It is a very critical thing to be engaged in the upbuilding of the kingdom of God—a nucleus of which we have here.

 We have a great mission to perform—we have to try to govern ourselves according to the laws of the kingdom of God, and we find it one of the most difficult tasks we ever undertook, to learn to govern ourselves, our appetites, our dispositions, our habits, our feelings, our lives, our spirits, our judgment, and to bring all our desires into subjection to the law of the kingdom of God and to the spirit of truth. It is a very critical thing to be engaged in the upbuilding of the kingdom of God—a nucleus of which we have here.

Chapter 24: The Kingdom of God

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-24?lang=eng&verse=#p

It exists in time and will exist in eternity. This church fail? No!

 This Church has the seeds of immortality in its midst. It is not of man, nor by man—it is the offspring of Deity. It is organized after the pattern of heavenly things, through the principles of revelation; by the opening of the heavens; by the ministering of angels, and the revelations of Jehovah. It is not affected by the death of one or two, or fifty individuals. It possesses a priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, having the power of an endless life, “without beginning of days or end of years.” [D&C 84:17.] It is organized for the purpose of saving this generation, and generations that are past. It exists in time and will exist in eternity. This church fail? No! Times and seasons may change, revolution may succeed revolution; thrones may be cast down; and empires be dissolved; earthquakes may rend the earth from center to circumference; the mountains may be hurled out of their places, and the mighty ocean be moved from its bed, but amidst the crash of worlds and the crack of matter, truth, eternal truth, must remain unchanged, and those principles which God has revealed to his saints be unscathed amidst the warring elements, and remain as firm as the throne of Jehovah.

Chapter 9: Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-9?lang=eng&verse=#p

the object and aim of inspired men in former days...this is what we are after

 This is what we are after, and what the ancient Saints were after. This is what Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and the prophets were after, that they might fulfil their destiny on the earth, and, as one of the old prophets said, “stand in their lot in the end of days,” [see Daniel 12:13] when the books should be opened, when the great white throne should appear and he who sits upon it, before whose face the heavens and the earth fled away; that we and they, and they and we might be prepared, having fulfilled the measure of our creation on the earth, to associate with the intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds; be admitted again to the presence of our Father, whence we came, and participate in those eternal realities which mankind, without revelation, know nothing about. We are here for that purpose; … we are building temples for that purpose; we are receiving endowments for that purpose; we are making covenants for that purpose; we are administering for the living and the dead for that purpose, and all our objects, and all our aims, like the object and aim of inspired men in former days, are altogether with reference to eternal realities as well as to time. …

This is what we are after, and we shall accomplish it, and no man can stop it, no organization, no power, no authority, for God is at the helm, and his kingdom is onward, onward, onward, and it will continue, and grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

Chapter 1: The Origin and Destiny of Mankind

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-1?lang=eng&verse=#p

This Is the Last and Final Dispensation

We stand on the summit of the ages, awed by a great and solemn sense of history. This is the last and final dispensation toward which all in the past has pointed. I bear testimony and witness of the reality and truth of these things. I pray that every one of us may sense the awesome wonder of it all as we look forward shortly to the passing of a century and the death of a millennium.

At the Summit of the Ages

October 1999

1990–1999

Gordon B. Hinckley

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1999/10/at-the-summit-of-the-ages?lang=eng&verse=#p

I need not remind you that this cause in which we are engaged is not an ordinary cause. It is the cause of Christ.

 I need not remind you that this cause in which we are engaged is not an ordinary cause. It is the cause of Christ. It is the kingdom of God our Eternal Father. It is the building of Zion on the earth, the fulfillment of prophecy given of old and of a vision revealed in this dispensation.

An Ensign to the Nations

October 1989

Gordon B. Hinckley

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/10/an-ensign-to-the-nations?lang=eng&verse=#p

One day that prophetic guidance will lead a generation to see our Messenger of Salvation descend

I testify that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the vehicle God has provided for our exaltation. The gospel it teaches is true, and the priesthood legitimizing it is not derivative. I testify that Russell M. Nelson is a prophet of our God, as His predecessors were and as His successors will be. And one day that prophetic guidance will lead a generation to see our Messenger of Salvation descend like “lightning … out of the east,” and we will exclaim, “Jesus of Nazareth.” With arms forever outstretched and love unfeigned, He will reply, “I am he.” 

