Henry D. Taylor – Gospel Study

Henry D. Taylor

First Quorum of the Seventy (October 1, 1976 – September 30, 1978)
First Council of the Seventy (April 6, 1958 – October 1, 1976)

General Conference Addresses

April 1978 General Conference
- Revelation
  - “As we study the scriptures, we learn of the other different ways in which the Lord communicates with His children here upon the earth.”
October 1976 General Conference
- Search the Scriptures
  - “We should search the scriptures and ponder over the truths contained in them, for they are the words leading to eternal life.”
October 1975 General Conference
- Immanuel: God With Us
  - “To have “God with us” through his Holy Spirit should be the aim of every missionary, and it should likewise be the aim of every individual. To have the companionship of the Holy Spirit requires a person to keep his mind and his body clean, as the Holy Spirit is sensitive and will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle.”
October 1974 General Conference
- The Law of the Fast
  - “An extremely important factor of the fast day observance is attending the fast and testimony meeting and acknowledging and expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for his many blessings.”
April 1974 General Conference
- “I Will … Pour You Out a Blessing”
  - “There are many members who from experience can and do testify that nine-tenths carefully planned, budgeted, and spent wisely, with the blessings of the Lord, will go much farther than ten-tenths spent haphazardly without planning and without the Lord’s blessings.”
April 1976 General Conference
- The Right to Choose
  - “One of our greatest responsibilities, and yet privileges, is the right to make choices. Latter-day Saints firmly believe in the principle of free agency.”
  - “Here we observe two different personalities and two different motives of operation. Satan would have removed a person’s free agency and he proposed to redeem all mankind by force, for which he wanted the recognition, honor, and glory. The plan of Jesus would allow individuals to make a choice between what they considered to be right and what they felt would be wrong, and recommended that all honor and glory would be attributed to the Father.”
  - “Through the medium of prayer we can receive a solution to our problems and know what decisions to make. Ofttimes as we pray we receive a strong impression that the answer to the matter we are considering is “no.” Then again, we can have the feeling that our answer is right and should be a positive “yes.” On the other hand, we may not obtain a clear “yes” or “no” answer. In such instances the Lord has given us a formula that should be employed. One should ponder and study the problem out in his mind, make a decision, then ask the Lord if his decision is right. If it is right, he can receive a burning in his bosom and he will know and have the assurance that his decision is right; but if it is not right, here will be a stupor of thought that will cause one to forget the thing which is wrong.”
October 1973 General Conference
- Thou Shalt Love Thy Wife with All Thy Heart
  - “A happy and successful marriage will be one that is built on the important principle of love; a love recognizing not only a fleeting physical attraction, but more importantly a deeply spiritual love that will continue forever.”
  - “The Spirit of the Lord will not dwell nor abide in a home where there is constant bickering, quarreling, arguing, discord, or disharmony.”
April 1973 General Conference
- “And Always Remember Him”
  - “As we partake of the sacrament, do we remember that we enjoy membership in the restored church which bears his name; do we resolve that we will strive to demonstrate our appreciation by responding to calls and assignments made by our leaders; and do we commit ourselves to do everything within our power to help build up his church?”
April 1972 General Conference
- Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
  - “As Latter-day Saints, we firmly believe that we are brothers and sisters, spiritual offspring of heavenly parents, members of a royal family who once dwelt and associated together.”
October 1971 General Conference
- A Time of Testing
  - “Joseph Smith truly was tested, tried, and not found wanting. He measured up to every requirement expected of him.”
  - “Every generation since the world began has had its peculiar temptations, with Satan as their author. Today we have ours in abundance.”
April 1971 General Conference
- Man Cannot Endure on Borrowed Light
  - “A testimony is a priceless gift from God. But even though a person may receive a witness through the Holy Ghost, there is no guarantee that this testimony will remain steadfast unless the person exerts constant effort to keep that testimony alive. Testimonies gained may be lost through carelessness, indifference, and/or neglect.”
October 1970 General Conference
- Faith
  - “Our true genesis, we declare, is that we did not come here by chance or by a whim of nature, but we came here by divine right, which we earned because of our faithfulness in a previous estate.”
  - “At the general conference held last April, at a solemn assembly here in the Tabernacle, the names of a new First Presidency were presented and sustained. These brethren, whom the Lord has chosen and designated to be the three presiding high priests, did not seek the high and holy callings that came to them; but throughout their lives they lived and worked so that when the positions sought them, they were prepared to humbly accept those callings.”
April 1970 General Conference
- Church Welfare
  - “It is a basic principle of Church welfare that the responsibility for one’s own economic maintenance rests (1) upon himself, for the world does not owe him a living, (2) upon his family, and (3) upon the Church, if he is a faithful member thereof.”
October 1969 General Conference
- The Church Welfare Program
  - “The Welfare Program is an inspired program because it is of the Lord and not of man. Brethren who are in a position to know have borne testimony that as a result of inspiration and revelation through the Holy Ghost to President Grant, the Welfare Program was introduced back in 1936. It is truly the gospel in action.”
