Elaine S. Dalton

General President of Young Women  (April 5, 2008 – April 5, 2013)

First Counselor of the general presidency of the Young Women (March 31, 2007 – April 4, 2008)

Second Counselor of the general presidency of the Young Women (October 2002 – March 30, 2007)

General Conference Addresses

• April 2013 General Conference Conference
  • We are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father
    • “In a morally desensitizing world, young women need women and men to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” Never before has this been more important than now. Young women need mothers and mentors who exemplify virtuous womanhood. Mothers, your relationship with your daughter is of paramount importance, and so is your example. How you love and honor her father, his priesthood, and his divine role will be reflected and perhaps amplified in your daughter’s attitudes and behavior.”
    • “Again I renew the call for a return to virtue. Virtue is the strength and power of daughters of God. What would the world be like if virtue—a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards, including chastity—were reinstated in our society as a most highly prized value? If immorality, pornography, and abuse decreased, would there be fewer broken marriages, broken lives, and broken hearts? Would media ennoble and enable rather than objectify and degrade God’s precious daughters? If all humanity really understood the importance of the statement “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,” how would women be regarded and treated?”
• October 2011 General Conference
  • Love Her Mother
    • “Love her mother so much that your marriage is celestial. A temple marriage for time and all eternity is worthy of your greatest efforts and highest priority. It was only after Nephi had completed the temple in the wilderness that he stated, “And … we lived after the manner of happiness.” The “manner of happiness” is found in the temple. It is covenant keeping. Don’t let any influence come into your life or your home that would cause you to compromise your covenants or your commitment to your wife and family.”
    • “Fathers, you are your daughter’s hero. My father was my hero. I used to wait on the steps of our home for him to arrive each night. He would pick me up and twirl me around and let me put my feet on top of his big shoes, and then he would dance me into the house. I loved the challenge of trying to follow his every footstep. I still do.”
    • “So how do you raise a girl? Love her mother. Lead your family to the temple, be guardians of virtue, and magnify your priesthood.”
• October 2008 General Conference
  • A Return to Virtue
    • “The temple is the reason for everything we do in the Church. The temple was the reason our pioneer ancestors left their established homes and came west. It was the reason they suffered privation and even death.”
    • “Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive and be guided by the Holy Ghost.”
    • “You must never underestimate the power of your righteous influence.”
• October 2006 General Conference
  • Look toward Eternity!
    • “It is our personal worthiness that will qualify us to fulfill our individual earthly missions.”
    • “We knew and understood that our success on this earth would be determined by our worthiness and purity.”
    • “When we do this, we can confidently enter the holy temples of God with a knowledge that we are worthy to go where the Lord Himself goes. When we are worthy, we can not only enter the temple, the temple can enter us. The Lord’s promises of salvation and happiness become ours—and our earthly mission becomes His.”
• October 2004 General Conference
  • We Did This for You
    • “Our prophet knows that it is difficult to do temple work if we are not near a temple. This is our day, and temple work is the work that we have been prepared to do. It is a work for every generation, including and especially the youth of the Church.”
    • “The youth have been prepared “for such a time as this.” They are intelligent and bright. They are proficient on computers and the Internet. They are a great untapped resource for good in the world! They have been reserved for these latter days, and they have a great work to do. And not only do they have a great work to do there, but the temple will also be a refuge for them that will protect them from worldly pressures and influences.”