I Am He, Jeffrey R. Holland,  October 2024 General Conference

The Work That Lies Ahead

 Whatever level of spirituality we now enjoy in our lives; whatever degree of faith in Jesus Christ we now have; whatever strength of commitment and consecration; whatever degree of obedience, hope, or charity is ours; and whatever level of professional skill or ability we have obtained, it will not be sufficient for the work that lies ahead....

I believe this message fits into a beautiful pattern the Lord has established in the Restoration, beginning with His appearance with His Father to Joseph Smith in 1820. Line upon line, precept upon precept, and step by step, Jesus Christ has built up His Church and His people. He has said:

For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness.1

That the work of the gathering together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon holy places; for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs be fulfilled.2

My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion.3

The Lord’s Pattern,Kim B. Clark, Com missioner of Education and General Authority Seventy, August 22, 2016

But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest … ye be found even to fight against God.

My brothers and sisters, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “out of obscurity,” bringing remarkable blessings across the earth. There will be those who cheer us forward and those who do not. I have thought of the words of the wise Gamaliel, who, upon hearing of the miracles of the Apostles Peter and John, warned the council in Jerusalem:

“Let [these men] alone: for if … this work be of men, it will come to nought:

“But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest … ye be found even to fight against God.”

You and I are part of God’s important work upon the earth. It will not come to naught but will continue to move across the world, preparing the way for the Savior’s return. I testify to the words of President Russell M. Nelson: “In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns … , He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.”

Tithing: Opening the Windows of Heaven

October 2023

General Conference

Neil L. Andersen

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/22andersen?lang=eng&verse=#p

Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again

 Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, Russell M. Nelson, April 2018 General Conference

Revelation continues in this, the Lord’s Church. It will continue until “the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

 I leave my love and blessing with you, assuring you that revelation continues in this, the Lord’s Church. It will continue until “the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

I so bless you and bear my testimony that God lives! Jesus is the Christ! This is His Church. We are His people.

Closing Remarks

April 2019

2010–2019

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/57nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

A Defense and a Refuge From the Storm

 When Daniel interpreted the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, making known to the king “what shall be in the latter days,” he declared that “the God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom, not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands” to fill the earth.

Its destiny is to establish Zion in preparation for the return and millennial rule of Jesus Christ. Before that day, it will not be a kingdom in any political sense—as the Savior said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Rather, it is the repository of His authority in the earth, the administrator of His holy covenants, the custodian of His temples, the protector and proclaimer of His truth, the gathering place for scattered Israel, and “a defense, and … a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

Why the Church

October 2015

2010–2019

D. Todd Christofferson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/why-the-church?lang=eng&verse=#p

The world is “in commotion,” but the kingdom is in forward motion as never before!

Granted, brothers and sisters, the world is “in commotion,” but the kingdom is in forward motion as never before! (see D&C 88:91; D&C 45:26). Its distinctiveness is being more sharply defined by adverse trends in the world, where traditional values are not fastened down by the rivets of the Restoration. They are sliding swiftly (see D&C 105:31).

Neal A. Maxwell, Plow in Hope, April 2001 General Conference

Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]’

Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism’; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers. …

Chapter 40: How Glorious Are Faithful, Just, and True Friends, Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents

The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age

The cause of God is one common cause, in which the Saints are alike all interested; we are all members of the one common body, and all partake of the same spirit, and are baptized into one baptism and possess alike the same glorious hope. The advancement of the cause of God and the building up of Zion is as much one man's business as another's. The only difference is, that one is called to fulfill one duty, and another, another duty; "but if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and if one member is honored all the rest rejoice with it, and the eye cannot say to the ear, I have no need of thee, nor the head to the foot, I have no need of thee;" party feelings, separate interests, exclusive designs should be lost sight of in the one common cause, in the interest of the whole.

