Through the ages, many of His children have had access to the blessings of the gospel, but many more have not.
— Russell M. Nelson
When I think of the love I feel for each member of our family, I sense, to a slight degree, the love that our Heavenly Father bears for His children.
Missionaries serve to make life better for God's children.
The decision to serve a mission will shape the spiritual destiny of the missionary, his or her spouse, and their posterity for generations to come. A desire to serve is a natural outcome of one's conversion, worthiness, and preparation.
All that the future holds in store for each sacred child of God will be shaped by his or her parents, family, friends, and teachers. Thus, our faith now becomes part of our posterity's faith later.
Even more amazing than modern technology is our opportunity to access information directly from Heaven, without hardware, software, or monthly service fees.
In legal language, a covenant generally denotes an agreement between two or more parties. But in a religious context, a covenant is much more significant. It is a sacred promise with God. He fixes the terms.
We were born with a capacity to grow, love, marry, and form families.
We are eternal beings - spirit children of heavenly parents.
The wise use of your freedom to make your own decisions is crucial to your spiritual growth, now and for eternity.
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can be bolstered as we learn about Him and live our religion. The doctrine of Jesus Christ was designed by the Lord to help us increase our faith.
All leaders in the Lord's Church are called by proper authority. No prophet or any other leader in this Church, for that matter, has ever called himself or herself. No prophet has ever been elected.
Our inquiring friends and neighbors not of our faith can also catch the wave. We encourage them to keep all that is good and true in their lives. And we invite them to receive more, especially the glorious truth that through God's eternal plan, families can be together forever.
Young men and women, your education is ever important - to us, to you, and to God.
Saints can be happy under every circumstance.
I worry about all who are impure in their thoughts, feelings, or actions or who demean their wives or children, thereby cutting off priesthood power.
We make the Sabbath a delight when we teach the gospel to our children.
We teach that God's love for His children is infinite.
We need more missionaries - more worthy missionaries.
Whether full-time missionaries or members, we should all be good examples of the believers in Jesus Christ.
All missionaries, younger and older, serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people.
As apostles and prophets, we are concerned not only for our children and grandchildren but for yours as well - and for each of God's children.
Indeed, the Lord has not forgotten! He has blessed us and others throughout the world with the Book of Mormon.
One of the most important concepts of revealed religion is that of a sacred covenant.
Think of our physical sustenance. It is truly heaven-sent. The necessities of air, food, and water all come to us as gifts from a loving Heavenly Father.
Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity.
Clinicians, academicians, and politicians are often put to a test of faith. In pursuit of their goals, will their religion show or will it be hidden? Are they tied back to God or to man?
When we speak of faith - the faith that can move mountains - we are not speaking of faith in general but of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a medical doctor and cardiac surgeon, I had the responsibility of performing open-heart surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball in 1972, when he was Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Mission presidents hold keys of responsibility for the welfare, safety, and success of their missionaries.
My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us.
I fear that there are too many priesthood bearers who have done little or nothing to develop their ability to access the powers of Heaven.
The Sabbath provides a wonderful opportunity to strengthen family ties.
While the family is under attack throughout the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims, promotes, and protects the truth that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
Heavenly Father loves every one of His children. After all, He is their Father.
In this world filled with challenges, we do need help from time to time. Religion, eternal truth, and our missionaries are vital parts of that help.
Preparation for a mission is important. A mission is a voluntary act of service to God and humankind. Missionaries support that privilege with their personal savings. Parents, families, friends, and donors to the General Missionary Fund may also assist.
From an eternal perspective, the only death that is truly premature is the death of one who is not prepared to meet God.
If one accepts the terms of the covenant and obeys God's law, he or she receives the blessings associated with the covenant.
Marriage and family are ordained of God. The family is the most important social unit in time and in eternity. Under God's great plan of happiness, families can be sealed in temples and be prepared to return to dwell in His holy presence forever. That is eternal life!
How much better it would be if all could be more aware of God's providence and love and express that gratitude to Him.
You are never too young to learn, never too old to change.
Even the best teams can fail. Celebrities can fade. There is only One in whom your faith is always safe, and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to let your faith show!
The ways of the Lord are different from the ways of man. Man's ways remove people from office or business when they grow old or become disabled. But man's ways are not and never will be the Lord's ways.
Imagine the privilege the Lord has given us of sustaining His prophet, whose counsel will be untainted, unvarnished, unmotivated by any personal aspiration, and utterly true!
Many institutions of higher learning will grant an 18- to 30-month deferral to prospective missionaries. This will enable you elders and sisters to serve without worrying about where you will begin your advanced education. We are very grateful to leaders of educational institutions who are making such planning possible!
We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!
I fear that too many have sadly surrendered their agency to the adversary and are saying by their conduct, 'I care more about satisfying my own desires than I do about bearing the Savior's power to bless others.'
To bear means to support the weight of that which is held. It is a sacred trust to bear the priesthood, which is the mighty power and authority of God.
