Eldred G. Smith

Patriarch to the Church (April 10, 1947 – October 6, 1979

General Conference Addresses

• April 1978 General Conference
  • Decision
    • “Use your God-given free agency to choose honesty against dishonesty, to serve your fellowmen, and to build up the kingdom of God.”
• April 1976 General Conference
  • Who Is Jesus?
    • “Do you so think of him when partaking of the sacrament, and covenant to keep his commandments? To know him is to keep his commandments. Do you know him who was called Jesus?”
• October 1975 General Conference
  • Family Research
    • “Then we need to gather all the records of our ancestors that we possibly can. I do not mean just a half-hearted attempt. Seek diligently, constantly, and prayerfully. Do not wait for a convenient time—a convenient time may never come. Do not put it off until old age when we are not able to do anything else. We never know what tomorrow will bring, and we must see that the work is done of completing the sealing of each family group. There is no one who can escape the responsibility of this work. We will not be excused because we thought an aunt or some other relative was doing the work.”
• October 1974 General Conference
  • Do Not Procrastinate!
    • “It seems very significant to me that, among the first instructions to the Prophet in the process of the restoration of the gospel, this work, which has to do with temples and the ordinances performed therein, was given. This must be very fundamental to the essentials of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
• April 1974 General Conference
  • Three Days in the Tomb
    • “Through his resurrection, eternal progress for all mankind has been made possible. He opened the way that we may go on and on and on forever.”
    • “I had the same feeling come over me when I first visited the Sacred Grove in western New York. As I walked into that grove early one morning all alone, the witness came to me that truly the Father and the Son did appear to the boy Joseph Smith just as Christ had appeared to Mary in the garden.”
    • “Truly he lives and has again established his kingdom upon the earth to prepare for his coming in glory to reign upon the earth.”
• October 1973 General Conference
  • Opposition in Order to Strengthen Us
    • “So it is with us today, we must also have the bitter in order to know the sweet. Sometimes some of us think we have the bitter and not enough of the sweet. This is normal. We all have our trials of life to strengthen us. Each thinks he has the hardest or most severe trials. It may be that they are the most difficult only because they are the hardest or most difficult for you. The diamond is enhanced and made more valuable with polishing. Steel is made harder and more valuable through tempering. So also opposition builds the character of man.”
• October 1972 General Conference
  • Why Do Latter-day Saints Build Temples?
    • “The living come first. It is necessary for us to receive these ordinances first; then we may be privileged to do this work for our ancestors, to whom the promise was made that we would come to earth in this the dispensation of the fulness of times to do this work for them.”
• April 1972 General Conference
  • Peace
    • “Did you ever have a guilty conscience? Do you know the turmoil and tumult it can bring to your very soul? It can cause mental and even physical illness. Do you know the blessed relief of rectifying whatever caused this feeling? It may have been an unkind word, a thoughtless act, or it may have gone deeper than that. Until you have adjusted whatever causes a guilty conscience, you cannot hope for peace of mind.”
    • “If each person would have peace within his soul, then there would be peace in the family. If there is peace in each family, then there is peace in the nation. If there is peace in the nations, there is peace in the world.”
• October 1971 General Conference
  • Decisions
    • “Free agency requires that there must be a choice. There must be an opposing force. There is no growth, no movement, no accomplishment or progress without overcoming an opposing force. Lucifer and his agents provided that opposing force, which made free agency possible for us in this life.”
    • “Lucifer did not come here of his own choosing. He lost that war in heaven and was put here to do a job, and he is doing a good job.”
• April 1971 General Conference
  • All May Share in Adam’s Blessing
    • “Hence, all nations and families of the earth may receive the blessings of the gospel and eternal life through their faithfulness. To fulfill this promise given to Adam, then, the necessity is apparent of a renewing of priesthood leadership through a prophet of God at various intervals throughout time. These intervals have been called dispensations: from Adam to Seth—to Enoch—to Noah—to Abraham—to Moses—to Elias—to John the Baptist—to Jesus Christ—to the apostles Peter, James, and John.”
