Sunday, August 27, 2017

During the Saturday afternoon session of the October 1992 general conference, Elder Marvin J. Ashton gave his address titled "A Yearning for Home." He invited members to focus on returning to their heavenly home.

“When we have a yearning and don’t know what it is for, perhaps it’s our soul longing for its heartland, longing to be no longer alienated from the Lord and the pursuit of something much higher, better and more fulfilling than anything this earth has to offer." 

During the Saturday morning session of the April 2015 general conference, President Boyd K. Packer gave his address titled "The Plan of Happiness." During his talk, President Packer spoke of the Savior's Atonement and what it makes possible as it is applied. 

“I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. He stands at the head of the Church. Through His Atonement and the power of the priesthood, families which are begun in mortality can be together through the eternities. The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we truly repent, he has promised that he would atone. And when he atoned, that settled that. There are so many of us who are thrashing around, as it were, with feelings of guilt, not knowing quite how to escape. You escape by accepting the Atonement of Christ, and all that was heartache can turn to beauty and love and eternity.”

During the Saturday afternoon session of the October 2008 general conference, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave his address titled "Come What May, and Love It." Elder Wirthlin spoke about reactions to adversity and how those contribute to happiness and success. 

“As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, 'Come what may, and love it.'” 

During the Saturday morning session of the April 2015 general conference, Elder L. Tom Perry gave his address titled "Why Marriage and Family Matter — Everywhere in the World." Elder Perry reminded members that family is the key to eternal happiness. 

“My brothers and sisters, the restored gospel centers on marriage and family. It is also on marriage and family where we can unite most with other faiths. It is around marriage and family where we will find our greatest commonality with the rest of the world. It is around marriage and family that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the greatest opportunity to be a light on the hill.

"Let me close by bearing witness (and my nine decades on this earth fully qualify me to say this) that the older I get, the more I realize that family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness."

During the Sunday morning session of the April 2007 general conference, President James E. Faust gave his address titled "The Healing Power of Forgiveness." He reminded members that on their path to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being, forgiveness is essential. 

“The Savior has offered to all of us a precious peace through his Atonement, but this can come only as we are willing to cast out negative feelings of anger, spite or revenge. For all of us who forgive 'those who trespass against us,' even those who have committed serious crimes, the Atonement brings a measure of peace and comfort.”

During the priesthood session of the April 2004 general conference, Elder Neal A. Maxwell gave his address titled "Remember How Merciful the Lord Hath Been." During his talk, Elder Maxwell invited the brethren to recall memories and count their blessings. He also spoke of using agency to follow God. 

"Brethren, there are clusters of memories embedded in each of your lives. And these can help us to 'remember how merciful the Lord hath been' (Moro. 10:3). He certainly has been to me!

"Brethren, as you submit your wills to God, you are giving him the only thing you can actually give him that is really yours to give. Don’t wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it! No need to wait for a receipt; the Lord has his own special ways of acknowledging."

During the priesthood session of the October 1994 general conference, President Howard W. Hunter gave his address titled "Being a Righteous Husband and Father." President Hunter encouraged priesthood holders to uphold their responsibilities and work toward eternal salvation for the entire family.

"A man who holds the priesthood regards the family as ordained of God. Your leadership of the family is your most important and sacred responsibility. The family is the most important unit in time and in eternity and, as such, transcends every other interest in life."

“The way to unity is for us to learn the will of the Lord and then to do it. Until this basic principle is understood and observed, there will be no unity and peace on the earth. The power of the church for good in the world depends upon the extent to which we, the members thereof, observe this principle.”-President Marion Romney

Due to health issues, during the Saturday morning session of the October 1982 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball's personal secretary, D. Arthur Haycock, read his address titled "The Lord Expects Righteousness." President Kimball's address focused on the changing times and the everlasting gospel. He also shared his witness of living prophets and apostles. 

"My brothers and sisters, there seems to be a general state of wickedness in the world in these perilous yet crucially momentous days. But in the midst of all the turmoil about us, we can have an inner peace. We are richly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. As I meditate upon these things, I remember the words of the Lord, 'For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required' (Luke 12:48). The Lord expects of us righteousness and obedience to his commandments in return for the bounties of life he has so richly bestowed upon us."

During the Sunday afternoon session of the October 1982 general conference, President Nathan Eldon Tanner gave his address titled "Let Us Do As We Have Been Counseled." President Tanner reminded members to be obedient to the counsel of the Lord. He also expressed his gratitude for general conference.

“I wish to thank the Lord that we can participate in this kind of service and go away from here determined to improve our lives and to be an influence for good in the world. And I bear testimony that this is the work of the Lord. I know it is true, and if we will live according to its teachings, we will have greater joy than we will find in any other way.”



During the priesthood session of the October 1973 general conference, President Harold B. Lee addressed priesthood holders in his "General Priesthood Address." He spoke about being chaste and the importance of temple covenants.

"Brethren, let us have our eyes fixed on the eternal value of things, with an eye single to the glory of God, and say each to himself, that 'from now on, God being my helper, I am not going to engage in any activity unless it helps me to move myself further toward that goal of eternal life, eventually to return back to the presence of my Heavenly Father."