WEBVTT

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From the Conference Center
at Temple Square in Salt Lake

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City, this is the
Saturday morning session

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of the 188th Annual
General Conference

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of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

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with speakers selected from the
General Authorities and General

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Officers of the Church.

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Music for this
session is provided

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by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

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Members and officers
of the Church

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gather from all
areas of the world

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to receive counsel and
instruction from their Church

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leaders.

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This broadcast is furnished
as a public service

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by Bonneville Distribution.

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Any reproduction,
recording, transcription,

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or other use of this program
without written consent

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is prohibited.

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President Henry B.
Eyring, Second Counselor

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in the First Presidency
of the Church,

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will conduct this session.

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[MUSIC PLAYING--"SWEET IS THE
 WORK"]

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Brothers and sisters,
we welcome you

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to the Saturday morning session
of the 188th Annual General

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Conference of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day

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Saints and extend a warm
welcome to members and friends

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participating in the conference
throughout the world, wherever

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you may be.

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President Russell M. Nelson,
who presides at the conference,

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has asked me to
conduct this session.

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We note the passing of our
dear prophet and associate,

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President Thomas S.
Monson, on January 2, 2018,

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and extend our heartfelt
condolences to his family.

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His long and devoted ministry
blessed countless people

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throughout the world.

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We likewise remember
the life and service

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of Elder Von G. Keetch
of the Seventy, who

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passed away unexpectedly
on January 26, 2018.

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We express our love and warm
regards to his family as well.

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The music this morning will
be provided by the Mormon

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Tabernacle Choir
under the direction

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of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy,
with Andrew Unsworth and Clay

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Christiansen at the organ.

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The choir opened this meeting
with "Sweet Is the Work"

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and will now favor us with
"We Thank Thee, O God,

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for a Prophet."

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The invocation will then be
offered by Elder Mervyn B.

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Arnold of the Seventy.

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[MUSIC PLAYING--"WE THANK THEE,
 O GOD, FOR A PROPHET"]

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Our most kind and dear
Father which art in heaven,

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on this most sacred
occasion, we indeed

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are grateful for a prophet
of God, whom we dearly

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love and sustain.

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We ask a special blessing upon
President Russell M. Nelson

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as he guides and directs this
Church under Thy direction.

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We pray for his family
and his extended family.

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We're grateful at
this time, Father,

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to remember
especially our Savior

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during this beautiful
Easter season.

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We're grateful for His
example, especially the way He

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ministered, and may we
be ministers unto all

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who are about us, especially
those whose hands hang down.

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We pray for the
widows and orphans.

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We pray for those in
this congregation,

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wherever they are
throughout the world, who

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came here to receive answers.

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May they feel of
Thy love and receive

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the answers which they seek.

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We pray that everyone
will listen intently

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to the prophets this day
and follow their guidance.

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How we love Thee.

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How we appreciate Thee.

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And dear Father, we say these
things very humbly in the name

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of Jesus Christ, amen.

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Brothers and sisters,
President Nelson

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has asked that I handle the
business of the solemn assembly

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for which we are gathered today.

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This is an occasion of great
significance for members

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of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day

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Saints throughout the world.

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Dating from October 10, 1880,
when John Taylor was sustained

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to succeed Brigham
Young as prophet, seer,

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and revelator and President
of The Church of Jesus

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Christ of Latter-day Saints,
each of these occasions

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has been designated
as a formal solemn

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assembly of the
body of the Church

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to express the
voice of the Church.

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We will vote by
quorums and groups.

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Wherever you are,
you are invited

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to stand, only when
requested, and express

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by your uplifted hand that
you choose to sustain those

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whose names will be presented.

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You should vote only
when asked to stand.

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The General Authorities
assigned to the Tabernacle

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and the Assembly
Hall on Temple Square

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will observe the voting
in those facilities.

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In stake centers, a member
of the stake presidency

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will observe the voting.

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If anyone casts a contrary
vote, those individuals

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should contact their
respective stake presidents.

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We will now proceed.

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Again, please stand and vote
only when asked to do so.

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We ask members of the First
Presidency to please arise.

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It is proposed that the
First Presidency sustain

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Russell Marion Nelson as
prophet, seer, and revelator

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and President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

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Saints.

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Those of the First Presidency
in favor, please manifest it.

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It is proposed that the
First Presidency sustain

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Dallin Harris Oaks as First
Counselor and Henry Bennion

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Eyring as Second
Counselor in the First

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Presidency of the Church.

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Those members of the
First Presidency in favor

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may manifest it.

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It is proposed that the
First Presidency sustain

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Dallin Harris Oaks as President
of the Quorum of the Twelve

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Apostles and Melvin
Russell Ballard

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as Acting President of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

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Members of the First Presidency
in favor may manifest it.

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It is proposed that the
First Presidency sustain

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as members of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles: M. Russell

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Ballard, Jeffrey R. Holland,
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A.

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Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D.
Todd Christofferson, Neil L.

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Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband,
Gary E. Stevenson, Dale G.

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Renlund, Gerrit Walter
Gong, and Ulisses Soares.

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Members of the First
Presidency, please manifest it.

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It is proposed that the
First Presidency sustain

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the counselors in
the First Presidency

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and the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

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as prophets, seers,
and revelators.

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Members of the First Presidency
will please manifest it.

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The First Presidency
will now be seated.

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We invite Elder Gong and Elder
Soares to take their places

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with the Quorum of the Twelve.

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The members of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles only,

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including Elder Gong and Elder
Soares, will please arise.

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It is proposed that the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

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sustain Russell Marion Nelson
as prophet, seer, and revelator

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and President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

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Saints, together with his
counselors and members

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of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

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as they have been
presented and voted

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upon by the First Presidency.

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Members of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles

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in favor, please manifest it.

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You may be seated.

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We ask the General
Authority Seventies

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and members of the Presiding
Bishopric to please arise.

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It is proposed that all General
Authority Seventies and members

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of the Presiding Bishopric
sustain Russell Marion

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Nelson as prophet, seer,
and revelator and President

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of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

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together with his
counselors and members

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of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

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as they have been
presented and voted

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upon by the First Presidency.

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All General Authority
Seventies and members

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of the Presiding Bishopric
who are in favor,

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please manifest it.

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You may be seated.

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We ask the following to
please arise wherever

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you may be throughout
the world: all Area

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Seventies, ordained patriarchs,
high priests, and elders.

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It is proposed that Russell
Marion Nelson be sustained

00:15:44.450 --> 00:15:47.240 align:middle line:84%
as prophet, seer, and
revelator and President

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of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:52.970 align:middle line:84%
together with his counselors
and members of the Quorum

00:15:52.970 --> 00:15:56.620 align:middle line:84%
of the Twelve Apostles as they
have been presented and voted

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upon.

00:15:57.450 --> 00:16:00.780 align:middle line:84%
All in favor,
please manifest it.

00:16:00.780 --> 00:16:04.610 align:middle line:90%


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Any opposed may so manifest it.

00:16:07.520 --> 00:16:11.390 align:middle line:90%
Please be seated.

00:16:11.390 --> 00:16:14.670 align:middle line:84%
Will all members of the
Relief Society--that is,

00:16:14.670 --> 00:16:18.320 align:middle line:84%
all women 18 years of age
and older--please arise.

00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:26.010 align:middle line:84%
It is proposed that Russell
Marion Nelson be sustained

00:16:26.010 --> 00:16:29.650 align:middle line:84%
as prophet, seer, and
revelator and President

00:16:29.650 --> 00:16:32.840 align:middle line:84%
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:35.270 align:middle line:84%
together with his
counselors and members

00:16:35.270 --> 00:16:37.140 align:middle line:84%
of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

00:16:37.140 --> 00:16:40.180 align:middle line:84%
as previously presented
and voted upon.

00:16:40.180 --> 00:16:43.770 align:middle line:84%
All in favor, please indicate
by the uplifted hand.

00:16:43.770 --> 00:16:47.640 align:middle line:90%


00:16:47.640 --> 00:16:50.240 align:middle line:90%
Any opposed may so indicate.

00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:53.780 align:middle line:90%
You may be seated.

00:16:53.780 --> 00:16:57.320 align:middle line:84%
Will all those holding only the
Aaronic Priesthood--that is,

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all ordained priests, teachers,
and deacons--please arise.

00:17:00.630 --> 00:17:04.430 align:middle line:90%


00:17:04.430 --> 00:17:08.440 align:middle line:84%
It is proposed that Russell
Marion Nelson be sustained

00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:11.640 align:middle line:84%
as prophet, seer, and
revelator and President

00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.500 align:middle line:84%
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:17.030 align:middle line:84%
together with his
counselors and members

00:17:17.030 --> 00:17:19.069 align:middle line:84%
of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

00:17:19.069 --> 00:17:22.410 align:middle line:84%
as previously presented
and voted upon.

00:17:22.410 --> 00:17:26.810 align:middle line:84%
All in favor, please indicate
by the uplifted hand.

00:17:26.810 --> 00:17:30.870 align:middle line:90%


00:17:30.870 --> 00:17:33.340 align:middle line:90%
Any opposed may so indicate.

00:17:33.340 --> 00:17:36.630 align:middle line:90%
You may be seated.

00:17:36.630 --> 00:17:41.760 align:middle line:84%
Will the Young Women who are
ages 12 to 18 please arise.

00:17:41.760 --> 00:17:45.490 align:middle line:90%


00:17:45.490 --> 00:17:48.950 align:middle line:84%
It is proposed that Russell
Marion Nelson be sustained

00:17:48.950 --> 00:17:51.610 align:middle line:84%
as prophet, seer, and
revelator and President

00:17:51.610 --> 00:17:54.840 align:middle line:84%
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:57.190 align:middle line:84%
together with his
counselors and members

00:17:57.190 --> 00:17:59.180 align:middle line:84%
of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles

00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:01.960 align:middle line:84%
as previously presented
and voted upon.

00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:05.900 align:middle line:84%
All in favor, please indicate
by the uplifted hand.

00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:08.710 align:middle line:90%


00:18:08.710 --> 00:18:11.100 align:middle line:90%
Any opposed may so indicate.

00:18:11.100 --> 00:18:14.680 align:middle line:90%
You may be seated.

00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:18.660 align:middle line:84%
We now ask that the entire
membership, wherever

00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:22.180 align:middle line:84%
you are located, including all
of those who have previously

00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:23.980 align:middle line:90%
stood, to please arise.

00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:28.910 align:middle line:90%


00:18:28.910 --> 00:18:33.300 align:middle line:84%
It is proposed that Russell
Marion Nelson be sustained

00:18:33.300 --> 00:18:36.160 align:middle line:84%
as prophet, seer, and
revelator and President

00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:38.910 align:middle line:84%
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,

00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:41.550 align:middle line:84%
together with his counselors
and members of the Quorum

00:18:41.550 --> 00:18:45.310 align:middle line:84%
of the Twelve Apostles as they
have been presented and voted

00:18:45.310 --> 00:18:45.950 align:middle line:90%
upon.

00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:49.880 align:middle line:84%
All in favor, please indicate
by the uplifted hand.

00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:55.700 align:middle line:90%


00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:59.714 align:middle line:90%
Any opposed may so indicate.

00:18:59.714 --> 00:19:00.630 align:middle line:90%
You may all be seated.

00:19:00.630 --> 00:19:05.160 align:middle line:90%


00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:09.450 align:middle line:84%
Thank you, brothers and sisters,
for your love and support.

00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:12.100 align:middle line:84%
We will handle the
business of the conference

00:19:12.100 --> 00:19:14.510 align:middle line:84%
relative to releasing
and sustaining

00:19:14.510 --> 00:19:19.680 align:middle line:84%
other Church officers during
the Saturday afternoon session.

00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.650 align:middle line:84%
The choir will now
favor us with "We

00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:25.870 align:middle line:90%
Listen to a Prophet's Voice."

00:19:25.870 --> 00:19:28.490 align:middle line:84%
After the singing, we
will be pleased to hear

00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:32.070 align:middle line:84%
from President M. Russell
Ballard, who was just

00:19:32.070 --> 00:19:36.130 align:middle line:84%
sustained as Acting President
of the Quorum of the Twelve

00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:37.240 align:middle line:90%
Apostles.

00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:42.900 align:middle line:84%
He will be followed by Elders
Brian K. Taylor and Larry J.

00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:44.690 align:middle line:90%
Echo Hawk of the Seventy.

00:19:44.690 --> 00:19:58.690 align:middle line:90%


00:19:58.690 --> 00:23:40.160 align:middle line:84%
[MUSIC PLAYING--"WE LISTEN TO A
 PROPHET'S VOICE"]

00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.820 align:middle line:90%


00:23:44.820 --> 00:23:47.797 align:middle line:84%
My brothers and
sisters, we have just

00:23:47.797 --> 00:23:50.599 align:middle line:84%
participated in a
solemn assembly,

00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:54.480 align:middle line:84%
a practice that can be
traced back to the Bible

00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.570 align:middle line:84%
when ancient Israel gathered
to feel the Lord's presence

00:23:58.570 --> 00:24:00.990 align:middle line:90%
and celebrate His blessings.

00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:03.700 align:middle line:84%
We are privileged
to live in a time

00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:06.210 align:middle line:84%
when this ancient
practice has been

00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:09.420 align:middle line:84%
restored through the
Prophet Joseph Smith.

00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:13.760 align:middle line:84%
I urge you to record in
your personal journal what

00:24:13.760 --> 00:24:17.910 align:middle line:84%
you felt regarding this most
sacred occasion in which you

00:24:17.910 --> 00:24:20.320 align:middle line:90%
have taken part.

00:24:20.320 --> 00:24:24.480 align:middle line:84%
Recently we said goodbye to
our dear friend and prophet,

00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:26.940 align:middle line:90%
President Thomas S. Monson.

00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:30.780 align:middle line:84%
Although we all miss
him, we are deeply

00:24:30.780 --> 00:24:35.060 align:middle line:84%
grateful the Lord has called a
new prophet, President Russell

00:24:35.060 --> 00:24:39.460 align:middle line:84%
M. Nelson, to preside
over His Church.

00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:42.750 align:middle line:84%
And in an orderly
way, we have now

00:24:42.750 --> 00:24:47.310 align:middle line:84%
begun a new chapter
in our Church history.

00:24:47.310 --> 00:24:51.610 align:middle line:84%
This is a precious
gift from God.

00:24:51.610 --> 00:24:57.460 align:middle line:84%
As we each sustained President
Nelson by our uplifted hands,

00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:03.190 align:middle line:84%
we stood as witnesses
before God and acknowledged

00:25:03.190 --> 00:25:08.010 align:middle line:84%
that he is President
Monson's rightful successor.

00:25:08.010 --> 00:25:12.320 align:middle line:84%
With our raised hands we
promised to hearken unto

00:25:12.320 --> 00:25:18.480 align:middle line:84%
his voice as he receives
direction from the Lord.

00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:24.370 align:middle line:84%
The Lord has said: "Thou shalt
give heed unto all his [meaning

00:25:24.370 --> 00:25:29.350 align:middle line:84%
the prophet of the Church, his]
words and commandments which he

00:25:29.350 --> 00:25:34.640 align:middle line:84%
shall give unto you as
he receiveth them ... ;

00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:40.090 align:middle line:84%
"For his word ye shall receive,
as if from mine own mouth,

00:25:40.090 --> 00:25:40.920 align:middle line:90%
in ...

00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:44.210 align:middle line:90%
patience and [in] faith."

00:25:44.210 --> 00:25:46.800 align:middle line:84%
I have known our new
prophet-president

00:25:46.800 --> 00:25:48.700 align:middle line:90%
for over 60 years.

00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:54.180 align:middle line:84%
I have served with him in the
Quorum of the Twelve for 33

00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:58.990 align:middle line:84%
years, and I am a witness
that the hand of the Lord

00:25:58.990 --> 00:26:04.360 align:middle line:84%
has been preparing him to
become our presiding apostle

00:26:04.360 --> 00:26:09.480 align:middle line:84%
and prophet to administer all
the keys of the holy priesthood

00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:10.840 align:middle line:90%
on the earth.

00:26:10.840 --> 00:26:16.990 align:middle line:84%
May each one of us completely
sustain him and his counselors

00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:19.390 align:middle line:90%
and follow their direction.

00:26:19.390 --> 00:26:25.100 align:middle line:84%
We also warmly welcome
Elder Gong and Elder Soares

00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:29.170 align:middle line:84%
to the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles.

00:26:29.170 --> 00:26:33.430 align:middle line:84%
After Jesus's
Resurrection, an event

00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:36.790 align:middle line:84%
that we celebrate this
glorious Easter weekend,

00:26:36.790 --> 00:26:40.240 align:middle line:84%
He appeared to His
disciples and said,

00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:45.050 align:middle line:84%
"Peace be unto you:
as my Father hath

00:26:45.050 --> 00:26:49.660 align:middle line:90%
sent me, even so send I you."

00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:54.800 align:middle line:84%
Notice a twofold action:
God sends His Son.

00:26:54.800 --> 00:26:58.430 align:middle line:84%
The Son sends His
servants--mortal men

00:26:58.430 --> 00:27:02.380 align:middle line:84%
and women--to
accomplish Their work.

00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:04.450 align:middle line:84%
We should not be
surprised to know

00:27:04.450 --> 00:27:07.690 align:middle line:84%
that those individuals
called to do the Lord's work

00:27:07.690 --> 00:27:09.870 align:middle line:90%
are not humanly perfect.

00:27:09.870 --> 00:27:14.580 align:middle line:84%
Stories in the scriptures detail
incidents about men and women

00:27:14.580 --> 00:27:19.190 align:middle line:84%
who were called to accomplish
a great work--good sons

00:27:19.190 --> 00:27:22.470 align:middle line:84%
and daughters of our Heavenly
Father called to serve

00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:25.010 align:middle line:84%
in their various
assignments in the Church,

00:27:25.010 --> 00:27:29.880 align:middle line:84%
striving to do their best,
but none of them yet perfect.

00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:33.500 align:middle line:90%
The same is true of us today.

00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:38.220 align:middle line:84%
Given the reality of our human
weaknesses and shortcomings,

00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:42.140 align:middle line:84%
how do we move forward in
supporting and sustaining

00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:43.390 align:middle line:90%
each other?

00:27:43.390 --> 00:27:49.960 align:middle line:84%
It begins with faith--real,
sincere faith in the Lord Jesus

00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:50.970 align:middle line:90%
Christ.

00:27:50.970 --> 00:27:56.050 align:middle line:84%
Faith in the Savior is the
first principle of the doctrine

00:27:56.050 --> 00:27:58.720 align:middle line:90%
and gospel of Christ.

00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:01.960 align:middle line:84%
Several years ago I was
visiting the Holy Land.

00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:05.700 align:middle line:84%
As we drove by a mustard
plant, the director

00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:09.540 align:middle line:84%
of the BYU Jerusalem
Center asked if I ever

00:28:09.540 --> 00:28:12.720 align:middle line:90%
had seen a mustard seed.

00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.940 align:middle line:90%
I hadn't, so we stopped.

