and labors of life.”
  - “We have not gone into the world to gather people who indulge in such evil practices; but we have labored all the time to gather the honest, the conscientious, the upright, and those who would be obedient and pure in their lives. If they are not willing to submit to these requirements, we do not want them. We cannot save them in their sins; they must repent and reform. If they do not do this, the Gospel has no chance to save them.”
  - “We are responsible for our own transgressions. We must repent of them. Baptism is unavailing without repentance. Faith that does not produce repentance is unavailing.”
  - “Not a man or woman can have the necessary oil and preparation who hath not earned it by his or her own devoted service to the Lord. And we have not a moment to be careless.”
April 1900 General Conference
- Union and Peculiarity
  - “We have presented to the world a very startling and remarkable work, a work that requires repentance and reformation. And when repentance has been complied with, in order that that repentance may be genuine and the forgiveness of sins continue, it must be eternal. It is not enough for men to repent in order to come into the Church, and then do as they please, but their repentance must be perpetual; it must not need to be repented of.”
  - “Is a man justified in this church who fails to partake of the Sacrament when the opportunity is offered? Is a man justified who does not bow his knee before the Lord daily, and who forgets the Lord in secret prayer? I think not.”
  - “We cannot be honest enough with our Father in heaven to justify us in being dishonest with our brethren.”
  - “There is no salvation in professions alone, or in promises and covenants, nor is there any salvation in the blessings that are put upon us under the hands of the servants of God, unless we do the will of God.”
October 1899 General Conference
- Forgiveness and Repentance
  - “You may be certain, my brethren and sisters, that any person who is not able to observe this law faithfully and well will never, worlds without end, be able to observe the law of consecration. The law of tithing is a stepping stone, and it is a law that will abide forever, because a great majority possibly of the children of God will not be able to reach the higher law.”
  - “Sins are not forgiven through the payment of tithing, nor through the partaking of the sacrament, nor observing the Word of Wisdom, or prayer. There are blessings attached to each of these important requirements of the Gospel; but if a man would have his sins forgiven, and be allowed to enter into the Church, he must have faith in God, and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost, he must repent of all his sins, turn unto the Lord with full purpose of heart and sin no more.”
  - “We must not turn like the dog to his vomit or the sow to her wallowing in the mire, but we must reform and then labor as the Lord directs, then He will gladly forgive us.”
  - “Deal honestly and squarely with the Lord, and you will very readily be able to deal honestly and squarely with your brethren.”
  - “I am not satisfied to be alone. I want my family, my kindred and my friends with me; hence I desire to be exemplary and to use my influence with them, that they also may have a worthy record.”
April 1899 General Conference
- Comprehensiveness of the Plan of Salvation
  - “The plan that He has offered us for this purpose commends itself to every honest, unprejudiced soul, because it is a reasonable plan, founded on truth. It has saved people before, it is saving people now, and will save people so long as there are people to be saved, and there always will be people to be saved.”
  - “If we are wise we shall come as near to obtaining a fulness in this life as we can. We will seek the riches of eternity here. We can take the riches of eternal life with us when we leave this sphere, but we cannot take the riches of this world.”
  - “The Lord wants us to have faith in Him. Now, that is possible. He has the faith to bestow. He is the giver of it. Man cannot impart it. It is the gift of God—a gift that He is anxious to bestow upon all His children.”
  - “I say that the very first step to repentance is to quit sinning and to become manly, honorable and upright.”
  - “Forgiveness does not come by faith alone, nor by promising that we will do better some time. It is necessary that we should cease sinning and begin to do well.”
  - “If we can have faith in the Lord, if we can repent and have our sins blotted out, is it not profitable to us to sacrifice our tastes, our appetites, our carnal desires, and those principles that only yield a temporary satisfaction, that we may obtain these precious blessings?”
October 1898 General Conference
- Time Should Be Economized for Righteousness
  - “It is very important that we should learn to live unitedly, to be humble, to be faithful in the discharge of the duties that devolve upon us, and to fulfill the requirements of our Heavenly Father.”
  - “We have our sins upon us and we cannot atone for them ourselves; they have been atoned for by the Son of God. But we must repent of them, which we can do.”
  - “What joy and happiness there is when we are serving God with full purpose of heart all the time, when sin ceases to afflict us, when temptations and trials are kept far from us. The path is straight, it is narrow, but it is easy and most pleasant. Let us try and walk it, and be faithful in the discharge of every duty.”
April 1898 General Conference
- The Genius of Peace
  - “The time will never come, probably, until the Savior appears, when we will not have difficulties to overcome and trials to pass through. We are here for that purpose, and every trial that has been given to us, of every nature, has been for our benefit, and has tended to try and prove us.”
October 1897 General Conference
- Sacred Ground
  - “It is important that we should keep our hearts broken and tender, and our spirits contrite, and meek, and lowly of heart, that we should remember the Lord day by day, and that we should honor Him and keep His commandments and work righteousness, for we have the power.”
  - “The power is in us. The Lord has given it to us, and the Lord has given to all men the power to do good and to honor Him and to keep His commandments.”
October 1881 General Conference
- The Character of God’s Work
  - “We forget the early love of the Gospel. We are too much swallowed up, perhaps, in the making of a living, in obtaining the comforts of this life and a little more of this world’s goods. We ought to labor; we ought to be industrious; we ought to seek to gather from the elements means that would sustain us, to clothe us, to build our habitations, and to enable us materially to build up the kingdom of God. But as the spirit and body are one, and grow together, sympathizing with each other, the spirit giving life to the body, without which the body cannot live at all, so it should be with us in regard to the things of the kingdom. The Spirit of the Lord should be first, the life, the energy that should propel us to the performance of our temporal duties. In cultivating the earth, in buying and selling, in caring for the wealth of the world, our object should be to supply our necessities, to make ourselves comfortable, to keep us alive, to keep us in good condition; but the chief part of our lives should be used in works of righteousness, of charity, seeking to improve the spiritual condition of man, to develop the intellectual man, to develop the moral man, and to gain favor with our heavenly Father; and to lay up treasures in this life that can be taken hence with us. We are not ambitious enough to excel in doing good.”
  - “We cannot have our sins forgiven, and continue in sin.”
  - “I say unto you that every man who has received any portion of the Priesthood is a missionary; and the salvation of the world, to a certain extent, rests upon his shoulders. And the man who neglects his duty will see a day of sorrow for his neglect.”
  - “Let every man ask himself this question: Has this tongue of mine been used to the very best advantage?”