Other Talks

• March 2013 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Be Not Moved!
    • “First, be not moved in choosing right. In these latter days, there are no small decisions. The choices you are making right now are of critical importance. Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children. It is part of the plan of happiness you and I chose and defended in our premortal existence. Live your lives in such a way that you can listen to and hear the Holy Ghost, and He will help you make correct decisions. In fact, He will tell you “all things what ye should do.”
    • “Second, be not moved in your desire and commitment to remain virtuous and sexually pure. Cherish virtue. Your personal purity is one of your greatest sources of power. When you came to the earth, you were given the precious gift of a body. Your body is the instrument of your mind and a divine gift with which you exercise your agency. This is a gift that Satan was denied, and thus he directs nearly all of his attacks on your body. He wants you to disdain, misuse, and abuse your body. Immodesty, pornography, immorality, tattoos and piercings, drug abuse, and addictions of all kinds are all efforts to take possession of this precious gift—your body—and to make it difficult for you to exercise your agency.”
    • “Your body is a temple. Why? Because it has the capacity to house not only your eternal spirit but also the eternal spirits of others who will come to the earth as part of your eternal family.”
    • “Last, be not moved in your acceptance of the Savior’s Atonement. The Atonement is for you and for me. It is an enabling and a redeeming power. If you are not feeling worthy to stand in holy places, do not carry this burden one day longer. In mortality, we will all make mistakes. Be assured that the Savior loves you so much that He made it possible for you to change and to repent if you make a mistake. Satan does not want you to think you can change. He will try to convince you that all is lost. That is a lie. You can return. You can repent. You can be pure and holy because of the Savior’s infinite Atonement.”
    • “Young women, generations are depending on the choices you make, your purity, and your worthy lives. Be not moved. You have a great destiny before you. This is your moment! I truly believe that one virtuous young woman, led by the Spirit, can change the world!”
• March 2012 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Now Is the Time to Arise and Shine!
    • “I wish every young woman assembled here tonight would know and understand that your beauty—your “shine”—does not lie in makeup, gooey cream, or the latest clothing or hairstyles. It lies in your personal purity. When you live the standards and qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, you can have a powerful impact in the world. Your example, even the light in your eyes, will influence others who see your “shine,” and they will want to be like you.”
    • “Young women, stay focused. Don’t lose sight of your goals. Don’t let the thick fog of moral pollution and the detracting voices of the world keep you from reaching your goals, living the standards, enjoying the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and being worthy to enter holy temples. Retain the vision of the temple—the Savior’s holy house—ever in your hearts and minds.”
• March 2011 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Guardians of Virtue
    • “Young women, in a world ever growing in moral pollution, tolerance of evil, exploitation of women, and distortion of roles, you must stand guard of yourself, your family, and all those with whom you associate. You must be guardians of virtue.”
    • “Young women, you are engaged in a great work! And you are not alone! As you guard your virtue and purity, you will be given strength. As you keep the covenants you have made, the Holy Ghost will guide and guard you.”
• March 2010 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Remember Who You Are!
    • “You are not alone! Though you may be the only Latter-day Saint in your school or your group of friends or even your family, you are not alone. You can rely on the strength of the Lord.”
    • “When you are virtuous, chaste, and morally clean, your inner beauty glows in your eyes and in your face.”
    • “Remember, you are daughters of our Heavenly Father. He loves you so much that He sent His Son to show you the way to live, so that you could return to Him someday. I testify that as you draw close to the Savior, His infinite Atonement makes it possible for you to repent, to change, to be pure, and to receive His image in your countenance. His Atonement will enable you to be strong and courageous as you continue to raise your banner for virtue. You are golden. You are the banner!”
• March 2009 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord
    • “Never before has there been a greater need for virtue and purity in the world.”
    • “As you live a virtuous life, you will have the confidence, power, and strength necessary to climb. You will also be blessed with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Follow the promptings that you receive. Act upon them.”
• March 2008 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • At All Times, in All Things, and in All Places
    • “You are a part of that wondrous plan that was presented in the premortal realms. Your coming to the earth now has been anticipated since the plan was accepted. Your position in time and place is no accident. Your “exceeding faith and good works” (Alma 13:3) then has laid the foundation for what you may accomplish now if you are faithful and obedient. You are God’s precious daughters, and you have a great work to do. In order to accomplish your divine mission and live the plan of happiness, you too must be steadfast and immovable “at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9).”
    • “Being steadfast and immovable means being obedient.”
    • “That day I experienced more than a marathon. I learned some important lessons. First of all, never wear a big red shirt with the word Utah printed on it. Second, I learned that no matter how well prepared you think you are, there are hills on the course. I learned that people cheering for you along the way are absolutely essential. I learned again that day that we are never alone. Our Heavenly Father is only a prayer away, and the Holy Ghost is within whispering distance.”
• March 2007 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Stay on the Path
    • “Modesty is not a matter of being “hip.” It is a matter of the heart and being holy. It is not about being fashionable. It is about being faithful. It is not about being cool. It is about being chaste and keeping covenants. It is not about being popular, but about being pure. Modesty has everything to do with keeping our footing securely on the path of chastity and virtue.”
    • “As you climb the mountains of life, stay on the path of virtue. There will be others to help you—your parents, family members, bishops, advisers, and righteous friends of all ages. And if you are weary or take a wrong turn, change your direction and get back on the path of virtue. Always remember that the Savior is there for you. He will enable you to repent, strengthen you, lighten your burdens, dry your tears, comfort you, and continue to help you stay on the path.”
• March 2006 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • It Shows in Your Face
    • “In Asia and India, young women are examples of faith, modest dress, and purity. Their eyes shine and they are happy. The young women in England, Ireland, and Wales are standing for truth and righteousness in their schools. In an ever-darkening world, they are making a difference. Some of you are the only members in your family or your school. You are making a difference. You are leading in righteous ways.”
    • “I believe that as you awake and arise, your light will be a standard to the nations, but I also believe your standards will be a light to the nations. You are set apart. You distinguished yourselves in the premortal existence. Your lineage carries with it a covenant and promises. You have inherited the spiritual attributes of the faithful—even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Your very nature reflects your divine heritage and destiny. The fact that you were born a girl is not by chance. Your divine characteristics will be magnified as you lead others and arise to your divine potential. Draw close to the Savior. He lives! He is the light, life, and hope of the world. He will lead you and give you courage to share your light.”
• March 2005 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • He Knows You by Name
    • “He could stand firm because of his testimony. And so can you.”
    • “As we pray, the Lord will guide and prepare us to do our part.”
• March 2004 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Believe!
    • “So believe in yourselves. Believe that you are never alone. Believe that you will always be guided.”
    • “You are one of the greatest generations of young women ever to live on this earth. Before you came to this earth you were tutored at your Father’s knee. You have been reserved to come to the earth for a special purpose. There are things for each of you to do that no one else can do as well. You have a destiny to fulfill.”
    • “The world needs young women who are believers.”
• March 2003 General Young Women’s Meeting
  • Press Forward and Be Steadfast
    • “The Savior will help you see and understand the vision He has for you. You are His beloved daughters. He knows you personally and has a plan for your life. He has promised that as you live worthily, His Spirit will always be with you.”
    • “The Holy Ghost will also guide you as you make decisions regarding your future.”

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