Wisdom

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 1997 conference.

President Gordon B. Hinckley opened the conference with a short address including this statement:

You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church.

Elder Boyd K. Packer gave a talk "Called to Serve" that is often quoted.

It is not in the proper spirit for us to decide where we will serve or where we will not. We serve where we are called. It does not matter what the calling may be. 

There's been only one time I did not accept a calling. We had just moved to a new ward, from Washington state to Virginia. We had three little children, ages 5, 3 and 1. We had just begun to homeschool our oldest. One evening my husband said that a counselor from the bishopric was coming over to issue a calling to me. I asked, with trepidation, "What it the calling?" It was to work in Primary. I spontaneously burst into tears. My husband worked long hours and I was with children 24/7. I just couldn't face being with them on Sunday. I really needed to be with adults for a few hours. So my husband explained the situation to the counselor and Brother Brown said that if they'd known our circumstances they wouldn't have decided on that calling. Several months later when our stake was reorganized and boundaries changed, I was called into the Stake Relief Society presidency as a counselor. That calling fit our circumstances much better and I enjoyed building friendships throughout the stake. I even had two more babies while serving in that calling.

Elder Packer further said, 

While we do not ask to be released from a calling, if our circumstances change it is quite in order for us to counsel with those who have issued the call and then let them decision rest with them. Nor should we feel rejected when we are released by the same authority and with the same inspiration by which we were called.

Elder Richard B. Wirthlin (younger brother of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin) said something that certainly applies to today:

We cannot cope with the confusions and the challenges of this world unless we use a clear and consistent moral compass that will unerringly take us through our own personal trials and the tugs and pulls of our own temptations--a compass that will chart our way to peace of mind, self-worth, and joy.

 

Elder Carl B. Pratt made this observation about members in the Latin American countries in which he and his family had served:

We have watched humble, devoted priesthood and auxiliary leaders strive to build the kingdom and to bless the lives of the Saints, but without having the advantages of telephones or personal vehicles.

I wrote in the margin of my copy of the Ensign, "We are so spoiled, and lazy!" We have every modern technological advantage and we still don't minister and take care of each other as we should. (I know there are many who do, but not near enough!)

Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, Relief Society General President, gave this counsel:

My desire is to plead with our sisters to stop worrying about a phone call or a quarterly or monthly visit, and whether that will do, and concentrate instead on nurturing tender souls. 

Wisdom we need today when ministering to each other. 

 

Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke of Spiritual Capacity. 

While the body may reach the peak of its maturation in a few years, the development of the spirit may never reach the limit of its capacity, because there is no end to progression.

He used President Hinckley as the model to follow in building spiritual capacity. He talked of how, "As a young father, he learned how to build. He acquired the skills necessary to remodel a house and make needed repairs. And more important, he has built and maintained the trust of his wife and their children."

President Hinckley was my ideal--spiritual, intellectual, great sense of humor, and a skilled handyman too!

The last speaker of the session was President Thomas S. Monson who told a delightful story that is not included in the printed version in the Ensign. He told of receiving a large, heavy package that had to be checked by security before he could open it. Inside he found a large pair of roller skates with the note that the sender had also sent a pair to President Faust so they could both keep up with President Hinckley!

Perhaps someone could do the same for Presidents Oaks and Eyring!

As always a delight to listen to, read and realize that eternal truths sound and feel fresh whenever we encounter them. 

I Concur

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey This week covers the General Young Women session of the April 1997 conference.

Marilyn, who blogs at light-in-leaves, wrote eloquently the very things I thought and felt studying the talks in this session. Check out her blog post to read it.

I, heartily, concur!

". . . life was very different . . ."

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey This week covers the Sunday afternoon session of the April 1997 conference.

Elder L. Tom Perry began his talk, "After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon pioneers found establishing settlements in the desert to be a real challenge." Ya think?

I'd find it a real challenge today! I can't imagine their mindset and determination. He goes on to say, "Daily they encountered trials and hardships that kept reminding them that their new life was very different from the one to which they had been accustomed." I can relate to that!

The political landscape of the United States of American has changed so rapidly that life is very different from the one we used to know. 

Elder Perry gives us the key to navigating our new landscape. The Gift of the Holy Ghost. He quotes Elder LeGrand Richards from a 1979 conference address, ". . . the gift of the Holy Ghost is as important to man as sunshine and water are to plants." That's pretty darn important, as in life sustaining. Elder Perry continues, "Gifts have only limited value unless they are used. The Holy Ghost will be our constant companion if we submit ourselves to the will of our Father in Heaven, always remembering Him and keeping His commandments."

This talk brought to mind President Eyring's address in the Saturday morning session of the most recent conference. Speaking of the Atonement he said, "Our natures change to become as a little child, obedient to God, and more loving. That change will qualify us to enjoy the gifts that come through the Holy Ghost. Having the Spirit's companionship will comfort, guide, and strengthen us."

As we live through days of increasing spiritual darkness we will, as President Nelson said, need the constant companionship fo the Holy Ghost. We can be grateful for prophets and apostles to instruct us on getting and keeping that precious gift.

Pioneer Journeys

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey This week covers the Sunday morning session of the April 1997 conference. 

When I was serving as a missionary (1979-80) in the Florida Tallahassee mission investigators would sometimes say, "I'm not sure if I can join the church, I don't have any pioneer ancestors." To which I would reply, "Neither do I; but I will be forever grateful to my grandpa who joined the church in Norway in 1905 and immigrated to Zion. You will be that grandpa (or grandma) in your family, and your descendants will love and honor you forever."

Elder M. Russell Ballard said this:

We are all bound together--19th- and 20th-century pioneers and more--in our great journey to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to allow His atoning sacrifice to work its miracle in our lives. While we all can appreciate the footsteps of faith walked by Joseph Smith and his followers from Palmyra to Carthage Jail and across the Great Plains, we should ever stand in reverential awe as we contemplate the path trod by the Master. His faithful footsteps to Gethsemane and to Calvary rescued all of us and opened the way for us to return to our heavenly home.

Handcart Pioneer Statue, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, by Torleif Knaphus (my great-uncle)

Take Your Pick

This post is part of the General Conference Odessey This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the April 1997 conference. 

I couldn't discern a theme for this session; all of the talks were wonderful, and spiritually filling.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of bishops and how we can sustain or help them.

Elder Henry B. Eyring spoke of listening to and following prophetic counsel.

Elder Monte J. Brough spoke about knowing your calling is from God.

Elder Sheldon F. Child spoke about honesty being the only policy.

Elder Dennis E. Simmons talked about how Jesus' peace is different from the world's.

Elder Jerald L. Taylor expressed gratitude and bore his testimony.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave his now classic address on motherhood.

So take your pick! Any of the talks could have been given at this last conference. I especially felt comforted by Elder Simmons, "It should be noted that Jesus promised His peace--not the peace that the world gives. The world cries out for freedom from war, from violence, from oppression, from injustice, from contention, from disease and distress. That the Savior did not expect such worldly peace is clear from His concluding remark as He finished His special teaching to His Apostles: 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'" (John 16:33; emphasis added)

Elder Simmons also said, "His peace is that peace, that serenity, that comfort spoken to our hearts and minds by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, as we strive to follow Him and keep His commandments."

We can't have peace following the ways of the world, we must follow the Savior and keep His commandments to have His peace! What a much needed concept in today's world.

Marilyn has more at Light in Leaves.