00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:19.700 align:middle line:84%
He showed me the seeds
from the mustard plant.

00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:23.370 align:middle line:90%
They were surprisingly small.

00:28:23.370 --> 00:28:26.380 align:middle line:84%
I then remembered
Jesus's teachings:

00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:31.190 align:middle line:84%
"For verily I say unto
you, If ye have faith

00:28:31.190 --> 00:28:36.430 align:middle line:84%
as a grain of mustard seed, ye
shall say unto this mountain,

00:28:36.430 --> 00:28:41.630 align:middle line:84%
Remove hence to yonder
place; and it shall remove;

00:28:41.630 --> 00:28:46.390 align:middle line:84%
and nothing shall be
impossible unto you."

00:28:46.390 --> 00:28:50.470 align:middle line:84%
If we have faith as
small as a mustard seed,

00:28:50.470 --> 00:28:54.770 align:middle line:84%
the Lord can help us remove
the mountains of discouragement

00:28:54.770 --> 00:28:58.230 align:middle line:84%
and doubt in the
tasks ahead of us

00:28:58.230 --> 00:29:03.600 align:middle line:84%
as we serve with God's children,
including our family members,

00:29:03.600 --> 00:29:06.810 align:middle line:84%
Church members, and
those who are not yet

00:29:06.810 --> 00:29:08.970 align:middle line:90%
members of the Church.

00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:14.650 align:middle line:84%
Brothers and sisters, life
can be filled with faith, joy,

00:29:14.650 --> 00:29:20.350 align:middle line:84%
happiness, hope, and love when
we exercise the smallest amount

00:29:20.350 --> 00:29:27.050 align:middle line:84%
of real faith in Christ--even
a mustard seed of faith.

00:29:27.050 --> 00:29:31.590 align:middle line:84%
Elder George A. Smith remembered
some advice the Prophet Joseph

00:29:31.590 --> 00:29:38.330 align:middle line:84%
Smith gave to him: "He told me
I should never get discouraged,

00:29:38.330 --> 00:29:41.320 align:middle line:84%
whatever difficulties
might surround me.

00:29:41.320 --> 00:29:46.690 align:middle line:84%
If I [were] sunk in the lowest
pit of Nova Scotia and all

00:29:46.690 --> 00:29:51.420 align:middle line:84%
the Rocky Mountains piled
on top of me, I [should not]

00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:55.900 align:middle line:84%
be discouraged but hang
on, exercise faith,

00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:59.920 align:middle line:84%
and keep up [your] courage
and I should come out

00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:03.970 align:middle line:90%
on the top of the heap at last."

00:30:03.970 --> 00:30:06.610 align:middle line:84%
We should remember
Paul's declaration:

00:30:06.610 --> 00:30:11.820 align:middle line:84%
"I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me."

00:30:11.820 --> 00:30:17.300 align:middle line:84%
Knowing this is another
precious gift from God.

00:30:17.300 --> 00:30:19.650 align:middle line:84%
In addition to these
gifts I have mentioned,

00:30:19.650 --> 00:30:21.500 align:middle line:90%
there are many, many more.

00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:25.650 align:middle line:84%
I speak now of just a few:
the gift of the Sabbath day,

00:30:25.650 --> 00:30:29.560 align:middle line:84%
the sacrament,
service to others,

00:30:29.560 --> 00:30:35.120 align:middle line:84%
and the matchless gift
from God of our Savior.

00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:38.210 align:middle line:84%
The power of the Sabbath
day is to experience

00:30:38.210 --> 00:30:42.160 align:middle line:84%
in church and in home
the delight, the joy,

00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:45.310 align:middle line:84%
and the warmth of feeling
the Spirit of the Lord

00:30:45.310 --> 00:30:49.930 align:middle line:90%
without any kind of distraction.

00:30:49.930 --> 00:30:53.700 align:middle line:84%
Too many allow themselves
to almost live online with

00:30:53.700 --> 00:31:00.360 align:middle line:84%
their smart devices--screens
illuminating their faces day

00:31:00.360 --> 00:31:04.450 align:middle line:84%
and night and earplugs in their
ears blocking out the still,

00:31:04.450 --> 00:31:07.060 align:middle line:90%
small voice of the Spirit.

00:31:07.060 --> 00:31:11.160 align:middle line:84%
If we do not find
time to unplug,

00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:16.390 align:middle line:84%
we may miss the opportunities to
hear the voice of Him who said,

00:31:16.390 --> 00:31:20.440 align:middle line:84%
"Be still, and know
that I am God."

00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:23.550 align:middle line:84%
Now, there is nothing
wrong with taking advantage

00:31:23.550 --> 00:31:28.220 align:middle line:84%
of the advances in technologies
inspired by the Lord,

00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:31.200 align:middle line:84%
but we must be
wise in their use.

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:36.260 align:middle line:84%
Remember the gift
of the Sabbath day.

00:31:36.260 --> 00:31:40.030 align:middle line:84%
The blessing of
receiving the sacrament

00:31:40.030 --> 00:31:44.120 align:middle line:84%
must never become
routine or just something

00:31:44.120 --> 00:31:46.620 align:middle line:90%
we do in sacrament meeting.

00:31:46.620 --> 00:31:51.190 align:middle line:84%
It is only 70 minutes
in a whole week

00:31:51.190 --> 00:31:55.860 align:middle line:84%
when we can pause and find
more peace, joy, and happiness

00:31:55.860 --> 00:31:57.870 align:middle line:90%
in our lives.

00:31:57.870 --> 00:32:02.190 align:middle line:84%
Partaking of the sacrament
and renewing our covenants

00:32:02.190 --> 00:32:08.050 align:middle line:84%
is a sign by us to the Lord
that we do always remember Him.

00:32:08.050 --> 00:32:13.910 align:middle line:84%
His Atonement is a
gracious gift from God.

00:32:13.910 --> 00:32:17.910 align:middle line:84%
The privilege of service to
Heavenly Father's children

00:32:17.910 --> 00:32:22.800 align:middle line:84%
is another opportunity to follow
the example of His Beloved Son

00:32:22.800 --> 00:32:25.670 align:middle line:90%
by serving one another.

00:32:25.670 --> 00:32:29.630 align:middle line:84%
Some service opportunities
are formal--in our family,

00:32:29.630 --> 00:32:33.540 align:middle line:84%
our Church callings, and our
participation in community

00:32:33.540 --> 00:32:36.060 align:middle line:90%
service organizations.

00:32:36.060 --> 00:32:39.840 align:middle line:84%
Church members--both men and
women--should not hesitate,

00:32:39.840 --> 00:32:44.830 align:middle line:84%
if they desire, to run for
public office at any level

00:32:44.830 --> 00:32:47.300 align:middle line:84%
of government
wherever they live.

00:32:47.300 --> 00:32:52.650 align:middle line:84%
Our voices are essential today
and important in our schools,

00:32:52.650 --> 00:32:55.710 align:middle line:90%
our cities, our countries.

00:32:55.710 --> 00:33:00.190 align:middle line:84%
Where democracy exists,
it is our duty also

00:33:00.190 --> 00:33:05.400 align:middle line:84%
as members to vote for
honorable men and women who

00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.990 align:middle line:90%
are willing to serve.

00:33:07.990 --> 00:33:11.160 align:middle line:84%
Many opportunities to
serve are informal--without

00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:15.890 align:middle line:84%
assignment--and come as we
reach out to others we meet

00:33:15.890 --> 00:33:17.420 align:middle line:90%
in life's journey.

00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:20.640 align:middle line:84%
Remember, Jesus
taught the lawyer

00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:23.770 align:middle line:84%
that we should love
God and our neighbor

00:33:23.770 --> 00:33:29.520 align:middle line:84%
as ourselves, using the Good
Samaritan as an example.

00:33:29.520 --> 00:33:34.270 align:middle line:84%
Service opens a window by
which we understand the life

00:33:34.270 --> 00:33:36.060 align:middle line:90%
and ministry of Christ.

00:33:36.060 --> 00:33:39.320 align:middle line:84%
He came to serve,
as the scriptures

00:33:39.320 --> 00:33:43.560 align:middle line:84%
teach, "even as
the Son of man came

00:33:43.560 --> 00:33:47.260 align:middle line:84%
not to be ministered
unto, but to minister,

00:33:47.260 --> 00:33:52.070 align:middle line:84%
and to give his life
a ransom for many."

00:33:52.070 --> 00:33:55.910 align:middle line:84%
Peter may have given the best
description of the Savior's

00:33:55.910 --> 00:34:00.510 align:middle line:84%
mortal ministry in five words
when he referred to Jesus,

00:34:00.510 --> 00:34:04.750 align:middle line:90%
"who went about doing good."

00:34:04.750 --> 00:34:07.680 align:middle line:84%
The Lord Jesus Christ
is our most precious

00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:09.989 align:middle line:90%
of all gifts from God.

00:34:09.989 --> 00:34:15.230 align:middle line:84%
Jesus said, "I am the way,
the truth, and the life:

00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:20.280 align:middle line:84%
no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me."

00:34:20.280 --> 00:34:23.860 align:middle line:84%
Nephi captured the
importance of our Savior

00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:28.639 align:middle line:84%
when he declared, "We talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ,

00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:33.710 align:middle line:84%
we preach of Christ,
we prophesy of Christ,

00:34:33.710 --> 00:34:37.110 align:middle line:84%
and we write according
to our prophecies,

00:34:37.110 --> 00:34:42.510 align:middle line:84%
that our children may know
to what source they may look

00:34:42.510 --> 00:34:44.980 align:middle line:90%
for a remission of their sins."

00:34:44.980 --> 00:34:50.130 align:middle line:84%
We must keep Christ as
the center of our lives

00:34:50.130 --> 00:34:54.719 align:middle line:90%
at all times and in all places.

00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:58.000 align:middle line:84%
We should remember that
it is His name that

00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.520 align:middle line:84%
appears on our
places of worship,

00:35:00.520 --> 00:35:04.010 align:middle line:84%
we are baptized in
His name, and we

00:35:04.010 --> 00:35:07.450 align:middle line:84%
are confirmed, ordained,
endowed, and sealed

00:35:07.450 --> 00:35:09.850 align:middle line:90%
in marriage in His name.

00:35:09.850 --> 00:35:15.530 align:middle line:84%
We partake of the sacrament and
promise to take upon ourselves

00:35:15.530 --> 00:35:19.450 align:middle line:84%
His name--and become
true Christians.

00:35:19.450 --> 00:35:23.470 align:middle line:84%
Finally, we are asked
in the sacrament prayer

00:35:23.470 --> 00:35:27.190 align:middle line:90%
to "always remember him."

00:35:27.190 --> 00:35:30.700 align:middle line:84%
As we prepare for Easter
Sunday tomorrow, let

00:35:30.700 --> 00:35:33.760 align:middle line:84%
us remember that
Christ is supreme.

00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:39.090 align:middle line:84%
He is the righteous Judge,
our faithful Advocate,

00:35:39.090 --> 00:35:45.780 align:middle line:84%
our blessed Redeemer, the Good
Shepherd, the promised Messiah,

00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:50.700 align:middle line:84%
a true friend, and
much, much more.

00:35:50.700 --> 00:35:57.490 align:middle line:84%
He is indeed a very precious
gift to us from our Father.

00:35:57.490 --> 00:36:03.550 align:middle line:84%
In our discipleship, we
have many demands, concerns,

00:36:03.550 --> 00:36:04.720 align:middle line:90%
and assignments.

00:36:04.720 --> 00:36:07.690 align:middle line:84%
However, some
activities must always

00:36:07.690 --> 00:36:10.890 align:middle line:84%
be at the heart of
our Church membership.

00:36:10.890 --> 00:36:14.590 align:middle line:84%
"Wherefore," the Lord
commands, "be faithful;

00:36:14.590 --> 00:36:18.510 align:middle line:84%
stand in the office which
I have appointed unto you;

00:36:18.510 --> 00:36:22.600 align:middle line:84%
succor the weak, lift up
the hands which hang down,

00:36:22.600 --> 00:36:25.590 align:middle line:84%
and strengthen
the feeble knees."

00:36:25.590 --> 00:36:28.090 align:middle line:90%
This is the Church in action!

00:36:28.090 --> 00:36:30.480 align:middle line:90%
This is pure religion!

00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:32.980 align:middle line:84%
This is the gospel
in its true sense

00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:38.260 align:middle line:84%
as we succor, lift,
strengthen those

00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:40.780 align:middle line:90%
in spiritual and temporal need!

00:36:40.780 --> 00:36:44.130 align:middle line:84%
Doing so requires
us to visit them

00:36:44.130 --> 00:36:48.200 align:middle line:84%
and to assist them that
their testimonies of faith

00:36:48.200 --> 00:36:52.470 align:middle line:84%
in Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ and His Atonement

00:36:52.470 --> 00:36:55.680 align:middle line:84%
will be anchored
in their hearts.

00:36:55.680 --> 00:36:59.290 align:middle line:84%
May the Lord help and
bless us to treasure

00:36:59.290 --> 00:37:02.115 align:middle line:84%
our many precious
gifts from God,

00:37:02.115 --> 00:37:08.010 align:middle line:84%
including our membership
in His restored Church.

00:37:08.010 --> 00:37:12.800 align:middle line:84%
I pray we will be filled with
love for our Heavenly Father's

00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:16.030 align:middle line:84%
children and be able
to see their needs

00:37:16.030 --> 00:37:18.780 align:middle line:84%
and be willing to
answer their questions

00:37:18.780 --> 00:37:22.880 align:middle line:84%
and concerns about the
gospel in clear and kind ways

00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:27.970 align:middle line:84%
which will increase
understanding and appreciation

00:37:27.970 --> 00:37:29.750 align:middle line:90%
for one another.

00:37:29.750 --> 00:37:34.390 align:middle line:84%
I testify that Jesus
Christ is our Savior.

00:37:34.390 --> 00:37:37.610 align:middle line:84%
What we will be taught at
this general conference

00:37:37.610 --> 00:37:42.260 align:middle line:84%
comes to us by inspiration
from apostles and prophets,

00:37:42.260 --> 00:37:45.560 align:middle line:84%
from General Authorities
and sister leaders who are

00:37:45.560 --> 00:37:47.580 align:middle line:90%
General Officers of the Church.

00:37:47.580 --> 00:37:53.110 align:middle line:84%
May the joy and peace of
the Lord abide with each one

00:37:53.110 --> 00:37:59.210 align:middle line:84%
is my humble prayer in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

00:37:59.210 --> 00:38:11.130 align:middle line:90%


00:38:11.130 --> 00:38:13.190 align:middle line:84%
We thank Thee, O God,
for our prophets.

00:38:13.190 --> 00:38:16.690 align:middle line:90%


00:38:16.690 --> 00:38:20.430 align:middle line:84%
Recently I went to church with
my sweet mother at our old rock

00:38:20.430 --> 00:38:21.610 align:middle line:90%
chapel.

00:38:21.610 --> 00:38:25.570 align:middle line:84%
Drawn to little voices coming
from the same Primary room I

00:38:25.570 --> 00:38:29.070 align:middle line:84%
attended decades ago,
I walked in the back

00:38:29.070 --> 00:38:32.470 align:middle line:84%
and observed caring leaders
teach this year's theme,

00:38:32.470 --> 00:38:34.970 align:middle line:90%
"I Am a Child of God."

00:38:34.970 --> 00:38:40.270 align:middle line:84%
I smiled as I remembered
patient and loving teachers who,

00:38:40.270 --> 00:38:42.890 align:middle line:84%
during our singing
time back then,

00:38:42.890 --> 00:38:46.170 align:middle line:84%
would often look at me--that
rambunctious little boy

00:38:46.170 --> 00:38:48.680 align:middle line:84%
at the end of the
pew--as if to say,

00:38:48.680 --> 00:38:53.690 align:middle line:90%
"Is he really a child of God?

00:38:53.690 --> 00:38:55.230 align:middle line:90%
And who has sent him here?"

00:38:55.230 --> 00:38:59.380 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:38:59.380 --> 00:39:04.520 align:middle line:84%
I invite each of us to open our
hearts to the Holy Ghost, who

00:39:04.520 --> 00:39:06.420 align:middle line:84%
"beareth witness
with our spirit,

00:39:06.420 --> 00:39:10.000 align:middle line:84%
that we are the
children of God."

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.140 align:middle line:84%
President Boyd K. Packer's
words are plain and precious:

00:39:14.140 --> 00:39:16.930 align:middle line:90%
"You are a child of God.

00:39:16.930 --> 00:39:19.680 align:middle line:90%
He is the father of your spirit.

00:39:19.680 --> 00:39:23.500 align:middle line:84%
Spiritually you are of
noble birth, the offspring

00:39:23.500 --> 00:39:25.140 align:middle line:90%
of the King of Heaven.

00:39:25.140 --> 00:39:28.730 align:middle line:84%
Fix that truth in your
mind and hold to it.

00:39:28.730 --> 00:39:32.805 align:middle line:84%
However many generations in your
mortal ancestry, no matter what

00:39:32.805 --> 00:39:35.390 align:middle line:84%
[your] race or [the]
people you represent,

00:39:35.390 --> 00:39:39.470 align:middle line:84%
the pedigree of your spirit can
be written on a single line.

00:39:39.470 --> 00:39:44.479 align:middle line:90%
You are a child of God!"

00:39:44.479 --> 00:39:45.020 align:middle line:90%
"When you ...

00:39:45.020 --> 00:39:48.730 align:middle line:84%
see our Father,"
Brigham Young described,

00:39:48.730 --> 00:39:52.620 align:middle line:84%
"you will see a being with whom
you have long been acquainted,

00:39:52.620 --> 00:39:55.680 align:middle line:84%
and he will receive
you into his arms,

00:39:55.680 --> 00:40:00.890 align:middle line:84%
and you will be ready to fall
into his embrace and kiss him."

00:40:00.890 --> 00:40:04.510 align:middle line:84%
Moses learned of his
divine heritage talking

00:40:04.510 --> 00:40:06.810 align:middle line:90%
with the Lord face to face.

00:40:06.810 --> 00:40:09.670 align:middle line:84%
Following that
experience, "Satan

00:40:09.670 --> 00:40:14.240 align:middle line:84%
came tempting" with subtle
yet vicious intent to distort

00:40:14.240 --> 00:40:22.420 align:middle line:84%
Moses's identity, "saying:
Moses, son of man, worship me.

00:40:22.420 --> 00:40:23.050 align:middle line:90%
And ...

00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:27.560 align:middle line:84%
Moses looked upon Satan
and said: Who art thou?

00:40:27.560 --> 00:40:32.320 align:middle line:90%
For behold, I am a son of God."

00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:35.690 align:middle line:84%
This great war over divine
identity rages fiercely

00:40:35.690 --> 00:40:38.390 align:middle line:84%
as Satan's proliferating
arsenal aims

00:40:38.390 --> 00:40:43.260 align:middle line:84%
to destroy belief in and
knowledge of our relationship

00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:44.580 align:middle line:90%
with God.

