The Ultimate Purpose of All We Teach

 The ultimate purpose of all we teach is to unite parents and children in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, linked to their generations, and assured of exaltation in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Boyd K. Packer,  Shield of Faith, April 1995 General Conference

That shield of faith is not produced in a factory but at home in a cottage industry.

 That shield of faith is not produced in a factory but at home in a cottage industry.

Boyd K. Packer,  Shield of Faith, April 1995 General Conference

Old Crow

You may wonder, at my age, what I can contribute to your lives. I have been where you are and know where you are going. But you have not yet been where I am. I quote a few lines of classic poetry:

The old crow is getting slow.

The young crow is not.

Of what the young crow does not know

The old crow knows a lot.

At knowing things the old crow

Is still the young crow’s master.

What does the slow old crow not know?

—How to go faster.

The young crow flies above, below,

And rings around the slow old crow.

What does the fast young crow not know?

—Where to go.

October 2011, General Conference, Boyd K. Packer

The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.

 “Shortly after I was called as a General Authority, I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He listened very carefully to my problem and suggested that I see President David O. McKay. President McKay counseled me as to the direction I should go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do.

“I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, ‘The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.’ I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: ‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.’ Then he quoted these 18 words from the Book of Mormon:

“‘Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith’” (Ether 12:6).

President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Edge of the Light,” BYU Magazine, Mar. 1991, magazine.byu.edu.

Let the pending items pend.

Patiently waiting for revelation

Elder Oaks talked about times the Quorum of the Twelve would counsel together and be stuck on a piece of doctrine or important decision they would need to make. President Packer would counsel, “Let the pending items pend.”

“He was content to wait upon further counsel and inspiration from the Lord,” Elder Oaks said.

Funeral of Boyd K. Packer, Dallin H. Oaks

Inspiration comes easier when you can set foot on the site related to the need for it

President Harold B. Lee told me once that inspiration comes easier when you can set foot on the site related to the need for it.


The Snow-White BirdsBOYD K. PACKER of the Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesAugust 29, 1995 • University Conference

In the scriptures we find principles of truth that will resolve every confusion and every problem and every dilemma that will face the human family or any individual in it

If your students are acquainted with the revelations, there is no question—personal or social or political or occupational—that need go unanswered. Therein is contained the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Therein we find principles of truth that will resolve every confusion and every problem and every dilemma that will face the human family or any individual in it” (Boyd K. Packer, “Teach the Scriptures” [address to Church Educational System religious educators, Oct. 14, 1977], 3–4).

Overview of the Book of Mormon

They Subsist on Some Kind of Emotional Welfare

There are too many in the Church who seem to be totally dependent, emotionally and spiritually, upon others. They subsist on some kind of emotional welfare. They are unwilling to sustain themselves. They become so dependent that they endlessly need to be shored up, lifted up, endlessly need encouragement, and they contribute little of their own.

I have been concerned that we may be on the verge of doing to ourselves emotionally (and therefore spiritually) what we have been working so hard for generations to avoid materially. If we lose our emotional and spiritual self-reliance, we can be weakened quite as much, perhaps even more, than when we become dependent materially. On the one hand, we counsel bishops to avoid abuses in the Church welfare program. On the other hand, we seem to dole out counsel and advice without the slightest thought that the member should solve the problem himself or turn to his family. Only when those resources are inadequate should we turn to the Church.
Self Reliance BOYD K. PACKER March 2, 1975 • Devotional

I’ve come to learn that major decisions can’t be forced.

When you have a problem, work it out in your own mind first. Ponder on it and analyze it and meditate on it. Pray about it. I’ve come to learn that major decisions can’t be forced. You must look ahead and have vision. What was it the prophet said in the Old Testament? “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

Ponder on things a little each day, and don’t always be in the crisis of making major decisions on the spur of the moment. If you’re looking ahead in life, you can see major problems coming down the road toward you from some considerable distance. By the time you meet one another, you are able at the very beginning to take charge of that conversation. Once in a while a major decision will jump out at you from the side of the road and startle the wits out of you, but not very often. If you’ve already decided that you’re going to do what is right and let all of the consequences follow, even those encounters won’t hurt you.

I have learned that the best time to wrestle with major problems is early in the morning. Your mind is fresh and alert. The blackboard of your mind has been erased by a good night’s rest. The accumulated distractions of the day are not in your way. Your body has been rested also. That’s the time to think something through very carefully and to receive personal revelation.

Self Reliance BOYD K. PACKER March 2, 1975 • Devotional

Remember, when you schedule a youngster, you schedule a family—particularly the mother.

