Conducting: President Dallin H Oaks

Choir: Come Listen to A Prophet’s Voice

Invocation: Mark A Bragg

Sustaining of business: President Oaks

New YW General Presidency called and new Primary Counsellor

Our friend David P Homer called as General Authority 70.

A lot of new Area 70s called (including Mark A Gilmour)

Now 116 General Authorities. Nearly 40% born outside US.

David A Bednar

I pray that the Holy Ghost will teach and enlighten us.

In the New Testament we learn about a rich young man.

‘Go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor’

He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

[Contrast with Amulek in the Book of Mormon]. Even though he had previously hardened his heart Amulek obeyed the voice of an angel…He was spiritually awakened. ..He was rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred.

[Epistles between Moroni the captain of the Nephite armies and Pahoran]. Pahoran easily might have resented Moroni.

What is it do you think that explains Pahoran’s measured reply to Moroni’s accusations?

[President Nelson at last Conference – accepting counsel to study the Book of Mormon]

[Likewise President Eyring – perhaps I could have reasonably thought that President Monson’s words were for someone else]

Amulek willingly submitted to God’s will, accepted a call to preach the gospel, and left behind his comfortable circumstances and familiar relationships. And Pahoran was blessed with perspective and strong self-restraint to act rather than react as he explained to Moroni the challenges arising from a rebellion against the government,

An essential quality that all of us need to more fully understand.

Meekness.

D&C 19:23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.

Meekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer.

Amulek willingly submitted to God’s will. Pahoran was blessed with perspective.

The Christ like quality of meekness is often misunderstood in our contemporary world. Meekness is strong, not weak; active, not passive; courageous, not timid; restrained, not excessive; modest, not self-aggrandizing; and gracious, not brash.

A meek person is not easily provoked, pretentious, or overbearing and readily acknowledges the accomplishments of others.

[Story of how Naaman overcame his pride]

Meekness is the principal protection from the prideful blindness that often arises from prominence, position, power, wealth, and adulation.

It is also a spiritual gift for which we can righteously seek.

Meek is what we become as disciples of the Master and not just something  we do. Moses was learned in all of the learning of the Egyptians…and yet he was also meek.

The most majestic and meaningful examples of meekness are found in the life of the Saviour himself. The great Redeemer…tenderly washed the dusty feet of hid disciples. Jesus provides the ultimate example…

The Saviour’s meekness …demonstrates for each of us the importance of putting the wisdom of God above our own wisdom.

[Peter cutting off right ear of High Priest’s servant]

The Savior’s meekness is evidenced in His disciplined response, strong restraint, and unwillingness to exert His infinite power for personal benefit. Mormon identifies as the foundation from which all spiritual gifts and capacities arise.

Meekness is an essential aspect of the divine nature and can be received and developed in our lives because of and through the Saviour’s Atonement. I testify that Jesus Christ is our resurrected and living Redeemer.

He will guide, protect and strengthen us as we walk in the meekness of His spirit.”

Taylor G Godoy

[A few years ago, friends of Elder Taylor G. Godoy had a baby son they named Brigham who was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease. One day, while Brigham and his family were visiting the grounds of a temple, he twice pronounced the words “one more day.” The next day, he died.]

We must use wisely the time that we have.

I have visited Brigham’s grave a few times, and every time I do, I contemplate the phrase ‘one more day,’

I wonder what it would mean, what effect it would have in my life to know that I had only one more day to live. How would I treat my wife, my children and others? How patient and polite would I be? How would I take care of my body? How fervently would I pray and search the scriptures? I think that in one way or another we all, at some point, will have a ‘one more day’ realization — a realization that we must use wisely the time we have.

Personal sacrifice strengthens us and gives value to the things we sacrifice for.

[Story of sister saving for years to go to temple in Lima Peru]. Personal sacrifice is a powerful force that drives our decisions.

[Story of mother selling bracelet to buy him study equipment]

I learned that the sacrifice our loved ones make for us refreshes us like cool water in the middle of the desert. Such sacrifice brings hope and motivation.

Any sacrifice we make is small compared to the sacrifice of  the Son of God.

Each day we can remember that we have one more day to live and be faithful.

The plan of redemption is possible thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And it is because of this sacrifice, after following the process of sincere repentance, that we can feel the weight of our mistakes and sins lifted.

‘Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. … Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. …. Speak your love and then speak it again.” (Howard W Hunter)

Hymn: Choose the Right

Bonnie L Oscarson

[Served in ‘adult’ callings as a young woman in a small branch].

Every young woman in the Church should feel valued, have opportunities to serve and feel that she has something of worth to contribute to this work.

The work of salvation, according to Handbook 2, includes member missionary work, convert retention, activation of less-active members, temple and family history work and teaching the gospel. This work is directed by bishops, who hold priesthood keys for their wards.

For many years now our presidency has been asking the question, ‘Which of these areas mentioned should our young women not be involved in?’ The answer is that they have something to contribute in all areas of this work.

[Example YW in Las Vegas area serving as family history consultants]

[Giving 2 young women examples of ward council agendas and asking them if there were any actions there that they could help with]

Do those who sit on ward councils, or hold any calling in the ward, see the young women as valuable resources to help fill the many needs within our wards? There is usually a long list of situations that need someone to help.