00:40:44.580 --> 00:40:47.800 align:middle line:84%
Thankfully, we have been
blessed with clear vision

00:40:47.800 --> 00:40:52.360 align:middle line:84%
and understanding of our true
identity from the beginning:

00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:57.040 align:middle line:84%
"And God said, Let us
make man in our image,

00:40:57.040 --> 00:40:59.140 align:middle line:90%
after our likeness."

00:40:59.140 --> 00:41:02.180 align:middle line:84%
And His living
prophets proclaim,

00:41:02.180 --> 00:41:06.450 align:middle line:84%
"Each is a beloved spirit son
or daughter of heavenly parents,

00:41:06.450 --> 00:41:13.230 align:middle line:84%
and, as such, each has a
divine nature and destiny."

00:41:13.230 --> 00:41:17.290 align:middle line:84%
Coming to know these truths
with certainty helps us overcome

00:41:17.290 --> 00:41:21.150 align:middle line:84%
trials, troubles, and
afflictions of every kind.

00:41:21.150 --> 00:41:25.380 align:middle line:84%
When asked, "How can we
help those struggling

00:41:25.380 --> 00:41:27.240 align:middle line:90%
with a personal challenge?"

00:41:27.240 --> 00:41:31.180 align:middle line:84%
an Apostle of the Lord
instructed, "Teach them

00:41:31.180 --> 00:41:34.530 align:middle line:84%
their identity and
their purpose."

00:41:34.530 --> 00:41:38.160 align:middle line:84%
These powerful truths were
life-changing for my friend

00:41:38.160 --> 00:41:43.720 align:middle line:84%
Jen, who as a teenager caused
a serious car accident.

00:41:43.720 --> 00:41:47.090 align:middle line:84%
Though her physical
trauma was severe,

00:41:47.090 --> 00:41:53.730 align:middle line:84%
she felt exquisite pain because
the other driver lost her life.

00:41:53.730 --> 00:41:58.730 align:middle line:84%
"Someone lost their mom, and
it was my fault," she says.

00:41:58.730 --> 00:42:04.770 align:middle line:84%
Jen, who just days before stood
and recited, "We are daughters

00:42:04.770 --> 00:42:07.080 align:middle line:84%
of our Heavenly
Father, who loves us,"

00:42:07.080 --> 00:42:12.180 align:middle line:84%
now questioned, "How
could He love me?"

00:42:12.180 --> 00:42:15.080 align:middle line:84%
"The physical suffering
passed," she says,

00:42:15.080 --> 00:42:17.670 align:middle line:84%
"but I didn't think
I would ever heal

00:42:17.670 --> 00:42:20.790 align:middle line:84%
from the emotional
and spiritual wounds."

00:42:20.790 --> 00:42:23.720 align:middle line:84%
In order to survive, Jen
hid her feelings deeply,

00:42:23.720 --> 00:42:25.760 align:middle line:90%
becoming distant and numb.

00:42:25.760 --> 00:42:28.000 align:middle line:84%
After a year, when
she was finally

00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:31.280 align:middle line:84%
able to talk about the
accident, an inspired counselor

00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:35.270 align:middle line:84%
invited her to write the
phrase "I am a child of God"

00:42:35.270 --> 00:42:38.400 align:middle line:90%
and say it 10 times daily.

00:42:38.400 --> 00:42:41.380 align:middle line:84%
"Writing the words was
easy," she recalls,

00:42:41.380 --> 00:42:43.860 align:middle line:90%
"but I couldn't speak them. ...

00:42:43.860 --> 00:42:46.700 align:middle line:84%
That made it real,
and I didn't really

00:42:46.700 --> 00:42:49.470 align:middle line:84%
believe God wanted
me as His child.

00:42:49.470 --> 00:42:53.790 align:middle line:90%
I would curl up and cry."

00:42:53.790 --> 00:42:55.910 align:middle line:84%
After several months,
Jen was finally

00:42:55.910 --> 00:42:58.810 align:middle line:84%
able to complete
the task every day.

00:42:58.810 --> 00:43:03.085 align:middle line:84%
"I poured out my whole soul,"
she said, "pleading with God.

00:43:03.085 --> 00:43:04.030 align:middle line:90%
...

00:43:04.030 --> 00:43:07.490 align:middle line:84%
[And] then I began to
believe the words."

00:43:07.490 --> 00:43:10.370 align:middle line:84%
This belief allowed
the Savior to begin

00:43:10.370 --> 00:43:12.500 align:middle line:90%
mending her wounded soul.

00:43:12.500 --> 00:43:14.950 align:middle line:84%
The Book of Mormon brought
comfort and courage

00:43:14.950 --> 00:43:16.610 align:middle line:90%
in His Atonement.

00:43:16.610 --> 00:43:20.770 align:middle line:84%
"Christ felt my pains,
my sorrows, my guilt,"

00:43:20.770 --> 00:43:22.120 align:middle line:90%
Jen concludes.

00:43:22.120 --> 00:43:25.650 align:middle line:84%
"I felt God's pure love
and had never experienced

00:43:25.650 --> 00:43:27.510 align:middle line:90%
anything so powerful!

00:43:27.510 --> 00:43:31.390 align:middle line:84%
Knowing I am a child of God
is the most powerful knowledge

00:43:31.390 --> 00:43:33.330 align:middle line:90%
I possess!"

00:43:33.330 --> 00:43:35.990 align:middle line:84%
Brothers and sisters,
how can each of us

00:43:35.990 --> 00:43:38.710 align:middle line:84%
experience the power
of understanding

00:43:38.710 --> 00:43:40.890 align:middle line:90%
our divine identity?

00:43:40.890 --> 00:43:45.820 align:middle line:84%
It begins by seeking to
know God, our Father.

00:43:45.820 --> 00:43:50.350 align:middle line:84%
President Russell M. Nelson
testified, "Something powerful

00:43:50.350 --> 00:43:52.630 align:middle line:84%
happens when a child of
God seeks to know more

00:43:52.630 --> 00:43:55.670 align:middle line:90%
about Him and His Beloved Son."

00:43:55.670 --> 00:43:57.570 align:middle line:84%
Learning of and
following the Savior

00:43:57.570 --> 00:43:59.990 align:middle line:84%
helps us come to
know the Father.

00:43:59.990 --> 00:44:00.830 align:middle line:90%
"Being ...

00:44:00.830 --> 00:44:02.800 align:middle line:84%
the express image"
of His Father,

00:44:02.800 --> 00:44:05.410 align:middle line:84%
Jesus taught, "The
Son can do nothing

00:44:05.410 --> 00:44:08.620 align:middle line:84%
of himself, but what he
seeth the Father do."

00:44:08.620 --> 00:44:13.340 align:middle line:84%
Christ's every word and deed
reveals the true nature of God

00:44:13.340 --> 00:44:15.490 align:middle line:90%
and our relationship to Him.

00:44:15.490 --> 00:44:21.320 align:middle line:84%
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught,
"With blood appearing at every

00:44:21.320 --> 00:44:25.570 align:middle line:84%
pore and an anguished
cry upon His lips,

00:44:25.570 --> 00:44:30.760 align:middle line:84%
Christ sought Him whom He had
always sought--His Father.

00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:36.330 align:middle line:90%
'Abba,' He cried, 'Papa.'"

00:44:36.330 --> 00:44:39.290 align:middle line:84%
As Jesus earnestly sought
His Father in Gethsemane,

00:44:39.290 --> 00:44:42.430 align:middle line:84%
so young Joseph Smith,
in 1820, prayerfully

00:44:42.430 --> 00:44:44.920 align:middle line:90%
sought God in the Sacred Grove.

00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:48.230 align:middle line:84%
After reading, "If any
of you lack wisdom,

00:44:48.230 --> 00:44:53.100 align:middle line:84%
let him ask of God,"
Joseph retired to pray.

00:44:53.100 --> 00:44:56.980 align:middle line:84%
"I kneeled down," he wrote, "and
began to offer up the desires

00:44:56.980 --> 00:44:58.435 align:middle line:90%
of my heart to God. ...

00:44:58.435 --> 00:44:58.935 align:middle line:90%
"...

00:44:58.935 --> 00:45:03.125 align:middle line:84%
I saw a pillar of light
exactly over my head. ...

00:45:03.125 --> 00:45:03.625 align:middle line:90%
"...

00:45:03.625 --> 00:45:06.970 align:middle line:84%
I saw two Personages,
whose brightness and glory

00:45:06.970 --> 00:45:11.320 align:middle line:84%
defy all description,
standing above me in the air.

00:45:11.320 --> 00:45:15.300 align:middle line:84%
One of them spake unto me,
calling me by name and said,

00:45:15.300 --> 00:45:20.890 align:middle line:84%
pointing to the other--[Joseph,]
This is My Beloved Son.

00:45:20.890 --> 00:45:23.680 align:middle line:90%
Hear Him!"

00:45:23.680 --> 00:45:27.490 align:middle line:84%
As we follow the examples of the
Savior and the Prophet Joseph

00:45:27.490 --> 00:45:31.240 align:middle line:84%
in earnestly seeking God,
we will come to understand

00:45:31.240 --> 00:45:34.890 align:middle line:84%
in a very real way, as Jen
did, that our Father knows us

00:45:34.890 --> 00:45:38.710 align:middle line:84%
by name--that we
are His children.

00:45:38.710 --> 00:45:41.940 align:middle line:84%
To mothers, especially
young mothers who often feel

00:45:41.940 --> 00:45:44.800 align:middle line:84%
overwhelmed and underwater
while striving to raise

00:45:44.800 --> 00:45:48.700 align:middle line:84%
a "sin-resistant generation,"
never underestimate

00:45:48.700 --> 00:45:51.380 align:middle line:90%
your central role in God's plan.

00:45:51.380 --> 00:45:55.070 align:middle line:84%
In stressful moments--perhaps
when you are chasing little

00:45:55.070 --> 00:45:58.490 align:middle line:84%
ones and a charred smell from
the kitchen informs you that

00:45:58.490 --> 00:46:01.655 align:middle line:84%
your lovingly prepared dinner
is now a burnt offering--know

00:46:01.655 --> 00:46:02.155 align:middle line:90%
this.

00:46:02.155 --> 00:46:04.660 align:middle line:90%


00:46:04.660 --> 00:46:09.530 align:middle line:84%
Know that God sanctifies
your most difficult days.

00:46:09.530 --> 00:46:14.020 align:middle line:84%
"Fear thou not; for I am with
thee," He peacefully reassures.

00:46:14.020 --> 00:46:17.450 align:middle line:84%
We honor you as you fulfill
the hope of Sister Joy D.

00:46:17.450 --> 00:46:21.240 align:middle line:84%
Jones, who stated, "Our
children deserve to understand

00:46:21.240 --> 00:46:23.760 align:middle line:90%
their divine identity."

00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:27.110 align:middle line:84%
I invite each of us to seek
God and His Beloved Son.

00:46:27.110 --> 00:46:29.500 align:middle line:84%
"Nowhere," President
Nelson directed,

00:46:29.500 --> 00:46:32.470 align:middle line:84%
"are those truths taught
more clearly and powerfully

00:46:32.470 --> 00:46:34.110 align:middle line:90%
than in the Book of Mormon."

00:46:34.110 --> 00:46:37.410 align:middle line:84%
Open its pages
and learn that God

00:46:37.410 --> 00:46:39.380 align:middle line:84%
does "all things
for [our] welfare

00:46:39.380 --> 00:46:42.170 align:middle line:84%
and happiness," that He
is "merciful and gracious,

00:46:42.170 --> 00:46:46.090 align:middle line:84%
slow to anger, long-suffering
and full of goodness,"

00:46:46.090 --> 00:46:49.410 align:middle line:84%
and that "all are
alike unto [Him]."

00:46:49.410 --> 00:46:53.760 align:middle line:84%
When you feel hurt, lost,
scared, upset, sad, hungry,

00:46:53.760 --> 00:46:57.090 align:middle line:84%
or hopelessly abandoned
in life's extremities,

00:46:57.090 --> 00:47:01.710 align:middle line:84%
open the Book of Mormon, and you
will come to know "[God] will

00:47:01.710 --> 00:47:03.050 align:middle line:90%
never desert us.

00:47:03.050 --> 00:47:05.210 align:middle line:90%
He never has, and He never will.

00:47:05.210 --> 00:47:06.950 align:middle line:90%
He cannot do it.

00:47:06.950 --> 00:47:11.440 align:middle line:84%
It is not His
character [to do so]."

00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:14.070 align:middle line:84%
Coming to know our Father
changes everything,

00:47:14.070 --> 00:47:16.630 align:middle line:84%
especially our hearts,
as His gentle Spirit

00:47:16.630 --> 00:47:20.430 align:middle line:84%
confirms our true identity
and great worth in His sight.

00:47:20.430 --> 00:47:24.080 align:middle line:84%
God walks with us
along the covenant path

00:47:24.080 --> 00:47:26.410 align:middle line:84%
as we seek Him through
prayerful pleadings,

00:47:26.410 --> 00:47:30.540 align:middle line:84%
scriptural searching,
and obedient strivings.

00:47:30.540 --> 00:47:35.550 align:middle line:84%
I love the God of my fathers,
the Lord God Almighty,

00:47:35.550 --> 00:47:38.060 align:middle line:84%
who weeps with us
in our sorrows,

00:47:38.060 --> 00:47:40.620 align:middle line:84%
patiently chastens
our unrighteousness,

00:47:40.620 --> 00:47:44.180 align:middle line:84%
and rejoices when we seek
to "give away all [our]

00:47:44.180 --> 00:47:46.030 align:middle line:90%
sins to know [Him]."

00:47:46.030 --> 00:47:50.070 align:middle line:84%
I worship Him, who is ever
"a father of the fatherless"

00:47:50.070 --> 00:47:52.700 align:middle line:84%
and a companion to
the companionless.

00:47:52.700 --> 00:47:55.290 align:middle line:84%
Gratefully, I
testify that I have

00:47:55.290 --> 00:48:00.070 align:middle line:84%
come to know God,
my Father, and bear

00:48:00.070 --> 00:48:03.190 align:middle line:84%
witness of the perfections,
attributes, and the "excellency

00:48:03.190 --> 00:48:04.920 align:middle line:90%
of [His] character."

00:48:04.920 --> 00:48:09.170 align:middle line:84%
That every one of us might
truly understand and cherish

00:48:09.170 --> 00:48:11.850 align:middle line:84%
our "noble birthright"
as a child of God

00:48:11.850 --> 00:48:15.100 align:middle line:84%
in coming to "know
[Him] the only true God,

00:48:15.100 --> 00:48:19.590 align:middle line:84%
and Jesus Christ, whom [He has]
sent," is my fervent prayer.

00:48:19.590 --> 00:48:22.390 align:middle line:84%
In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

00:48:22.390 --> 00:48:33.630 align:middle line:90%


00:48:33.630 --> 00:48:35.930 align:middle line:84%
"Now upon the first
day of the week,

00:48:35.930 --> 00:48:40.580 align:middle line:84%
very early in the morning,
they came unto the sepulchre,

00:48:40.580 --> 00:48:43.780 align:middle line:84%
bringing the spices
which they had prepared,

00:48:43.780 --> 00:48:46.890 align:middle line:90%
and certain others with them.

00:48:46.890 --> 00:48:50.410 align:middle line:84%
"And they found the stone
rolled away from the sepulchre.

00:48:50.410 --> 00:48:57.330 align:middle line:84%
"And they entered in, and found
not the body of the Lord Jesus.

00:48:57.330 --> 00:49:00.800 align:middle line:84%
"And it came to pass, as they
were much perplexed thereabout,

00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:06.210 align:middle line:84%
behold, two men stood by
them in shining garments:

00:49:06.210 --> 00:49:09.050 align:middle line:84%
"And as they were afraid,
and bowed down their faces

00:49:09.050 --> 00:49:12.160 align:middle line:84%
to the earth, they
said unto them,

00:49:12.160 --> 00:49:17.240 align:middle line:84%
Why seek ye the
living among the dead?

00:49:17.240 --> 00:49:22.200 align:middle line:90%
"He is not here, but is risen."

00:49:22.200 --> 00:49:27.830 align:middle line:84%
Tomorrow, the Easter Sabbath, we
will remember in a special way

00:49:27.830 --> 00:49:30.980 align:middle line:84%
what Jesus Christ
has done for us:

00:49:30.980 --> 00:49:35.590 align:middle line:84%
"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten

00:49:35.590 --> 00:49:41.260 align:middle line:84%
Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have

00:49:41.260 --> 00:49:43.150 align:middle line:90%
everlasting life."

00:49:43.150 --> 00:49:48.190 align:middle line:84%
Eventually we will be
resurrected, as He was,

00:49:48.190 --> 00:49:51.450 align:middle line:90%
to live forever.

00:49:51.450 --> 00:49:53.680 align:middle line:84%
Through the miracle of
the sacred Atonement

00:49:53.680 --> 00:49:59.060 align:middle line:84%
of Jesus Christ, we can also
receive the gift of forgiveness

00:49:59.060 --> 00:50:04.730 align:middle line:84%
of our sins and
misdeeds if we accept

00:50:04.730 --> 00:50:10.460 align:middle line:84%
the opportunity and
responsibility of repentance.

00:50:10.460 --> 00:50:14.030 align:middle line:84%
And by receiving
necessary ordinances,

00:50:14.030 --> 00:50:18.000 align:middle line:84%
keeping covenants, and
obeying commandments,

00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:23.200 align:middle line:84%
we can gain eternal
life and exaltation.

00:50:23.200 --> 00:50:25.930 align:middle line:84%
Today I want to
focus on forgiveness,

00:50:25.930 --> 00:50:30.750 align:middle line:84%
an essential and precious gift
offered to us from our Savior

00:50:30.750 --> 00:50:35.140 align:middle line:90%
and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

00:50:35.140 --> 00:50:40.570 align:middle line:84%
On a December night in
1982, my wife, Terry, and I

00:50:40.570 --> 00:50:46.680 align:middle line:84%
were awakened by a phone call
to our home in Pocatello, Idaho.

00:50:46.680 --> 00:50:51.730 align:middle line:84%
As I answered the phone,
I heard only sobbing.

00:50:51.730 --> 00:50:58.980 align:middle line:84%
Finally my sister's struggling
voice said, "Tommy is dead."

00:50:58.980 --> 00:51:02.170 align:middle line:90%


00:51:02.170 --> 00:51:08.330 align:middle line:84%
A 20-year-old drunk driver,
speeding at more than 85 miles

00:51:08.330 --> 00:51:12.110 align:middle line:84%
per hour, recklessly
ran a stoplight

00:51:12.110 --> 00:51:13.755 align:middle line:90%
in a suburb of Denver, Colorado.

00:51:13.755 --> 00:51:16.760 align:middle line:90%


00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:19.600 align:middle line:84%
He crashed violently
into the car driven

00:51:19.600 --> 00:51:24.490 align:middle line:84%
by my youngest brother,
Tommy, instantly killing him

00:51:24.490 --> 00:51:27.020 align:middle line:90%
and his wife, Joan.

