OPENING REMARKS
By President Russell M. Nelson
By President Russell M. Nelson
(Highlighting in yellow and comments in red are my own thoughts/opinions)
My dear brothers and sisters, we have looked forward to gathering with you again in this October general conference of the Church. We extend our heartfelt welcome to each of you. We are deeply grateful for your sustaining prayers. We can feel their effect. Thank you!
We are grateful for your tremendous efforts to follow through with counsel given at general conference six months ago. Stake presidencies throughout the world have sought revelation necessary to reorganize elders quorums. Men of those quorums along with our dedicated Relief Society sisters are working diligently to minister to our brothers and sisters in a higher, holier way. We are inspired by your goodness and extraordinary efforts to bring the Savior’s love to your families, neighbors, and friends and to minister to them as He would.
Since April conference, Sister Nelson and I have met with members on four continents and on islands of the sea. From Jerusalem to Harare, from Winnipeg to Bangkok, we have experienced your great faith and the strength of your testimonies.
We are overjoyed with the number of our youth who have joined the Lord’s youth battalion to help gather scattered Israel.1 We thank you! And as you continue to follow my invitations offered at our worldwide youth devotional, you are setting a standard for the rest of us to follow. And what a difference you youth are making!
(See quotes from his talk below this one. But here's the list he gave them:)1.Hold a seven-day fast from social media.2.Make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord for three weeks.3.Keep on the covenant path. If you are off, repent and get back on the path.4.Pray daily that all of God’s children might receive the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.5.Stand out. Be different. Be a light. Give to a friend one copy of the booklet For the Strength of Youth.
In recent years, we in the presiding councils of the Church have wrestled with a fundamental question: how can we take the gospel in its simple purity and the ordinances with their eternal efficacy to all of God’s children?
As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of “church” as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.This is historic. We know longer "go to church". Church is at home and we go to our ward family for additional support.
As the Church continues to expand throughout the world, many members live where we have no chapels—and may not for the foreseeable future. I remember a family who, because of such circumstances, was required to meet in their home. I asked the mother how she liked going to church in her own home. She replied, “I like it! My husband uses better language at home now, knowing that he will bless the sacrament here each Sunday.”
The long-standing objective of the Church is
- to assist all members to increase their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Atonement,
-to assist them in making and keeping their covenants with God, and -to strengthen and seal their families.
In this complex world today, this is not easy. The adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and our families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counter-strategies and proactive plans. Accordingly, we now want to put in place organizational adjustments that will further fortify our members and their families.The things we now do in our homes will be our counter-strategies for the attacks of Satan. If we are not proactive we will not survive spiritually. We need to fortify our homes.
For many years, Church leaders have been working on an integrated curriculum to strengthen families and individuals through a home-centered and Church-supported plan to
-learn doctrine,
-strengthen faith, and
-foster greater personal worship.
This is our goal at home. Home is where we'll learn the doctrine, strengthen our faith and worship. When we go meet with other Saints, we'll have our home efforts strengthened.
Our efforts over these recent years to hallow the Sabbath—to make it a delight and a personal sign to God of our love for Him—will be augmented by the adjustments we will now introduce.This change should help you in your desires to keep the Sabbath Day holy, to delight in His day, and to show your love for God.
This morning we will announce a new balance and connection between gospel instruction in the home and in the Church. We are each responsible for our individual spiritual growth. And scriptures make it clear that parents have the primary responsibility to teach the doctrine to their children.2 It is the responsibility of the Church to assist each member in the divinely defined goal of increasing his or her gospel knowledge.We are responsible for our own gospel learning and to teach the doctrine to our children. We meet together to strengthen our ability to learn on our own and teach our families.
Elder Quentin L. Cook will now explain these important adjustments. All members of the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are united in endorsing this message. We gratefully acknowledge the inspiration from the Lord that has influenced the development of the plans and procedures that Elder Cook will present.
My dear brothers and sisters, I know that God lives! Jesus is the Christ! This is His Church that He directs by prophecy and revelation to His humble servants. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
REFERENCES
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I promise you that if you will sincerely and persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial, spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life. You will be given answers to your questions in the Lord’s own way and in His own time. And don’t forget the counsel of your parents and Church leaders. They are also seeking revelation in your behalf. Make receiving personal revelation a priority. It's a crucial spiritual skill. "The words of Christ will tell you all things which you should do."
When you know your life is being directed by God, regardless of the challenges and disappointments that may and will come, you will feel joy and peace. Peace doesn't come from our circumstances. It come from aligning your actions, mind and heart with God's will.
