There are many “awake” passages in the Book of Mormon, such as: “O that ye would awake awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell … awake … put on the armor of righteousness. We remember our beloved President Kimball for many marvelous words of counsel, among which was his encouragement to “lengthen our stride.” We needed that direction, for the Book of Mormon warns us of the tactics of the adversary in the last days: “And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.” ( 2 Ne. We don’t need changed programs now as much as we need changed people! New editions of the scriptures have been published-are we taking advantage of them? More temples are located closer to our people-are we going to the house of the Lord more frequently? The consolidated meeting schedule was set up-are we taking advantage of the increased time with our families? A special home evening manual was provided-are we using it? A new hymnal has just been published-are we singing more songs of the heart? (See D&C 25:12.) And so the list goes on and on. As Moroni counseled, we must cleanse the inner vessel (see Alma 60:23), beginning first with ourselves, then with our families, and finally with the Church.Ī prophet of God stated, “Ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow … until the good shall overcome the bad.” ( Jacob 5:66.) It takes a Zion people to make a Zion society, and we must prepare for that.ĭuring the past few years a number of resources have been set in place in the Church to help us. Watchmen-what of the night? We must respond by saying that all is not well in Zion. And it must be our cry today, both to member and to nonmember alike-repent.
This theme permeated his talks and the pages of his writings, such as his marvelous book The Miracle of Forgiveness. Repentance was the cry of our late and great prophet, Spencer W. Seldom have the efforts of so few resulted in the blessing of so many!Īs I have sought direction from the Lord, I have had reaffirmed in my mind and heart the declaration of the Lord to “say nothing but repentance unto this generation.” ( D&C 6:9 D&C 11:9.) This has been a theme of every latter-day prophet, along with their testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Your dedication, devotion, and service are indications that faith has indeed increased in the earth. Surely the Lord is pleased with the consecrated time, love, and generous support of so many of His Saints throughout the world. Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude to you for all you do to contribute to the building of the kingdom of God on earth. I commend those of you who are present here this morning, as well as you who are listening or watching these proceedings and those who will later take the opportunity to hear or read the messages of this conference. I realize my dependence upon the Lord, and I also know that Jesus Christ is the head of this church and that through Him we can do all things that are needful. My beloved brethren and sisters, as we commence another general conference of the Church, I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers that what I say may bless and edify our souls.
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