Saturday Conference Notes

Morning Session

President Thomas S. Monson
Five new temples will be built around the world: Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Cordoba, Argentina; the greater Kansas City area; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Rome, Italy. Cultural pageants, such as those presented at temple dedications in Brazil, Panama, and Idaho provide opportunities for church youth form new friendships, create memories, and to participate in something very unforgettable. Pray for the opening of missionary areas throughout the world where the Church's influcence is limited. Our Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of us and our needs.

Elder L. Tom Perry
Our mortal lives are cycles of good and bad times, ups and downs, periods of joy and sadness, and times of plenty as well as scarcity. One of the challenges of this mortal experence is not to allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us. We all have four basic gospel needs for leading a simple, yet beautiful life:
Food: When we obey the counsel of the word of wisdom we gain the blessings of a healthy body and alert mind, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.
Clothing: Our dress and grooming send a messageto others about who we are and it also affect the way we act around others.
Shelter: Our income should determine the kind of housing we can afford, not the neighbor's house across the street.
Spiritual Fuel: We must acquire knowledge of God's eternal plan and our role in it, and then by living righteously, surrendering our will to the will of the lord, we receive promised blessings.

Sister Sylvia H. Allred
We are the Lord's Church and have the responsibility to preach the gospel in the world; to take them the message of faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We can contribute to successful missionary work by preparing ourselves and family members to serve as missionaries, inviting friends and family to listen to the missionaries, attending church meetings and activities, opening our homes to missionary discussions, giving referrals to missionaries, seeking opportunities to reach out to others, extending friendship to investigators and new converts, and supporting family and friends.

Elder Neil L. Andersen
When we have moments of powerful inspiration and spiritual revelation, we need to savor and save them deep in our souls for the lean times in our lives. We all face challenges, difficulties, questions, and doubt that are all part of mortality. And, when we do we need to face them with faith not fear. Through the years as we increase in experience our faith becomes simple and pure. Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning, but we learn, grow, and build a foundation of faith that will sustain us.

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis
The promise made by Gordon B. Hinckley that families will receive spiritual blessings if they read the Book of Mormon has been fulfilled in the Aidukaitus family. My father was baptized into the church on June 2, 1940, and although he faced many trials of his faith he remained true to his dicison because he had read the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon and the spirit of the Holy Ghost can convert anyone.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
We live in the perilous times prophesied by the Apostle Paul. But, we can have the spirit of the Lord to guide our choices and keep us on the straight and narrow by participating in the weekly ordinance of the sacrament. Sacrament meeting is the most important meeting of the Sabbath. There is a standard for sacrament meeting, but the rising generation seems to not understand or practice these things. Each member has the responsibility to for having a spiritual sacrament meeting. We should dress as we would to attend the temple. How we dress will effect how we participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. When we join in the solemnity that should always accompany the ordinance, we are qualified for the companionship and revelation of the spirit. This is the way we get direction for our lives and peace along the way.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Hope is one leg of a three-leggd stool. Together with Faith and Charity, these three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter. Hope is a gift of the spirit, and has the power to fill our lives with happiness . The abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill his promises, confidence that if we live according to God's laws and the words of his prophets now we will receive desired blessings in the future, and hope is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. Despair is the opposite of hope and drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful. It kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart.

Afternoon Session

Elder Joseph B. Worthlin
The Lord in his wisdom does not shield anyone from grief or sadness. If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of great happiness. Come what may and love it! The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life. we can:
Learn to Laugh: Laugh instead of groaning or getting angry.
Seek the Eternal: Christ understands our suffering and grief. Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome.
Know That the Lord Compensates the Faithful for Every Sorrow: That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in his own way.
Put Trust in Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ: Not even death can take from us the eternal blessings promised by a loving Heavenly Father. Adversity in your lives can bless us.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland
Just as God sent angels to Adam and Eve, he still sends angels in times of need to bless his children. Seen or unseen, angels are always near. God sends angels to convey love and concern, to comfort, and to warn us. Angels come from both sides of the veil. Heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Remember the Lord has said He would fight battles for the faithful. To merit such a defense search diligently, pray always, and be believing. God never leaves us alone.

Elder Gérald Caussé
Our heavenly father is always available to us. He adapts to our level of understanding. It would be unjust if the gospel were only accessible to the intellectual elite. Little children have a marvelous disposition to learn. They have total trust in their teacher, a pure spirit, and great humility. The same qualities which open the door to the Holy Spirit. We must become as children; submissive, meek, humble, full of love, willing to submit to the Lord. Knowing God is a matter of opening one's heart to gain spiritual understanding. When we seek with the heart, we know God and learn that He loves us.