My dear brothers and sisters, it’s time to stop comparing ourselves with others. It’s time to put away those erroneous views of ourselves and others. The truth is that we are not as hopelessly flawed as we may think, and others are not as perfect as they may appear—all except, of course, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The only thing that really matters is that you and I are doing exactly what we committed—even covenanted—premortally with our Heavenly Father we would do while we are here on earth.
“Things to Do While on Earth.”
1.to receive a mortal body.
2.you came to be tested - learning to control our bodies’ appetites and passions, what we choose to do is actually part of our testing (how we spend our time and energy, our talents and resources.)
3.choose to follow Jesus Christ and stand up for Him, just as you did premortally.
4.choose to repent daily and partake of the sacrament weekly. As you do, you will be spiritually healed, strengthened and magnified, and ultimately sanctified and exalted through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
5.find and fulfill your mortal missions.
perhaps these days are more “latter” than we have ever imagined.Jesus is really coming!
My dear brothers and sisters, these are indeed the latter days! There has never been a time like this in the history of this world. Never! Premortally, you and I committed to do a great work while we are here on earth. And with the Lord’s help, we will do it!
these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.
When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more.
Those whose lineage is from the various tribes of Israel are those whose hearts will most likely be turned to the Lord. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”3 Those who are of the house of Israel will most easily recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and will desire to be gathered into His fold. They will want to become members of His Church, make covenants with Him and Heavenly Father, and receive their essential ordinances. It's like a treasure hunt. "Are you of the House of Israel? Jesus has been trying to find you to bring you back into His fold."
participating in the gathering of Israel will require some sacrifice on your part. It may even require some changes in your life. It will definitely take some of your time and energy and your God-given talents. Time to refocus our lives to this great work.
Just think of the excitement and urgency of it all: every prophet commencing with Adam has seen our day. And every prophet has talked about our day, when Israel would be gathered and the world would be prepared for the Second Coming of the Savior. Think of it! Of all the people who have ever lived on planet earth, we are the ones who get to participate in this final, great gathering event. How exciting is that!
I testify that the gathering is now, and it is real.
It is my testimony that when we follow through with whatever the prophet of God asks us to do, the way will be opened and lives will be changed. This is a huge and important promise! Have faith to act. It matters!
My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing.
This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.
So my question to you is “Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?”
Think of this, my dear young brothers and sisters, right now I am preparing for the day when I will be required to give an accounting to the Prophet Joseph Smith, to President Brigham Young, and others—and ultimately to the Lord—about my stewardship as God’s prophet upon the earth today. I do not want to be asked, “Brother Nelson, why were you not more clear with the youth about their part in gathering Israel? Why were you not more bold in enlisting them to participate?”
So, now I am inviting every young woman and every young man between the ages of 12 and 18 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel.
The Book of Mormon is central to the gathering of Israel.7 In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur. Perhaps this is why the Sisters were asked to read it in the next 3 months. We have to know it to share it and we have to share it to gather Israel.
And now I invite you to prepare yourself by doing five more things—five things that will change you and help you change the world.
1.disengage from a constant reliance on social media, in order to decrease its worldly influence upon you; by holding a seven-day fast from social media. if you are paying more attention to feeds from social media than you are to the whisperings of the Spirit, then you are putting yourself at spiritual risk—as well as the risk of experiencing intense loneliness and depression. See if you notice any difference in how you feel and what you think, and even how you think, during those seven days. After seven days, notice if there are some things you want to stop doing and some things you now want to start doing.
This social media fast can be just between you and the Lord. It will be your sign to Him that you are willing to step away from the world in order to enlist in His youth battalion.
1. Step away from the world.
2.make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord, for three weeks in a row, to let Him know that you want to be part of His youth battalion—more than you want anything else. For three weeks give up something you like to do and use that time to help gather Israel.
Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that.
2. Spend regular time in the temple, doing Family History work, and ministering
3. do a thorough life assessment with the Lord, and perhaps with your parents and your bishop, to ensure that your feet are firmly planted on the covenant path.
3. Build your own testimony. Pray for a witness of the truth. Root yourself in doctrine.
4.pray daily that all of God’s children might receive the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You and I are living to see, and will continue to see, Israel gathered with great power. And you can be part of the power behind that gathering!
4. Pray daily for power to gather and for more people to receive the gospel.
5.to stand out; be different from the world. the Lord needs you to look like, sound like, act like, and dress like a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, you are living in the world, but you have very different standards from the world to help you avoid the stain of the world. Be a light. Give to a friend one copy of the booklet For the Strength of Youth. study this booklet again. Prayerfully read it like you’ve never read it before. Mark it up. Talk about it. Discuss the standards with your friends. Decide how you can live these standards, your standards, with even more exactness.
5. Time to become move to Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon (Maxwell)
My beloved younger brothers and sisters, you are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation!You are the hope of Israel, “children of the promised day”!
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