• October 1970 General Conference
  • The Law of Obedience
    • “No wonder the law of obedience is called the first law of heaven. In 1 Samuel 15:22, we read, obedience is better than sacrifice. All the blessings and benefits of sacrifice come as a result of obedience.”
    • “We are too often afraid of what is called blind obedience, but obedience to God is always right—blind or otherwise.”
    • “I have heard many converts tell how they learned to live the Word of Wisdom to join the Church. Good health is not a requirement to join the Church. Obedience is. Each one has said if that’s what the Lord wanted, he would do it.”
• April 1970 General Conference
  • Choose Ye This Day
    • “The only power I know of that will bind Satan, or render him powerless, is righteous living.”
    • “Then step by step, you may bind Satan now; you don’t have to wait for the millennial reign. This has to start first on an individual basis, each person individually; then a group, then several groups, and so on until the whole earth is full of righteousness.”
    • “If he were to come today, would you be counted among the 50 percent of the members of his kingdom who will be prepared, or among the 50 percent of his kingdom who will only be partly prepared, or will you not he counted in his kingdom at all, waiting for a time when Satan will be bound for you instead of binding him yourself?”
• October 1969 General Conference
  • Temples Are Essential
    • “Temples are more than just a gathering place for the Saints, or who might call themselves Saints. They are holy edifices where the Lord God can talk to his people through the leaders, the prophets of God, and make his will known concerning them. Also, temples are holy edifices wherein sacred saving ordinances may be performed in such manner, and by proper authority, as to be acceptable to God our Father in heaven.”
    • “Many men spend large sums of money, even buy a special home or a car, just to make their wives happy; but the greatest happiness that could come to either or both of them would be to so live as to be worthy to be sealed together as husband and wife for all eternity.”
    • “There is no exaltation without the celestial sealing of marriage. This must be done in the temple of God, either while living or vicariously after death. The home is the only eternal organization. These are the saving ordinances that can be performed only in a temple, built and dedicated unto the Lord. Thus it is absolutely essential to build temples.”
• April 1969 General Conference
  •  Service: The Heart of the Gospel
    • “With the assurance of this great promise, obedience to eternal law should be a joy, not a burden, and give each the incentive to not just be passive members of the Church but to be diligent in trying to further advance his kingdom on the earth.”
    • “This means, then, that mere membership alone is not enough—no, not even if you have a testimony of the divinity of the gospel—if you are not producing or bearing fruit.”
• October 1968 General Conference
  • The World Needs Healing
    • “There should be no doubt in the minds of any of us that the world is not well. It is not dying yet, but it is sick. It does not have an incurable disease, for we have a good physician. The world just needs healing.”
    • “The promise here is only to those who repent and do his will—yes, the promise of eternal life. This means exaltation. He will save the world in that all will be resurrected, but only those who come unto him and do his will shall receive eternal life.”
• April 1968 General Conference
  • Jesus, The Son of God
    • “All he did was for others— a life of service. There was not one selfish act.”
    • “He took upon himself the sins of all who shall repent, and gave his life that all might live. He brought about the resurrection for all.”
    • “Do you so think of him when partaking of the sacrament, and covenant to keep his commandments? To know him is to keep his commandments. Do you know him who is called Jesus?”
• October 1967 General Conference
  • Ask, Seek and Knock
    • “It seems quite simple, but to “ask,” “seek,” or “knock” involves effort on our part.”
    • “I think the Lord gave him this experience purposely, to show him by his own experience that the adversary would exert every effort to get the plates and would stop at nothing to hinder the work of the Lord; also, to teach him that he would be given help as may be needed if he would exert his own efforts first. The Lord must have given him extra strength beyond his own physical abilities to carry the plates, knock down three men, and run three miles.”
    • “Not even with the Urim and Thummim does it come without effort. Joseph had to exert all his effort, physically and mentally. He had to put forth his full effort. So it is with us today. We must put forth our full effort, give our full Church-service time.”
    • “The promise is also to us: we will be given the help that we need to fulfill the Lord’s work if we will put forth our effort first.”
