Carl W. Buehner

Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric (April 6, 1952 – September 30, 1961)

General Conference Addresses

• October 1961 General Conference
  • Being Released
    • “I have had the honor of sitting in the presence of President McKay and his Counselors at least twice each week, and many times, oftener. I will never be in any more wonderful company than while in the presence of prophets of God. Add to this those who comprise the body of the General Authorities of the Church.”
    • “The Lord is trying to save all of us. I hope we will conform our lives to his teachings so that he can help us to become perfect and one day bring us back again into his presence.”
• April 1961 General Conference
  • Who’s on the Lord’s Side
    • “It is the desire of the Lord to lift us up, to be prepared one day to live again with him. It is Satan’s desire to reduce us to his level, to live with him in his kingdom.”
    • “Happiness here is dependent upon moral decisions and obedience to the principles of truth.”
• October 1960 General Conference
  • Two of a Family
    • “I do not know whether my parents responded the first time the missionaries knocked on their door or the second time or the third time. I am grateful, however, that the missionaries knocked on the door of my parents sufficient times to convince them that they had the great message of the age to give to them, the story that God had spoken again in this day to the boy Prophet Joseph Smith and through him restored the gospel. To me there is nothing more important or nothing greater. I appreciate so much that my parents accepted the gospel and that like thousands of others had the desire of coming to this great land of America.”
• April 1960 General Conference
  • An Holy Nation
    • “Because the Aaronic Priesthood has been designated as the Lesser Priesthood does not lessen or diminish its sacredness. It is still the power of God.”
• October 1959 General Conference
  • My Friend and I
    • “I feel there are many people in the world who are going about doing good. I wish all had a desire to do good.”
    • “I want to thank my friend for these thoughts. I hope my friend may also be your friend. My friend is the still small voice. He and I have had an interesting experience on many occasions as we have pondered over the work of the Church.”
• April 1959 General Conference
  • One Hundred Percenters
    • “I find great joy in my work in the Church, and I hope it will always be my desire to have the work of the Church come first. I like people who put “first things” first in the Church.”
• October 1958 General Conference
  • The General Conference
    • “I would say, keep your eyes and ears on the First Presidency, and listen to the counsel that comes from them. If any person ever becomes confused, disturbed, or critical, I would say to you, come to the fountainhead of the Church for the answers to your questions. You will discover that these brethren are more than willing to give you the answers that you require so that you may not get lost or wander astray. Do not go to those who are undermining the Church, to apostate groups, or to those whose intent it is to destroy the work of our Heavenly Father.”
    • “As long as men magnify their callings in the priesthood, we will have miracles, and so also will the Church grow in influence, in strength, and in favor among the people of the world. Therefore, may all of us who have been so honored to bear the priesthood, magnify our callings, appreciate it to the fullest, and stand at the head of our homes in dignity where we can be a blessing and a strength to our families.”
    • “If every man in the Church who holds the priesthood magnified his calling in that priesthood, we would go forward with a power the like of which this world has never seen before. Nothing could stay it.”
• April 1958 General Conference
  • The Aaronic Priesthood, Its Powers and Blessings
    • “I have always been a great believer in our young men. I am happy to be associated with them, and I appreciate what you are doing to help us keep every one of them active in the Church.”
    • “What is the Aaronic Priesthood? It is a power that has been delegated to man that has in it great blessings and great opportunities to serve.”
• April 1957 General Conference
  • Examples of Youth
    • “God bless the youth of the Church. I love them. I love to work with them. They are doing great things, and I am sure their faces are turned in the right direction. If those of us who have to do with these young people will give of our time to assist them so that their lives will follow the course that is set for them, which will lead them back into eternal life, joy and happiness will not only be theirs but ours.”
• October 1956 General Conference
  • Life’s Laboratory
    • “We, too, are living as it were in the great laboratory of life. We are being tried and tested. We are seeking the combinations by which we can progress and prove ourselves. We are living in this world filled with good and evil, with right and wrong, with truth and error, and with light and darkness. You have heard today that there are false teachers, false doctrines, false prophets; and here we have been placed. Reference was made last evening in the general priesthood meeting to the great privilege of having a mortal body. It means that we kept our first estate. We are now being tried in life’s laboratory to see whether or not we can keep our second estate; and it is not an easy thing. We are being tempted all the time; even the best of us are subject to temptation.”
• April 1956 General Conference
  • Resisting Temptation
    • “Well, young servicemen, you are a great asset to the Church when you live your lives in harmony with its teachings. Some of you have been excellent missionaries. We have heard of a number who have been converted to the Church through your devotion and faithfulness. I say, “God bless you and the young men of the Church and all of us.” Let us make this a great Church of action.”
• October 1955 General Conference
  • Inviting Others
    • “I think we are losing some opportunities if we do not invite our neighbors who are not members of the Church to help us in the erection of our wonderful buildings. The plasterer was thrilled as he told me of his profession. He was invited to come over and help. He met the finest men he has known working on that building. Through this contact, he became a member of the Church.”
