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

Forsaking [Truth] to support some favourite dogma, he falls into the mazes of infidelity, scepticism, error, and delusion, and is on the highway to destruction

 Truth, eternal truth, is the groundwork of the Christian’s hope: it is the only sure rock on which he can build. Forsaking that to support some favourite dogma, he falls into the mazes of infidelity, scepticism, error, and delusion, and is on the highway to destruction. The power of God will always attend those who love the truth and keep it.

Chapter 23: Eternal Truth

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-23?lang=eng&verse=#p

You Knew What I Was When You Picked me Up

 An old Indian legend. Many years ago, Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley. There he fasted, and on the third day he decided to test himself against the mountain. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders, and set off to climb the peak.

When he reached the top, he could see forever, and his heart swelled with joy. Then he heard a rustle at his feet. Looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke: “I am about to die. It is too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food, and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley.”

“Oh, no,” said the youth. “I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite me, and I will die.”

“Not so,” said the snake. “I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you.”

The youth withstood for a while, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass. Suddenly, the snake coiled, rattled, and struck, biting him on the leg.

“But you promised—” cried the youth.

“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” said the snake as it slithered away.

Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood

July 1989

1989

Robert B. Harbertson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/07/restoration-of-the-aaronic-priesthood?lang=eng&verse=#p

Spiritual Manners

 Those who live “after the manner of happiness” (2 Ne. 5:27) also wisely develop protective, spiritual manners. These manners are reflected in their proper dress, language, humor, and music, thereby sending the signal of determined discipleship (see Prov. 23:7).

The Seventh Commandment: A Shield

October 2001

2000–2009

Neal A. Maxwell

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2001/10/the-seventh-commandment-a-shield?lang=eng&verse=#p

The Savior’s standard is clear and simple: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

 The Savior’s standard is clear and simple: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Selective obedience brings selective blessings, and choosing something bad over something worse is still choosing wrong. You can’t watch a bad movie and expect to feel virtuous because you did not watch a very bad one. Faithful observance of some commandments doesn’t justify neglecting others. Abraham Lincoln rightly said, “When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad” (in William H. Herndon and Jesse William Weik, Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, 3 vols. [1889], 3:439).

Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence

October 2014

2010–2019

Jörg Klebingat

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/approaching-the-throne-of-god-with-confidence?lang=eng&verse=#p

Standing Up for What You Believe In

Most of my career in the NFL was scary and uncertain. Only 2 percent of college football players make it to the NFL, and even when I made the team, I could get cut at any time. To survive as long as I did was a great blessing, but living without a fallback was hard. It took a lot of faith.

In the NFL, you go from team to team, year to year, bouncing around the country. It seems glamorous, but most people don’t see the less glamorous parts. It’s a hard way to live. And it’s a hard way for couples to live too; that’s one reason why there’s such a high divorce rate among professional athletes.

What helped is that I knew where I stood. I had a firm foundation in Christ, and I consistently did all those things that kept me close to Him and Heavenly Father.

You might not face a career path that is filled with so much pressure and temptation, but in my case, being a professional athlete exposed me to a very different lifestyle than I was used to. For example, when we arrived in big cities and traveled in the beginning, my teammates immediately wanted to go out and participate in different activities that were not aligned with gospel standards, and I knew right then that I couldn’t straddle Zion and Babylon. I couldn’t answer “let me think about it” in order to appease them. Instead, I needed to be firm in my faith and explain why I couldn’t join them.

I was fortunate that I was married while I was in college. When I went to the NFL, my wife and our six-month-old baby were with me. We were married in the temple, and I knew what those covenants meant to me and what they required of me. So I would tell my teammates, “No, I don’t do that.” And when they pressed, I’d say, “My wife and I were married in the house of the Lord where we made sacred covenants. Those covenants are more important to me than anything else.”

And the odd thing is when they asked me those questions and were absolutely certain about what kind of person I was, those same teammates began to protect me and respect my standards and covenants. It requires courage to stand up for what you believe and cherish.

Facing so much temptation was scary in the beginning, but relying on Heavenly Father and remembering the sacredness and meaning of my covenants in the face of pressure always helped me stand firm on the covenant path in my career. You can do the same in any circumstances you find yourself in throughout your journey.