Recently a mother told me her family had moved from a rural, scattered ward where, of necessity, activities were consolidated into one weekday night. It was wonderful. They had time for their family. I can see them sitting around the table together.

They moved west into a larger ward where members were closer to the chapel. She said, “Now our family is scheduled Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night. It is very hard on our family.”

Remember, when you schedule a youngster, you schedule a family—particularly the mother.

Parents In Zion, Boyd K. Packer, October 1998 General Conference

The extension of mercy will not be automatic. It will be through covenant with Him.

The extension of mercy will not be automatic. It will be through covenant with Him. It will be on His terms, His generous terms, which include, as an absolute essential, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.

Boyd K. Packer, The Mediator, April 1977 General Conference

It is not in the proper spirit for us to decide where we will serve or where we will not.

It is not in the proper spirit for us to decide where we will serve or where we will not. We serve where we are called. It does not matter what the calling may be.


Boyd K. Packer, Called to Serve, October 1997 General Conference

One who has authority to issue a call must rely on inspiration to avoid overburdening those who are always willing.

One who has authority to issue a call must rely on inspiration to avoid overburdening those who are always willing.

Boyd K. Packer, Called to Serve, October 1997 General Conference

The spirit of service is best taught at home.

The spirit of service is best taught at home. We must teach our children by example and tell them that an unselfish spirit is essential to happiness.

Boyd K. Packer, Called to Serve, October 1997 General Conference

We will take care of the rule first, and then we will see to the exceptions.

As mission president, I attended a mission Relief Society conference. Our mission Relief Society president, a relatively recent convert, announced something of a course correction. Some local societies had strayed, and she invited them to conform more closely to the direction set by the general presidency of the Relief Society.

One sister in the congregation stood and defiantly told her that they were not willing to follow her counsel, saying they were an exception. A bit flustered, she turned to me for help. I didn’t know what to do. I was not interested in facing a fierce woman. So I motioned for her to proceed. Then came the revelation!

This lovely Relief Society president, small and somewhat handicapped physically, said with gentle firmness: “Dear sister, we’d like not to take care of the exception first. We will take care of the rule first, and then we will see to the exceptions.” The course correction was accepted.

Her advice is good for Relief Society and priesthood and for families. When you state a rule and include the exception in the same sentence, the exception is accepted first.

The Relief Society, April 1998 General Conference, Boyd K. Packer

If You Have Something That Is Bothering You--Sometimes So Long Ago You Can Hardly Remember It

the Atonement is not a general thing that is for the whole Church. The Atonement is individual, and if you have something that is bothering you—sometimes so long ago you can hardly remember it—put the Atonement to work. It will clean it up, and you, as does He, will remember your sins no more.

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer

I Am Grateful for Each Moment I Am With Her and For the Promise the Lord Has Given That There Will Be No End

Toward the end of our mortal days together, I am grateful for each moment I am with her side by side and for the promise the Lord has given that there will be no end.

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer

When We Speak of Marriage and Family Life, "What About the Exceptions?"

When we speak of marriage and family life, there inevitably comes tomind, “What about the exceptions?” Some are born with limitations and cannot beget children. Some innocents have their marriage wrecked because of the infidelity of their spouse. Others do not marry and live in single worthiness.

For now I offer this comfort: God is our Father! All the love and generosity manifest in the ideal earthly father is magnified in Him who is our Father and our God beyond the capacity of the mortal mind to comprehend. His judgments are just; His mercy without limit; His power to compensate beyond any earthly comparison. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer

There Are Spiritual and Physical Laws to Obey If We Are to Be Happy

“The spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15), and there are spiritual and physical laws to obey if we are to be happy. There are eternal laws, including laws relating to this power to give life, “irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated” (D&C 130:20). These are spiritual laws which define the moral standard for mankind (see Joseph Smith Translation, Romans 7:14–15 [in the Bible appendix];2 Nephi 2:5; D&C 29:34; 134:6). There are covenants which bind, seal, and safeguard and give promise of eternal blessings.
General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer

Wedded Embrace Between Husband and Wife

But romantic love is incomplete; it is a prelude. Love is nourished by the coming of children, who spring from that fountain of life entrusted to couples in marriage. Conception takes place in a wedded embrace between husband and wife. A tiny body begins to form after a pattern of magnificent complexity. A child comes forth in the miracle of birth, created in the image of its earthly father and mother. Within its mortal body is a spirit able to feel and perceive spiritual things. Dormant in that mortal body of this child is the power to beget offspring in its own image.

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer