President Howard W. Hunter on consistent scripture study

President Howard W. Hunter (1907-1995) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1959.  He served as Church President for only nine months, from June 5, 1994 to his death on March 3, 1995.

"When we follow the counsel of our leaders to read and study the scriptures, benefits and blessings of many kinds come to us. This is the most profitable of all study in which we could engage...

"Reading habits vary widely. There are rapid readers and slow readers, some who read only small snatches at a time and others who persist without stopping until the book is finished. Those who delve into the scriptural library, however, find that to understand requires more than casual reading or perusal—there must be concentrated study. It is certain that one who studies the scriptures every day accomplishes far more than one who devotes considerable time one day and then lets days go by before continuing. Not only should we study each day, but there should be a regular time set aside when we can concentrate without interference....

"It would be ideal if an hour could be spent each day; but if that much cannot be had, a half hour on a regular basis would result in substantial accomplishment. A quarter of an hour is little time, but it is surprising how much enlightenment and knowledge can be acquired in a subject so meaningful. The important thing is to allow nothing else to ever interfere with our study."

- Howard W. Hunter, "Reading the Scriptures," Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 64
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

President Hunter starts this excerpt by reiterating an eternal truth: following the counsel of leaders results in benefits in blessings. In this case, he applies that principle to studying the scriptures, and promises blessings that will come as we learn to study faithfully and consistently.

He then offers counsel on how to study effectively, emphasizing that there are many styles and approaches that work well; the key is to study consistently:

Once a time is chosen and "set aside," it is our responsibility and privilege to make that time sacred. "The important thing is to allow nothing else to ever interfere with our study." Consistency brings rewards of its own, and our understanding and appreciation of the scriptures will grow and bring great blessings to us. It's as if we plant new seeds each day, then give time for them to grow and mature as we ponder them through the day; but each new day needs a new seed planted in order for the growth to continue.

Dale G. Renlund on preserving the purity of a changed heart

Elder Dale G. Renlund (born 64 years ago today on November 13, 1952) served in the First Quorum of Seventy starting in 2009, until his call to the Quorum of Twelve in October 2015.

"A heart transplant can prolong life for years for people who would otherwise die from heart failure. But it is not 'the ultimate operation,' as Time magazine called it in 1967. The ultimate operation is not a physical but a spiritual 'mighty change' of heart. (See Mosiah 5:2; Alma 5:12–14.)

"Through the Atonement of Christ and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, we undergo this ultimate operation, this spiritual change of heart. As a result of our transgressions, our spiritual hearts have become diseased and hardened, making us subject to spiritual death and separation from our Heavenly Father. The Lord explained the operation that we all need: 'A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.' (Ezekiel 36:26.)

"Just as with heart transplant patients, however, this mighty change of our spiritual hearts is just the beginning. Repentance, baptism, and confirmation are necessary but not sufficient. Indeed, equal, if not greater, care must be taken with a spiritually changed heart than with a physically transplanted heart if we are to endure to the end. Only by doing so can we be held guiltless at the time of judgment. (See 3 Nephi 27:16.)

"Enduring to the end can be challenging because the tendency of the natural man is to reject the spiritually changed heart and allow it to harden. No wonder the Lord cautioned to 'even let those who are sanctified take heed.' (D&C 20:34.) ...

"To endure to the end, we need to be eager to please God and worship Him with fervor and passion. This means that we maintain faith in Jesus Christ by praying, studying the scriptures, partaking of the sacrament each week, and having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. We need to actively help and serve others and share the gospel with them. We need to be perfectly upright and honest in all things, never compromising our covenants with God or our commitments to men, regardless of circumstances. In our homes we need to talk of, rejoice in, and preach of Christ so that our children—and we ourselves—will desire to apply the Atonement in our lives. (See 2 Nephi 25:26.)  We must identify temptations that easily beset us and put them out of reach—way out of reach. Finally, we need to frequently biopsy our mightily changed hearts and reverse any signs of early rejection."

- Dale G. Renlund, "Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change," Ensign, November 2009, pp. 97-99
Click here to read the full talk

Elder Renlund was trained as a doctor and surgeon. He actually directed the heart transplant programs for Utah hospitals. So he was able to provide personal insight into the process of transplanting a heart, removing a diseased or damaged organ and replacing it with a healthy one. This provided an interesting analogy about another kind of "change of heart" that we all need to experience, the spiritual kind.

I've always liked the description Elder Renlund quotes from Ezekiel, about replacing a "stony heart" with a "heart of flesh" and with the "new spirit" that accompanies the process. That's a wonderful description of a process of change we all need. But then, once that takes place, the challenge is to preserve and maintain our new heart and spirit, not letting the things of the world creep in and again turn the flesh to stone. As critical as the initial change of heart is, this "maintenance phase" is perhaps more difficult and more critical for us. We sometimes call this "enduring to the end."