• April 1967 General Conference
  • Go Forth to Serve
    • “Give only secondary thought to the monetary advantage of your chosen vocation. As you serve others, your joy in serving increases.”
    • “Then we too must come to that degree of perfection of total service as he did, if we are to receive the great blessings promised of immortality and eternal life.”
• October 1966 General Conference
  • Repent and Turn to God
    • “We must cleanse ourselves from all iniquity. We must humble ourselves must again make the home sacred, and we must honor virtue!”
• April 1966 General Conference
  • Can You Abide Two Hours?
    • “One of the main purposes of this life is to overcome obstacles, to gain strength, to grow to the point where we can endure many things.”
    • “Wouldn’t you promise to endure almost anything for two hours to get the blessings that the Lord has promised of eternal life and to become as he is?”
• October 1965 General Conference
  • Temple Marriage
    • “You find these people to associate with, if you can’t find good members of the Church; but at any rate, whether they are members or not, associate with those who are living the standards of the Church.”
• April 1965 General Conference
  • Family Unity through a Father’s Blessing
    • “I can’t understand how anyone who has been married in the temple and understands the meaning of celestial marriage, which is for time and all eternity, can get himself in such a condition as even to consider divorce.”
    • “Naturally I could see what had happened. This is a two-way street. First she had to clean her side of the slate and humble herself. Then she asked him for the blessing, and he had to humble himself and clean his side of the slate. Then he sealed the blessing upon her which they had fulfilled by living the law upon which the blessing was predicated. This is priesthood order.”
    • “Some go through life just tolerating each other rather than correcting the trouble. Do something about it. Exercise the priesthood which is in your home.”
• April 1964 General Conference
  • The Lord’s Way—The Best Way
    • “I would invite all those who are not members of the Church who have a desire to seek God, to seek God through prayer because he will answer their prayers. He is a True and Living God. He will answer their prayers. He may not answer them as you think he may, for our Father has many languages, but he will choose the language which is best for you. It may come to you through experiences. Some may be difficult, yet they will be a lesson to you which will answer your prayers. He may answer your prayer in a way which will make you stronger, help you to progress, and give you the burning in your heart that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ restored in these the latter days.”
• October 1963 General Conference
  • How Much Is too Much?
    • “None of us knows when our soul may be required of us. It may be later than we think.”
• April 1963 General Conference
  • Gain a Testimony
    • “The power and function of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the truth, and especially to testify of the Father and of the Son. The Holy Ghost, being a personage of Spirit, speaks through our spirits.”
• October 1962 General Conference
  • A Time of Testing
    • “Who has not felt at one time or another that the Lord has turned against him without cause? We all come to the occasion at times I think when we feel as if all has been turned loose against us. We’ve had difficulties and trials and sicknesses.”
    • “Going back to the story now to get the principle I was looking for, we note that Satan had power to do only what God had permitted him to do. Satan did not win that war in heaven. He was cast out of heaven to do what the Lord wanted him to do, to test and try and torment man. Satan, then, has power on this earth only as the Lord permits and as we yield to his temptations.”
• April 1962 General Conference
  • Our Responsibility to Our Dead
    • “If baptism were so necessary for Jesus, who was a perfect man, without sin, the very Son of God, to fulfil all righteousness, then how much more necessary must it be for all others to receive baptism. Then, too, if the Lord requires baptism to see or enter into the kingdom of God, then the Lord is obligated to provide a plan or way whereby all mankind may receive this important ordinance.”
• October 1961 General Conference
  • Whom Do You Worship?
    • “I ask—whom do you worship? Whom do I worship? I worship my God who is my Father in heaven, the Father of my spirit, a resurrected, glorified, perfected man, not resurrected from this earth, no, but from some previous earth in the long distant past.”
• April 1961 General Conference
  • What Makes a Latter-day Saint?
    • “We must be willing to forgive and forget. Most of us have a natural ability to forget, especially the things we are supposed to remember. Most of us work diligently to increase our power to remember. However, in forgiving, we should increase or attempt to increase and work diligently to increase our power to forget.”