The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, "the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth, "even in one," when the Saints of God will be gathered in one from every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, when the Jews will be gathered together into one, the wicked will also be gathered together to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets; the Spirit of God will also dwell with His people, and be withdrawn from the rest of the nations, and all things whether in heaven or on earth will be in one, even in Christ. The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in the one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators, the Spirit of God will be showered down from above, and it will dwell in our midst. The blessings of the Most High will rest upon our tabernacles, and our name will be handed down to future ages; our children will rise up and call us blessed; and generations yet unborn will dwell with peculiar delight upon the scenes that we have passed through, the privations that we have endured; the untiring zeal that we have manifested; the all but insurmountable difficulties that we have overcome in laying the foundation of a work that brought about the glory and blessing which they will realize; a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets; a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:609–10

This is the greatest season in the history of the restored church. And we get to live now. We to to be here.

Every generation has its tests. I don't think it was easy for young people your age to pull handcarts, I don't think it was easy for young people your age to live through World War II. I don't think it was easy in our youth to face certain things. So everybody in a generation faces changes, challenges of various kinds.   I had an experience with President Hinckley a number of years ago where he and I were seated and together and he said, "David this is the greatest season in the history of the restored Church.  Never has the Church been as well known and as well regarded. Never have we had the resources to help move the word forward in all the earth as we do today. Oh, David, this is the greatest season in the history of the restored Church.  It was not better in the days of Joseph Smith. It was not better in the days of Brigham Young.  This is the greatest season in the history of the restored church. And we get to live now. We get to to be here."  People throughout all previous dispensations have looked forward to this day and the things that would occur.  So there are great challenges and opportunities equal to or greater than those challenges for those who are true and faithful to the covenants that we enter into as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ


May 12, 2015 Face to Face with Elder and Sister Bednar, World Wide Youth Event 0:26 -2:40

Transcribed by me on 7/1/2019 using closed captioning, English

It is Equally True Today

If the gospel was true when you sent in your missionary application (and it was!), if it was true when you entered the temple (and it was!), if it was true when you were converted and baptized or when you converted and baptized others (and it was!), if it was true when you were sealed (and it was!), then it is equally true today!

Hugo Montoya, Overcoming the Danger of Doubt, Ensign June 2017

Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. That includes the philosophies of men, so abundant online and in the blogosphere

As we diligently focus on the Savior and then follow His pattern of focusing on joy, we need to avoid those things that can interrupt our joy. Remember Korihor, the anti-Christ? Spewing falsehoods about the Savior, Korihor went from place to place until he was brought before a high priest who asked him: “Why do ye go about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings?”25

Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. That includes the philosophies of men, so abundant online and in the blogosphere, which do exactly what Korihor did.26

FN 26:

Calumny, meaning a misrepresentation, is defined as a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something. Calumny was happening in the days of Korihor, and it is happening now. The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of the invincibility of the Church even in the face of calumny. He said: “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 444).


Joy and Spiritual Survival, Russell M. Nelson, October 2016 General Conference

I Am a Minister of Jehovah to Proclaim His Will to the Nations...

In my Master’s business; I am a minister of Jehovah to proclaim His will to the nations. I go to unlock the door of life to a mighty nation, to publish to millions the principles of life, light and truth, intelligence and salvation, to burst their fetters, liberate the oppressed, reclaim the wandering, correct their views, improve their morals, save them from degradation, ruin and misery, and lead them to light, life, truth and celestial glory. Do not your spirits co-operate with mine? I know they do.

The Life and Ministry of John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, (2011), xi–xxv

All The Easy Things That The Church Has Had To Do Have Been Done

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been done. From now on, it’s high adventure, and followership is going to be tested in some interesting ways.”
Wanted: Hands and Hearts to Hasten the Work By Linda K. Burton

Lay A Foundation That Will Revolutionize The Whole World

“I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2011), 507–16