Friday, January 15, 2016

April 1971 LDS General Conference - Tuesday Afternoon Session Highlights


In the Mountain of the Lord's House, LeGrand Richards
  • "I think I can truthfully say that there is no other living man on the face of the earth today who has stood at this pulpit as many times as I have in a general conference of this church except President Joseph Fielding Smith. If I figure correctly, this is the seventy-fourth general conference in which I have been privileged to speak." 
  • "I believe that the words of the prophets are the most sure guide we have in this world today. I believe what Jesus said: 'Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'" (Matt. 5:18.)
  • "Where can you find anything in the history of this whole world to fulfill that like the singing of our Tabernacle Choir, singing now for over forty-two years without a break? Now with the Telstar, it is singing to the entire world. No wonder President Nixon said in his visit here last November that it was the greatest choir in all the world."
  • "There are many other things that are yet to be fulfilled. I will just mention a couple of them. The Lord put it in my heart as a young man to have a love for the Jewish people, and someday they are going to be one of the great movements of this church. In the Book of Mormon we read in the preface that that book was preserved for the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the very eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations. And how can that book do that to the Jews unless we take it to them? And so, in his own due time and way the Lord will inspire our leaders to send messengers to that people."
  • "When a person receives a patriarchal blessing, he is entitled to receive a pronouncement of the blessings of Israel, or a declaration of the tribe of Israel through which his blessings shall come. This is the right to the blessings of those recorded in the book of remembrance started in the days of Adam."
  • "Each dispensation brings with it a reemphasis of the priesthood; a restrengthening of the opportunity given to man to receive the blessings of the gospel by proving himself in resisting the powers of the adversary."
  • "The Prophet Joseph Smith put it this way: '… that the dispensation of the fulness of times is made up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since the world began, until this time' (Franklin D. Richards, Compendium, 1898, p. 143), this being the time referred to as the end of time to prepare for the coming of the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth."
  • "Now that is rather serious to those of us who sit in such a responsible position. I once asked my mother, 'How does it feel, Mom, to have all my sins placed upon your head?' She said, 'Oh, but you forgot one thing, Paul. I have transferred them back to you because I have taught you the doctrines of the kingdom.' In a sense that is what we are trying to do, young people: to prepare you to live a happy and full life both now and in the future, and true joy and happiness comes in knowing and living the commandments of our Father in heaven."
  • "How truly blessed is a person who has a mother who cared. I too am grateful for my parents, who applied the gospel of love in such a wonderful way. And although I often remind my mother of our round-table discussions, in which she chased me around the table, I learned the truths of the gospel by example from her and from my father."
  • "In today’s fast-moving, materialistic world, unfortunately many fathers place their business affairs ahead of their children. I am appalled as I look around me, as was Eddie Cantor some years ago, when he said that a man will spend a whole week figuring out what stocks to buy with $1,000—but he won’t spend an hour with his child, in whom he has a greater investment."
  • "Now, you young people, listen to the counsel of your parents. They love you. We are not perfect. One day you will stand where we stand, and you will have a similar challenge of rearing your young. Will you go with us the extra mile in trying to understand our true nature and purpose?"
  • "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands for the highest ideals, principles, and standards known to man. There is nothing about the Church, its teachings, or what it represents that we need be ashamed of. The Church has immeasurable influence for good in the lives of men and women everywhere."
  • "In all humility and sincerity we must admit a power higher than ourselves from whom is derived a positive moral code that will give our lives significance and purpose. We also must remember once and for all that honesty, respect, and honor as such are not for sale on the market block. They are ingredients that you and I and all people should put into our daily lives."
  • "Honesty and integrity as perfected virtues in parents are more likely to become the heritage and rich endowments of their children. Parents cannot give to their children that which they do not possess."
  • "And on behalf of students and youth, do we honestly and sincerely listen to their wants and needs? Do we really try to understand them, or are we giving them what we think they should have?"