    • “Often we think of forgiveness as a form of charity. We forget that the benefits extend both ways. It is as beneficial to forgive as to be forgiven.”
    • “One who hates is his own tormentor. Unless you forgive, you cannot love. Without love, life has little or no meaning.”
• October 1960 General Conference
  • The Greatest of All Blessings
    • “This is truly a choice generation. I am sure there is no blessing given but what there is an obligation. Where much is given, much is expected. We have heard from many speakers at this conference of our obligation to teach the gospel, to warn our neighbors, and above all to live the gospel ourselves.”
• April 1960 General Conference
  • Patriarchs
    • “Every holder of the priesthood who is head of a family, has the right to bless members of his own family. However, it is not priesthood order for him to declare the blessings of the lineage of Israel. This is the specific responsibility of an ordained patriarch. For that reason, among others, we go to ordained patriarchs to receive those blessings.”
    • “If you can discover the keynote in your blessing, it will be an index to point the way of life for you, or the path that you should go to serve God. These blessings are an eternal anchor for our soul with the Lord. They are just as eternal and binding upon us, through our faithfulness, as were the blessings given by Adam, Abraham, Jacob, or any other patriarch of past times. Because of their eternal nature the Lord has required that they be recorded so that we have a record of them in the archives of the Church, and each individual is given a copy of his blessing so that he might have it available for himself. We encourage and recommend that members of the Church receive only one patriarchal blessing, which blessing is recorded as an eternal record.”
• October 1959 General Conference
  • That You May Know the Truth
    • “We are made up of a spirit and a physical body. That spirit body lived in the pre-existence, and that spirit that is down inside of us and gives us light is what prompts us to a knowledge of truth. When we are in tune with the Spirit of the Lord, that spirit within us gives us that knowledge that no one else can take from us. When we keep the commandments of the Lord, and one of the primary purposes of being on this earth is to learn obedience by our experience and to seek the gospel so that we can have as a reward through our free agency for having lived the law of the gospel, the many blessings which the gospel plan gives us, that spirit within us prompts us and gives us that knowledge.”
• April 1959 General Conference
  • Work for the Dead
    • “Many people who join the Church are the only ones in their family in the Church and are especially assigned and their special mission is to gather their genealogy and perform the sealing blessings that the fathers may receive the blessings promised in the promise of Elijah.”
• October 1958 General Conference
  • The Tempering Process of Life
    • “God gives us darkness to see into the distance. He gives us light to see close up. The stars shine in the daylight as much as they do at night, yet we need the darkness in which to see the stars.”
• April 1958 General Conference
  • How Near to God Are You?
    • “To prove our obedience, among other things, there was a gospel plan given. This plan made necessary a Savior. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, came in the Meridian of Time, and through his atoning sacrifice broke the bonds of death and opened the gates of the resurrection.”
    • “I wonder how many of us who are members of the Church draw near to him with our lips, but our hearts are far from him. Are we near enough to pay a full tithing? Are we near enough to keep the Word of Wisdom? Do we attend our Sacrament meetings? Do we do our ward teaching? Do we partake of the Sacrament and covenant to keep his commandments, and then keep them? Do we go to the temple to be sealed as husband and wife for time and eternity? Do we have peace, love, and harmony in our homes? Or are we like the ten virgins the Lord referred to of whom only fifty percent would measure up to come into his presence?”
• April 1957 General Conference
  • House of the Lord
    • “How often have I heard people say that they prefer to commune with their Maker in the canyons, or elsewhere, instead of attending their Sacrament meetings. They prefer the trees and the mountains to their church. As President Smith has told us today, many people are losing the right attitude toward keeping the Sabbath day holy. As a result they lose the desire and the right to go to the temple. Some intend to go later, when it is more convenient. These people lose the blessings of eternity, and to them the temple loses its sanctity.”
