My dear sisters, we have been blessed by the Spirit of God
tonight.
The inspired messages from the powerful sister leaders
and the music have fortified our faith
and increased our desire to keep the sacred covenants we
have made with our loving Heavenly Father.
We have felt an increase in our love
for the Lord Jesus Christ and an appreciation
for His marvelous gift of His atoning sacrifice.
My message tonight is a simple one.
We have all felt peace tonight.
All of us would like to feel such peace often
within ourselves, in our families,
and with the people around us.
The Lord promised peace to His disciples
as He was about to leave them.
He has made the same promise to us.
But He said that He would give peace in His way,
not in the world's way.
He described His way of sending peace this way:
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
The sons of Mosiah needed that gift of peace
as they embarked on their mission to the Lamanites.
With more than a little anxiety as they
sensed the greatness of their task,
they prayed for reassurance.
And "the Lord did visit them with his Spirit,
and said unto them: Be comforted.
And they were comforted."
At times, you may long for peace as you
face uncertainty and what seem to you
to be looming challenges.
The sons of Mosiah learned the lesson
that the Lord taught to Moroni.
It is a guide for us all: "If men come unto me
I will show unto them their weakness.
I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;
and my grace is sufficient for all [who]
humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves
before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things
become strong unto them."
Moroni said that when he "heard these words,"
he "was comforted."
They can be a comfort to all of us.
Those who do not see their weaknesses do not progress.
Your awareness of your weakness is a blessing
as it helps you remain humble and keeps
you turning to the Savior.
The Spirit not only comforts you,
but He is also the agent by which the Atonement works
a change in your very nature.
Then weak things become strong.
You will at times have your faith challenged by Satan;
it happens to all disciples of Jesus Christ.
Your defense against these attacks
is to keep the Holy Ghost as your companion.
The Spirit will speak peace to your soul.
He will urge you forward in faith.
He will bring back the memory of those times
when you felt the light and the love of Jesus Christ.
Remembering may be one of the most precious gifts
the Spirit can give you.
He will "bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever [the Lord has] said unto you."
The memory may be of an answered prayer,
of a priesthood ordinance received,
of a confirmation of your testimony,
or of a moment when you saw God's hand in your life.
Perhaps in a future day when you need strength,
the Spirit may bring to your memory
the feelings you are having during this meeting.
I pray that this may be so.
One memory that the Spirit often brings to my mind
is of an evening sacrament meeting held many years
ago in a metal shed in Innsbruck, Austria.
The shed was under a railroad track.
There were only about a dozen people present,
sitting on wooden chairs.
Most of them were women, some younger and some older.
I saw tears of gratitude as the sacrament was passed
among the small congregation.
I felt the love of the Savior for those Saints,
and so did they.
But the miracle I remember most clearly
was the light that seemed to fill that metal shed, bringing
with it a feeling of peace.
It was nighttime and there were no windows,
and yet the room was lit as if by noonday sunshine.
The light of the Holy Spirit was bright and abundant
that evening.
And the windows that let in the light
were the humble hearts of those Saints, who
had come before the Lord seeking forgiveness of their sins
and committing to always remember Him.
It was not hard to remember Him then,
and my memory of that sacred experience
has made it easier for me to remember Him and His Atonement
in the years that followed.
That day the promise in the sacrament prayers
that the Spirit will be with us was fulfilled and so
brought feelings of light and peace.
Like you, I have been thankful for the many ways
the Lord has visited me with the Comforter when I needed peace.
Yet our Father in Heaven is concerned
not just about our comfort but even more
about our upward progress.
"Comforter" is only one of the ways
the Holy Ghost is described in the scriptures.
Here is another: "And now, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which
leadeth to do good."
Most often, the good He will lead you to do
will involve helping someone else receive comfort from God.
In His wisdom, the Lord has brought you together
in organizations and classes in His Church.
He has done so to increase your power to do good.
Within these organizations, you have specific charges
to serve others for Him.
For example, if you are a young woman,
you might be asked by your bishop or your Young Women
leader to reach out to a Laurel who has become what we
sometimes call "less active."
You may know her better than does the bishop or the Young
Women leader.
You may know that she is feeling troubled at home or at school
or perhaps both.
Your leaders may not know why they
felt impressed to ask you to reach out to her,
but the Lord does, and He directs this work
through the inspiration of His Spirit.
Success in your efforts will take a miracle of change both
in your heart and the heart of the young woman you were sent
to rescue--and that requires the companionship of the Holy
Ghost.
The Spirit can allow you to see the less-active Laurel
as the Lord sees her.
The Lord knows her heart and your heart,
and He knows the possibilities of hearts being changed.
He can visit you both with His Spirit
to inspire humility, forgiveness, and love.
That Spirit can inspire the words, the deeds,
and the patience necessary for you
to invite a lamb back to the flock.
And He can touch the hearts of the flock in the Laurel class
to love and welcome the lost sheep so that when she returns,
she will feel she has come home.
Your power to do good as a group of God's daughters
will depend, to a great degree, on the unity and love
that exist among you.
This is another gift of peace that
comes through the Holy Ghost.
Alma understood this.
That is why he pleaded with his people
"that there should be no contention one with another,
but that they should look forward with one eye,
having one faith and one baptism,
having their hearts knit together in unity and in love
one towards another."
Unity is necessary for us to have the Spirit in our class
and in our family.
But you know from experience, as I do,
that such loving unity is hard to maintain.
It takes having the Holy Ghost as a companion to open our eyes
and temper our feelings.
I remember once a seven- or eight-year-old son of ours
jumping on his bed hard enough that I thought the bed
might break.
I felt a flash of frustration, and I moved quickly
to set my house in order.
I grabbed my son by his little shoulders
and lifted him up to where our eyes met.
The Spirit put words into my mind.
It seemed a quiet voice, but it pierced to my heart.
It was, "You are holding a great person."
I gently set him back on the bed--
[LAUGHTER]
--and apologized.
Now he has become the great man the Holy Ghost let
me see 40 years ago.
I am eternally grateful that the Lord rescued me
from my unkind feelings by sending
the Holy Ghost to let me see a child of God as He saw him.
The unity we seek in our families and in the Church will
come as we allow the Holy Ghost to affect what we see when we
look at one another--and even when we think of each other.
The Spirit sees with the pure love of Christ.
Listen to the words Mormon used to describe charity.
Think of the times you have felt it:
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind,
and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,
and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things.
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren [and I add sisters],
if ye have not charity, ye are nothing,
for charity never faileth.
Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all,
for all things must fail--
"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],
pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart,
that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed
upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ;
that ye may become the sons [and daughters] 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."
This is the goal your Father in Heaven
has for you, His precious daughters.
It may seem to you like a distant goal,
but from His perspective, you're not that far away.
So He visits you with His Spirit to comfort you, encourage you,
and inspire you to keep going.
I leave you my sure witness that the Father
knows you, knows your needs and your name,
loves you, and hears your prayers.
His Beloved Son is inviting you to come unto Him.
And They send the Holy Ghost to attend you in your efforts
to serve others for Them.
Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ,
the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost
will have a sanctifying and purifying
effect on your spirit.
You will then feel the peace the Savior promised
to leave with His disciples.
With that peace will come a bright hope and a feeling
of light and love from the Father and His Beloved
Son, who leads His kingdom on earth through revelation
to His living prophet.
I so testify in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.