00:51:27.020 --> 00:51:30.970 align:middle line:84%
They were returning
home to a young daughter

00:51:30.970 --> 00:51:35.250 align:middle line:90%
after a Christmas party.

00:51:35.250 --> 00:51:38.460 align:middle line:84%
My wife and I immediately
flew to Denver

00:51:38.460 --> 00:51:41.300 align:middle line:84%
and made our way
to the mortuary.

00:51:41.300 --> 00:51:45.390 align:middle line:84%
We gathered with my
parents and siblings

00:51:45.390 --> 00:51:49.780 align:middle line:84%
and grieved the loss of
our beloved Tommy and Joan.

00:51:49.780 --> 00:51:54.760 align:middle line:84%
We had lost them to a
senseless criminal act.

00:51:54.760 --> 00:51:59.790 align:middle line:84%
Our hearts were broken, and
anger toward the young offender

00:51:59.790 --> 00:52:03.160 align:middle line:90%
began to well up inside me.

00:52:03.160 --> 00:52:06.410 align:middle line:84%
Tommy had served as a
lawyer in the United States

00:52:06.410 --> 00:52:09.640 align:middle line:84%
Department of Justice
and was on a course

00:52:09.640 --> 00:52:12.170 align:middle line:84%
to be a strong advocate
for the protection

00:52:12.170 --> 00:52:18.310 align:middle line:84%
of Native American lands and
natural resources for years

00:52:18.310 --> 00:52:21.110 align:middle line:90%
to come.

00:52:21.110 --> 00:52:24.770 align:middle line:84%
After some time had passed,
a court sentencing hearing

00:52:24.770 --> 00:52:28.110 align:middle line:84%
was held for the young
man found responsible

00:52:28.110 --> 00:52:30.490 align:middle line:90%
for vehicular manslaughter.

00:52:30.490 --> 00:52:33.370 align:middle line:84%
In their ongoing
grief and sorrow,

00:52:33.370 --> 00:52:37.800 align:middle line:84%
my parents and my oldest sister,
Katy, attended the hearing.

00:52:37.800 --> 00:52:41.590 align:middle line:84%
The drunk driver's
parents were also there,

00:52:41.590 --> 00:52:47.580 align:middle line:84%
and after the hearing concluded,
they sat on a bench and wept.

00:52:47.580 --> 00:52:51.690 align:middle line:84%
My parents and sister
were sitting nearby

00:52:51.690 --> 00:52:55.620 align:middle line:84%
as they sought to gain
control of their own emotions.

00:52:55.620 --> 00:52:59.240 align:middle line:84%
After a moment, my
parents and sister

00:52:59.240 --> 00:53:04.970 align:middle line:84%
stood up and walked to
the driver's parents

00:53:04.970 --> 00:53:10.900 align:middle line:84%
and offered them words of
comfort and forgiveness.

00:53:10.900 --> 00:53:15.850 align:middle line:84%
The men shook hands;
the women held hands;

00:53:15.850 --> 00:53:20.530 align:middle line:84%
there was deep sorrow and
tears for all and a recognition

00:53:20.530 --> 00:53:24.930 align:middle line:84%
that both families had
suffered immensely.

00:53:24.930 --> 00:53:32.760 align:middle line:84%
Mom, Dad, Katy led the way
with their quiet strength

00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:35.610 align:middle line:84%
and courage and
showed our family

00:53:35.610 --> 00:53:41.150 align:middle line:90%
what forgiveness looks like.

00:53:41.150 --> 00:53:43.590 align:middle line:84%
That outreach of
forgiveness in those moments

00:53:43.590 --> 00:53:49.090 align:middle line:84%
caused my heart to soften and
opened a pathway to healing.

00:53:49.090 --> 00:53:53.940 align:middle line:84%
Over time I learned how
to have a forgiving heart.

00:53:53.940 --> 00:53:57.890 align:middle line:84%
Only with the help of
the Prince of Peace

00:53:57.890 --> 00:54:01.200 align:middle line:90%
was my painful burden lifted.

00:54:01.200 --> 00:54:05.300 align:middle line:84%
My heart will always
miss Tommy and Joan,

00:54:05.300 --> 00:54:09.140 align:middle line:84%
but forgiveness now
allows me to remember them

00:54:09.140 --> 00:54:11.480 align:middle line:90%
with unfettered joy.

00:54:11.480 --> 00:54:17.570 align:middle line:84%
And I know we will be
together again as a family.

00:54:17.570 --> 00:54:22.260 align:middle line:84%
I am not suggesting that we
condone unlawful conduct.

00:54:22.260 --> 00:54:24.970 align:middle line:84%
We know full well
that individuals

00:54:24.970 --> 00:54:27.650 align:middle line:84%
are to be held accountable
for their criminal acts

00:54:27.650 --> 00:54:29.470 align:middle line:90%
and civil wrongdoings.

00:54:29.470 --> 00:54:35.130 align:middle line:84%
However, we also know that
as sons and daughters of God,

00:54:35.130 --> 00:54:38.690 align:middle line:84%
we follow the teachings
of Jesus Christ.

00:54:38.690 --> 00:54:44.230 align:middle line:84%
We are to be forgiving even
when it seems others may not

00:54:44.230 --> 00:54:47.760 align:middle line:90%
warrant our forgiveness.

00:54:47.760 --> 00:54:52.900 align:middle line:84%
The Savior taught: "For if ye
forgive men their trespasses,

00:54:52.900 --> 00:54:56.890 align:middle line:84%
your heavenly Father
will also forgive you:

00:54:56.890 --> 00:55:00.110 align:middle line:84%
"But if ye forgive not
men their trespasses,

00:55:00.110 --> 00:55:05.070 align:middle line:84%
neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses."

00:55:05.070 --> 00:55:08.900 align:middle line:84%
We can all receive unspeakable
peace and partnering

00:55:08.900 --> 00:55:13.080 align:middle line:84%
with our Savior as we learn
to freely forgive those

00:55:13.080 --> 00:55:15.630 align:middle line:90%
who have trespassed against us.

00:55:15.630 --> 00:55:20.850 align:middle line:84%
This partnering brings the
Savior's power into our lives

00:55:20.850 --> 00:55:27.090 align:middle line:84%
in an unmistakable and
never-to-be-forgotten way.

00:55:27.090 --> 00:55:31.040 align:middle line:84%
The Apostle Paul counseled:
"Put on therefore,

00:55:31.040 --> 00:55:33.730 align:middle line:90%
as the elect of God, ...

00:55:33.730 --> 00:55:39.350 align:middle line:84%
bowels of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind,

00:55:39.350 --> 00:55:42.970 align:middle line:90%
meekness, longsuffering;

00:55:42.970 --> 00:55:46.770 align:middle line:84%
"Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another ... :

00:55:46.770 --> 00:55:55.470 align:middle line:84%
even as Christ forgave
you, so also do ye."

00:55:55.470 --> 00:55:58.990 align:middle line:84%
The Lord Himself
declared: "Wherefore, I

00:55:58.990 --> 00:56:01.950 align:middle line:84%
say unto you, that ye
ought to forgive one

00:56:01.950 --> 00:56:07.850 align:middle line:84%
another; for he that forgiveth
not his brother his trespasses

00:56:07.850 --> 00:56:11.200 align:middle line:84%
standeth condemned
before the Lord;

00:56:11.200 --> 00:56:16.620 align:middle line:84%
for there remaineth in
him the greater sin.

00:56:16.620 --> 00:56:19.720 align:middle line:84%
"I, the Lord, will forgive
whom I will forgive,

00:56:19.720 --> 00:56:26.850 align:middle line:84%
but of you it is required
to forgive all men."

00:56:26.850 --> 00:56:30.507 align:middle line:84%
The teachings of our Savior
and Redeemer, Jesus Christ,

00:56:30.507 --> 00:56:35.310 align:middle line:84%
are clear: the sinner must
be willing to forgive others

00:56:35.310 --> 00:56:40.740 align:middle line:84%
if he or she hopes to
obtain forgiveness.

00:56:40.740 --> 00:56:45.320 align:middle line:84%
Brothers and sisters, are
there people in our lives

00:56:45.320 --> 00:56:48.230 align:middle line:90%
who have hurt us?

00:56:48.230 --> 00:56:53.120 align:middle line:84%
Do we harbor what seem like
fully justified feelings

00:56:53.120 --> 00:56:56.090 align:middle line:90%
of resentment and anger?

00:56:56.090 --> 00:57:01.780 align:middle line:84%
Are we letting pride keep us
from forgiving and letting go?

00:57:01.780 --> 00:57:06.240 align:middle line:84%
I invite all of us
to forgive completely

00:57:06.240 --> 00:57:09.510 align:middle line:84%
and let healing
occur from within.

00:57:09.510 --> 00:57:13.760 align:middle line:84%
And even if forgiveness
does not come today,

00:57:13.760 --> 00:57:18.390 align:middle line:84%
know that as we desire
it and work for it,

00:57:18.390 --> 00:57:24.210 align:middle line:84%
it will come--just as it
eventually did for me after

00:57:24.210 --> 00:57:27.460 align:middle line:90%
my brother's death.

00:57:27.460 --> 00:57:31.590 align:middle line:84%
Please also remember
that an essential element

00:57:31.590 --> 00:57:37.160 align:middle line:84%
of forgiveness includes
forgiving ourselves.

00:57:37.160 --> 00:57:39.740 align:middle line:84%
"He who has repented
of his sins,"

00:57:39.740 --> 00:57:45.620 align:middle line:84%
the Lord said, "the same is
forgiven, and I, the Lord,

00:57:45.620 --> 00:57:49.620 align:middle line:90%
remember them no more."

00:57:49.620 --> 00:57:53.790 align:middle line:84%
I plead for all of us this
day to remember and follow

00:57:53.790 --> 00:57:56.530 align:middle line:90%
the example of Jesus Christ.

00:57:56.530 --> 00:58:02.580 align:middle line:84%
On the cross at
Golgotha, in His anguish,

00:58:02.580 --> 00:58:09.747 align:middle line:84%
He uttered these words: "Father,
forgive them; for they know not

00:58:09.747 --> 00:58:10.330 align:middle line:90%
what they do."

00:58:10.330 --> 00:58:12.880 align:middle line:90%


00:58:12.880 --> 00:58:17.050 align:middle line:84%
By having a forgiving
spirit and acting upon it,

00:58:17.050 --> 00:58:19.880 align:middle line:84%
like my parents
and oldest sister,

00:58:19.880 --> 00:58:24.050 align:middle line:84%
we can realize the
promise of the Savior:

00:58:24.050 --> 00:58:30.280 align:middle line:84%
"Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto you:

00:58:30.280 --> 00:58:34.100 align:middle line:84%
not as the world
giveth, give I unto you.

00:58:34.100 --> 00:58:41.020 align:middle line:84%
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."

00:58:41.020 --> 00:58:44.050 align:middle line:84%
I witness this peace
will come into our lives

00:58:44.050 --> 00:58:47.280 align:middle line:84%
as we heed the teachings
of Jesus Christ

00:58:47.280 --> 00:58:51.620 align:middle line:84%
and follow His example
by forgiving others.

00:58:51.620 --> 00:58:57.610 align:middle line:84%
As we forgive, I promise the
Savior will strengthen us,

00:58:57.610 --> 00:59:01.830 align:middle line:84%
and His power and joy
will flow into our lives.

00:59:01.830 --> 00:59:04.570 align:middle line:90%


00:59:04.570 --> 00:59:07.450 align:middle line:90%
The tomb is empty.

00:59:07.450 --> 00:59:10.650 align:middle line:90%
Christ lives.

00:59:10.650 --> 00:59:12.860 align:middle line:90%
I know Him.

00:59:12.860 --> 00:59:14.540 align:middle line:90%
And I love Him.

00:59:14.540 --> 00:59:17.420 align:middle line:90%


00:59:17.420 --> 00:59:21.520 align:middle line:84%
I am grateful for
His grace, which

00:59:21.520 --> 00:59:24.430 align:middle line:84%
is the strengthening
power that is

00:59:24.430 --> 00:59:27.530 align:middle line:90%
sufficient to heal all things.

00:59:27.530 --> 00:59:31.185 align:middle line:84%
In the sacred name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

00:59:31.185 --> 00:59:37.370 align:middle line:90%


00:59:37.370 --> 00:59:46.740 align:middle line:84%
The congregation will
now join the choir

00:59:46.740 --> 00:59:50.870 align:middle line:84%
in singing "Press
Forward, Saints."

00:59:50.870 --> 00:59:54.750 align:middle line:84%
After the singing, we will
hear from Elder Gary E.

00:59:54.750 --> 00:59:59.280 align:middle line:84%
Stevenson of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles.

00:59:59.280 --> 01:00:01.930 align:middle line:84%
He will be followed
by Elder Lynn G.

01:00:01.930 --> 01:00:05.880 align:middle line:84%
Robbins of the Presidency
of the Seventy.

01:00:05.880 --> 01:00:08.980 align:middle line:84%
Following Elder
Robbins, the choir

01:00:08.980 --> 01:00:12.985 align:middle line:84%
will sing "Tell Me
the Stories of Jesus."

01:00:12.985 --> 01:00:29.920 align:middle line:90%


01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:33.850 align:middle line:84%
This is the 188th Annual
General Conference

01:00:33.850 --> 01:00:37.150 align:middle line:84%
of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.

01:00:37.150 --> 01:00:39.870 align:middle line:90%


01:00:39.870 --> 01:03:05.176 align:middle line:84%
[MUSIC] PLAYING--"PRESS
FORWARD, SAINTS"]

01:03:05.176 --> 01:03:14.349 align:middle line:90%


01:03:14.349 --> 01:03:16.140 align:middle line:84%
I have fervently prayed
that the Holy Ghost

01:03:16.140 --> 01:03:20.030 align:middle line:84%
will be with each of us today
on this heavenly occasion.

01:03:20.030 --> 01:03:22.150 align:middle line:84%
What we have
collectively witnessed

01:03:22.150 --> 01:03:25.600 align:middle line:84%
has been most impressive
as the 17th prophet

01:03:25.600 --> 01:03:30.060 align:middle line:84%
of this dispensation has been
sustained in solemn assembly.

01:03:30.060 --> 01:03:32.780 align:middle line:84%
As I sought guidance to know
the topic the Lord would have

01:03:32.780 --> 01:03:35.350 align:middle line:84%
me address today,
my mind was directed

01:03:35.350 --> 01:03:37.790 align:middle line:84%
to a recent conversation
with the newly called First

01:03:37.790 --> 01:03:38.990 align:middle line:90%
Presidency.

01:03:38.990 --> 01:03:41.210 align:middle line:84%
In this discussion,
one of the counselors

01:03:41.210 --> 01:03:43.970 align:middle line:84%
shared words to this
effect: "I deeply

01:03:43.970 --> 01:03:46.030 align:middle line:84%
hope that the
membership of the Church

01:03:46.030 --> 01:03:49.550 align:middle line:84%
can comprehend the magnitude
of what has taken place

01:03:49.550 --> 01:03:52.320 align:middle line:84%
with the calling of our new
prophet, President Russell M.

01:03:52.320 --> 01:03:56.040 align:middle line:84%
Nelson, and the significance
and sacredness of the solemn

01:03:56.040 --> 01:04:00.220 align:middle line:84%
assembly that will take
place at general conference."

01:04:00.220 --> 01:04:03.230 align:middle line:84%
He further observed,
"It has been 10 years,

01:04:03.230 --> 01:04:08.170 align:middle line:84%
and many, especially the youth
of the Church, do not remember

01:04:08.170 --> 01:04:11.710 align:middle line:84%
or have not experienced
this before."

01:04:11.710 --> 01:04:15.510 align:middle line:84%
This caused me to reflect
upon experiences I have had.

01:04:15.510 --> 01:04:20.110 align:middle line:84%
The first prophet I remember
is President David O. McKay.

01:04:20.110 --> 01:04:23.410 align:middle line:84%
I was 14 years old
when he passed away.

01:04:23.410 --> 01:04:26.250 align:middle line:84%
I remember a sense of
loss that accompanied

01:04:26.250 --> 01:04:29.590 align:middle line:84%
his passing, the tears
in my mother's eyes,

01:04:29.590 --> 01:04:32.130 align:middle line:84%
and the sorrow felt
by our whole family.

01:04:32.130 --> 01:04:36.480 align:middle line:84%
I remember how the words "Please
bless President David O. McKay"

01:04:36.480 --> 01:04:39.160 align:middle line:84%
fell out of my lips so
naturally in my prayers

01:04:39.160 --> 01:04:42.980 align:middle line:84%
that if I wasn't mindful,
even following his passing,

01:04:42.980 --> 01:04:46.380 align:middle line:84%
I would find myself
using those same words.

01:04:46.380 --> 01:04:49.610 align:middle line:84%
I wondered if my heart
and mind would transition

01:04:49.610 --> 01:04:52.770 align:middle line:84%
to the same feeling and
conviction for the prophets

01:04:52.770 --> 01:04:54.070 align:middle line:90%
succeeding him.

01:04:54.070 --> 01:04:57.140 align:middle line:84%
But almost like parents who
love each of their children,

01:04:57.140 --> 01:04:59.510 align:middle line:84%
I found a love for,
connection with,

01:04:59.510 --> 01:05:03.900 align:middle line:84%
and a testimony of President
Joseph Fielding Smith, who

01:05:03.900 --> 01:05:07.700 align:middle line:84%
followed President McKay, and
for each prophet thereafter:

01:05:07.700 --> 01:05:11.690 align:middle line:84%
Harold B. Lee, Spencer W.
Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson,

01:05:11.690 --> 01:05:16.150 align:middle line:84%
Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B.
Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson,

01:05:16.150 --> 01:05:19.320 align:middle line:84%
and today President
Russell M. Nelson.

01:05:19.320 --> 01:05:23.560 align:middle line:84%
I fully sustained each prophet
with uplifted hand--and

01:05:23.560 --> 01:05:25.970 align:middle line:90%
uplifted heart.

01:05:25.970 --> 01:05:28.080 align:middle line:84%
As each of our beloved
prophets have passed on,

01:05:28.080 --> 01:05:32.160 align:middle line:84%
it is only natural to feel
a sense of sorrow and loss.

01:05:32.160 --> 01:05:35.210 align:middle line:84%
But our sadness is tempered
by the joy and hope that

01:05:35.210 --> 01:05:38.320 align:middle line:84%
comes as we experience
one of the great blessings

01:05:38.320 --> 01:05:42.460 align:middle line:84%
of the Restoration: the calling
and sustaining of a living

01:05:42.460 --> 01:05:44.250 align:middle line:90%
prophet on the earth.

01:05:44.250 --> 01:05:48.640 align:middle line:84%
To that end, I will speak to
this divine process as observed

01:05:48.640 --> 01:05:50.490 align:middle line:90%
over the past 90 days.