Other Talks

Necessity of Faith, Discourse in Salt Lake City, February 24, 1884
- “It is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord, for us to partake of the sacrament if there be hard feelings in our hearts, if there be jealousness, if there be enmity or strife, if we are not in fellowship with one another, if we are not in fellowship with the Church, if we are not keeping the commandments of the Lord, if we are not living in peace, if we are not obedient to the counsels of heaven; I say that it is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord to partake of the sacrament under such circumstances. This is an ordinance that should be partaken of properly, understandingly, thoughtfully, and with faith that we will receive an increased portion of the Holy Spirit.”
- “No one that was living in the days of Nauvoo, or in the days of Kirtland, or that joined the Church during the lifetime of President Young, and has faithfully endured to the present time, can arrogate to himself that he has so endured in his own strength. God has sustained him. The Lord has given him a testimony, and established in his heart a knowledge of the truth. And the reason that this Church is so much more stable and solid—cannot be overthrown, cannot be broken in upon by those from the outside—is that in each individual heart is established a knowledge that comes by the gift of God—the Holy Ghost.”
- “There is nothing on earth of greater value to your children than a knowledge of the truth. I know of no gift that could be given to my children from among men that would compensate for their being deprived of the knowledge that God has established His Church and Kingdom upon the earth; that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and that God lives. To deprive them of this knowledge, nothing could compensate for its loss.”

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