    • “I am interested in the new converts to the Church. I am grateful to see them coming from all walks of life and through all the different channels we have in the Chuch. I would like to say to those listening to me today who are not members of the Church: Investigate the Church; listen to the missionaries; work your way into the Church on a building project; catch the spirit through the singing of these choruses or through any other avenue that will impress you with the most important thing that can come into your life—a testimony of the gospel. And then for some of you that are not as active as you should be, I would like to say to you: Become more active, enjoy the great blessings that our Father in heaven has in store for the faithful of this great Church and kingdom of his, established for the last time upon the earth.”
• April 1955 General Conference
  • The Time Is Now
    • “I think, brethren and sisters, possibly the first thing I would do is to make peace with everyone that I have learned to know, and I would do some fast repenting, even though it might not be very effective. It would be better to be in a repentant mood all the time.”
    • “Have you ever discovered when you return to the point where you begin your detour that that time is lost? You cannot turn your watch back. You cannot turn time back. We have just lost two hours or four hours or two hundred miles of that journey, and it is gone forever.”
    • “I have learned, too, that while there are many roads that come to Salt Lake City to bring you to general conference, according to the scriptures there are only two roads that we can travel as it pertains to our spiritual life. One is the broad road that leads to destruction and damnation—the other, the straight and narrow road that leads to life eternal.”
• October 1954 General Conference
  • Home Teaching
    • “I feel this about ward teaching—that it is the one program in the Church that literally extends its arms around the entire Church. That other units only have the ministry of their particular organization, but if we do one hundred percent ward teaching, we will have a visit in the home of every member of the Church every month. In these days where there is great concern and many problems, I know of no finer program than to have two fine ward teachers visit and bless each home, leave a message of inspiration and encouragement, and invite the membership of the Church to attend the various meetings of the Church. It becomes, to me, the one organization that can get into every home in the Church every month.”
    • “Sometimes I think, brethren, somebody ought to break our ankles or our arms to help us appreciate the possibilities we have.”
• April 1954 General Conference
  • Your Check Up
    • “My message this morning has to do with overweight and underweight. We are a great people to check up on each other. We have our plans, our schedules, our programs, and our organizations. I should like to suggest this morning that it might be a good idea to check up a little on ourselves. I know the first look I have of myself as I peek in the mirror early in the morning is really quite frightening, and then when I realize what the next fifteen or twenty minutes can do with the aid of a few common implements we find in the bathroom, such as a comb and brush (for those who need it), a razor, washcloth, toothbrush, etc., for the men; and for the sisters, some cold cream, a little rouge, face powder, and lipstick, the transformation brings confidence and courage to face the problems of another day. Then when you arrive at work, and someone greets you by saying, “Good morning, you look fine,” you are so enthusiastic that you can conquer anything that comes your way. The day seems cheerful and bright.”
    • “The Lord has promised wonderful blessings from keeping the commandment of the fast.”
• October 1953 General Conference
  • Individual Testimonies
    • “The strength of the Church is in the individual testimony of its members, and as I have traveled about this Church, I have had some wonderful manifestations, and I have heard some very thrilling experiences.”
    • “May we be loyal, may we be faithful, may we accept the responsibilities that come to us and do them faithfully and do them well.”
• April 1953 General Conference
  • Being Faithful
    • “I tell you, brethren and sisters, that probably the great difference between the true Church of Jesus Christ and all these other denominations is in that very statement—that those who have accepted the truth know where they are and know where they are going, and I doubt that the rest of the Christian world can say that thing.”
    • “I would like to tell you today that I hope we starve the devil to death, that we give him no business, and that we devote all our time and all our energies to doing the work of the Lord. I think that is one way we are going to bind Satan, by not letting him have influence concerning us.”
• October 1952 General Conference
  • Teachers to Children
    • “If we just remember, brethren and sisters, who we are, we can be great teachers of our religion by living our lives in conformity to these great teachings. It has already been said in this conference that we are known the world over. The eyes of the world are upon us, and wherever we go, whatever we do, how we treat our fellow men and how we live our lives, we are watched and observed by someone.”
    • “I hope, brethren and sisters, that we will have a desire to set an example for our boys and our girls that they, too, will become strong in the faith. I can’t help feeling that unless our youngsters are taught the right way of life, they are not going to be strong fathers and mothers in the years to come. They need our help, and I hope they will have it.”
• April 1952 General Conference
  • Goodly Parents
    • “I’ll appreciate always that I learned to work. I was the eldest of the family, and as our family grew, my parents had quite a struggle in their early days in making a livelihood. As we became old enough, we had to learn how to do something ourselves. As I grew old enough to go to high school, I loved athletics as much as I did an}fthing else, and I finally had the privilege of playing football and basketball and baseball and other things, but I think as a freshman at high school I was the first man who left the football practice field and hurriedly took a shower and ran to my home so that I could be working in our back yard when my father came home from work. It was only a few years after, that my father accompanied me to many games and watched some of my younger brothers.”

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