01:05:50.490 --> 01:05:54.120 align:middle line:84%
I will describe it in
four segments: first,

01:05:54.120 --> 01:05:56.730 align:middle line:84%
the passing of our prophet
and the dissolution

01:05:56.730 --> 01:06:00.110 align:middle line:84%
of the First Presidency;
second, the time awaiting

01:06:00.110 --> 01:06:02.900 align:middle line:84%
the reorganization of
the new First Presidency;

01:06:02.900 --> 01:06:05.440 align:middle line:84%
third, the calling
of the new prophet;

01:06:05.440 --> 01:06:08.590 align:middle line:84%
and fourth, the sustaining
of the new prophet

01:06:08.590 --> 01:06:13.720 align:middle line:84%
and First Presidency
in solemn assembly.

01:06:13.720 --> 01:06:18.810 align:middle line:84%
On January 2, 2018, our dear
prophet Thomas S. Monson

01:06:18.810 --> 01:06:20.980 align:middle line:84%
passed to the other
side of the veil.

01:06:20.980 --> 01:06:23.950 align:middle line:84%
He will forever have
a place in our hearts.

01:06:23.950 --> 01:06:27.760 align:middle line:84%
President Henry B. Eyring
offered sentiments at President

01:06:27.760 --> 01:06:30.770 align:middle line:84%
Monson's passing which
succinctly describe

01:06:30.770 --> 01:06:33.820 align:middle line:84%
our feelings: "The
hallmark of his life,

01:06:33.820 --> 01:06:37.590 align:middle line:84%
like the Savior's, will be his
individual concern in reaching

01:06:37.590 --> 01:06:41.346 align:middle line:84%
out to the poor, the sick--even
all individuals--worldwide."

01:06:41.346 --> 01:06:43.920 align:middle line:90%


01:06:43.920 --> 01:06:47.210 align:middle line:84%
President Spencer W.
Kimball explained:

01:06:47.210 --> 01:06:49.990 align:middle line:84%
"As one star sinks
behind the horizon,

01:06:49.990 --> 01:06:53.500 align:middle line:84%
another comes into the
picture, and death spawns life.

01:06:53.500 --> 01:06:55.230 align:middle line:84%
"The work of the
Lord is endless.

01:06:55.230 --> 01:06:59.020 align:middle line:84%
Even when a powerful leader
dies, not for a single instant

01:06:59.020 --> 01:07:02.360 align:middle line:84%
is the Church without
leadership, thanks to the kind

01:07:02.360 --> 01:07:07.250 align:middle line:84%
Providence who gave his kingdom
continuity and perpetuity.

01:07:07.250 --> 01:07:09.190 align:middle line:90%
As it [has already] happened ...

01:07:09.190 --> 01:07:13.060 align:middle line:84%
before in this dispensation,
a people reverently

01:07:13.060 --> 01:07:17.740 align:middle line:84%
close a grave, dry their
[eyes], and turn their faces

01:07:17.740 --> 01:07:20.860 align:middle line:90%
to the future."

01:07:20.860 --> 01:07:23.790 align:middle line:84%
The period of time between
the death of a prophet

01:07:23.790 --> 01:07:26.270 align:middle line:84%
and the reorganization
of the First Presidency

01:07:26.270 --> 01:07:30.070 align:middle line:84%
is referred to as an
"apostolic interregnum."

01:07:30.070 --> 01:07:32.620 align:middle line:84%
During this period, the
Quorum of the Twelve,

01:07:32.620 --> 01:07:35.270 align:middle line:84%
under the leadership of
the quorum president,

01:07:35.270 --> 01:07:38.040 align:middle line:84%
jointly hold the
keys to administer

01:07:38.040 --> 01:07:39.900 align:middle line:90%
the leadership of the Church.

01:07:39.900 --> 01:07:43.310 align:middle line:84%
President Joseph F. Smith
taught, "There is always

01:07:43.310 --> 01:07:46.160 align:middle line:84%
a head in the Church, and if
the Presidency of the Church

01:07:46.160 --> 01:07:49.070 align:middle line:84%
are removed by death
or other cause,

01:07:49.070 --> 01:07:51.470 align:middle line:84%
then the next head
of the Church is

01:07:51.470 --> 01:07:56.460 align:middle line:84%
the Twelve Apostles, until a
presidency is again organized."

01:07:56.460 --> 01:07:58.750 align:middle line:84%
The most recent
interregnum period

01:07:58.750 --> 01:08:02.680 align:middle line:84%
began when President Monson
passed away on January 2

01:08:02.680 --> 01:08:07.100 align:middle line:84%
and ended 12 days later,
on Sunday, January 14.

01:08:07.100 --> 01:08:10.090 align:middle line:84%
On that Sabbath morning,
the Quorum of the Twelve

01:08:10.090 --> 01:08:12.470 align:middle line:84%
met in the upper room
of the Salt Lake Temple

01:08:12.470 --> 01:08:14.930 align:middle line:84%
in a spirit of
fasting and prayer,

01:08:14.930 --> 01:08:18.160 align:middle line:84%
under the presiding direction
of President Russell M.

01:08:18.160 --> 01:08:21.479 align:middle line:84%
Nelson, the senior
Apostle and President

01:08:21.479 --> 01:08:24.120 align:middle line:90%
of the Quorum of the Twelve.

01:08:24.120 --> 01:08:26.220 align:middle line:84%
In this sacred and
memorable meeting,

01:08:26.220 --> 01:08:28.220 align:middle line:84%
following a
well-established precedent

01:08:28.220 --> 01:08:31.050 align:middle line:84%
in unity and
unanimity, the Brethren

01:08:31.050 --> 01:08:35.680 align:middle line:84%
were seated by seniority in
a semicircle of 13 chairs

01:08:35.680 --> 01:08:39.470 align:middle line:84%
and raised their
hands first to sustain

01:08:39.470 --> 01:08:42.160 align:middle line:84%
the organization of
a First Presidency

01:08:42.160 --> 01:08:45.000 align:middle line:84%
and then to sustain
President Russell Marion

01:08:45.000 --> 01:08:48.380 align:middle line:84%
Nelson as President
of The Church of Jesus

01:08:48.380 --> 01:08:50.140 align:middle line:90%
Christ of Latter-day Saints.

01:08:50.140 --> 01:08:54.380 align:middle line:84%
This sustaining was followed
by the Quorum of the Twelve

01:08:54.380 --> 01:08:56.920 align:middle line:84%
gathering in a circle
and placing hands

01:08:56.920 --> 01:08:59.390 align:middle line:84%
upon the head of
President Nelson

01:08:59.390 --> 01:09:03.500 align:middle line:84%
to ordain and set him apart,
with the next most-senior

01:09:03.500 --> 01:09:06.450 align:middle line:90%
Apostle acting as voice.

01:09:06.450 --> 01:09:10.750 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson then named his
counselors, President Dallin

01:09:10.750 --> 01:09:13.740 align:middle line:84%
Harris Oaks, President
Henry Bennion Eyring,

01:09:13.740 --> 01:09:16.490 align:middle line:84%
with President Oaks
as the President

01:09:16.490 --> 01:09:20.680 align:middle line:84%
of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles and President Melvin

01:09:20.680 --> 01:09:23.439 align:middle line:84%
Russell Ballard as the Acting
President of the Quorum

01:09:23.439 --> 01:09:25.029 align:middle line:90%
of the Twelve Apostles.

01:09:25.029 --> 01:09:28.939 align:middle line:84%
Following similar sustaining
votes, each of these Brethren

01:09:28.939 --> 01:09:31.859 align:middle line:84%
were set apart to their
respective offices

01:09:31.859 --> 01:09:34.080 align:middle line:90%
by President Nelson.

01:09:34.080 --> 01:09:37.520 align:middle line:84%
This was a deeply
sacred experience,

01:09:37.520 --> 01:09:40.220 align:middle line:84%
with an outpouring
of the Spirit.

01:09:40.220 --> 01:09:43.060 align:middle line:84%
I offer to you my
absolute witness

01:09:43.060 --> 01:09:46.830 align:middle line:84%
that the will of the Lord,
for which we fervently prayed,

01:09:46.830 --> 01:09:50.300 align:middle line:84%
was powerfully manifest
in the activities

01:09:50.300 --> 01:09:52.630 align:middle line:90%
and events of that day.

01:09:52.630 --> 01:09:54.550 align:middle line:84%
With the ordination
of President Nelson

01:09:54.550 --> 01:09:57.150 align:middle line:84%
and the reorganization
of the First Presidency,

01:09:57.150 --> 01:10:02.740 align:middle line:84%
the apostolic interregnum ended
and the newly constituted First

01:10:02.740 --> 01:10:05.170 align:middle line:84%
Presidency began to
operate, remarkably,

01:10:05.170 --> 01:10:10.870 align:middle line:84%
without even one
second of interruption

01:10:10.870 --> 01:10:14.390 align:middle line:84%
in governing the Lord's
kingdom on the earth.

01:10:14.390 --> 01:10:19.550 align:middle line:84%
This morning, this process is
culminated in accordance with

01:10:19.550 --> 01:10:23.830 align:middle line:84%
the scriptural mandate outlined
in Doctrine and Covenants:

01:10:23.830 --> 01:10:25.900 align:middle line:84%
"For all things must
be done in order,

01:10:25.900 --> 01:10:27.990 align:middle line:84%
and by common consent
in the church,

01:10:27.990 --> 01:10:31.957 align:middle line:84%
by the prayer of faith," and
"three Presiding High Priests,

01:10:31.957 --> 01:10:32.590 align:middle line:90%
...

01:10:32.590 --> 01:10:35.550 align:middle line:84%
upheld by the confidence,
faith, and prayer of the church,

01:10:35.550 --> 01:10:40.200 align:middle line:84%
form a quorum of the [First]
Presidency of the Church."

01:10:40.200 --> 01:10:43.190 align:middle line:84%
Elder David B. Haight
described a previous occurrence

01:10:43.190 --> 01:10:46.810 align:middle line:84%
of what we
participated in today:

01:10:46.810 --> 01:10:49.930 align:middle line:84%
"We are witnesses to and
participants in a most sacred

01:10:49.930 --> 01:10:54.600 align:middle line:84%
occasion--a solemn assembly
to act upon heavenly things.

01:10:54.600 --> 01:10:57.740 align:middle line:84%
As in olden times, there has
been much fasting and prayer

01:10:57.740 --> 01:11:00.940 align:middle line:84%
offered by the Saints throughout
the world that they may receive

01:11:00.940 --> 01:11:03.220 align:middle line:84%
an outpouring of the
Spirit of the Lord,

01:11:03.220 --> 01:11:05.330 align:middle line:90%
which is so much in evidence ...

01:11:05.330 --> 01:11:08.050 align:middle line:90%
on this occasion this morning.

01:11:08.050 --> 01:11:10.110 align:middle line:84%
"A solemn assembly,
as the name implies,

01:11:10.110 --> 01:11:13.500 align:middle line:84%
denotes a sacred, sober,
and reverent occasion

01:11:13.500 --> 01:11:17.035 align:middle line:84%
when the Saints assemble under
the direction of the First

01:11:17.035 --> 01:11:17.535 align:middle line:90%
Presidency."

01:11:17.535 --> 01:11:20.070 align:middle line:90%


01:11:20.070 --> 01:11:22.490 align:middle line:84%
Brothers and sisters, we
can rejoice--even shout,

01:11:22.490 --> 01:11:26.140 align:middle line:84%
"Hosanna!"--that the Lord's
mouthpiece, a prophet of God,

01:11:26.140 --> 01:11:30.730 align:middle line:84%
is in place and that the Lord is
pleased that His work is being

01:11:30.730 --> 01:11:35.480 align:middle line:84%
done in the way that He
has divinely prescribed.

01:11:35.480 --> 01:11:38.940 align:middle line:84%
This divinely ordained process
leads to another divinely

01:11:38.940 --> 01:11:40.110 align:middle line:90%
called prophet.

01:11:40.110 --> 01:11:43.400 align:middle line:84%
Just as President Monson was
one of the grandest inhabitants

01:11:43.400 --> 01:11:46.200 align:middle line:84%
to grace this earth,
so is President Nelson.

01:11:46.200 --> 01:11:49.420 align:middle line:84%
He has been profoundly prepared
and specifically tutored

01:11:49.420 --> 01:11:51.950 align:middle line:84%
by the Lord to lead
us at this time.

01:11:51.950 --> 01:11:55.480 align:middle line:84%
It is a great blessing to now
have dear President Russell M.

01:11:55.480 --> 01:11:59.920 align:middle line:84%
Nelson as our loving and devoted
prophet--the 17th President

01:11:59.920 --> 01:12:03.830 align:middle line:84%
of the Church in this
final dispensation.

01:12:03.830 --> 01:12:07.120 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson is
truly a remarkable man.

01:12:07.120 --> 01:12:09.980 align:middle line:84%
I had the privilege of serving
in the Quorum of the Twelve

01:12:09.980 --> 01:12:14.260 align:middle line:84%
with him as my quorum president
for just over two years.

01:12:14.260 --> 01:12:17.530 align:middle line:84%
I have traveled with him
and marvel at his energy,

01:12:17.530 --> 01:12:21.520 align:middle line:84%
as one must move quickly
to keep up with his pace!

01:12:21.520 --> 01:12:27.150 align:middle line:84%
In total, he has visited 133
countries in his lifetime.

01:12:27.150 --> 01:12:29.150 align:middle line:84%
His outreach is to
all, young and old.

01:12:29.150 --> 01:12:32.040 align:middle line:84%
He seems to know everyone
and is particularly

01:12:32.040 --> 01:12:35.170 align:middle line:90%
gifted at remembering names.

01:12:35.170 --> 01:12:38.480 align:middle line:84%
All who know him feel that
they are his favorite.

01:12:38.480 --> 01:12:42.190 align:middle line:84%
And so it is with each of
us--because of his genuine love

01:12:42.190 --> 01:12:44.280 align:middle line:90%
and concern for everyone.

01:12:44.280 --> 01:12:46.710 align:middle line:84%
My primary association
with President Nelson

01:12:46.710 --> 01:12:48.740 align:middle line:84%
has been in
ecclesiastical roles,

01:12:48.740 --> 01:12:52.690 align:middle line:84%
yet I have also become familiar
with his professional life

01:12:52.690 --> 01:12:56.270 align:middle line:84%
that he led before he was
called as a General Authority.

01:12:56.270 --> 01:12:58.420 align:middle line:84%
As many of you know,
President Nelson

01:12:58.420 --> 01:13:00.970 align:middle line:84%
was a world-renowned
heart surgeon

01:13:00.970 --> 01:13:03.080 align:middle line:84%
and, early in his
medical career,

01:13:03.080 --> 01:13:05.910 align:middle line:84%
a pioneer developer of
the heart-lung machine.

01:13:05.910 --> 01:13:08.320 align:middle line:84%
He was on the research
team that supported

01:13:08.320 --> 01:13:11.100 align:middle line:84%
the first open-heart
operation on a human being,

01:13:11.100 --> 01:13:15.260 align:middle line:84%
in 1951, using a
heart-lung bypass.

01:13:15.260 --> 01:13:18.260 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson performed
a heart operation

01:13:18.260 --> 01:13:22.340 align:middle line:84%
on President Spencer
W. Kimball not long

01:13:22.340 --> 01:13:25.930 align:middle line:84%
before President Kimball
became the prophet.

01:13:25.930 --> 01:13:29.430 align:middle line:84%
Interestingly, as President
Nelson's call to the Twelve

01:13:29.430 --> 01:13:34.770 align:middle line:84%
34 years ago ended a
professional medical career

01:13:34.770 --> 01:13:37.940 align:middle line:84%
of strengthening and
repairing hearts,

01:13:37.940 --> 01:13:42.190 align:middle line:84%
it began a ministry
as an Apostle devoted

01:13:42.190 --> 01:13:46.210 align:middle line:84%
to strengthening
and repairing hearts

01:13:46.210 --> 01:13:49.400 align:middle line:84%
of countless tens of
thousands around the world,

01:13:49.400 --> 01:13:51.500 align:middle line:84%
each having been
lifted and healed

01:13:51.500 --> 01:13:57.790 align:middle line:84%
by his words and acts of
wisdom, service, and love.

01:13:57.790 --> 01:14:00.500 align:middle line:84%
When I envision a Christlike
heart in daily practice,

01:14:00.500 --> 01:14:02.350 align:middle line:90%
I see President Nelson.

01:14:02.350 --> 01:14:05.450 align:middle line:84%
I have not met anyone who
exemplifies this trait

01:14:05.450 --> 01:14:07.130 align:middle line:90%
at a higher level than him.

01:14:07.130 --> 01:14:10.060 align:middle line:84%
It has been a remarkable
tutelage for me

01:14:10.060 --> 01:14:13.390 align:middle line:84%
to be in the position
to observe firsthand

01:14:13.390 --> 01:14:16.700 align:middle line:84%
the manifestations of the
Christlike heart of President

01:14:16.700 --> 01:14:18.360 align:middle line:90%
Nelson.

01:14:18.360 --> 01:14:22.880 align:middle line:84%
Within weeks of my call to
the Twelve in October 2015,

01:14:22.880 --> 01:14:26.120 align:middle line:84%
I had the opportunity to
get an up-close glimpse

01:14:26.120 --> 01:14:29.350 align:middle line:84%
of the past professional
life of President Nelson.

01:14:29.350 --> 01:14:32.090 align:middle line:84%
I was invited to
attend an event where

01:14:32.090 --> 01:14:36.360 align:middle line:84%
he received the
Cardiothoracic Surgery Award.

01:14:36.360 --> 01:14:38.920 align:middle line:84%
When I entered the
venue, I was astonished

01:14:38.920 --> 01:14:41.550 align:middle line:84%
to see the large
number of professionals

01:14:41.550 --> 01:14:45.660 align:middle line:84%
there to honor and recognize the
work that President Nelson had

01:14:45.660 --> 01:14:50.110 align:middle line:84%
done many years before as a
medical doctor and surgeon.

01:14:50.110 --> 01:14:52.600 align:middle line:84%
That evening,
numerous professionals

01:14:52.600 --> 01:14:54.900 align:middle line:84%
expressed their
respect and admiration

01:14:54.900 --> 01:14:58.240 align:middle line:84%
for President Nelson's
outstanding contribution

01:14:58.240 --> 01:14:59.535 align:middle line:90%
to his medical specialty.

01:14:59.535 --> 01:15:02.050 align:middle line:90%


01:15:02.050 --> 01:15:05.570 align:middle line:84%
As impressive as each
of the presenters

01:15:05.570 --> 01:15:08.600 align:middle line:84%
was in describing
President Nelson's

01:15:08.600 --> 01:15:12.120 align:middle line:84%
various accomplishments,
I was even more

01:15:12.120 --> 01:15:14.860 align:middle line:84%
spellbound by a
conversation I struck

01:15:14.860 --> 01:15:17.600 align:middle line:90%
up with a man seated next to me.

01:15:17.600 --> 01:15:21.840 align:middle line:84%
He did not know who I was,
but he knew President Nelson

01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:27.890 align:middle line:84%
as Dr. Nelson, director of
the thoracic surgery residency

01:15:27.890 --> 01:15:32.570 align:middle line:84%
program at a medical
school in 1955.