April 1969 General Conference
- Thou Shalt Love the Lord
  - “Charity can and should mean not only the pure love of Christ, but it should also mean pure love for him and his love for us.”
  - “We do have the power to change our lives and surroundings by first realizing our own worth and loving and valuing ourselves, and then by loving those with whom we live and labor.”
April 1968 General Conference
- Men Are That They Might Have Joy
  - “Even though this life is real and earnest, it is possible to receive many rewards and satisfactions. I have noted serene joy in the face of a mother as she gazed with tenderness at her newly born child. I have viewed the pride, happiness, and joy in the expressions of parents as they watched and listened to the report of their son or daughter who had just returned from completing an honorable and successful mission, or other righteous achievements.”
  - “While joy and happiness are possible in life here upon the earth, greater rewards and blessings have been promised and will come following the time of the resurrection, after we have left this frail existence. At that time those who have been faithful will not only be reunited with their families and loved ones of mortality, but they will also be privileged to dwell in the glorious celestial world where God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, dwell.”
October 1967 General Conference
- Be Ye Therefore Perfect
  - “We regard the Lord as our everlasting pattern and example. May we then progressively develop within us those traits exemplified by him: kindness, unselfishness, forgiveness, modesty, loyalty, obedience, and love—the forgetting of ourselves to think of others—to the end that we, too, may from our experiences and sufferings become perfect and be privileged to dwell with him in the presence of our Father in heaven.”
April 1967 General Conference
- Loyalty Among All Nations
  - “A person in whom trust can be placed is one who must be loyal, steadfast, and dependable. Before he can be loyal to others, he must first be loyal to himself.”
  - “If loyalty is misapplied, or even if it is given to an evil cause or person, the result will be evil.”
  - “Loyalty is a principle of action. One must be loyal to something, a cause, a person, a principle; one must give one’s best for that to which one is loyal. But, if one is satisfied to do one’s duty only, one is but half loyal. When one, however, is willing to go beyond the call of duty, to go the “second mile,” to do more than that for which duty calls, then one is truly loyal.”
April 1966 General Conference
- When the Lord Commands, Do It
  - “As we journey through life, requests may come to us from those who have been appointed to positions of leadership and authority to perform some labor or to accept some responsibility. We may not comprehend nor understand the reason at the time nor even later for such calls, but, with confidence in those making the request, we respond without question.”
April 1965 General Conference
- Man Does Not Stand Alone
  - “But there are those who feel that they have no need for anyone else, that they are sufficient unto themselves. Such persons claim, for instance, that it is not necessary to attend church meetings and mingle with others. They suggest that they can worship alone in the mountains, in the canyons, in the out-of-doors.”
  - “Many blessings come from assembling with other members of the Church. On fast day we are inspired and uplifted as we hear fervent testimonies borne. In Sunday School and other meetings we profit by the experiences and expressions of others. Then also consider the value of the warm smile and hearty handclasp as we associate together, giving us a feeling of brotherhood and unity, a sense of belonging—belonging to one another and to the kingdom of God. The joys we feel are many, many times greater than if we attempted to work and worship alone.”
  - “It is so with people. We become better individuals, more useful timber when we grow together rather than alone.”
April 1964 General Conference
- Clean Speech
  - “Through the exercise of self-control and by engaging in earnest prayer, it is possible to learn to govern one’s speech or utterances.”
  - “Try to form in your minds a picture of the mother of the human race, or the mother of the Savior, or your own mother sprinkling vile oaths through her speech. You shudder to think of such a thing, but by the very laws of decency, it is no worse for them to do it than for you.”
  - “A person who is striving to pattern his or her life after that of the Savior will be pure in thought and action. His or her speech will then be clean, dignified, and worshipful.”
  - “A heart that is full of goodness, will utter good and kind thoughts through well chosen words, the symbols that represent one’s thoughts.”
October 1963 General Conference
- He That Is the Greatest Among You
  - “We are often prone to judge men hastily and to consider them great if they accumulate or amass a substantial amount of wealth. Ofttimes during this acquiring process such men become self-centered and lose sight of things spiritual and neglect opportunities to help others.”
April 1963 General Conference
- Some Rain Must Fall
  - “The attainment of happiness has become a desired goal of most individuals; but there are those who ofttimes mistake pleasure for happiness, not realizing that pleasure can be of a temporary or passing nature only, while happiness and joy are permanent and enduring.”
October 1962 General Conference
- To Forgive Is Divine
  - “One of the most vital qualities of the principle of repentance is forgiveness. Unless each of us can learn to forgive others for real or imagined trespasses against us, we cannot properly repent.”
  - “One cannot hold grudges and unkind feelings without harming himself. He becomes bitter; his vision is distorted; and his soul becomes cankered.”
  - “To forgive a person once or twice may not be too difficult, but to continue to forgive many times when one has been wronged may become a real test of character.”
  - “True forgiveness cannot be partial nor halfhearted. It must be wholehearted, genuine, and without reservation.”
April 1962 General Conference