• October 1956 General Conference
  • The Holy Ghost Testifies
    • “In cottage meetings and other gatherings where the gospel is proclaimed, all do not receive it the same; yet the same thing is taught to all. There are some in the group who will apply that law by which that blessing may be received, that of putting themselves in tune with the Spirit, just like a large radio transmitting station. The Lord’s spirit is with us all. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, but if we do not put ourselves in tune, we do not get the reception. If we do not get the reception, it is not the fault of the broadcasting station, it is the fault of the receiver, and we are the receiver; we must put our spirit in tune.”
    • “So I say, let us put ourselves in tune. If there are members in the Church who are uncertain, who are lacking in that strength of a testimony, ask, and ye shall receive, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. If you will put yourself in tune that your spirit shall be in tune with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, then you shall receive a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
• April 1956 General Conference
  • Exaltation through Obedience
    • “The Lord wants only to bring us back into the presence of God. For that purpose he has established the priesthood on the earth. He has established his kingdom with just laws and ordinances, through obedience to which we may obtain eternal life in the presence of our Father in heaven.”
    • “The Lord is constantly making it easier to find him. He has established his Church with the divine authority to teach and administer in the ordinances thereof. He has established the missionary system to teach and to seek out those who wish to accept his invitation to eternal life.”
    • “The invitation to receive eternal life requires more than mere acceptance of baptism. When we receive the Holy Ghost which reveals unto us the truth, it is then our responsibility to extend his invitation to others. This is one case where the more you give to others, the more you receive unto yourself. Then give generously in teaching the gospel. Accept of his invitation to receive him, that you with your family and friends may return unto our Father in heaven, exalted in his kingdom.”
• October 1955 General Conference
  • Unity in the Faith
    • “This is a challenge to us, brothers and sisters, that we might do as they did in Uelzen—not just to move to another section, but that we might live the commandments of the Lord as they did. They did it for a special purpose, and the Lord blessed them in their efforts. We have a responsibility today to unite together in keeping the commandments of the Lord. We need to be united in keeping his commandments more now than ever before because the eyes of the world are upon us now more than ever before.”
• April 1955 General Conference
  • Humilty Builds Faith
    
    • “Humility is one of the qualities that help build faith. Would a missionary be successful if he were not humble? He has to be teachable with a receptive mind before he can teach others, and to be teachable, he must be humble. And we should all be missionaries.”
    • “All the requirements of living the gospel become easier through humility.”
• October 1954 General Conference
  • Pertaining to Our Salvation
    • “God himself established the first family unit. It is not an institution developed by man which can be outgrown and cast aside in the course of human progress.”
    • “Then we need to gather all the records of our ancestors that we possibly can. I do not mean just a halfhearted attempt. Seek diligently, constantly, and prayerfully. Do not wait for a convenient time—it will never come. Do not put it off until old age when we not able to do anything else. We never know what tomorrow will bring, and we must see that the work is done, completing the sealing of each family group. There is no one who can escape the responsibility of this work. We will not be excused because we thought an aunt or some other relative was doing the work.”
• April 1954 General Conference
  • If Thou Wilt Be Perfect
    • “As long as we are not perfect, we are in need of repentance, for all improvement comes as a result of repentance. Each should take daily inventory of himself and try to do better each day. Repentance is a daily affair.”
• October 1953 General Conference
  • Don’t Procrastinate Temple Marriage
    • “Those who so procrastinate surely do not fully understand what celestial marriage means to them. They must act on faith. A full knowledge of such things comes only from faithful obedience.”
    • “To procrastinate is the greatest gamble on earth.”
    • “There just isn’t any sympathy for a man who knows he has had his chance and has deliberately forfeited it.”
• April 1953 General Conference
  • Live for the Blessings
    • “Through meeting together the fire of our testimony is kept alive and glowing. It is through meeting and working together that we grow in faith and in knowledge. When we withdraw from Church activity, we become as the lone coal on the hearth, cold and lifeless.”
    • “We must serve the Lord diligently and intelligently, keeping all his commandments, if we expect to receive his blessings.”
    • “A patriarchal blessing gives us courage to live as we know we should live. It helps to keep us from yielding to temptation, to do the things we have been taught to do.”