Some Advice for Facing a Scary and Uncertain Future

March 2023

Liahona

Vaiangina Sikahema

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2023/03/young-adults/16-some-advice-for-facing-a-scary-and-uncertain-future?lang=eng&verse=#p

A Higher Standard

 Jesus Christ has very high standards for His followers. And the invitation to earnestly seek His will and live by His truths is the highest standard possible!

Important temporal and spiritual choices should not only be based on personal preference or what is convenient or popular. The Lord is not saying, “Do whatever you want.”

He is saying, “Let God prevail.”

He is saying, “Come, follow me.”

He is saying, “Live in a holier, higher, more mature way.”

He is saying, “Keep my commandments.”

Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth

October 2022

General Conference

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/12uchtdorf?lang=eng&verse=#p

When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart

President Hinckley said it this way: “When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart.”⁵

 It’s True, Isn’t It? Then What Else Matters?

April 2007

General Conference

Neil L. Andersen

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/its-true-isn-t-it-then-what-else-matters?lang=eng&verse=#p

“Don’t be too critical of the barrier,” he said. “It’s the only thing that’s keeping you from being devoured.”

Some time ago while visiting Australia, I traveled to a beautiful horseshoe bay renowned for its surfing. As I walked along the beach, I was enthralled by the magnificence of the large crashing waves breaking just outside the bay and the smaller waves rolling in closer to shore.

As I continued my stroll, I encountered a group of American surfers. They were obviously upset about something, talking loudly and gesturing toward the sea. When I asked them what was wrong, they pointed to just outside the bay where the big waves were breaking.

“Look out there,” one of them angrily told me. “Can you see the barrier?” Looking more closely now, I could indeed see a barrier stretching across the entire mouth of the bay, right where the large, enticing waves were breaking. The barrier appeared to be made of a heavy mesh and was supported by floats on top of the water. According to the surfers, it dropped all the way down to the ocean floor.

The American surfer continued, “We are here on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to surf these big waves. We can surf the smaller ones breaking within the bay itself, but the barrier makes it impossible for us to surf the big ones. We have no idea why the barrier is there. All we know is that it has totally spoiled our trip.”

As the American surfers became more animated, my attention was drawn to another nearby surfer—an older man and obviously a local. He seemed to be growing impatient as he listened to the ever-increasing complaints about the barrier.

Finally he rose and walked over to the group. Without saying anything, he pulled a pair of binoculars from his backpack and handed them to one of the surfers, pointing out toward the barrier. Each of the surfers looked through the binoculars. When my turn came, with the help of magnification, I could see something that I had not been able to see before: dorsal fins—large sharks feeding near the reef on the other side of the barrier.

The group quickly became subdued. The old surfer retrieved his binoculars and turned to walk away. As he did, he said words I will never forget: “Don’t be too critical of the barrier,” he said. “It’s the only thing that’s keeping you from being devoured.”

Blessed and Happy Are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God, Von G. Keetch

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/blessed-and-happy-are-those-who-keep-the-commandments-of-god?lang=eng

There is no Error in the Revelations

 “When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand? When was I ever confounded? I want to triumph in Israel before I depart hence and am no more seen. I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught. Must I, then, be thrown away as a thing of naught?”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Joseph Smith, Chapter 27, Beware of the Bitter Fruits of Apostasy

Our flight from the world should be noticed, and this itself will be a message to the disobedient.

In fact, the Lord says that not only should we be obedient ourselves, but we should encourage others to do the same. He says, “Every man [and woman] should take righteousness in his [or her] hands … and lift a warning voice unto the inhabitants of the earth; and declare both by word and by flight that desolation shall come upon the wicked” (verse 37).

“Both by word and by flight.” I love this phrase. Those who are obedient will flee the world and gather in Zion. That used to mean to gather to the headquarters of the Church; today, it means to gather together in places of righteousness, including the temple. As President Russell M. Nelson has said, “Each one of us needs the ongoing spiritual strengthening and tutoring that is possible only in the house of the Lord.”

As we gather to Zion, that should be a message to others. In other words, people should notice that we don’t participate in certain things. We remove from certain places; we flee to the temples, to chapels, and to our homes. It should be clear to others what we consume and don’t consume, what we watch or don’t watch, what we read or don’t read, and what we say or don’t say. Our flight from the world should be noticed, and this itself will be a message to the disobedient.

