Timeless Testimonies

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the April 1998 conference.

President Thomas S. Monson began the session with a talk called "Look to God and Live". Two gems from him:

• There seems to be an unending supply of trouble for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.
• Lest we question the Lord concerning our troubles, let us remember that the wisdom of God may appear as foolishness to men; but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks addressed the question, Have You Been Saved?

in his masterful lawyerly way. I didn't remember all the different ways and means that he talked about and it was a good refresher course to file away again for retrieval in conversations with people of other faiths.

Elder W. Eugene Hansen spoke of Children and the Family, using The Family: A Proclamation to the World as a framework. I loved the quote from his father, "There's nothing so boring as loafing, because you can't stop and rest." He also said of his parents, "And most significantly, they taught by what they did, not just by what they said." I wish I could redo some of my parenting!

Sister Margaret D. Nadauld talked about the joyful invitation to Come Unto Christ. "Surely it pleases the Lord when we, His children, reach out to one another, to give help along the way and to bring another closer to Christ." That is timely today as we strive to build a Zion people ready to receive the Savior when He returns.

Elder Henry B. Eyring also spoke of becoming one saying, "And all of us know something of the sadness and loneliness of being separate and alone." He taught, "Then, through obedience to those ordinances and covenants, their natures would be changed." We don't have to remain in a fallen state, "The Savior's Atonement . . . makes it possible for us to be sanctified. We can then live in unity, as we must to have peace in this life and to dwell with the Father and His Son in eternity."

More gems from him:

• Where people have that Spirit with them, we may expect harmony. The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention. It never generates the feelings of distinctions between people which lead to strife. It leads to personal peace and a feeling of union with others. It unifies souls. A unified family, a unified Church, and a world at peace depend on unified souls.
• Quoting President Clark: "When we partake of the Sacrament we covenant to obey and keep his commandments. There are no exceptions. There are no distinctions, no differences." President Clark taught that just as we repent of all our sins, not a single sin, we pledge to keep all the commandments. Hard as that sounds, it is uncomplicated. We simply submit to the authority of the Savior and promise to be obedient to whatever He commands. It is our surrender to the authority of Jesus Christ which will allow us to be bound as families, as a church, and as the children of our Heavenly Father.
• We must speak no ill of anyone. We must see the good in each other speak well of each other whenever we can.
• There is a protection against pride, that sure source of disunity. It is to see the bounties which God pours upon us not only as a mark of His favor but an opportunity to join with those around us in greater service. 

President Gordon B. Hinckley ended this session with his stirring and powerful Testimony. "I would enjoy sitting in a rocker, swallowing prescriptions, listening to soft music, and contemplating the things of the universe. But such activity offers no challenge and makes no contribution. I wish to be up and doing. I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose."

His gems:

• It is the opportunity, it is the responsibility of every man and woman in this Church to obtain within himself or herself a conviction of the truth of this great latter-day work and of those who stand at its head, even the living God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• We grow in faith and knowledge as we serve, as we study, as we pray.
• It is this conviction, this quiet inward certainty of the reality of the living God, of the divinity of His Beloved Son, of the restoration of their work in this time, and of the glorious manifestations which have followed which become for each of us the foundation of our faith. This becomes our testimony.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth and it is timeless in its application, sounding as relevant today as when the talks were delivered; even going back to the beginning. What a blessing to have the technology to listen to and read the talks again and again.