• October 1952 General Conference
  • Be of Good Cheer
    • “We as Latter-day Saints must keep the faith in the future, faith in man, faith in God, live the gospel so that everyone who sees our actions will have a desire to be as we are. They will then sense the happiness and the joy that come to us as the result of our knowledge of the gospel and that are displayed in our everyday life. Thus we will be teaching the gospel.”
    • “Have faith and show your faith in your works. Be of good cheer, Satan cannot stand cheerfulness which comes from right living. Accept the present as having the greatest opportunities of life and the future to become greater.”
• April 1952 General Conference
  • Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood
    • “Thus today we have more than one patriarch; we have one or more in each of the stakes of the Church; and they are represented in the group here on my right. We always have a section here reserved for the stake patriarchs. They are outstanding, faithful members of the Church, who have been given the responsibility of blessing the people in their stakes, blessing those who desire blessings. And just as it was in ancient times—today, too, the Lord’s people desire his blessings. And as a Church we have the priesthood and the authority through which these blessings may be given. These blessings given today are more formal than those given in ancient times, that is, judging from the meager records which we have. A patriarchal blessing today, given by an ordained patriarch, should contain a declaration of lineage, that is, the tribe of Israel through which the promises of inheritance shall come, even as assignments of inheritances were given in ancient Israel.”
    • “We are asked, what about additional blessings? These additional blessings need not be given by an ordained patriarch. Through the patriarchal order of the priesthood it is the right and duty of a father to minister unto his own individual family. That is, the father in the home has a perfect right or duty to bless his children. That is, if the father holds the priesthood which authorizes him to do so, he may bless his own children, and also baptize them and confirm them, with full consent and appointment from the duly authorized officers in charge.”
• October 1951 General Conference
  • The Art of Living
    • “What can bring greater joy to man than a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, to know the plan of salvation, and to know that he has an opportunity to follow that plan and receive salvation—yes, even exaltation. Then take that knowledge and give it to others, paint the atmosphere and medium through which they look.”
    • “Such art is not confined to the ordained missionaries. Every member of the Church can so live as to change the atmosphere around him for the benefit of others. Teach the principles of the gospel through your very deeds, acts of kindness; be sincere in your religion and live it strictly, that through your deeds others shall follow.”
    • “Live the gospel first, then teach it to others. Declare your testimony to others on every occasion. There is a power in bearing your testimony.”
    • “A testimony is more than a mathematical calculation. It is more than the result of a given experience. As a young man enumerated a number of experiences in the process of his conversion, after each experience he said, “That was not what converted me.” Again, “And that was not what converted me.” It was the accumulation of many experiences with sincerity and prayer which put him in tune to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. And so it is with me and all others who have a testimony. The Spirit testifies from within.”
• April 1951 General Conference
  • Obedience Brings Happiness
    • “Joy comes as a result of progress, as a result of accomplishment for good.”
    • “The success of our entire earth life depends upon how well we learn to be obedient. There can be no obedience without free agency which gives us both good and evil to choose from. Thank God for the gospel plan and the power God gives us to resist evil and choose the right.”
• October 1950 General Conference
  • Seek Ye the Lord
    • “Among other things the Lord said, “Pray to our Father in heaven.” And herein, I think that we need to be careful, because very often we open our prayer with the expression of praying to our Father in heaven, then during the prayer we use the term “Lord,” and before we are through it is hard to tell whether we are addressing the Father or his Son, Jesus Christ. We should pray to our Father in heaven, for he is indeed the Father of all mankind on the earth, and because he is our Father, he wants us to come to him often with our joys and our sorrows and thank him for all that he has given us.”
    • “Unless our whole heart is in what we are doing, we are not really praying. A child is naturally sincere and can be taught to pray almost with its first words. His own private prayer should become a habit never to be broken. If he greets the day with a prayer for guidance and help, if he goes to sleep with a prayer of thanksgiving, more than half the battle is won in trying to do right.”
