My beloved brethren, it is a tremendous privilege to be
with you tonight.
This place is full.
We who hold the priesthood of God form a great bond and
brotherhood.
We read in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 121, verse
36, "that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably
connected with the powers of heaven," close quote.
What a wonderful gift we've been given, to hold the
priesthood, which is inseparably connected with the
powers or heaven.
This precious gift, however, brings with it not only
special blessings but also solemn responsibilities.
We must conduct our lives so that we are ever worthy of the
priesthood we bear.
We live in a time when we're surrounded by much that is
intended to entice us into paths which lead to our
destruction.
To avoid such paths requires determination and courage.
I recall a time--and some of you here tonight will also--
when the standards of most people were very similar to
our standards.
No longer is this true.
I recently read an article in the New York Times concerning
a study which took place during the summer of 2008.
A distinguished Notre Dame sociologist led a research
team in conducting in-depth interviews with 230 young
adults across America.
I believe we can safely assume that the results would be
similar in most parts of the world.
I share with you just a portion of this very telling
article, and I quote, "The interviewers asked open-ended
questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas, and the
meaning of life.
In the rambling answers you see the young people groping
to say anything sensible on these matters.
But they just don't have the categories or the
vocabulary to do so.
When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, 2/3 of
the young people either couldn't answer the question
or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether
they could afford to rent a certain apartment, or whether
they had enough quarters to feed the meter at the parking
spot."
The article continues, and I quote, "The default position,
which most of them came back to again and again, is that
moral choices are just a matter of individual taste.
It's personal, the respondents typically said.
It's up to the individual.
Who am I to say?
Rejecting blind deference to authority, many of the young
people have going gone off to the other extreme, saying, I
would do what I thought made me happy or how I felt.
I have no other way of knowing what to do but how I
internally feel," close quote.
Those who conducted the interviews emphasized that the
majority of the young people with whom they spoke had "not
been given the resources by schools, institutions, or
families to cultivate their moral
intuitions," close quote.
Brethren, none within the sound of my voice should be in
any doubt concerning what is moral and what is not, nor
should they be in doubt about what's expected of us as
holders of the priesthood of God.
We have been and continue to be taught God's laws.
Despite what you may see or hear elsewhere, these laws are
unchanging.
As we go about living from day to day, it's almost inevitable
that our faith will be challenged.
We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet
standing in the minority, or even standing alone,
concerning what is acceptable and what is not.
Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs,
even if by so doing we must stand alone?
As holders of the priesthood of the God, it is essential
that we are able to face, with courage, whatever challenges
come our way.
Remember the words of Tennyson, quote, "My strength
is as the strength of 10, because my heart is pure,"
close quote.
Increasingly, some celebrities and others who for one reason
or another are in the public eye have a tendency to
ridicule religion in general and, at times, the Church in
particular.
If our testimonies are not firmly enough rooted, such
criticism can cause us to doubt our own beliefs or to
waver in our resolve.
In Lehi's vision of the tree of life--
found in First Nephi, chapter eight--
Lehi sees, among others, those who hold to the iron rod until
they come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree of life,
which we know is a representation
of the love of God.
And then, sadly, after they partake of the fruit, some are
ashamed because of those in the great and spacious
building, who represent the pride of the children of men,
who are pointing fingers at them and scoffing at them.
And they fall away into forbidden paths and are lost.
What a powerful tool of the adversary is
ridicule and mockery.
Again brethren, do we have the courage to stand strong and
firm in the face of such difficult opposition?
I believe my first experience at having courage in my
convictions took place when I served in the United States
Navy near the end of World War II.
Navy boot camp was not an easy experience for me, nor for
anyone who endured it.
For the first three weeks I was convinced
my life was in jeopardy.
The Navy wasn't trying to train me; it was
trying to kill me.
I shall ever remember when Sunday rolled around after the
first week.
We received welcome news from the chief petty officer.
Standing at attention on the drill ground in a brisk
California breeze, we heard his command.
"Today everybody goes to Church.
Everybody, that is, except for me.
I'm going to relax."
Then he shouted, "All of you Catholics, you meet in Camp
Decatur, and don't come back until 3 o'clock.
Forward march."
A rather sizable contingent moved out.
Then he barked out his next command.
"Those of you who are Jewish, you meet in Camp Henry, and
don't go back until 3 o'clock.
Forward march."
A somewhat smaller contingent marched out.
Then he said, "The rest of you Protestants, you meet in the
theaters at Camp Farragut, and don't come
back until 3 o'clock.
Forward march."
Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought,
"Monson, you're not a Catholic; you're not a Jew; you're not a
Protestant. You're a Mormon.
So you just stand here."
I'm glad to be alive today.
I can assure you that I felt completely alone,
courageous and determined, yes, but alone.
And then I heard the sweetest words I had ever heard that
chief petty officer utter.
He looked in my direction and asked, "And just what do you
guys call yourselves?"
Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was
standing beside or behind me on the drill ground.
Almost in unison each of us replied, "Mormons."
It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart
as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors.
The chief petty officer scratched his head in
expression of puzzlement, but finally said, "Well, you guys
go find somewhere to meet, and don't come
back until 3 o'clock.
Forward march."
As we marched away I thought of the words of a rhyme I had
learned in Primary years before.
"Dare to be a Mormon.
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm.
Dare to make it known."
Although the experience turned out differently from what I
expected, I had been willing to stand alone,
had such been necessary.
Since that day, there have been times when there was no
one standing behind me, and so I did stand alone.
How grateful I am that I made the decision long ago to
remain strong and true, always prepared and ready to defend
my religion, should the need arise.
Lest we at any time feel inadequate for the tasks ahead
of us, brethren, may I share with you a statement made in
1987 by then-Church President Ezra Taft Benson as he
addressed a large group of members in California.