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge
There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment and Jesus Christ is that way. He offers a well of living water. We can choose to drink and never thirst again, or not. He is the bread of life. We can choose to eat and hunger no more, or not. Everything depends on Christ's atonement and receiving power of the Holy Ghost. The Lord said to follow Him and to be like Him. The Lord's way is not hard. Life is hard, not the Gospel. Get on the path and never ever give up.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Zion is both a place and a people. Zion is the pure in heart. Babylon is the antithesis of Zion. If we would establish Zion in our home, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to a Zion standard. To become a holy people we must be unified in one heart and one mind, and care for the poor the the needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty. Materialism is a manifestation of idolatry and pride. In these uncertain times we need to look after one another the very best we can.

Elder David A. Bednar
Revelation is communication from Heavenly Father to his children on earth. Revelation is received through the Holy Ghost. Prayer is communication to Heavenly Father from His sons and daughters on earth. Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all our doings. As we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others with real intent and sincere heart, expressing gratitude should be an important part of prayer. Ingratitude invites the wrath of God.

Priesthood Session

President Thomas S. Monson
How can priesthood holders better follow the savior in his sacred work? Three imperatives apply to the Deacon as well as the High Priest: 1] learn what we should learn, 2] do what we should do, and 3] be what we should be. When we do these things, the blessings of heaven will attend. This work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord's work, and when we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to the Lord's help. The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it. Be prudent in your planning, be conservative in your living, and avoid excessive and unnecessary debt, make you homes sanctuaries of righteousness.

President Henry B. Eyring
See that ye serve God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. When we give our all in Priesthood service the Lord will give us all the courage we need, and that angels will bear us up. For God to give you increased power you must go in service and faith to your outer limits. It is like building muscle strength. You break down the muscles to build them up. Increased spiritual strength is a gift from God. Through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ our natures can be changed. We are called of God. This is His true Church and His everlasting Priesthood. President Thomas Monson holds all the keys of the Priesthood in the world.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Individual recognition is rarely an indication of the value of our service. We do not know the names of any of the two thousand sons of Helaman as individuals. They are unnamed. As a group they will always be named as a symbol of honesty and courage. They accomplished together what none of them could have accomplished alone. Brethren, as strong as you are, you cannot and should not lift a piano my yourself. As great as President Monson is, he cannot and should not move the Lord's work by himself. But, if we all stand close together in the place the Lord has appointed, and lift where we stand, nothing can keep this divine work from moving upward and forward. May we cease to aspire and cease to retire.

Elder Richard C. Scott
The purpose of Priesthood authority is to give, to serve, to lift, to inspire, not to exercise unrighteous control or force. It is not the way of the Lord for a man to play a dominant role. With a feeling of authority, to control and regulate all family affairs, or for a wife to be owned by her husband, that is a cruel, unproductive, mistaken image of marriage encouraged by Lucifer. God will hold us accountable for how we treat his precious daughters. Let us treat them as the Lord would wish to have them treated. I pray that the Lord will guide us to be more inspired, sensitive, and productive with the priesthood we hold, especially with his daughters. Many husbands practice equal partnership with their companion to benefit both.

Elder Jay E. Jensen
I have pondered how to effectively teach the atonement to others. The phrase arms of safety has been useful. When we were baptized and received the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, we received two ordinances that introduce us to the arms of safety. By coming humbly and fully repentant to sacrament meeting, and worthily partaking of the sacrament, we may feel those arms again and again. In the administration of the sacrament, occasionally we see a disturbing drift toward too much informality and casualness in dress and appearance. True servants of Jesus Christ are properly groomed and dressed, and reflect always his standards and not the worldly drift of casualness. Having every detail carefully attended to, ensures that the spirit of the Lord will be present.

Elder James A. Hamula
It is my desire to help the brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood to more deeply appreciate who they are, what their purpose in life is, and how they may succeed in accomplishing that purpose. I intend to inspire soberness, not fear. Being sober means being earnest and serious in assessing your circumstances and the consequences of your actions. We can defeat Satan today the same
way he was defeated in the beginning: by [1] faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice, [2] testimony of Him that was steadfastly kept to the very end, and [3] consecration of oneself to the Lord and His work. Seeking out, hearing the word of the Lord . and obeying it will provide the faith necessary to overcome the adversary.