01:15:32.570 --> 01:15:35.530 align:middle line:84%
This man was President
Nelson's former student.

01:15:35.530 --> 01:15:37.580 align:middle line:90%
He shared many memories.

01:15:37.580 --> 01:15:40.180 align:middle line:84%
Most interesting
was his description

01:15:40.180 --> 01:15:43.990 align:middle line:84%
of President Nelson's teaching
style, which, he said,

01:15:43.990 --> 01:15:46.660 align:middle line:84%
brought with it a large
measure of notoriety.

01:15:46.660 --> 01:15:50.190 align:middle line:84%
He explained that much of
the teaching of heart surgery

01:15:50.190 --> 01:15:52.980 align:middle line:84%
residents was conducted
in the operating room.

01:15:52.980 --> 01:15:55.740 align:middle line:84%
There, residents observed
and performed surgery

01:15:55.740 --> 01:15:59.820 align:middle line:84%
under faculty supervision,
as a laboratory classroom.

01:15:59.820 --> 01:16:02.320 align:middle line:84%
He shared that the
operating room environment

01:16:02.320 --> 01:16:05.770 align:middle line:84%
under certain faculty
surgeons was chaotic,

01:16:05.770 --> 01:16:09.390 align:middle line:84%
competitive, pressure
filled, and even ego driven.

01:16:09.390 --> 01:16:12.440 align:middle line:84%
This man described it as
a difficult environment,

01:16:12.440 --> 01:16:14.370 align:middle line:90%
sometimes even demeaning.

01:16:14.370 --> 01:16:16.910 align:middle line:84%
As a result, resident
surgeons even

01:16:16.910 --> 01:16:20.550 align:middle line:84%
felt their careers
were often on the line.

01:16:20.550 --> 01:16:22.160 align:middle line:84%
He then explained
the environment

01:16:22.160 --> 01:16:24.200 align:middle line:84%
found in President
Nelson's operating room.

01:16:24.200 --> 01:16:27.710 align:middle line:84%
It was peaceful,
calm, and dignified.

01:16:27.710 --> 01:16:30.320 align:middle line:84%
Residents were treated
with deep respect.

01:16:30.320 --> 01:16:33.350 align:middle line:84%
However, following the
demonstration of a procedure,

01:16:33.350 --> 01:16:37.060 align:middle line:84%
Dr. Nelson expected the
highest standard of performance

01:16:37.060 --> 01:16:39.340 align:middle line:90%
from each of the residents.

01:16:39.340 --> 01:16:42.580 align:middle line:84%
This man further described
how the best patient outcomes

01:16:42.580 --> 01:16:46.480 align:middle line:84%
and the best surgeons came out
of Dr. Nelson's operating room.

01:16:46.480 --> 01:16:48.130 align:middle line:84%
This is no surprise
to me at all.

01:16:48.130 --> 01:16:50.970 align:middle line:84%
This is what I have
observed firsthand and been

01:16:50.970 --> 01:16:53.410 align:middle line:84%
truly blessed by in the
Quorum of the Twelve.

01:16:53.410 --> 01:16:55.270 align:middle line:84%
I feel like I have
been, in a sense,

01:16:55.270 --> 01:16:58.090 align:middle line:84%
one of his "residents
in training."

01:16:58.090 --> 01:17:00.220 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson has
an exceptional way

01:17:00.220 --> 01:17:02.440 align:middle line:84%
of teaching others and
offering correction

01:17:02.440 --> 01:17:05.340 align:middle line:84%
in a positive, respectful,
and uplifting manner.

01:17:05.340 --> 01:17:08.480 align:middle line:84%
He is the embodiment
of a Christlike heart

01:17:08.480 --> 01:17:10.710 align:middle line:90%
and an example to us all.

01:17:10.710 --> 01:17:14.860 align:middle line:84%
From him, we learn that in any
circumstance we find ourselves,

01:17:14.860 --> 01:17:17.230 align:middle line:84%
our conduct and hearts
can be in accordance

01:17:17.230 --> 01:17:20.780 align:middle line:84%
with the principles of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

01:17:20.780 --> 01:17:23.840 align:middle line:84%
We now have the great blessing
to sustain our prophet,

01:17:23.840 --> 01:17:25.860 align:middle line:90%
President Russell M. Nelson.

01:17:25.860 --> 01:17:29.250 align:middle line:84%
Throughout his life, he has
magnified his numerous roles

01:17:29.250 --> 01:17:32.840 align:middle line:84%
as student, father,
professor, husband, doctor,

01:17:32.840 --> 01:17:36.290 align:middle line:84%
priesthood leader,
grandfather, and Apostle.

01:17:36.290 --> 01:17:39.840 align:middle line:84%
He fulfilled these roles
then--and continues to do

01:17:39.840 --> 01:17:43.460 align:middle line:90%
so--with the heart of a prophet.

01:17:43.460 --> 01:17:46.460 align:middle line:84%
Brothers and sisters, what we
have witnessed and participated

01:17:46.460 --> 01:17:50.570 align:middle line:84%
in today, a solemn assembly,
leads to my witness

01:17:50.570 --> 01:17:54.430 align:middle line:84%
that President Russell M.
Nelson is the Lord's living

01:17:54.430 --> 01:17:56.760 align:middle line:90%
mouthpiece for all humankind.

01:17:56.760 --> 01:18:01.760 align:middle line:84%
I also add my testimony of God
the Father, of Jesus Christ,

01:18:01.760 --> 01:18:05.180 align:middle line:84%
and of His role as our
Savior and Redeemer.

01:18:05.180 --> 01:18:07.820 align:middle line:84%
In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

01:18:07.820 --> 01:18:17.460 align:middle line:90%


01:18:17.460 --> 01:18:20.090 align:middle line:90%
Mistakes are a fact of life.

01:18:20.090 --> 01:18:24.350 align:middle line:84%
Learning to skillfully play the
piano is essentially impossible

01:18:24.350 --> 01:18:29.160 align:middle line:84%
without making thousands of
mistakes--maybe even a million.

01:18:29.160 --> 01:18:32.770 align:middle line:84%
To learn a foreign language,
one must face the embarrassment

01:18:32.770 --> 01:18:36.180 align:middle line:84%
of making thousands of
mistakes--maybe even a million.

01:18:36.180 --> 01:18:38.360 align:middle line:84%
Even the world's
greatest athletes

01:18:38.360 --> 01:18:41.280 align:middle line:90%
never stop making mistakes.

01:18:41.280 --> 01:18:45.050 align:middle line:84%
"Success," it has been said,
"isn't the absence of failure,

01:18:45.050 --> 01:18:48.870 align:middle line:84%
but going from failure to
failure without any loss

01:18:48.870 --> 01:18:51.080 align:middle line:90%
of enthusiasm."

01:18:51.080 --> 01:18:53.190 align:middle line:84%
With the invention
of the light bulb,

01:18:53.190 --> 01:18:56.560 align:middle line:84%
Thomas Edison said, "I
didn't fail 1,000 times.

01:18:56.560 --> 01:19:00.020 align:middle line:84%
The light bulb was an
invention with 1,000 steps."

01:19:00.020 --> 01:19:03.990 align:middle line:84%
C. S. Lewis called
failures "finger posts

01:19:03.990 --> 01:19:05.820 align:middle line:90%
on the road to achievement."

01:19:05.820 --> 01:19:09.720 align:middle line:84%
Hopefully, each mistake we make
becomes a lesson in wisdom,

01:19:09.720 --> 01:19:13.580 align:middle line:84%
turning stumbling blocks
into stepping-stones.

01:19:13.580 --> 01:19:17.790 align:middle line:84%
Nephi's unwavering faith helped
him go from failure to failure

01:19:17.790 --> 01:19:21.660 align:middle line:84%
until he finally obtained
the brass plates.

01:19:21.660 --> 01:19:25.780 align:middle line:84%
It took Moses 10 attempts
before he finally

01:19:25.780 --> 01:19:29.810 align:middle line:84%
found success in fleeing
Egypt with the Israelites.

01:19:29.810 --> 01:19:32.870 align:middle line:84%
We may wonder--if both
Nephi and Moses were

01:19:32.870 --> 01:19:36.240 align:middle line:84%
on the Lord's errand, why didn't
the Lord intervene and help

01:19:36.240 --> 01:19:39.320 align:middle line:84%
them achieve success
on their first try?

01:19:39.320 --> 01:19:43.690 align:middle line:84%
Why did He allow them--and why
does He allow us--to flounder

01:19:43.690 --> 01:19:46.430 align:middle line:84%
and fail in our
attempts to succeed?

01:19:46.430 --> 01:19:51.190 align:middle line:84%
Among many important answers to
that question, here are a few:

01:19:51.190 --> 01:19:53.600 align:middle line:84%
First, the Lord knows
that "these things

01:19:53.600 --> 01:19:56.940 align:middle line:84%
shall give [us] experience,
and shall be for [our] good."

01:19:56.940 --> 01:19:58.810 align:middle line:84%
Second, to allow us
to "taste the bitter,

01:19:58.810 --> 01:20:01.530 align:middle line:84%
that [we] may know
to prize the good."

01:20:01.530 --> 01:20:04.520 align:middle line:84%
Third, to prove that "the
battle is the Lord's,"

01:20:04.520 --> 01:20:08.310 align:middle line:84%
and it is only by His grace
that we can accomplish His work

01:20:08.310 --> 01:20:10.800 align:middle line:90%
and become like Him.

01:20:10.800 --> 01:20:14.730 align:middle line:84%
Fourth, to help us develop
and hone scores of Christlike

01:20:14.730 --> 01:20:17.900 align:middle line:84%
attributes that cannot
be refined except through

01:20:17.900 --> 01:20:22.000 align:middle line:84%
opposition and "in the
furnace of affliction."

01:20:22.000 --> 01:20:24.780 align:middle line:84%
So, amid a life full
of stumbling blocks

01:20:24.780 --> 01:20:29.720 align:middle line:84%
and imperfection, we all are
grateful for second chances.

01:20:29.720 --> 01:20:32.680 align:middle line:84%
In 1970, as a new
freshman at BYU,

01:20:32.680 --> 01:20:35.530 align:middle line:84%
I enrolled in a beginning
course on the essentials

01:20:35.530 --> 01:20:40.290 align:middle line:84%
of physics taught by Jae Ballif,
an outstanding professor.

01:20:40.290 --> 01:20:43.270 align:middle line:84%
After finishing each
unit of the course,

01:20:43.270 --> 01:20:45.430 align:middle line:90%
he would administer an exam.

01:20:45.430 --> 01:20:49.050 align:middle line:84%
If a student received a C
and wanted a better grade,

01:20:49.050 --> 01:20:51.010 align:middle line:84%
Professor Ballif would
allow the student

01:20:51.010 --> 01:20:54.420 align:middle line:84%
to take a modified exam
covering the same material.

01:20:54.420 --> 01:20:57.640 align:middle line:84%
If the student received
a B on the second attempt

01:20:57.640 --> 01:21:00.960 align:middle line:84%
and was still unsatisfied,
he could take the test

01:21:00.960 --> 01:21:03.950 align:middle line:84%
a third time and a
fourth, and so on.

01:21:03.950 --> 01:21:07.340 align:middle line:84%
By allowing me numerous
second chances,

01:21:07.340 --> 01:21:12.060 align:middle line:84%
he helped me excel and finally
earn an A in his class.

01:21:12.060 --> 01:21:15.370 align:middle line:84%
He was an uncommonly wise
professor who inspired his

01:21:15.370 --> 01:21:19.490 align:middle line:84%
students to keep trying--to
consider failure as a tutor,

01:21:19.490 --> 01:21:24.120 align:middle line:84%
not as a tragedy, and to not
fear failure but to learn from

01:21:24.120 --> 01:21:25.200 align:middle line:90%
it.

01:21:25.200 --> 01:21:27.560 align:middle line:84%
Recently I telephoned
this great man

01:21:27.560 --> 01:21:30.800 align:middle line:84%
47 years after taking
his physics course.

01:21:30.800 --> 01:21:34.400 align:middle line:84%
I asked him why he was
willing to allow students

01:21:34.400 --> 01:21:36.760 align:middle line:84%
unlimited attempts to
improve their grade.

01:21:36.760 --> 01:21:42.670 align:middle line:84%
His response: "I wanted to be on
the same side as the students."

01:21:42.670 --> 01:21:46.650 align:middle line:84%
While we are grateful for second
chances following mistakes,

01:21:46.650 --> 01:21:49.380 align:middle line:84%
or failures of
the mind, we stand

01:21:49.380 --> 01:21:52.160 align:middle line:84%
all amazed at the Savior's
grace in giving us

01:21:52.160 --> 01:21:57.680 align:middle line:84%
second chances in overcoming
sin, or failures of the heart.

01:21:57.680 --> 01:22:00.750 align:middle line:84%
No one is more on our
side than the Savior.

01:22:00.750 --> 01:22:05.140 align:middle line:84%
He allows us to take and
keep retaking His exams.

01:22:05.140 --> 01:22:09.570 align:middle line:84%
To become like Him will require
countless second chances

01:22:09.570 --> 01:22:12.570 align:middle line:84%
in our day-to-day struggles
with the natural man,

01:22:12.570 --> 01:22:15.880 align:middle line:84%
such as controlling
appetites, learning patience

01:22:15.880 --> 01:22:19.430 align:middle line:84%
and forgiveness, overcoming
slothfulness, avoiding

01:22:19.430 --> 01:22:22.230 align:middle line:84%
sins of omission,
just to name a few.

01:22:22.230 --> 01:22:26.680 align:middle line:84%
If to err is human
nature, how many failures

01:22:26.680 --> 01:22:31.810 align:middle line:84%
will it take us until our nature
is no longer human but divine?

01:22:31.810 --> 01:22:33.320 align:middle line:90%
Thousands?

01:22:33.320 --> 01:22:36.605 align:middle line:90%
More likely--a million.

01:22:36.605 --> 01:22:38.480 align:middle line:84%
Knowing that the strait
and narrow path would

01:22:38.480 --> 01:22:41.330 align:middle line:84%
be strewn with trials
and that failures

01:22:41.330 --> 01:22:43.680 align:middle line:84%
would be a daily
occurrence for us,

01:22:43.680 --> 01:22:46.170 align:middle line:84%
the Savior paid
an infinite price

01:22:46.170 --> 01:22:50.820 align:middle line:84%
to give us as many chances as it
would take to successfully pass

01:22:50.820 --> 01:22:52.350 align:middle line:90%
our mortal probation.

01:22:52.350 --> 01:22:55.590 align:middle line:84%
The opposition which
He allows can often

01:22:55.590 --> 01:22:59.290 align:middle line:84%
seem insurmountable and
almost impossible to bear,

01:22:59.290 --> 01:23:02.310 align:middle line:84%
yet He doesn't leave
us without hope.

01:23:02.310 --> 01:23:05.740 align:middle line:84%
To keep our hope resilient
as we face life's trials,

01:23:05.740 --> 01:23:09.440 align:middle line:84%
the Savior's grace is ever
ready and ever present.

01:23:09.440 --> 01:23:12.990 align:middle line:84%
His grace is a "divine means
of help or strength, ...

01:23:12.990 --> 01:23:16.660 align:middle line:84%
an enabling power that
allows men and women to lay

01:23:16.660 --> 01:23:18.600 align:middle line:84%
hold on eternal
life and exaltation

01:23:18.600 --> 01:23:22.050 align:middle line:84%
after they have expended
their own best efforts."

01:23:22.050 --> 01:23:26.020 align:middle line:84%
His grace and His loving eye are
upon us throughout our entire

01:23:26.020 --> 01:23:30.630 align:middle line:84%
journey as He inspires, lightens
burdens, strengthens, delivers,

01:23:30.630 --> 01:23:34.560 align:middle line:84%
protects, heals, and otherwise
"succor[s] his people,"

01:23:34.560 --> 01:23:38.730 align:middle line:84%
even as they stumble along
the strait and narrow path.

01:23:38.730 --> 01:23:42.030 align:middle line:84%
Repentance is God's
ever-accessible gift

01:23:42.030 --> 01:23:46.740 align:middle line:84%
that allows and enables us
to go from failure to failure

01:23:46.740 --> 01:23:49.310 align:middle line:90%
without any loss of enthusiasm.

01:23:49.310 --> 01:23:54.510 align:middle line:84%
Repentance isn't His backup
plan in the event we might fail.

01:23:54.510 --> 01:23:58.420 align:middle line:84%
Repentance is His plan,
knowing that we will.

01:23:58.420 --> 01:24:00.940 align:middle line:84%
This is the gospel
of repentance,

01:24:00.940 --> 01:24:04.320 align:middle line:84%
and as President Russell
M. Nelson has observed,

01:24:04.320 --> 01:24:07.920 align:middle line:84%
it will be "a
lifetime curriculum."

01:24:07.920 --> 01:24:10.020 align:middle line:84%
In this lifetime
curriculum of repentance,

01:24:10.020 --> 01:24:12.760 align:middle line:84%
the sacrament is the
Lord's designated way

01:24:12.760 --> 01:24:16.650 align:middle line:84%
of providing continual
access to His forgiveness.

01:24:16.650 --> 01:24:20.990 align:middle line:84%
If we partake with a broken
heart and a contrite spirit,

01:24:20.990 --> 01:24:25.420 align:middle line:84%
He proffers us weekly pardon
as we progress from failure

01:24:25.420 --> 01:24:28.340 align:middle line:84%
to failure along
the covenant path.

01:24:28.340 --> 01:24:31.680 align:middle line:84%
For "notwithstanding
their sins, my bowels

01:24:31.680 --> 01:24:35.550 align:middle line:84%
are filled with
compassion towards them."

01:24:35.550 --> 01:24:38.480 align:middle line:84%
But just how many times
will He forgive us?

01:24:38.480 --> 01:24:41.830 align:middle line:90%
How long is His long-suffering?

01:24:41.830 --> 01:24:44.940 align:middle line:84%
On one occasion Peter
asked the Savior,

01:24:44.940 --> 01:24:48.270 align:middle line:84%
"Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me,

01:24:48.270 --> 01:24:51.830 align:middle line:84%
and I forgive him?
till seven times?"

01:24:51.830 --> 01:24:55.700 align:middle line:84%
Presumably, Peter thought seven
was a sufficiently high number

01:24:55.700 --> 01:24:59.300 align:middle line:84%
to emphasize the folly of
forgiving too many times

01:24:59.300 --> 01:25:01.930 align:middle line:84%
and that benevolence
should have its limits.

01:25:01.930 --> 01:25:05.170 align:middle line:84%
In response, the Savior
essentially told Peter to not

01:25:05.170 --> 01:25:10.230 align:middle line:84%
even count--to not establish
limits on forgiveness.

01:25:10.230 --> 01:25:14.970 align:middle line:84%
"Jesus saith unto him, I say not
unto thee, Until seven times:

01:25:14.970 --> 01:25:18.120 align:middle line:90%
but, Until seventy times seven."

01:25:18.120 --> 01:25:21.050 align:middle line:84%
Obviously, the Savior
was not establishing

01:25:21.050 --> 01:25:23.220 align:middle line:90%
an upper limit of 490.