  • "George Washington placed emphasis upon honesty when he said: 'I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.'"
  • "As we journey along through life we, as individuals, come in contact with many shaded areas, twilight zones, and even dark alleys, where we, unless aided by a higher power, are not able to see clearly, to interpret correctly, and to come to sound conclusions. Some of these shaded areas are found in the physical world, some in the intellectual world, and some in the realm of the spiritual. Let us remember, however, that the Lord has said that all things unto him are spiritual."
  • "We need to improve our vantage points in all aspects of our living—in the intellectual and the spiritual realms as well as in the physical. As we attempt to do this, we should remember that, in every situation, there are facts and there are opinions. There are also causes of difficulties and there are symptoms that express themselves. To the extent that we are willing and able to get at the facts and at the causes and to see relationships among them clearly, we are in a good position to interpret correctly and to arrive at sound conclusions. But to the extent that we just fool around with opinions and symptoms, we may prolong our difficulties and postpone the time for arriving at lasting, satisfying solutions."
  • "Without divine guidance, we will have difficulty in the shaded areas of life. But we need not walk alone. Our Father in heaven and his Son Jesus Christ and the prophets—both ancient and modern—have given us a well-charted course for our journey through life. We can find joy and happiness and we can arrive at our destination in safety if we will but heed the road signs and follow the directions that have been given to us."
Man Cannot Endure on Borrowed Light, Henry D. Taylor
  • "President McKay assured a group of young people that a knowledge of the truth and a testimony of the gospel could come to them if even in their youth they would learn one great lesson: 'That purity of heart, and a sincere heart seeking after the Savior’s guidance daily, will lead to a testimony of the truth of Christ’s gospel. …' This counsel indicates that testimonies may be gained through clean living and prayer."
  • "As a young man living in Kirtland, Ohio, Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of the Church, was converted and baptized in 1836. He had studiously and conscientiously compared the teachings of the missionaries with the teachings of the Savior. Becoming convinced of the truths of the gospel, he had sought baptism by immersion.
  • Following confirmation, he constantly anticipated an assurance that he had received the Holy Ghost. Two or three weeks following his baptism, he reflected that he had not yet received a testimony of the truth. Being uneasy, and laying aside his books, he left the house and wandered through the fields. A gloomy spirit and indescribable cloud of darkness seemed to envelop him. It was his custom, near the close of day, to retire to a nearby secluded grove and engage in secret prayer. This night he had no inclination to do so. The spirit of prayer had departed, and the heavens seemed like brass over his head. But, determined not to forgo his evening practice, he sought his accustomed place and knelt in solemn prayer.
  • 'I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray,' recalled President Snow, 'than I heard a sound, just above my head, like the rustling of silken robes, and immediately the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and O, the joy and happiness I felt! No language can describe the almost instantaneous transition from a dense cloud of mental and spiritual darkness into a refulgence of light and knowledge. … I then received a perfect knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and of the restoration of the holy Priesthood, and the fulness of the Gospel. It was a complete baptism—a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or element, the Holy Ghost; and even more real and physical in its effects upon every part of my system than the immersion by water.' (Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, p. 8.)"
  • "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."
  • "I say to you, and to the whole Church, and, for that matter, to the whole world, that a gracious and loving Father has in these last days spoken again from heaven to his servants the prophets."
  • "I am not unmindful that there are good and devout people among all sects, parties, and denominations, and they will be blessed and rewarded for all the good they do. But the fact remains that we alone have the fullness of those laws and ordinances which prepare men for the fullness of reward in the mansions above. And so we say to the good and noble, the upright and devout people everywhere: Keep all the good you have; cleave unto every true principle which is now yours; but come and partake of the further light and knowledge which that God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever is again pouring out upon his people."
  • "Our Father, pour out thy Spirit upon these thy children that they may be preserved from the perils of the world and kept clean and pure, fit candidates to return to thy presence and dwell with thee."
Other posts from this session:
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