“Studying the gospel and sharing it daily can be accomplished by anyone with or without an official call. Please remember that it doesn’t take a name tag to do missionary work!”
| “Questions and Answers”
“If we are going to fill the world with goodness and truth, then we must be worthy to receive inspiration so we can bless the lives of our Heavenly Father’s children.”
| “Filling the World with Goodness and Truth,” Ensign, July 1996, 14.
The most simple, basic certainty of life is this: We are all going to die. Whether we die old or young, easy or hard, wealthy or indigent, beloved or lonely, nobody escapes death.
| Giving Our Spirits Control over Our Bodies
[Elder Melvin J. Ballard] said, “The greatest conflict that any man or woman will ever have … will be the battle that is had with self,” explaining that Satan, “the enemy of our souls,” attacks us through “the lusts, the appetites, the ambitions of the flesh.” So the primary battle is between our divine and spiritual nature and the carnal natural man.
| Giving Our Spirits Control over Our Bodies
“Let us be clear: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that ‘the experience of Same-Sex Attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including [those with Same-Sex Attraction]’”
| “The Lord Needs You Now!” Ensign, Sept. 2015, 29
I have often wondered why Joseph and Hyrum and their families had to suffer so much. It may be that they came to know God through their suffering in ways that could not have happened without it. Through it, they reflected on Gethsemane and the cross of the Savior. As Paul said, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”
| Shall We Not Go On in So Great a Cause?
Joseph came to realize that the Bible did not contain all the answers to life’s questions; rather, it taught men and women how they could find answers to their questions by communicating directly with God through prayer.
Great and marvelous events seem to motivate us, but small things often do not hold our attention. Noting that the Liahona worked by faith, Alma stated, “Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means . . . [the people of Lehi] were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey.”(Alma 37:41)
Is our journey sometimes impeded when we forget the importance of small things? (See Alma 37:46.)
| “Small and Simple Things,” Ensign, April 1990
“Both the Lord and his church stand ready with open arms to welcome back all who stray. The First Presidency has extended this special invitation:
‘We are aware of some who are inactive, of others who have become critical and are prone to find fault, and of those who have been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions.’
To all such we reach out in love. We are anxious to forgive.”
“To members and leaders of the Church who know of a brother or a sister who has been disfellowshipped or excommunicated: Love him or her without judging. Be sensitive and thoughtful without prying. Be warm and caring without being condescending. Be forgiving and forgetful. The Lord has said, ‘Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.’ (D&C 58:42.) Can we be justified in doing any less?”