• April 1950 General Conference
  • Strongest Is the Gentle Hand
    • “I would not hesitate to say that many of our failures to comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel come from a failure to understand completely the blessings gained therefrom. No one in his right mind would knowingly turn down such gain for a fleeting satisfaction. How great is our responsibility then as parents, teachers, or missionaries to try to instill these teachings in the minds and hearts of our children, neighbors, and fellow men.”
    • “There is nothing so strong as gentleness, and nothing so gentle as real strength.”
    • “It is no wonder that good Latter-day Saint people are often said to be the happiest people on earth. We have more to live for.”
• October 1949 General Conference
  • The Need for Repentance
    • “We are only human. And certainly, to err is human. The conflicting forces of good and evil in the world, and our free agency to choose what course we will, make it very hard to do what is right all the time.”
    • “Repentance is not only sorrow for our sins, but also turning aside and exerting ourselves to the utmost to make retribution.”
    • “There are four kinds of people in the world. There is the kind that does not know when things are wrong, and the kind that knows when things are wrong but does not care. There is the kind that knows when things are wrong and does care, but does not care enough to make them right. And there is the fourth kind that knows when things are wrong and strives intelligently to make them right and to keep them right. Those are the people who know how to progress.”
    • “We must be aware of our sins and repent every day of our lives if we would strive for perfection. Repentance is not only for some big sin or for our past sins before we are baptized—it is also regretting every slip we make and honestly striving to do better.”
    • “As the time of repentance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker. Neglect of opportunity in holy things brings a forfeit of the chance.”
• April 1949 General Conference
  • The Source of Happiness
    • “If you are fortunate enough to have a home and a family, your chances for happiness are unlimited. But it takes love—plenty of love to make a home happy. The more we give in understanding, sympathy, and service to others, the happier we are. And love is kind it is ready to overlook failures and try again. If we could only keep our hearts filled with love, this earth would be a heaven of happiness.”
    • “Happiness certainly does not come from just idle goodness.”
• October 1948 General Conference
  • Teach Your Children
    • “Temple marriage is an ideal which should be upheld in our homes from earliest infancy. Don’t think that a child is too young to understand. You would be surprised at his comprehension. A small seven-year-old boy was being teased at school one day; his friends were saying that a certain little girl was his sweetheart. The little boy’s answer was, “Oh, she couldn’t be my sweetheart; she isn’t even a Mormon.” Truly, train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
    • “There are some Latter-day Saints who are successful in converting their companions after marriage. Don’t expect this to happen to you. In most of these cases those concerned are married before they know or understand the laws of temple marriage. Teach your children that if they do not love enough to be married for eternity, they should not be married at all. After one is given the knowledge of temple marriage, so that he knows how the Lord intended marriage to be, and then in spite of that knowledge he deliberately does contrary, it is like closing the door in the Lord’s face and saying, “I don’t need your help; I’ll get along without you.” We can’t afford to try to get along without the Lord’s help.”
• April 1948 General Conference
  • The Priesthood
    • “This power of the priesthood is more than that. It is the power to represent Jesus Christ, and all that the men do within the authority and power of that priesthood is just the same as if Jesus Christ himself were there personally doing it; that means in all the administrations and all the ordinations and in all the other activities which they perform.”
    • “How can we strengthen that faith which we have that will help us to use that power, for we cannot use the power of the priesthood correctly without faith. Our faith and our testimony are strengthened day by day in our actions and in our deeds.”
• October 1947 General Conference
  • The Power of Testimony
    • “There is no blessing on the earth to be more desired than a testimony that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son, and that this gospel is the divine plan of life and salvation. With this sure knowledge in our hearts it gives a meaning and a purpose to our lives which guide even our smallest actions and give us courage to endure all things in the hope for the future.”
• April 1947 General Conference
  • A New Calling
    • “I think that there are probably thousands of men in the Church who, if called by the proper authority, could come and fulfill any position in the Church, and the position to which I have been called is no exception.”
    • “How much time do you waste in prayer? If we are wasting our time, we are not praying. My appeal to you as the membership of this church is that you do not waste your time, and when you pray, pray!”

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