You choose whether to sustain all whom the Lord calls—in whatever the Lord has called them. That choice happens in conferences all over the world. It has happened in this one. In such meetings, names of men and women—servants of God—are read, and you are invited to raise your hand to sustain. You can withhold your sustaining vote, or you can pledge your sustaining faith. By raising your hand to sustain, you make a promise. You make a promise with God, whose servants these are, that you will sustain them.
How do you feel when you get the opportunity to sustain brothers and sisters at General, Stake and Ward Conferences and in your sacrament meetings?
What do you think you are committing to when you raise your right hand to sustain?
President John Taylor said: “What is meant by sustaining a person? Do we understand it? It is a very simple thing to me; I do not know how it is with you. For instance, if a man be a teacher, and I vote that I will sustain him in his position, when he visits me in an official capacity I will welcome him and treat him with consideration, kindness and respect and if I need counsel I will ask it at his hand, and I will do everything I can to sustain him. That would be proper and a principle of righteousness, and I would not say anything derogatory to his character. If that is not correct I have it yet to learn. And then if anybody in my presence were to whisper something about him disparaging to his reputation, I would say, Look here! are you a Saint? Yes. Did you not hold up your hand to sustain him? Yes. Then why do you not do it? Now, I would call an action of that kind sustaining him. If any man make an attack upon his reputation—for all men’s reputations are of importance to them—I would defend him in some such way.” (In Journal of Discourses, 21:207)
President Eyring talks about the faith to sustain being at the heart of happiness. What do you think about that?
My observation is that the members of the Church across the world are generally loyal to each other and to those who preside over them. There are, however, improvements we could and must make. We could rise higher in our power to sustain each other. It will take faith and effort.
President Eyring makes four suggestions:
- We could identify specific actions the speakers recommend and start today to carry them out. As we do, our power to sustain them will increase.
Have you made any changes or taken any action as a result of something you heard at General Conference?
2. We could pray for them as they speak that the Holy Ghost will carry their words into the hearts of specific people we love. When we learn later that our prayer was answered, our power to sustain those leaders will increase.
How do you think it would affect your General Conference experience if you took this advice?
3. We could pray that specific speakers will be blessed and magnified as they give their messages. When we see that they were magnified, we will grow in our faith to sustain them, and it will endure.
Is this something we could do in our Sacrament, Elders Quorum and Relief Society lessons? What impact do you think it could have?
4. We could listen for messages from the speakers that come as an answer to our personal prayers for help. When the answers come, and they will, we will grow in our faith to sustain all the Lord’s servants.
Have you ever had a question answered through a speaker at General Conference?
Have you ever had a question answered at General Conference even though none of the speakers addressed that particular issue?
In the priesthood quorum and in the family, increased faith to sustain each other is the way we build the Zion the Lord wants us to create. With His help, we can and we will. It will take learning to love the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength and to love each other as we love ourselves.
How does the principle of sustaining each other extend to the family? Do you have any examples?
Bearing in mind President Eyring’s comments, how could we improve the way in which we sustain each other?
(Excerpts from President Eyring’s address are in italics)
Latter-day Bloke 