Just as our Aaronic Priesthood holders have been invited to labor with their fathers and other men of the Melchizedek Priesthood, our young women can be called upon to provide service and minister to the needs of ward members with their mothers or other exemplary sisters. They are capable, eager and willing to do so much more than merely attend church on Sundays.

Youth are often asked to teach lessons in their classes on Sundays.

We are grateful for Bishops who take the time to attend Young Women classes.

Service can often lighten your burdens.

I encourage you young women to raise your hands to volunteer and to put those hands to work when you see needs around you. As you fulfill your covenant responsibilities and participate in building the kingdom of God, blessings will flow into your life and you’ll discover the deep and lasting joy of discipleship.

Our young women are amazing.

They have talents, unlimited enthusiasm and energy, and they are compassionate and caring. They want to be of service. They need to know they are valued and essential in the work of salvation.

Our precious young women have an important role to play.

Taniela B Wakolo

[Endowment administered by Joseph Smith in 1842]

The ordinances that are essential to our salvation are called saving ordinances.

Like two sides to a coin, all the saving ordinances are accompanied by covenants with God. God promised us blessings if we faithfully honor those covenants.

[Sharing the experiences of John and Bonnie Newman, Elder Wakolo told of how, after participating in and attending Church for 39 years, John decided to be baptized so he and his wife could be sealed in the temple.

After being baptized in 2015, and 20 years after his wife had received her own endowment, the couple was sealed in the Memphis Tennessee Temple.

Their 47-year-old son, Robert, said of his father, ‘Dad has really, really blossomed since he received the priesthood,’ “Bonnie added, ‘John has always been a happy and cheerful person but receiving the ordinances and honoring his covenants has enhanced his gentleness.’]

Good conduct without the ordinances of the gospel will neither redeem or exalt mankind (Boyd K Packer)

Our temptations do not end after baptism or sealing.

Casualness leads to casualties.

The sacrament is an ordinance that helps us stay on the path, and worthily partaking is evidence that we are keeping the covenants associated with all the other ordinances.

What ordinances, including the sacrament, do I need to receive, and what covenants do I need to make, keep and honor?

I promise that participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening world.

Devin G Durrant

We never stop being their parents. We never stop being their teachers. We are never released from these eternal callings.

President Gordon B. Hinckley  counselled, “Gather your children about you, teach them, bear testimony to them, read the scriptures together and have a good time together.”

There will always be opposition to holding family home evening.

As a boy I would get irritated with our seeming incessant family prayers. Now, as a parent, I know we can’t ever pray too much as a family.

When families gather in humble prayer, powerful and lasting lessons are taught.

We always need to be ready to teach our children because we never know when the opportunity might present itself.

As a father, I am motivated to personally study and ponder the scriptures in order to be able to respond when my children or grandchildren present an on-call teaching opportunity.

What am I teaching my children by my acts and attitudes of obedience?

Family scripture study is an ideal forum for teaching the doctrine in the home.

Dale G Renlund

Many of us have faced a fracture of some sort within our families.

[Story of fractured relationship between Orson and Parley Pratt]

When God directs us to do one thing, He often has many purposes in mind. Family history and temple work is not only for the dead, but blesses the living as well. For Orson and Parley, it turned their hearts to each other. Family history and temple work provided the power to heal that which needed to be healed.

As we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to ‘healing’ blessings promised by prophets and apostles. These blessings are also breathtakingly amazing.

• increased understanding of the Saviour
• increased influence of the Holy Ghost
• Increased faith
• Increased refining, sanctifying and moderating influences in our life
• increased joy
• increased love and appreciation for our ancestors
• increased protection form temptation

If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered.

A heavenly messenger showed Ezekiel a vision of a temple with waters gushing out of it.

The river renewed everything that it touched.

[To illustrate the capacity to heal that the blessings of the temple have, Elder Renlund, who was a cardiologist before he was called as a General Authority, told about a young man named Todd. He and his family were members of the Church, but their activity was sporadic and they hadn’t experienced the blessings of the temple.

In 1999, Todd collapsed from a ruptured blood vessel in his brain and died soon afterward. His mother, Betty, on the last night of his life, promised him that she would make sure his temple work was done.

Todd’s heart was transplanted into Elder Renlund’s patient, a man by the name of Rod. He learned the identity of his heart donor’s family and began a correspondence with them. About two years later, Todd’s mother, Betty, invited Rod to be present when she went to the temple for the first time. Rod and Betty first met in person in the celestial room of the St. George Utah Temple.

Some time later, Todd’s father died and Betty invited Rod to represent her deceased son in receiving his temple ordinances. Rod gratefully did so, and the proxy work culminated in a sealing room in the St. George Utah Temple.”

Fifteen years after that, Elder Renlund was invited to seal Rod and his bride; in attendance were Betty and her family — Rod’s donor family.]

God ..seals and heals individual families.

Orson and Parley Pratt experienced the healing and sealing effects of family history and temple work early in this dispensation. Betty, her family and Rod experienced it. You can, too. Through His Atoning sacrifice, Jesus Christ offers these blessings to all, both the dead and the living.