For those of you who watch conference you will hear from, probably for the last time, the almost 96 year old Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought some of you might find it interesting as to what kind of counsel a man who is revered and sustained by millions and millions would give to those he presides over.
On Family relationships - "Let us not live a life...that would bring regret...It is not going to matter very much how much money you made, what kind of a house you lived in, what kind of car you drove, the size of your bank account -any of those things. What IS going to matter is that dear woman who has walked with you side by side through all of the years of life and those children and grandchildren and great-grand children and and their faithfulness and their looking to you...with respect and love and deference and kindness...
The only things you will take with you, when all is said and done, are your family relationships...God bless us to be good fathers,..good parents, and good husbands to our good wives." (Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan. 18, 2003
On honoring your wives -"You men who hold the priesthood of God, honor your wives. Respect them. They are the mothers of your children. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives and go on to eternity, you will not take 5 cents of wealth that you have accumlated, not five cents! There is only one thing that you can take with you, and that is your eternal soul and the love and companionship of your husband or wife. Live wothty of it!" (meeting, Kingston, Jamica, May 15, 2002).
A Royal Priesthood -"This is the day which Peter foresaw when there should be a royal priesthood upon the earth available to all men who would accept the gospel.
"My dear brethern, do you realize what you have when you have the priesthood of God? You can serve in the governance of this Church. You can hold office. You can administer its affairs. More important even perhaps than that, it carries with it the power and authority to lay hands upon the heads of your family and bless them. Do you know of any group in the world where a father has the right and the privelege and opportunity to lay his hands upon the head of his wife and his children them and bless them in the name of the Lord? What a priceless privelege that is. And I want to say...live worthy of this great blessing". (Meetin, Kiev, Ukraine, Sept. 9/2002)
Couple Missionaries -We now have 5,800 retired men and women serving in a meaningful missionary capacity for this Church throughout the world. The number is growing. They go where they are called. They serve where they are needed. Friendships are established; skills are shared; opportunities are opened for those who will never forget the men and women who have come among them in a spirit of entire unselfishness to teach and do good. They receive no money. They go at their own expense. The measure of their devotion is unlimited. The fruits of their efforts are beyond CALCULATION..
"The great GENIUS of this Church is work. Everybody works. You do not GROW unless you work. Faith, testimony of the truth, is just like the muscle of my arm. If you use it, it grows strong. If you put it in a sling, it grows weak and flabby. We put people to work. We expect great things of them, and the marvelous and wonderful thing is they come through. They produce." (World Affairs Council, L.A., Calif.,June 12, 2002)
An Absolute Miracle -"I have seen what I regard as an absolute miracle as I have seen this great work move forward...You may think it a very commonplace thing. I regard it as an absolute miracle, my brothers and sisters, this little stone cut out of the mountain without hands and which is destined to roll forth and fill the whole earth. We have seen ONLY the beginning...I am satisfied that this work will go on and touch the lives of millions and millions of people across the world. And the God of heaven, whose Church this is, will open the way to make it all possible if you and I and the members of this Church, wherever they may be, will do our part in assisting with this process." (regional conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, may 5, 2002)
IBMAGG
On Family relationships - "Let us not live a life...that would bring regret...It is not going to matter very much how much money you made, what kind of a house you lived in, what kind of car you drove, the size of your bank account -any of those things. What IS going to matter is that dear woman who has walked with you side by side through all of the years of life and those children and grandchildren and great-grand children and and their faithfulness and their looking to you...with respect and love and deference and kindness...
The only things you will take with you, when all is said and done, are your family relationships...God bless us to be good fathers,..good parents, and good husbands to our good wives." (Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan. 18, 2003
On honoring your wives -"You men who hold the priesthood of God, honor your wives. Respect them. They are the mothers of your children. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives and go on to eternity, you will not take 5 cents of wealth that you have accumlated, not five cents! There is only one thing that you can take with you, and that is your eternal soul and the love and companionship of your husband or wife. Live wothty of it!" (meeting, Kingston, Jamica, May 15, 2002).
A Royal Priesthood -"This is the day which Peter foresaw when there should be a royal priesthood upon the earth available to all men who would accept the gospel.
"My dear brethern, do you realize what you have when you have the priesthood of God? You can serve in the governance of this Church. You can hold office. You can administer its affairs. More important even perhaps than that, it carries with it the power and authority to lay hands upon the heads of your family and bless them. Do you know of any group in the world where a father has the right and the privelege and opportunity to lay his hands upon the head of his wife and his children them and bless them in the name of the Lord? What a priceless privelege that is. And I want to say...live worthy of this great blessing". (Meetin, Kiev, Ukraine, Sept. 9/2002)
Couple Missionaries -We now have 5,800 retired men and women serving in a meaningful missionary capacity for this Church throughout the world. The number is growing. They go where they are called. They serve where they are needed. Friendships are established; skills are shared; opportunities are opened for those who will never forget the men and women who have come among them in a spirit of entire unselfishness to teach and do good. They receive no money. They go at their own expense. The measure of their devotion is unlimited. The fruits of their efforts are beyond CALCULATION..
"The great GENIUS of this Church is work. Everybody works. You do not GROW unless you work. Faith, testimony of the truth, is just like the muscle of my arm. If you use it, it grows strong. If you put it in a sling, it grows weak and flabby. We put people to work. We expect great things of them, and the marvelous and wonderful thing is they come through. They produce." (World Affairs Council, L.A., Calif.,June 12, 2002)
An Absolute Miracle -"I have seen what I regard as an absolute miracle as I have seen this great work move forward...You may think it a very commonplace thing. I regard it as an absolute miracle, my brothers and sisters, this little stone cut out of the mountain without hands and which is destined to roll forth and fill the whole earth. We have seen ONLY the beginning...I am satisfied that this work will go on and touch the lives of millions and millions of people across the world. And the God of heaven, whose Church this is, will open the way to make it all possible if you and I and the members of this Church, wherever they may be, will do our part in assisting with this process." (regional conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, may 5, 2002)
IBMAGG
. In the words of the Rivalries board, they were Baptist-wn3d! I do not want to let this paragraph take away from the first but I thought I'd just mention that I have SCOREBOARD (another common Rivalries theme). 