The key to not rejecting our new heart or letting it decay is to actively maintain it through our thoughts and deeds. Elder Renlund gave a good list of suggestions on ways to do that as we "apply the Atonement in our lives." He also reminds us "to frequently biopsy our mightily changed hearts and reverse any signs of early rejection." That kind of self-examination and sincere evaluation will bless us. The Sabbath Day is a good time to do that, particularly in sacred moments such as the sacramental service.

Henry B. Eyring on Christlike friendship and service

President Henry B. Eyring (born May 31, 1933) served in the Presiding Bishopric from 1985-1992, as a Seventy from 1992-1995, then was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He has served in the First Presidency since 2007.

"One of the great tributes the Savior can give is to call us 'friends.' We know that He loves with a perfect love all of His Heavenly Father's children. Yet for those who have been faithful in their service with Him, He reserves this special title....

"We become His friends as we serve others for Him. He is the perfect example of the kind of friend we are to become. He wants only what is best for His Heavenly Father's children. Their happiness is His happiness. He feels their sorrow as His own because He has paid the price of all their sins, taken upon Himself all their infirmities, borne all their troubles, and felt all their longings. His motives are pure. He seeks no recognition for Himself but to give all glory to His Heavenly Father. The perfect friend, Jesus Christ, is completely selfless in offering happiness to others.

"Each of us who has made the baptismal covenant has promised to follow His example to bear one another's burdens as He would (see Mosiah 18:8)....

"When we reach out to give succor and to lift a burden, He reaches with us. He will lead us to those in need. He will bless us to feel what they feel. As we persist in our efforts to serve them, we will more and more be given the gift of feeling His love for them. That will give us courage and strength to reach out again and again in faithfulness.

"And, in time and in eternity, we will feel the joy of being welcomed to the company of His faithful friends. I pray for that blessing for all of us and for those we will serve."

- Henry B. Eyring, "Faithful Friends," Ensign, July 2010, pp. 4-6
Click here to read or listen to the full article

The concept of "friend" has lost much of its meaning in our modern colloquial usage. For example, many people have connections on social media called "friends" whom they barely know and have no direct personal contact with. But the concept President Eyring is discussing has much, much more import than that.

The idea of the Lord calling us His friends is a sacred one to me. President Eyring explains that He saves the title "for those who have been faithful in their service with Him." In effect, we have to qualify for the right to be called a friend. Perhaps we see a semblance of that in our relationships with each other; we become closer and more dear to each other when we serve and give.

And that is exactly what President Eyring encourages us to do—follow the Lord's perfect example by giving pure-hearted, loving service to those around us.

The Savior's service was, and is, particularly beautiful and holy because it is utterly and completely unselfish. "He seeks no recognition for Himself but to give all glory to His Heavenly Father. The perfect friend, Jesus Christ, is completely selfless in offering happiness to others." As we learn to serve with pure hearts, we will sense the wonderful joy that comes from following in His steps.

Thomas S. Monson on the importance and benefits of reading

President Thomas S. Monson (born August 21 1927) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1963.  He served as a counselor in the First Presidency with Presidents Benson, Hunter, and Hinckley until becoming Church president in 2008.

"Reading 'out of the best books' stretches our mental muscles and expands our horizons. It takes us out of our mundane worlds and lets us travel as far as our imaginations and the picture painting words of the authors can carry us. Reading keeps us vibrant, it keeps us alive and makes us far more interesting to our marriage mates and our families. It is also a form of insurance against mental aging. We are only as old as we think we are. Some people say that one way to keep alive is to keep interested in many things, and the way to keep interested is to read widely and wisely....

"Reading is one of the true pleasures of life. In our age of mass culture, when so much that we encounter is abridged, adapted, adulterated, shredded and boiled down, and commercialism's loudspeakers are incessantly braying, it is mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down privately with a good book. It is ennobling when that book contains the revealed word of God."

- Thomas S. Monson, "Constant Truths in Changing Times," BYU Commencement, May 26, 1967; see TTSM pp. 33-34

It's always interesting to hear when one of the leading Church authorities quotes from an unusual contemporary source, or even a classic literary work, or makes a historical analogy. That suggests what kinds of materials they might be reading in their personal time. Occasionally they will talk directly about the importance of being broadly informed and educated. This excerpt from President Monson is a great example of that encouragement.

After listing what he perceives as many of the long-term benefits of being widely-read, President Monson talks about the pure enjoyment of the activity ("one of the true pleasures of life"), and how it is "mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down privately with a good book" in a world that is noisy and complicated. What a great reminder!

Ezra Taft Benson on enduring in life through faith in Jesus Christ

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1943, and served as the 13th President of the Church from 1985 until his death in 1994 at age 94.