- Doing Good
  - “This would be a wonderful world in which to live if all of us would forget ourselves, if we would eliminate selfishness from our lives and think in terms of the good we could do in serving others.”
  - “As long as we are good, we are truly great. True value in life is not measured in what we have, but in what we do; not in what people think and do for us, but by what we think and do for people.”
October 1961 General Conference
- Keeping All of God’s Commandments
  - “Every commandment is important and has been provided for a specific purpose. It is not logical to suppose that man may choose the commandments he wishes to observe and ignore the others.”
April 1961 General Conference
- In the Sweat of Thy Face
  - “Many have viewed with concern present-day trends continually to shorten working hours. The existing forty-hour week seems destined for revision downward, as agitation mounts to reduce further the working week to thirty-five or even thirty hours, with no decrease in benefits. Then there are those who look forward with anticipation to age sixty-five as the time of retirement from all work and labor. Much to their sorrow, many discover that too much leisure time may create problems not anticipated and brings disillusionment and unhappiness. They learn the important truth that work is a great blessing and can result in joy and happiness to themselves and to mankind. They also discover that doing nothing is one of the hardest of all jobs. When you get tired, you can’t rest. You are in bondage when you refuse to work.”
October 1960 General Conference
- If It Be Just
  - “I assure you that I am not against criticism, if it is the right kind. Constructive criticism can be good and helpful. Destructive criticism can be bad and harmful.”
April 1960 General Conference
- Excess Baggage
  - “Our goal should be to become perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. It would be well in early life to select and make secure the characteristics and traits needed for this journey of life, discarding the ones which are harmful and which might be classed as excess baggage. We can then be sure as we continue our journey, that the green light and not the red one will be flashing.”
  - “Self-control is a very valuable asset to possess on life’s journey. The ability to control one’s temper, one’s tongue, one’s thoughts is highly commendable.”
  - “The Savior set us the example. We should earnestly strive to pattern our lives after his. If we do this, we will discard those qualities that constitute excess baggage. We will carry with us only those characteristics that are essential and that will permit us to continue our journey unencumbered.”
October 1959 General Conference
- That Ye Love One Another
  - “We live today, my brethren and sisters, in a world of unrest and insecurity, where mistrust, suspicion, and disloyalty exist between nations as well as among individuals. Loyalty to oneself and to the principles he believes to be true, is a noble virtue.”
  - “Latter-day Saints should be taught early in youth the fundamental principles of the gospel. These teachings of the Savior, if observed, will serve as an anchor and guide throughout life, and bring happiness to the individual.”
April 1959 General Conference
- Gratitude
  - “Selfishness, greed, and indifference are by-products of ingratitude.”
  - “Gratitude, brethren and sisters, results in love, unselfishness, and consideration for others. It has a refining influence, and when expressed, can be a beautiful thing.”
  - “We have many things for which to be grateful. Among them is the privilege of being born in this dispensation, when the gospel has been restored to earth in its fulness through heavenly messengers. And this gospel is a plan, a plan of salvation, and it can be a guide and a blueprint which, if followed, can lead us back once again into God’s presence.”
October 1958 General Conference
- Missionaries
  - “Their parents share with them this great happiness, and support them financially and offer encouragement. These young men and young women go out into the world with little formal training. They are inexperienced, often immature, timid, lacking in confidence, and yet we find that their home training, activity in the priesthood quorums, auxiliaries, in the seminaries, is a wonderful blessing and advantage in preparing them to do missionary work. Through study, prayer, hard work, and the blessings of the Lord, these young people do grow and develop. They gain a knowledge of the gospel; confidence, power, and a maturity far beyond their years. They acquire a strong and burning testimony, and bear that testimony with such a fervency that it carries conviction to the hearts of the people they are teaching.”
  - “It has been pointed out that every member in the Church can and should be a missionary. We can do that, brethren and sisters, by setting proper examples, being good neighbors, keeping all the commandments. I have noticed in the various sessions of the conference groups of our young men and women who are wearing the uniform of the armed forces. Now you young brethren and sisters in the military service can be effective missionaries if you will remember that “actions speak louder than words.” We know that you are confronted with many temptations, but if you will live the commandments you can be a shining example for your associates.”
April 1958 General Conference
- Only One Answer
  - “I am grateful for my parents who have long since passed away, for the training which they gave their six sons and two daughters that whenever a call came from the Brethren, there could be but one answer, and that was to say “Yes,” accept the calling, and then serve with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength.”
  - “Elder Mark E. Petersen once remarked that President Clark had made the suggestion that there are two times when a short talk is in order, at least two times—once is when you are starting a job, and the other is when you are finishing. Well, I am just starting a new calling, so it gives me encouragement to make my remarks brief.”

Other Talks

Articles in Church Publications

Other Publications and Resources

Gospel Study

Leave a Reply Cancel reply