Said President Benson, "In all ages, prophets have looked
down through the corridors of time to our day.
Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have
their eyes on us.
Make no mistake about it, you are a marked generation.
For nearly 6,000 years God has held you in reserve to make
your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming
of the Lord.
Some individuals will fall away, but the kingdom of God
will remain intact to welcome the return of its Head, even
Jesus Christ. While this generation will be comparable
in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed
the earth by flood, there's a major difference this time.
It is God has saved for the final inning some of His
strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom
triumphantly," close quote.
Yes, brethren, we represent some of
the strongest children.
Ours is the responsibility to be worthy of all the glorious
blessings our Father in Heaven has in store for us.
Wherever we go, our priesthood goes with us.
Are we standing in holy places?
Please, before you put yourself and your priesthood
in jeopardy by venturing into places or participating in
activities which are not worthy of you or of that
priesthood, pause to consider the consequences.
Each of us has had conferred upon him the Aaronic
Priesthood.
In the process, each received the power which holds the keys
to the ministering of angels.
Said President Gordon B. Hinckley, "You cannot afford
to do anything that would place a curtain between you
and the ministering angels at your behalf.
You cannot be immoral in any sense.
You cannot be dishonest. You cannot cheat or lie.
You cannot take the name of the Lord in vain or use filthy
language and still have the right to the ministering
angels," close quote.
If any of you has stumbled in your journey, I want you to
understand without any question whatsoever
there is a way back.
There is a way back.
The process is called repentance.
Our Savior gave His life to provide you and me that
blessed gift.
Despite the fact that the repentance path is not easy,
the promises are real.
We've been told, "Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow.
And I will remember them no more," What a statement.
What a blessing.
What a promise.
There may be those of you who are thinking to yourselves,
"Well, I'm not living all the commandments, and I'm not
doing everything I should, and yet my life is
going along just fine.
I think I can have my cake and eat it too."
Brethren, I promise you that this will not
work in the long run.
Not too many months ago I received a letter from a man
who once thought he could have it both ways.
He's now repented and has brought his life into
compliance with the gospel principles and commandments.
I want to share with you a paragraph from his letter, for it
represents the reality of flawed thinking.
And I quote, "I've had to learn for myself the hard way
that the Savior was absolutely correct when He said, 'No man
can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or else you he will hold to the one
and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' I tried, about as
hard as anyone ever has, to do both."
"In the end," said he, "I had all of the emptiness, darkness,
and loneliness that Satan provides to those who believe
his deceptions, his illusions, and his lies."
In order for us to be strong and withstand all the forces
pulling us in the wrong direction, all the voices
encouraging us to take the wrong path, we must have our
own testimony.
Whether you are 12 or 112, or anywhere between, you can know
for yourself that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.
Read the Book of Mormon. Ponder its teaching.
Ask Heavenly Father if it is true.
We have the promise that "if ye shall ask with a sincere
heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he
will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the
Holy Ghost," close quote.
When we know the Book of Mormon is true, then it
follows that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet and that he saw
God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It also
follows that the gospel was restored in these latter days
to Joseph Smith, including the restoration of both the
Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.
Once we have a testimony, it is incumbent upon us to share
that testimony with others.
Many of you brothers have served as missionaries
throughout the world.
Many of you young men will yet serve.
Prepare yourselves now for that opportunity.
Make certain you are worthy to serve.
If we're prepared to share the gospel, we are ready to respond
to the counsel of the Apostle Peter, who urged, "Be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you."
We will have opportunities throughout our lives to share
our beliefs, although we don't always know when we will be
called upon to do so.
Such an opportunity came to me in 1957, when I worked in the
publishing business and was asked to go to Dallas, Texas,
sometimes called the city of churches, to address a
business convention.
Following the conclusion of the convention, I took a
sightseeing bus ride to the city suburbs.
As we passed the various churches, our driver would
comment, "On the left you see the Methodist church, or,
there on the right is the Catholic cathedral."
As we passed a beautiful red brick building situated upon a
hill, the driver exclaimed, "That building is where the
Mormons meet."
A lady in the rear of the bus called out,
"Driver, can you tell us something
more about the Mormons?"
The driver pulled the bus over to the side of the road,
turned around in his seat, and replied, "Lady, all I know
about the Mormons is they meet in that red brick building.
Is there anyone on this bus who knows anything more about
the Mormons?"
I waited for someone to respond.
I gazed at the expression on each person's face for some
sign of recognition, some desire to comment.
Nothing.
I realized it was up to me to do as the Apostle Peter
suggested, to "be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you."
I also realized the truth of the adage--
boy, did I learn it--
"When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is
past." For the next 15 or so minutes I had the privilege of
sharing with those on the bus my testimony concerning the
Church and our beliefs.
I was grateful for my testimony and grateful that I
was prepared to share it.
With all my heart and soul, I pray that every man--
and I'm looking at many--
that every man who holds the priesthood will honor that
priesthood and be true to the trust which was conveyed when
it was conferred.
May each of us who holds priesthood of God
know what he believes.
May we ever be courageous and prepared to
stand for what we believe.
And if we must stand alone, in the process may we do so
courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality
we are never alone when we stand with
our Father in Heaven.
As we contemplate the great gift we've been given, "the
rights of the priesthood inseparably connected with the
powers of heaven," may our determination ever be to guard
and defend it and to be worthy of its great promises.
Brethren, may we follow the Savior's instruction to us
found in the book of Third Nephi: "Hold up your light
that it may shine unto the world.
Behold, I am the light which ye shall hold up--that which ye
have seen me do," close quote.
That we may ever follow that light and hold it up for all
the world to see is my prayer and my blessing upon all who
hear my voice, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.