Saturday Morning Session/Monson

PRELUDE: HOW WONDROUS AND GREAT

How wondrous and great Thy works, God of praise!
How just, King of Saints, And true are thy ways!
Oh, who shall not fear thee And honor thy name?
Thou only art holy, Thou only supreme.

To nations long dark Thy light shall be shown.
Their worship and vows Shall come to thy throne.
Thy truth and thy judgments Shall spread all abroad,
Till earth's ev'ry people Confess thee their God.

We open conference with a hymn of PRAISE to our Wondrous, Great, Just, True, Holy, Supreme God whom we fear, honor and confess to be our ONLY God. 

We invite all nations to either accept His truth or reap His judgments. Either way... the day will come when "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess..."

OPENING HYMN: NOW LET US REJOICE

Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation. The Second Coming
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam. This earth is not our first home
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation, Christ is returning
And shortly the hour of redemption will come,  It's getting late...He will come
 

When all that was promised the Saints will be given, Learn about those promises
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n, no more persecution
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden, the Millennial earth
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home". the Ten Tribes return

"We'll love one another and never dissemble Zion: everyone is "real"
But cease to do evil and ever be one. Unity; charity; no desire for evil
And when the ungodly are fearing and tremble, at the Signs of the Times
We'll watch for the day when the Savior will come, we're prepared; we do not fear; we want Him to come!
 

When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home."

In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah TOTAL trust in God!
To guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom, Peace amidst chaos
And after the scourges and harvest are over, We are in a time of both
We'll rise with the just when the Savior doth come. Whether in or out of the body
 

Then all that was promised the Saints will be given, At that day; all promises will be fulfilled
And they will be crown'd with the angels of heav'n, all the Father has
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Christ and his people will ever be one. True Zion: City of our God!

The words of this hymn echo the opening hymn (Redeemer of Israel: "We know He is coming to gather His sheep and lead them to Zion in love; how long we have wandered as strangers in sin; as children of Zion, good tidings for us; foes rejoice, but we'll shortly be free...") in the Relief Society Broadcast: The Savior is coming; the gathering of Israel; the deliverance from persecution and suffering; the promise of eternal life; the establishment of Zion! We must have faith in Christ to get through these last days. 

"In the mouth of two or three witnessess..." (I'm just sayin'....)

(black text is the original talk; all yellow highlights are things I am commenting on;All blue text are my thoughts and are my opinions only and do not represent the official position of the speaker or the church.)

Welcome to Conference

By President Thomas S. Monson

It is my prayer pray always...that we may be filled with the Spirit of the Lord as we listen and learn.Desire to have "ears to hear and eyes to see" which only come by the Spirit

How good it is, my beloved brothers and sisters, to meet together I love meeting with fellow Saints to sit "at the feet" of a prophet of God! once again. It has been just over 183 years since the Church was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, under the direction of the Lord. The church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, but it is not his church...it is the Lord's. At that meeting on April 6, 1830, there were six members of the Church present.¹

I am happy to announce that two weeks ago, the membership of the Church reached 15 million. The Church continues to grow steadily and to change the lives of more and more people every year. It is growing steadily because it changes lives for the better...eternally! I wonder if there has ever been a time when the membership numbers were declining, not growing or remained steady... It is spreading across the earth

Six years ago we were at 13 million and Pres. Hinckley made this statement: "The Lord is fulfilling His promise that His gospel shall be as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands which would roll forth and fill the whole earth, as Daniel saw in vision (see Daniel 2:31–45; D&C 65:2). A great miracle is taking place right before our eyes. " The prophecy continues to be fulfilled today!as our missionary force seeks out those who are searching for the truth.

It has scarcely been one year since I announced the lowering of the age of missionary service. Since that time the number of full-time missionaries serving has increased from 58,500 in October 2012 to 80,333 today. What a tremendous and inspiring response we have witnessed!I have a son, many of his friends, two nephews, a best friend, and over a hundred ward and stake members counted in those numbers! Can we respond as tremendously and promptly to the other "calls" from the prophet we will hear?  

The holy scriptures contain no proclamation more relevant, no responsibility more binding, no instruction more direct than did you get that...the call to missionary work is THE most relevant, binding, direct commandment that we are being given in our day! the injunction given by the resurrected Lord as He appeared in Galilee to the eleven disciples. Said He, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”² The Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.”³ Some of you here today will yet remember the words of President David O. McKay, who phrased the familiar “Every member a missionary!”⁴

To their words I add my own. Now is the time now...Now...NOW!!!for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. 

"In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."
 
"One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed time." (Eyring "Safety in Counsel) ""invoked" means "to declare to be binding"...

Let's see; he quoted:

Jesus Christ

Joseph Smith

David O. McKay, then added himself...

Thomas S. Monson

Yep...all authorized witnesses.

He has prepared the means for us What are all those means? Preach My Gospel, the Internet (mormon.org; mormonmessages), Social Media, new Sunday curriculum...  for the obvious ones. But do not discount the unseen means He has prepared that will only come as we exercise our faith to keep this commandment and participate in one of the most exciting eras in all of history! (Elder Perry's quote in Gifford Nielson's talk) to share the gospel in a multitude of ways,Remember, "God's ways are not man's ways" - don't think you have to have it all figured out. Just jump in; go..."not knowing beforehand what ye should do" but trust that He has commanded it, that He has prepared the way. A prophet of God just told you He has...and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.  That's a PROMISE! ACT....in FAITH...Miracles will follow!

To help maintain our ever-increasing missionary force, I have asked our members in the past to contribute, as they are able, to their ward missionary fund or to the General Missionary Fund of the Church. (Did you respond last time he asked? If not...here's your chance...act...)The response to that request has been gratifying and has helped support thousands of missionaries whose circumstances do not allow them to support themselves. I thank you for your generous contributions. The need for help is ongoing, Let's see... 15 million members who follow the prophet x $1 (generous for some; not so generous for others, but for the sake of simple math...) equals $15 million dollars a month. $15 million dollars divided by the $400/month that it costs to be on a mission means we could support 37,500 more missionaries with only $1 from each member. Times are hard, but even the poorest widow put in her mite. Do we have her faith? that we might continue to assist those whose desire to serve is great but who do not, by themselves, have the means to do so. The unspoken here, is that the many who have a desire to serve, but have no means should make that desire known to their Bishop. Those who are not in a position to serve now can step forward to assist in the work by helping others go on missions.

Now, brothers and sisters, we have come here to be instructed given direction and guidance  and inspired. motivated to "act"... Many messages, covering a variety of gospel topics, there is something for everyone will be given during the next two days. Those men and women who will speak to you have sought heaven’s help "Whether by mine own voice or the voice of my servants; it is the same." (D&C 1:38) concerning the messages they will give.

It is my prayer that we may be filled with the Spirit of the Lord as we listen and learn. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

1.  While as many as a few dozen people were present the day the Church was organized, six were officially listed as organizing members.
2. Matthew 28:19.
3.   Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 330.
4. David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Apr. 1959, 122.

IMPERATIVES

• Come to be instructed and inspired; to listen and learn with the Spirit of the Lord
• "...no proclamation more relevant, no responsibility more binding, no instruction more direct than the injunction given by the resurrected Lord... “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
• The greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel
• Every member a missionary!
• Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.
• Act in faith to fulfill the Lord's work
• Contribute, as you are able, (but generously) to your ward missionary fund or to the General Missionary Fund of the Church. 

DOCTRINAL INSIGHT

•  Daniel's prophecy continues to be fulfilled

PROMISES

• He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways
• He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work

WARNINGS