Also, the Lord expects us to use our voices. While we flee the evils of the world, we must also declare the glories of the gospel. In normal and natural ways, people will be curious about why we don’t participate in certain worldly things, and we should have the courage to answer them, not out of condescension or pity but out of love and a genuine desire to save them.

As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “I am not asking that you stand on a street corner with a megaphone and shout out Book of Mormon verses. What I am asking is that you always look for opportunities to bring up your faith in natural and normal ways with people—both in person as well as online. I am asking that you ‘stand as witnesses’ [Mosiah 18:9] of the power of the gospel at all times—and when necessary, use words.”

What Comes from Above Is Sacred, Elder Jorge M. Alvarado, Liahona June 2021

The Lord’s commandments are our guide to better choices and happier outcomes.

I haven’t met anyone who found the gospel later in life who didn’t wish it could have been earlier. “Oh, the poor choices and mistakes I could have avoided,” they will say. The Lord’s commandments are our guide to better choices and happier outcomes. How we ought to rejoice and thank Him for showing us this more excellent way.

The Joy of the Saints

October 2019

2010–2019

D. Todd Christofferson

You Need Offensive and Defensive Strategies

 Offensive strategies help strengthen testimonies and increase resolve to stay on the strait and narrow path. Examples include regular prayer, scripture study, church and temple attendance, paying tithing, and following the counsel found in the For the Strength of Youth booklet.

Defensive strategies include planning ahead how you will face temptation. When tempted to compromise your personal standards, you know beforehand what you will do.

You need a playbook for that.

Your Priesthood Playbook

April 2019

2010–2019

Gary E. Stevenson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/31stevenson?lang=eng&verse=#p

When I do anything that prevents me from enjoying the Spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that, I immediately throw it aside.

 If we do not have revelation, it is because we do not live as we should live, because we do not magnify our [callings in the] priesthood as we ought to; if we did we would not be without revelation, none would be barren or unfruitful.

Let us lay aside all evil practices, all those habits which will prevent our communing with God. … If these little things have a tendency to hinder our enjoyments and debase us in the eyes of the Lord, we ought to lay them aside and manifest a determination to do the will of our Father in Heaven, and to accomplish that work which is laid upon us to perform. … When I do anything that prevents me from enjoying the Spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that, I immediately throw it aside.

Chapter 5: The Holy Ghost and Personal Revelation

Wilford Woodruff

Teachings of Presidents

Not All Fit Neatly inside the Proclamation

There are so many, young and old, who are loyal and true to the gospel of Jesus Christ, even though their own current experience does not fit neatly inside the family proclamation: children whose lives have been shaken by divorce; youth whose friends mock the law of chastity; divorced women and men who have been gravely wounded by the unfaithfulness of a spouse; husbands and wives who are unable to have children; women and men who are married to a spouse who does not share their faith in the restored gospel; single women and men who, for various reasons, have been unable to marry.

One friend of nearly 20 years, whom I admire greatly, is not married because of same-sex attraction. He has remained true to his temple covenants, has expanded his creative and professional talents, and has served nobly in both the Church and the community. He recently said to me, “I can sympathize with those in my situation who choose not to keep the law of chastity in the world in which we live. But didn’t Christ ask us to be ‘not of this world’? It is clear that God’s standards are different from those of the world.”

The laws of man often move outside the boundaries set by the laws of God. For those desiring to please God, faith, patience, and diligence are surely needed.

My wife, Kathy, and I have known a single sister, now in her mid-40s, who is gifted in her professional abilities and serves valiantly in her ward. She too has kept the laws of God. She wrote:

“I dreamed of the day I would be blessed with a husband and children. I am still waiting. At times, my situation brings feelings of being forgotten and alone, but I try to keep the focus off what I don’t have and instead on what I do have and how I can help others.

“Service to my extended family, in my ward, and in the temple has helped me. I am not forgotten or alone because I am part of, and we are all part of, a larger family.”

Some will say, “You don’t understand my situation.” I may not, but I testify that there is One who does understand. There is One who knows your burdens because of His sacrifice made in the garden and on the cross. As you seek Him and keep His commandments, I promise you that He will bless you and lift the burdens too heavy to bear alone. He will give you eternal friends and opportunities to serve. More important, He will fill you with the powerful Spirit of the Holy Ghost and shine His heavenly approval upon you. No choice, no alternative that denies the companionship of the Holy Ghost or the blessings of eternity is worthy of our consideration.