"The fundamental principle of our religion is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is it expedient that we center our confidence, our hope, and our trust in one solitary figure? Why is faith in Him so necessary to peace of mind in this life and hope in the world to come?

"Our answers to these questions determine whether we face the future with courage, hope, and optimism or with apprehension, anxiety, and pessimism.

"My message and testimony is this: Only Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified to provide that hope, that confidence, and that strength we need to overcome the world and rise above our human failings. To do so, we must place our faith in Him and live by His laws and teachings."

- Ezra Taft Benson, "Jesus Christ: Our Savior and Redeemer," Ensign, June 1990, 2
Click here to read the full message

President Benson asks a vital question: why is faith in Jesus Christ so important to us in this life, and in the life to come? The answer to that question, he says, influences how we view and approach our life and the challenges that arise. It's the difference between "courage, hope, and optimism" and "apprehension, anxiety, and pessimism." Quite a contrast!

So that's the answer to the question: Jesus alone can provide us with the hope and strength that life demands. We must learn to draw on His strength through faith in Him.

Howard W. Hunter on replacing despair with hope and faith

President Howard W. Hunter (1907-1995) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1959.  He served as Church President for only nine months, from June 5, 1994 to his death on March 3, 1995.

"Despair, Doom, and Discouragement are not acceptable views of life for a Latter-day Saint. However high on the charts they are on the hit parade of contemporary news, we must not walk on our lower lip every time a few difficult moments happen to confront us....

"Contrary to what some might say, you have every reason in this world to be happy and to be optimistic and to be confident. Every generation since time began has had some things to overcome and some problems to work out. Furthermore, every individual person has a particular set of challenges which sometimes seem to be earmarked for us individually....

"For Latter-day Saints this is a time of great hope and excitement—one of the greatest eras in the Restoration and therefore one of the greatest eras in any dispensation, inasmuch as ours is the greatest of all dispensations. We need to have faith and hope, two of the great fundamental virtues of any discipleship of Christ. We must continue to exercise confidence in God, inasmuch as that is the first principle in our code of belief. We must believe that God has all power, that he loves us, and that his work will not be stopped or frustrated in our individual lives or in the world generally. He will bless us as a people because he always has blessed us as a people. He will bless us as individuals because he always has blessed us as individuals."

- Howard W. Hunter, "An Anchor to the Souls of Men," CES fireside at BYU, 7 February 1993; see Ensign, Oct. 1993, 70
Click here to read the full talk

Prophets are optimistic. They recognize and acknowledge challenges and difficulties, but also have a sense of the future that doesn't allow for the "three D's" that President Hunter warns of: "Despair, Doom, and Discouragement." Instead, they dwell on "the great fundamental virtues of any discipleship of Christ" which are faith and hope.

These remarks were shared in 1993, more than 23 years ago. Some would argue that our time and our challenges are quite a bit different than what President Hunter dealt with. But the principles of faith and hope in the midst of obstacles are not outdated. This is still "the greatest of all dispensations" and the greatest era of responsibility and potential. God still promises to bless His people, individually and collectively. Our great task is to allow faith and hope to replace doom, despair, and discouragement.

President Gordon B. Hinckley on hope in the greatness of America

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"I should like to say a few words about America.... No land is without its beauty, no people without their virtues, and I hope that you who come from elsewhere will pardon my saying a few words concerning my own native land, America. I know that she has problems. We have heard so much of them for so long. But surely this is a good land, a choice land, a chosen land. To me it is a miracle, a creation of the Almighty....

"I was stirred in my heart by the words of our late, great President Harold B. Lee, who, speaking to a group such as this, said:

"'This nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail.... I have faith in America. You and I must have faith in America if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.' (Deseret News, 27 October 1973.)

"I doubt not that we shall have days of trial.... But I am certain that if we will emphasize the greater good and turn our time and talents from vituperative criticism, from constantly looking for evil, and lift our sights to what may be done to build strength and goodness in our nation, America will continue to go forward with the blessing of the Almighty and stand as an ensign of strength and peace and generosity to all the world."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled," BYU Speeches of the Year, October 29, 1974, pp. 267-68; see Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley pp. 10-11
Click here to read or listen to the full article

In his leadership of a large international organization, President Hinckley was aware and sensitive to the feelings of those who lived in other countries. But in this excerpt he expressed his love and confidence in the country of his birth and upbringing. While he acknowledged America's many problems, he maintained his faith and hope in the future: "surely this is a good land, a choice land, a chosen land."

This quote from his dear friend President Harold B. Lee is instructive:

And again, realistically acknowledging days of trial to come, President Hinckley's optimism in the country and its future focus on the responsibility of individuals to turn away from "vituperative criticism" and instead to lift our eyes in hope and goodness, helping build national strength through our personal righteousness.