01:25:23.220 --> 01:25:25.890 align:middle line:84%
That would be analogous
to saying that partaking

01:25:25.890 --> 01:25:29.080 align:middle line:84%
of the sacrament
has a limit of 490,

01:25:29.080 --> 01:25:33.430 align:middle line:84%
and then on the 491st time,
a heavenly auditor intercedes

01:25:33.430 --> 01:25:37.150 align:middle line:84%
and says, "I'm so sorry, but
your repentance card just

01:25:37.150 --> 01:25:45.200 align:middle line:84%
expired--from this point
forward, you're on your own."

01:25:45.200 --> 01:25:48.700 align:middle line:84%
The Lord used the math
of seventy times seven

01:25:48.700 --> 01:25:53.570 align:middle line:84%
as a metaphor of His Infinite
Atonement, His boundless love,

01:25:53.570 --> 01:25:56.200 align:middle line:90%
and His limitless grace.

01:25:56.200 --> 01:26:00.270 align:middle line:84%
"Yea, and as often
as my people repent

01:26:00.270 --> 01:26:04.621 align:middle line:84%
will I forgive them their
trespasses against me."

01:26:04.621 --> 01:26:06.870 align:middle line:84%
That doesn't mean that the
sacrament becomes a license

01:26:06.870 --> 01:26:07.620 align:middle line:90%
to sin.

01:26:07.620 --> 01:26:10.740 align:middle line:84%
That's one reason the
Lord included this phrase

01:26:10.740 --> 01:26:15.080 align:middle line:84%
from the book of Moroni: "But as
oft as they repented and sought

01:26:15.080 --> 01:26:19.990 align:middle line:84%
forgiveness, with real
intent, they were forgiven."

01:26:19.990 --> 01:26:23.660 align:middle line:84%
"Real intent" implies with
real effort and real change.

01:26:23.660 --> 01:26:27.630 align:middle line:84%
"Change" is the principal word
the Guide to the Scriptures

01:26:27.630 --> 01:26:32.020 align:middle line:84%
uses to define repentance:
"A change of mind and heart

01:26:32.020 --> 01:26:36.380 align:middle line:84%
that brings a fresh attitude
toward God, oneself, and life

01:26:36.380 --> 01:26:37.610 align:middle line:90%
in general."

01:26:37.610 --> 01:26:41.240 align:middle line:84%
That kind of change results
in spiritual growth.

01:26:41.240 --> 01:26:45.720 align:middle line:84%
Our success, then, isn't
going from failure to failure,

01:26:45.720 --> 01:26:48.630 align:middle line:84%
but growing from
failure to failure

01:26:48.630 --> 01:26:52.330 align:middle line:90%
without any loss of enthusiasm.

01:26:52.330 --> 01:26:56.180 align:middle line:84%
Concerning change, consider this
simple insight: "Things that

01:26:56.180 --> 01:26:59.670 align:middle line:90%
don't change remain the same."

01:26:59.670 --> 01:27:03.670 align:middle line:84%
This obvious truth isn't meant
to insult your intelligence

01:27:03.670 --> 01:27:06.110 align:middle line:84%
but is the profound wisdom
of President Boyd K.

01:27:06.110 --> 01:27:10.110 align:middle line:84%
Packer, who then added, "And
when we are through changing--

01:27:10.110 --> 01:27:12.712 align:middle line:90%
we're through."

01:27:12.712 --> 01:27:14.170 align:middle line:84%
Because we don't
want to be through

01:27:14.170 --> 01:27:16.730 align:middle line:84%
until we become
as our Savior is,

01:27:16.730 --> 01:27:21.320 align:middle line:84%
we need to continue getting
up each time we fail or fall,

01:27:21.320 --> 01:27:24.250 align:middle line:84%
with a desire to keep
growing and progressing

01:27:24.250 --> 01:27:26.070 align:middle line:90%
despite our weaknesses.

01:27:26.070 --> 01:27:28.840 align:middle line:84%
In our weakness,
He reassures us,

01:27:28.840 --> 01:27:31.340 align:middle line:84%
"My grace is
sufficient for thee:

01:27:31.340 --> 01:27:35.740 align:middle line:84%
for my strength is made
perfect in weakness."

01:27:35.740 --> 01:27:38.930 align:middle line:84%
Only with time-lapse
photography or growth charts

01:27:38.930 --> 01:27:41.150 align:middle line:84%
can we discern our
physical growth.

01:27:41.150 --> 01:27:44.500 align:middle line:84%
Likewise, our spiritual
growth is usually

01:27:44.500 --> 01:27:47.980 align:middle line:84%
imperceptible except through
the rearview lens of time.

01:27:47.980 --> 01:27:52.570 align:middle line:84%
It would be wise to regularly
take an introspective look

01:27:52.570 --> 01:27:55.730 align:middle line:84%
through that lens to
recognize our progress

01:27:55.730 --> 01:28:00.500 align:middle line:84%
and inspire us to "press forward
with a steadfastness in Christ,

01:28:00.500 --> 01:28:03.880 align:middle line:84%
having a perfect
brightness of hope."

01:28:03.880 --> 01:28:08.190 align:middle line:84%
I am eternally grateful for
the loving kindness, patience,

01:28:08.190 --> 01:28:12.010 align:middle line:84%
and long-suffering of Heavenly
Parents and the Savior,

01:28:12.010 --> 01:28:16.260 align:middle line:84%
who allow us countless second
chances on our journey back

01:28:16.260 --> 01:28:17.590 align:middle line:90%
to Their presence.

01:28:17.590 --> 01:28:20.685 align:middle line:84%
in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

01:28:20.685 --> 01:28:32.565 align:middle line:90%


01:28:32.565 --> 01:33:05.028 align:middle line:84%
[MUSIC PLAYING--"TELL ME THE
 STORIES OF JESUS"]

01:33:05.028 --> 01:33:15.360 align:middle line:90%


01:33:15.360 --> 01:33:18.855 align:middle line:84%
We express gratitude to
the Mormon Tabernacle

01:33:18.855 --> 01:33:22.266 align:middle line:84%
Choir for the
beautiful music they

01:33:22.266 --> 01:33:26.570 align:middle line:90%
have provided this morning.

01:33:26.570 --> 01:33:29.680 align:middle line:84%
Our concluding speaker
for this session

01:33:29.680 --> 01:33:34.553 align:middle line:84%
will be Elder Neil L. Andersen
of the Quorum of the Twelve

01:33:34.553 --> 01:33:35.515 align:middle line:90%
Apostles.

01:33:35.515 --> 01:33:40.155 align:middle line:84%
Following his remarks, the
choir will close this meeting

01:33:40.155 --> 01:33:44.694 align:middle line:90%
by singing "My Redeemer Lives."

01:33:44.694 --> 01:33:49.610 align:middle line:84%
The benediction will then
be offered by Elder W. Mark

01:33:49.610 --> 01:33:51.450 align:middle line:90%
Bassett of the Seventy.

01:33:51.450 --> 01:34:01.210 align:middle line:90%


01:34:01.210 --> 01:34:06.240 align:middle line:84%
I add my welcome to Elder Gerrit
Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares

01:34:06.240 --> 01:34:11.300 align:middle line:84%
to the unparalleled brotherhood
of the Quorum of the Twelve.

01:34:11.300 --> 01:34:12.950 align:middle line:84%
In sustaining
President Russell M.

01:34:12.950 --> 01:34:16.070 align:middle line:84%
Nelson as the Lord's prophet
and as President of The Church

01:34:16.070 --> 01:34:18.520 align:middle line:84%
of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints,

01:34:18.520 --> 01:34:24.750 align:middle line:84%
we were part of a divinely
decreed solemn assembly--solemn

01:34:24.750 --> 01:34:28.670 align:middle line:84%
because the events of this
past hour have been anticipated

01:34:28.670 --> 01:34:31.970 align:middle line:84%
in the heavens since
before the world was.

01:34:31.970 --> 01:34:35.670 align:middle line:84%
The Lord Jesus Christ,
who directs His work,

01:34:35.670 --> 01:34:38.520 align:middle line:84%
has today, through
President Eyring,

01:34:38.520 --> 01:34:42.450 align:middle line:84%
presented His prophet, His
anointed leader, to us,

01:34:42.450 --> 01:34:47.240 align:middle line:84%
His covenant people,
allowing us publicly

01:34:47.240 --> 01:34:50.890 align:middle line:84%
to manifest our willingness
to sustain him and follow

01:34:50.890 --> 01:34:52.949 align:middle line:90%
his counsel.

01:34:52.949 --> 01:34:57.380 align:middle line:84%
I'd like to just add here,
to those millions of members

01:34:57.380 --> 01:35:02.050 align:middle line:84%
who are not here with us
in the Conference Center,

01:35:02.050 --> 01:35:05.100 align:middle line:84%
that the Spirit of the
Lord in this building

01:35:05.100 --> 01:35:09.220 align:middle line:84%
during the sustaining
of President Nelson

01:35:09.220 --> 01:35:11.700 align:middle line:84%
was exactly as you
would have anticipated

01:35:11.700 --> 01:35:16.474 align:middle line:84%
it, full of spiritual
power and amazingly,

01:35:16.474 --> 01:35:17.390 align:middle line:90%
abundantly satisfying.

01:35:17.390 --> 01:35:20.322 align:middle line:90%


01:35:20.322 --> 01:35:22.985 align:middle line:84%
But our heavenly-directed
assembly

01:35:22.985 --> 01:35:27.701 align:middle line:84%
is not in this
Conference Center alone

01:35:27.701 --> 01:35:33.390 align:middle line:84%
but across the world, in chapels
in Asia, Africa, and North

01:35:33.390 --> 01:35:36.700 align:middle line:84%
America; in homes in Central
and South America and Europe;

01:35:36.700 --> 01:35:42.560 align:middle line:84%
on covered patios in the Pacific
and the islands of the sea.

01:35:42.560 --> 01:35:47.500 align:middle line:84%
This assembly is in whatever
part of the world you might be,

01:35:47.500 --> 01:35:51.231 align:middle line:84%
even if your connection
is no more than the audio

01:35:51.231 --> 01:35:52.770 align:middle line:90%
of your smartphone.

01:35:52.770 --> 01:35:56.710 align:middle line:84%
Our raised hands were not
counted by our bishops,

01:35:56.710 --> 01:35:59.740 align:middle line:84%
but they were surely
noted in heaven,

01:35:59.740 --> 01:36:03.840 align:middle line:84%
as our covenant is with
God and our action is

01:36:03.840 --> 01:36:07.030 align:middle line:90%
recorded in the book of life.

01:36:07.030 --> 01:36:10.750 align:middle line:84%
The selection of a prophet
is made by the Lord Himself.

01:36:10.750 --> 01:36:13.530 align:middle line:84%
There is no
campaigning, no debates;

01:36:13.530 --> 01:36:18.170 align:middle line:84%
no posturing for position;
no dissension, distrust,

01:36:18.170 --> 01:36:22.080 align:middle line:90%
confusion, or commotion.

01:36:22.080 --> 01:36:26.230 align:middle line:84%
I too confirm that
the power of heaven

01:36:26.230 --> 01:36:28.890 align:middle line:84%
was with us in the
upper room of the temple

01:36:28.890 --> 01:36:32.160 align:middle line:84%
as we prayerfully
encircled President Nelson

01:36:32.160 --> 01:36:36.490 align:middle line:84%
and felt the undeniable
approval of the Lord upon him.

01:36:36.490 --> 01:36:39.250 align:middle line:90%


01:36:39.250 --> 01:36:42.270 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson's selection
to serve as God's prophet

01:36:42.270 --> 01:36:43.850 align:middle line:90%
was made long ago.

01:36:43.850 --> 01:36:48.730 align:middle line:84%
The Lord's words to Jeremiah
also apply to President Nelson:

01:36:48.730 --> 01:36:52.760 align:middle line:84%
"Before I formed thee in
the belly I knew thee;

01:36:52.760 --> 01:36:57.350 align:middle line:84%
and before thou camest forth out
of the womb I sanctified thee,

01:36:57.350 --> 01:36:59.630 align:middle line:84%
and I ordained thee a
prophet unto the nations."

01:36:59.630 --> 01:37:02.880 align:middle line:90%


01:37:02.880 --> 01:37:08.400 align:middle line:84%
Only three years ago,
Elder Nelson, at age 90,

01:37:08.400 --> 01:37:11.510 align:middle line:84%
was fourth in
seniority, with two

01:37:11.510 --> 01:37:14.190 align:middle line:84%
of the three senior
Apostles being

01:37:14.190 --> 01:37:16.800 align:middle line:90%
younger in age than he was.

01:37:16.800 --> 01:37:21.970 align:middle line:84%
The Lord, who controls life
and death, selects His prophet.

01:37:21.970 --> 01:37:26.480 align:middle line:84%
President Nelson, at age
93, is in amazing health.

01:37:26.480 --> 01:37:29.860 align:middle line:84%
We hope he will be with us
for another decade or two,

01:37:29.860 --> 01:37:34.550 align:middle line:84%
but for now we are
trying to persuade

01:37:34.550 --> 01:37:36.110 align:middle line:90%
him to stay off the ski slopes.

01:37:36.110 --> 01:37:41.270 align:middle line:90%


01:37:41.270 --> 01:37:44.370 align:middle line:84%
While we sustain the prophet
as the Lord's anointed,

01:37:44.370 --> 01:37:48.500 align:middle line:84%
let it be clear that we
worship only God, our Heavenly

01:37:48.500 --> 01:37:50.860 align:middle line:90%
Father, and His divine Son.

01:37:50.860 --> 01:37:53.350 align:middle line:84%
It is through the
merits, the mercy,

01:37:53.350 --> 01:37:56.340 align:middle line:84%
and the grace of our
Savior, Jesus Christ,

01:37:56.340 --> 01:38:01.430 align:middle line:84%
that we can one day enter
again into Their presence.

01:38:01.430 --> 01:38:03.960 align:middle line:84%
But Jesus also taught
an important truth

01:38:03.960 --> 01:38:06.540 align:middle line:84%
about the servants
He sends to us.

01:38:06.540 --> 01:38:10.940 align:middle line:84%
"He that receiveth you,"
He said, "receiveth me,

01:38:10.940 --> 01:38:15.710 align:middle line:84%
and he that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me."

01:38:15.710 --> 01:38:18.800 align:middle line:84%
The most important role
of the Lord's prophet

01:38:18.800 --> 01:38:24.010 align:middle line:84%
is to teach us of the
Savior and lead us to Him.

01:38:24.010 --> 01:38:28.080 align:middle line:84%
There are many logical reasons
to follow President Russell M.

01:38:28.080 --> 01:38:29.170 align:middle line:90%
Nelson.

01:38:29.170 --> 01:38:33.050 align:middle line:84%
Even those not of our faith
would call him brilliant.

01:38:33.050 --> 01:38:37.070 align:middle line:84%
As Elder Stevenson explained,
he was a medical doctor

01:38:37.070 --> 01:38:40.170 align:middle line:84%
at age 22, an esteemed
cardiac surgeon,

01:38:40.170 --> 01:38:42.520 align:middle line:84%
and a renowned pioneer
in the development

01:38:42.520 --> 01:38:45.110 align:middle line:90%
of open-heart surgery.

01:38:45.110 --> 01:38:48.390 align:middle line:84%
Most would acknowledge
his wisdom and judgment:

01:38:48.390 --> 01:38:52.070 align:middle line:84%
nine decades of learning
about life and death,

01:38:52.070 --> 01:38:56.670 align:middle line:84%
living unselfishly, loving
and teaching God's children

01:38:56.670 --> 01:39:01.620 align:middle line:84%
in every corner of the globe,
and the maturing experiences

01:39:01.620 --> 01:39:08.140 align:middle line:84%
of having 10 children,
57 grandchildren, and 118

01:39:08.140 --> 01:39:09.810 align:middle line:90%
great-grandchildren.

01:39:09.810 --> 01:39:12.235 align:middle line:84%
(This last number
changes frequently.

01:39:12.235 --> 01:39:15.890 align:middle line:90%


01:39:15.890 --> 01:39:25.890 align:middle line:84%
A great-grandson was born
only this past Wednesday.)

01:39:25.890 --> 01:39:28.580 align:middle line:84%
Those who know him
well would speak

01:39:28.580 --> 01:39:31.350 align:middle line:84%
of President Nelson facing
the difficulties of life

01:39:31.350 --> 01:39:33.140 align:middle line:90%
with faith and courage.

01:39:33.140 --> 01:39:37.660 align:middle line:84%
When cancer took the life of
his 37-year-old daughter, Emily,

01:39:37.660 --> 01:39:41.410 align:middle line:84%
leaving a loving husband
and five small children,

01:39:41.410 --> 01:39:47.720 align:middle line:84%
I heard him say, "I was her
father, a medical doctor, ...

01:39:47.720 --> 01:39:50.350 align:middle line:84%
an Apostle of the
Lord Jesus Christ,

01:39:50.350 --> 01:39:53.930 align:middle line:84%
but I had to bow my
head and acknowledge,

01:39:53.930 --> 01:39:59.690 align:middle line:84%
'Not my will but
thine be done.'"

01:39:59.690 --> 01:40:03.670 align:middle line:84%
Although we admire all
of these noble qualities,

01:40:03.670 --> 01:40:05.780 align:middle line:84%
why do we follow
President Nelson?

01:40:05.780 --> 01:40:09.775 align:middle line:90%
Why do we follow the prophet?

01:40:09.775 --> 01:40:11.150 align:middle line:84%
Because the Lord
Jesus Christ has

01:40:11.150 --> 01:40:17.100 align:middle line:84%
called him and designated him
as His watchman on the tower.

01:40:17.100 --> 01:40:20.820 align:middle line:84%
Carcassonne is a remarkable
walled city in France that

01:40:20.820 --> 01:40:23.560 align:middle line:90%
has stood since medieval times.

01:40:23.560 --> 01:40:28.060 align:middle line:84%
Tall towers surge upward
from its protected walls,

01:40:28.060 --> 01:40:32.810 align:middle line:84%
built for the watchmen who stood
on those towers day and night,

01:40:32.810 --> 01:40:37.560 align:middle line:84%
keeping their attention riveted
in the distance for the enemy.

01:40:37.560 --> 01:40:41.250 align:middle line:84%
When the watchman saw
an enemy approaching,

01:40:41.250 --> 01:40:45.330 align:middle line:84%
his warning voice protected
the people of Carcassonne

01:40:45.330 --> 01:40:51.270 align:middle line:84%
from the impending danger
they could not see.

01:40:51.270 --> 01:40:55.650 align:middle line:84%
A prophet is a
watchman on the tower,

01:40:55.650 --> 01:41:00.970 align:middle line:84%
protecting us from spiritual
dangers we may not see.