The Eye of Faith

April 2019

General Conference

Neil L. Andersen

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/25andersen?lang=eng&verse=#p

Any attempt to erase divine requirements for eternal life and eternal families would be like trying to establish Satan’s plan that “all would be saved.”

Even as we unite to abandon all attitudes and practices of prejudice, we should remember that it is not prejudice for the Church to insist on certain rules in furtherance of the Lord’s requirement of worthiness to enter a temple. The Lord has declared that obedience to covenants and commandments is an essential requirement to enjoy sacred blessings. Any attempt to erase divine requirements for eternal life and eternal families would be like trying to establish Satan’s plan that “all would be saved.” In our premortal lives, we mortals already rejected Satan’s plan. We chose the plan of our Heavenly Father, which provides the freedom to choose and keep the eternal covenants and commandments that apply equally to all. The equality of God is not equal outcomes for all, but equal opportunity for all.

President Oaks Remarks at Worldwide Priesthood CelebrationBy Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, An address given at the "Be One" celebration marking the 40th anniversary celebration of the revelation on the priesthood, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, June 1, 2018.

You place the entire congregation under covenant with the Lord

When you priests of the Aaronic Priesthood administer the sacrament, you are doing what Jesus did while He was yet in the flesh, and which He also did when He ministered among the Nephites following His resurrection.

When you, as a priest, kneel at the sacrament table and offer up the prayer, which came by revelation, you place the entire congregation under covenant with the Lord. Is this a small thing? It is a most important and remarkable thing.

Now, my dear young brethren, if we are to enjoy the ministering of angels, if we are to teach the gospel of repentance, if we are to baptize by immersion for the remission of sins, if we are to administer to the membership of the Church the emblems of the sacrifice of our Lord, then we must be worthy to do so.

You cannot consistently so serve on the Sabbath and fail to live the standards of the Church during the week. It is totally wrong for you to take the name of the Lord in vain and indulge in filthy and unseemly talk at school or at work, and then kneel at the sacrament table on Sunday. You cannot drink beer or partake of illegal drugs and be worthy of the ministering of angels. You cannot be immoral in talk or in practice and expect the Lord to honor your service in teaching repentance or baptizing for the remission of sins. As those holding His holy priesthood, you must be worthy fellow servants.

Gordon B. Hinckley, The Aaronic Priesthood--A Gift from God, General Conference April 1988

One of the unique and troubling aspects of our day is that many people engage in sinful conduct but refuse to consider it sinful.

One of the unique and troubling aspects of our day is that many people engage in sinful conduct but refuse to consider it sinful. They have no remorse or willingness to acknowledge their conduct as being morally wrong. Even some who profess a belief in the Father and the Son wrongfully take the position that a loving Father in Heaven should exact no consequences for conduct that is contrary to His commandments.

"Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus Christ", Quetin L. Cook, October 2016 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

Whether you decide to push a key on your computer which will take you to pornography can make all the difference in your life.

I speak of the results of choice. All of our choices have consequences, some of which have little or nothing to do with our eternal salvation and others of which have everything to do with it.

Whether you wear a green T-shirt or a blue one makes no difference in the long run. However, whether you decide to push a key on your computer which will take you to pornography can make all the difference in your life. You will have just taken a step off the straight, safe path. If a friend pressures you to drink alcohol or to try drugs and you succumb to the pressure, you are taking a detour from which you may not return. Brethren, whether we are 12-year-old deacons or mature high priests, we are susceptible. May we keep our eyes, our hearts, and our determination focused on that goal which is eternal and worth any price we will have to pay, regardless of the sacrifice we must make to reach it.

No temptation, no pressure, no enticing can overcome us unless we allow such. If we make the wrong choice, we have no one to blame but ourselves. President Brigham Young once expressed this truth by relating it to himself. Said he: “If Brother Brigham shall take a wrong track, and be shut out of the Kingdom of heaven, no person will be to blame but Brother Brigham. I am the only being in heaven, earth, or hell, that can be blamed.” He continued: “This will equally apply to every Latter-day Saint. Salvation is an individual operation.”

The Apostle Paul has assured us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

The Three R's of Choice, Thomas S. Monson, October 2010 General Conference