My dear brothers and sisters, I am grateful for the opportunity
to speak with you.
This conference has been uplifting and edifying for me.
The music sung and the words spoken
have been carried to our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
I pray that what I say will be conveyed
to you by that same Spirit.
Many years ago, I was first counselor
to a district president in the eastern United States.
More than once, as we were driving to our little branches
of the Church, he said to me, "Hal, when we meet someone,
treat them as if they were in serious trouble,
and you will be right more than half the time."
Not only was he right, but I have learned over the years
that he was too low in his estimate.
Today I wish to encourage you in the troubles you face.
Our mortal life is designed by a loving God
to be a test and source of growth for each of us.
You remember God's words regarding His children
at the Creation of the world: "And we
will prove them herewith, to see if they
will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall
command them."
Since the beginning, the tests have not been easy.
We face trials that come from having mortal bodies.
All of us live in a world where Satan's war against truth
and against our personal happiness
is becoming more intense.
The world and your life can seem to you
to be in increasing commotion.
My reassurance is this, simply: the loving God
who allowed these tests for you also designed a sure way
to pass through them.
Heavenly Father so loved the world
that He sent His Beloved Son to help us.
His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for us.
Jesus Christ bore in Gethsemane and on the cross
the weight of all our sins.
He experienced all the sorrows, the pains,
the effects of our sins so that He
could comfort us and strengthen us through every test in life.
You remember the Lord said to His servants:
"The Father and I are one.
I am in the Father and the Father in me;
and inasmuch as ye have received me, ye are in me and I in you.
"Wherefore, I am in your midst, ...
I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel.
He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall."
Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson,
has also given that same assurance.
Moreover, he described a way we might build upon that rock
and put the Lord's name upon our hearts
to guide us through our trials.
He said: "You ...
may be momentarily disheartened, remember,
life is not meant to be easy.
Trials must be borne and grief endured along the way.
As you remember that 'with God nothing shall be
impossible,' know that He is your Father.
You are a son or daughter created in His image, entitled
through your worthiness to receive revelation to help
with your righteous endeavors.
You may take upon you the holy name of the Lord.
You can qualify to speak in the sacred name of God."
President Nelson's words remind us
of the promise found in the sacramental prayer, a promise
our Heavenly Father fulfills as we do what we in turn
promise to do.
Listen to the words: "O God, the Eternal Father, we
ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless
and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those
who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance
of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O
God, the Eternal Father, that they
are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son,
and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has
given them; that they may always have his Spirit
to be with them.
Amen."
Each time we say the word amen when that prayer is offered
on our behalf, we pledge that by partaking of the bread,
we are willing to take upon us the holy name of Jesus Christ,
always remember Him, and keep His commandments.
In turn, we are promised that we may always
have His Spirit to be with us.
Because of these promises, the Savior
is the rock upon which we can stand safely
and without fear in every storm we face.
As I have pondered the covenant words
and corresponding blessings promised,
I have wondered what it means to be
willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.
President Dallin H. Oaks explains: "It is significant
that when we partake of the sacrament
we do not witness that we take upon us
the name of Jesus Christ.
We witness that we are willing to do so.
The fact that we only witness to our willingness
suggests that something else must happen before we actually
take that sacred name upon us in the most important sense."
The statement that we are "willing to take upon [us]"
His name tells us that while we first take the Savior's name
when we were baptized, taking His name
is not finished at baptism.
We must work continually to take His name throughout our lives,
including when we renew covenants
at the sacrament table and make covenants
in the Lord's holy temples.
So two crucial questions for each of us
become "What must I be doing to take His name upon me?"
and "How will I know when I am making progress?"
The statement of President Nelson
suggests one helpful answer.
He said that we could take the name of the Savior upon us
and that we could speak for Him.
When we speak for Him, we serve Him.
Remember the quotation: "For how knoweth a man the master whom
he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him,
and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"
Speaking for Him requires a prayer of faith.
It takes fervent prayer to Heavenly Father
to learn what words we could speak
to help the Savior in His work.