01:41:00.970 --> 01:41:03.510 align:middle line:90%


01:41:03.510 --> 01:41:05.260 align:middle line:84%
The Lord said to
Ezekiel: "I have

01:41:05.260 --> 01:41:07.900 align:middle line:84%
set thee a watchman unto
the house of Israel;

01:41:07.900 --> 01:41:11.470 align:middle line:84%
therefore thou shalt hear
the word [from] my mouth,

01:41:11.470 --> 01:41:14.970 align:middle line:90%
and warn them from me."

01:41:14.970 --> 01:41:18.060 align:middle line:84%
We often speak of our need
to follow the prophet,

01:41:18.060 --> 01:41:21.820 align:middle line:84%
but consider this heavy burden
the Lord places upon His

01:41:21.820 --> 01:41:26.610 align:middle line:84%
prophet: "If thou dost not
speak to warn the wicked ... ,

01:41:26.610 --> 01:41:28.460 align:middle line:90%
[and] that wicked man ...

01:41:28.460 --> 01:41:31.010 align:middle line:90%
die in his iniquity; ...

01:41:31.010 --> 01:41:35.060 align:middle line:84%
his blood will I
require at thine hand."

01:41:35.060 --> 01:41:38.010 align:middle line:90%


01:41:38.010 --> 01:41:39.830 align:middle line:84%
We embrace President
Nelson as we

01:41:39.830 --> 01:41:41.830 align:middle line:84%
would have embraced
Peter or Moses

01:41:41.830 --> 01:41:43.810 align:middle line:90%
if we had lived in their day.

01:41:43.810 --> 01:41:48.510 align:middle line:84%
God told Moses, "I
will be with thy mouth,

01:41:48.510 --> 01:41:51.560 align:middle line:84%
and teach thee what
thou shalt say."

01:41:51.560 --> 01:41:55.700 align:middle line:84%
We listen to the Lord's
prophet with the faith

01:41:55.700 --> 01:41:58.440 align:middle line:84%
that his words are "from
[the Lord's] own mouth."

01:41:58.440 --> 01:42:01.010 align:middle line:90%


01:42:01.010 --> 01:42:03.300 align:middle line:90%
Is this blind faith?

01:42:03.300 --> 01:42:05.540 align:middle line:90%
No, it is not.

01:42:05.540 --> 01:42:09.240 align:middle line:84%
We each have a spiritual
witness of the truthfulness

01:42:09.240 --> 01:42:12.330 align:middle line:84%
of the Restoration of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

01:42:12.330 --> 01:42:18.140 align:middle line:84%
By our own will and choice we
raised our hands this morning,

01:42:18.140 --> 01:42:22.280 align:middle line:84%
declaring our desire to
sustain the Lord's prophet with

01:42:22.280 --> 01:42:24.500 align:middle line:84%
our "confidence,
faith, and prayer[s]"

01:42:24.500 --> 01:42:28.100 align:middle line:90%
and to follow his counsel.

01:42:28.100 --> 01:42:30.940 align:middle line:84%
We have the privilege
as Latter-day Saints

01:42:30.940 --> 01:42:35.100 align:middle line:84%
to receive a personal witness
that President Nelson's call is

01:42:35.100 --> 01:42:36.690 align:middle line:90%
from God.

01:42:36.690 --> 01:42:40.930 align:middle line:84%
While my wife, Kathy, has known
President Nelson personally

01:42:40.930 --> 01:42:44.100 align:middle line:84%
for nearly three decades
and has no question

01:42:44.100 --> 01:42:48.250 align:middle line:84%
about his divine mantle,
upon his setting apart,

01:42:48.250 --> 01:42:52.170 align:middle line:84%
she began reading all his
general conference talks

01:42:52.170 --> 01:42:57.240 align:middle line:84%
of the past 34 years, praying
for an even deeper assurance

01:42:57.240 --> 01:43:00.870 align:middle line:90%
of his prophetic role.

01:43:00.870 --> 01:43:04.530 align:middle line:84%
I promise you that
this greater witness

01:43:04.530 --> 01:43:10.890 align:middle line:84%
will come to you as you
humbly and worthily seek it.

01:43:10.890 --> 01:43:14.670 align:middle line:84%
Why are we so willing to follow
the voice of the prophet?

01:43:14.670 --> 01:43:18.560 align:middle line:84%
For those diligently
seeking eternal life,

01:43:18.560 --> 01:43:22.000 align:middle line:84%
the prophet's voice
brings spiritual safety

01:43:22.000 --> 01:43:25.280 align:middle line:90%
in very turbulent times.

01:43:25.280 --> 01:43:28.900 align:middle line:84%
We live on a planet clamoring
with a million voices.

01:43:28.900 --> 01:43:33.270 align:middle line:84%
The internet, our
smartphones, our bloated boxes

01:43:33.270 --> 01:43:36.510 align:middle line:84%
of entertainment all
plead for our attention

01:43:36.510 --> 01:43:38.740 align:middle line:84%
and thrust their
influence upon us,

01:43:38.740 --> 01:43:41.010 align:middle line:84%
hoping we will
buy their products

01:43:41.010 --> 01:43:44.460 align:middle line:90%
and adopt their standards.

01:43:44.460 --> 01:43:48.110 align:middle line:84%
The seemingly endless array
of information and opinion

01:43:48.110 --> 01:43:51.380 align:middle line:84%
remind us of the scriptural
warnings of being

01:43:51.380 --> 01:43:55.150 align:middle line:84%
"tossed to and fro,"
"driven [by] the wind,"

01:43:55.150 --> 01:43:58.860 align:middle line:84%
and overcome by the "cunning
craftiness" of those

01:43:58.860 --> 01:44:02.820 align:middle line:90%
who "lie in wait to deceive."

01:44:02.820 --> 01:44:06.310 align:middle line:84%
Anchoring our souls to
the Lord Jesus Christ

01:44:06.310 --> 01:44:10.090 align:middle line:84%
requires listening
to those He sends.

01:44:10.090 --> 01:44:14.150 align:middle line:84%
Following the prophet
in a world of commotion

01:44:14.150 --> 01:44:17.900 align:middle line:84%
is like being wrapped in
a soothing, warm blanket

01:44:17.900 --> 01:44:21.950 align:middle line:90%
on a freezing cold day.

01:44:21.950 --> 01:44:26.490 align:middle line:84%
We live in a world of reason,
debate, argument, logic,

01:44:26.490 --> 01:44:28.090 align:middle line:90%
and explanation.

01:44:28.090 --> 01:44:31.320 align:middle line:84%
Questioning "Why?"
is so positive in so

01:44:31.320 --> 01:44:34.550 align:middle line:84%
many aspects of
our lives, allowing

01:44:34.550 --> 01:44:38.110 align:middle line:84%
the power of our intellect to
guide a multitude of choices

01:44:38.110 --> 01:44:42.340 align:middle line:90%
and decisions we face each day.

01:44:42.340 --> 01:44:49.030 align:middle line:84%
But the Lord's voice often
comes without explanation.

01:44:49.030 --> 01:44:53.410 align:middle line:84%
Long before academics studied
the impact of infidelity

01:44:53.410 --> 01:44:58.230 align:middle line:84%
upon trusting spouses and
children, the Lord declared,

01:44:58.230 --> 01:45:01.820 align:middle line:84%
"Thou shalt not
commit adultery."

01:45:01.820 --> 01:45:05.840 align:middle line:84%
Beyond the intellect
alone, we treasure

01:45:05.840 --> 01:45:09.280 align:middle line:90%
the gift of the Holy Ghost.

01:45:09.280 --> 01:45:12.580 align:middle line:84%
The prophet's voice,
while spoken kindly,

01:45:12.580 --> 01:45:17.460 align:middle line:84%
will often be a voice asking us
to change, to repent and return

01:45:17.460 --> 01:45:18.610 align:middle line:90%
to the Lord.

01:45:18.610 --> 01:45:23.030 align:middle line:84%
When correction is
needed, let's not delay.

01:45:23.030 --> 01:45:26.150 align:middle line:84%
And don't be alarmed when
the prophet's warning

01:45:26.150 --> 01:45:29.760 align:middle line:84%
voice counters popular
opinions of the day.

01:45:29.760 --> 01:45:34.170 align:middle line:84%
The mocking fireballs
of annoyed disbelievers

01:45:34.170 --> 01:45:40.900 align:middle line:84%
are always hurled the moment
the prophet begins to speak.

01:45:40.900 --> 01:45:43.440 align:middle line:84%
As you are humble in following
the counsel of the Lord's

01:45:43.440 --> 01:45:48.690 align:middle line:84%
prophet, I promise you an added
blessing of safety and peace.

01:45:48.690 --> 01:45:51.230 align:middle line:90%


01:45:51.230 --> 01:45:54.320 align:middle line:84%
And don't be surprised if
at times your personal views

01:45:54.320 --> 01:45:57.300 align:middle line:84%
are not initially in
harmony with the teachings

01:45:57.300 --> 01:45:58.980 align:middle line:90%
of the Lord's prophet.

01:45:58.980 --> 01:46:03.080 align:middle line:84%
These are moments of
learning, of humility, when

01:46:03.080 --> 01:46:05.560 align:middle line:90%
we go to our knees in prayer.

01:46:05.560 --> 01:46:09.540 align:middle line:84%
We walk forward in
faith, trusting in God,

01:46:09.540 --> 01:46:13.850 align:middle line:84%
knowing that with time we will
receive more spiritual clarity

01:46:13.850 --> 01:46:15.990 align:middle line:90%
from our Heavenly Father.

01:46:15.990 --> 01:46:19.950 align:middle line:84%
One prophet described the
incomparable gift of the Savior

01:46:19.950 --> 01:46:23.880 align:middle line:84%
as "the will of the
Son being swallowed up

01:46:23.880 --> 01:46:25.900 align:middle line:90%
in the will of the Father."

01:46:25.900 --> 01:46:29.850 align:middle line:84%
The surrender of our
will to God's will

01:46:29.850 --> 01:46:34.300 align:middle line:84%
is in fact not surrender
at all but the beginning

01:46:34.300 --> 01:46:38.000 align:middle line:90%
of a glorious victory.

01:46:38.000 --> 01:46:42.480 align:middle line:84%
Some will try to overly dissect
the prophet's words, struggling

01:46:42.480 --> 01:46:45.500 align:middle line:84%
to determine what is
his prophetic voice

01:46:45.500 --> 01:46:49.280 align:middle line:84%
and what is his
personal opinion.

01:46:49.280 --> 01:46:54.900 align:middle line:84%
In 1982, two years before being
called as a General Authority,

01:46:54.900 --> 01:47:01.020 align:middle line:84%
Brother Russell M. Nelson
said: "I never ask myself,

01:47:01.020 --> 01:47:05.420 align:middle line:84%
'When does the prophet speak
as a prophet and when does he

01:47:05.420 --> 01:47:06.360 align:middle line:90%
not?'

01:47:06.360 --> 01:47:12.690 align:middle line:84%
My interest has been, 'How can
I be more like him?'" And he

01:47:12.690 --> 01:47:17.590 align:middle line:84%
added, "My [philosophy is to]
stop putting question marks

01:47:17.590 --> 01:47:22.155 align:middle line:84%
behind the prophet's statements
and put exclamation points

01:47:22.155 --> 01:47:22.655 align:middle line:90%
instead."

01:47:22.655 --> 01:47:26.380 align:middle line:90%


01:47:26.380 --> 01:47:30.120 align:middle line:84%
This is how a humble
and spiritual man

01:47:30.120 --> 01:47:32.390 align:middle line:90%
chose to order his life.

01:47:32.390 --> 01:47:37.930 align:middle line:84%
Now, 36 years later, he
is the Lord's prophet.

01:47:37.930 --> 01:47:40.460 align:middle line:90%


01:47:40.460 --> 01:47:43.440 align:middle line:84%
In my personal
life, I have found

01:47:43.440 --> 01:47:46.890 align:middle line:84%
that as I prayerfully study
the words of the prophet of God

01:47:46.890 --> 01:47:50.730 align:middle line:84%
and carefully, with
patience, spiritually

01:47:50.730 --> 01:47:54.010 align:middle line:84%
align my will with his
inspired teachings,

01:47:54.010 --> 01:47:59.650 align:middle line:84%
my faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ always increases.

01:47:59.650 --> 01:48:04.100 align:middle line:84%
If we choose to set his
counsel aside and determine

01:48:04.100 --> 01:48:07.890 align:middle line:84%
that we know better,
our faith suffers

01:48:07.890 --> 01:48:12.800 align:middle line:84%
and our eternal
perspective is clouded.

01:48:12.800 --> 01:48:16.950 align:middle line:84%
I promise you that as you
remain resolute in following

01:48:16.950 --> 01:48:22.800 align:middle line:84%
the prophet, your faith in
the Savior will increase.

01:48:22.800 --> 01:48:25.520 align:middle line:84%
The Savior said,
"All the prophets ...

01:48:25.520 --> 01:48:26.810 align:middle line:90%
have testified of me."

01:48:26.810 --> 01:48:32.570 align:middle line:84%
A prophet does not stand
between you and the Savior.

01:48:32.570 --> 01:48:39.350 align:middle line:84%
Rather, he stands beside you and
points the way to the Savior.

01:48:39.350 --> 01:48:41.240 align:middle line:84%
A prophet's greatest
responsibility

01:48:41.240 --> 01:48:45.660 align:middle line:84%
and most precious gift to
us is his sure witness,

01:48:45.660 --> 01:48:50.490 align:middle line:84%
his certain knowledge
that Jesus is the Christ.

01:48:50.490 --> 01:48:56.750 align:middle line:84%
Like Peter of old, our prophet
declares, "[He is] the Christ,

01:48:56.750 --> 01:49:01.400 align:middle line:90%
the Son of the living God."

01:49:01.400 --> 01:49:06.080 align:middle line:84%
In a future day, looking
back on our mortality,

01:49:06.080 --> 01:49:08.940 align:middle line:84%
we will rejoice that
we walked the earth

01:49:08.940 --> 01:49:11.240 align:middle line:90%
at a time of a living prophet.

01:49:11.240 --> 01:49:17.300 align:middle line:84%
At that day, I pray that
we will be able to say:

01:49:17.300 --> 01:49:19.340 align:middle line:90%
We listened to him.

01:49:19.340 --> 01:49:21.060 align:middle line:90%
We believed him.

01:49:21.060 --> 01:49:24.490 align:middle line:84%
We studied his words
with patience and faith.

01:49:24.490 --> 01:49:25.870 align:middle line:90%
We prayed for him.

01:49:25.870 --> 01:49:28.000 align:middle line:90%
We stood by him.

01:49:28.000 --> 01:49:31.470 align:middle line:84%
We were humble
enough to follow him.

01:49:31.470 --> 01:49:32.120 align:middle line:90%
We loved him.

01:49:32.120 --> 01:49:36.360 align:middle line:90%


01:49:36.360 --> 01:49:39.600 align:middle line:84%
I give you my solemn
witness that Jesus

01:49:39.600 --> 01:49:42.340 align:middle line:84%
is the Christ, our
Savior and Redeemer,

01:49:42.340 --> 01:49:47.460 align:middle line:84%
and that President Russell M.
Nelson is His anointed prophet

01:49:47.460 --> 01:49:48.640 align:middle line:90%
upon the earth.

01:49:48.640 --> 01:49:51.435 align:middle line:84%
In the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.

01:49:51.435 --> 01:50:03.106 align:middle line:90%


01:50:03.106 --> 01:53:05.525 align:middle line:84%
[MUSIC PLAYING--"MY REDEEMER
 LIVES"]

01:53:05.525 --> 01:53:15.440 align:middle line:90%


01:53:15.440 --> 01:53:19.690 align:middle line:84%
Our dear Father in
Heaven, at the conclusion

01:53:19.690 --> 01:53:23.980 align:middle line:84%
of this first session of our
worldwide general conference,

01:53:23.980 --> 01:53:29.580 align:middle line:84%
we express our gratitude for
the things which we have heard

01:53:29.580 --> 01:53:34.050 align:middle line:84%
and particularly those
things we have felt.

01:53:34.050 --> 01:53:39.480 align:middle line:84%
We ask Thee, Father, to
help us to act and to do

01:53:39.480 --> 01:53:46.670 align:middle line:84%
those things which would
lead us closer to Thee.

01:53:46.670 --> 01:53:48.330 align:middle line:84%
We are particularly
grateful, Father,

01:53:48.330 --> 01:53:54.220 align:middle line:84%
for this solemn assembly, for
the privilege and blessing

01:53:54.220 --> 01:54:01.160 align:middle line:84%
of raising our hands and
uniting our hearts to sustain

01:54:01.160 --> 01:54:06.030 align:middle line:84%
our beloved prophet,
President Russell M. Nelson;

01:54:06.030 --> 01:54:10.600 align:middle line:90%
his counselors; and the Twelve.

01:54:10.600 --> 01:54:13.210 align:middle line:90%
We love our prophet.

01:54:13.210 --> 01:54:19.550 align:middle line:84%
We are grateful for the feelings
we felt as we raised our hands

01:54:19.550 --> 01:54:24.580 align:middle line:84%
and recognized and pledged
our hearts to him and to Thee.

01:54:24.580 --> 01:54:29.620 align:middle line:84%
We ask Thee to bless us, Father,
that our hearts will be further

01:54:29.620 --> 01:54:35.400 align:middle line:84%
united, that we may be one
as we follow our leaders,

01:54:35.400 --> 01:54:43.730 align:middle line:84%
that thereby we might become the
covenant children of Thy Son.

01:54:43.730 --> 01:54:46.300 align:middle line:90%
We love Thee.

01:54:46.300 --> 01:54:49.810 align:middle line:84%
We express our gratitude to
Thee for this sacred occasion

01:54:49.810 --> 01:54:57.990 align:middle line:84%
and particularly for Thy Son,
for His life, His sacrifice,

01:54:57.990 --> 01:55:00.740 align:middle line:84%
and the knowledge
of His Resurrection.

01:55:00.740 --> 01:55:07.925 align:middle line:84%
And we say these things in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.

01:55:07.925 --> 01:57:26.530 align:middle line:90%


01:57:26.530 --> 01:57:30.950 align:middle line:84%
This has been a broadcast
of the 188th Annual General

01:57:30.950 --> 01:57:34.660 align:middle line:84%
Conference of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day

01:57:34.660 --> 01:57:35.500 align:middle line:90%
Saints.

01:57:35.500 --> 01:57:39.430 align:middle line:84%
Speakers were selected from the
General Authorities and General

01:57:39.430 --> 01:57:41.030 align:middle line:90%
Officers of the Church.

01:57:41.030 --> 01:57:47.100 align:middle line:84%
Music was provided by the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

01:57:47.100 --> 01:57:50.230 align:middle line:84%
This broadcast has been
furnished as a public service

01:57:50.230 --> 01:57:52.070 align:middle line:90%
by Bonneville Distribution.

01:57:52.070 --> 01:57:55.260 align:middle line:84%
Any reproduction,
recording, transcription,

01:57:55.260 --> 01:57:58.780 align:middle line:84%
or other use of this program
without written consent

01:57:58.780 --> 01:58:00.670 align:middle line:90%
is prohibited.

01:58:00.670 --> 01:58:30.699 align:middle line:90%