We must qualify for the promise: "Whether by mine own voice
or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."
Yet it takes more than speaking for Him
to take His name upon us.
There are feelings in our hearts we must have
to qualify as His servants.
The prophet Mormon described the feelings
that qualify us and enable us to take His name upon us.
These feelings include faith, hope, and charity, which
is the pure love of Christ.
Mormon explained to people just like you:
"For I judge that ye have faith in Christ because
of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him
then ye are not fit to be numbered
among the people of his church.
"And again, my beloved brethren [and sisters],
I would speak unto you concerning hope.
How is it that ye can attain unto faith,
save ye shall have hope?
"And what is it that ye shall hope for?
Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope
through the atonement of Christ and the power
of his resurrection, to be raised unto life
eternal, and this because of your faith
in him according to the promise.
"Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope;
for without faith there cannot be any hope.
"And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith
and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.
"If so, his faith and hope is vain,
for none is acceptable before God,
save the meek and lowly in heart;
and if a man be meek and lowly in heart,
and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost
that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs
have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing;
wherefore he must needs have charity."
After describing charity, Mormon goes on to say:
"But charity is the pure love of Christ,
and it endureth forever; and whoso
is found possessed of it at the last day,
it shall be well with him.
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren [and sisters],
[I] pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart,
that ye may be filled with this love,
which he hath bestowed upon all [those] who are true followers
of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God;
that when he shall appear we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope;
that we may be purified even as he is pure.
Amen."
My testimony is that the Savior is putting His name
in your hearts.
For many of you, your faith in Him is increasing.
You are feeling more hope and optimism.
And you are feeling the pure love of Christ
for others and for yourself.
I see it in our missionaries serving all over the world.
I see it in members who are speaking
to their friends and family members
about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Men, women, young people, and even children
are ministering out of love for the Savior
and for their neighbors.
At the first report of disasters across the world, which are now
so frequent, members make plans to go to the rescue, sometimes
across oceans, without being asked.
They sometimes find it hard to wait until the devastated areas
can receive them.
I realize that some of you listening today
may feel that your faith and hope are being
overcome by your troubles.
And you may yearn to feel love.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord has opportunities near you
to feel and to share His love.
You can pray with confidence for the Lord
to lead you to someone for Him.
He answers the prayers of meek volunteers like you.
You will feel the love of God for you and for the person
you serve for Him.
As you help children of God in their troubles,
your own troubles will seem lighter.
Your faith and your hope will be strengthened.
I am an eyewitness of that truth.
Over a lifetime, my wife has spoken for the Lord
and served people for Him in many places.
As I've mentioned before, one of our bishops once said to me,
"Brother Eyring, I'm amazed.
Every time I hear of a person in the ward who is in trouble,
I hurry to help.
Yet by the time I arrive, it seems that your wife
has already been there."
That has been true in all the places
we have lived for 56 years.
Now she can speak only a few words a day.
She is visited by people she loved for the Lord.
Every night and morning I sing hymns with her and we pray.
I have to be voice in the prayers and in the songs.
Sometimes I can see her mouthing the words of the hymns.
She prefers children's songs.
The sentiment she seems to like best is summarized in the song
"I'm Trying to Be like Jesus."
The other day, after singing the words of the chorus:
"Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do,"
she said softly but clearly, "Try, try, try."
I think she will find, when she sees Him,
that our Savior has put His name into her heart
and that she has become like Him.
He is carrying her through her troubles
now, as He will carry you through yours.
I bear you my witness that the Savior knows and loves you.
He knows your name as you know His.
He knows your troubles.
He has experienced them.
By His Atonement, He has overcome the world.
By your being willing to take His name upon you,
you will lift the burdens of countless others.
And you will find in time that you know the Savior better
and that you love Him more.
His name will be in your heart and fixed in your memory.
it is the name by which you will be called.
I so witness, with gratitude for His loving-kindness
to me, to my loved ones, and to you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.