President Gordon B. Hinckley on Valentine's Day and true love

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.

"When I was a little boy, we children traded paper hearts at school on Valentine’s Day. At night we dropped them at the doors of our friends, stamping on the porch and then running in the dark to hide.

"Almost without exception those valentines had printed on their face, 'I love you.' I have since come to know that love is more than a paper heart. Love is of the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is more than the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arches across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, church, and neighbors.

"I am one who believes that love, like faith, is a gift of God....

"To all of us who would be his disciples, he has given the great commandment, 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.' (John 13:34.)

"If the world is to be improved, the process of love must make a change in the hearts of men. It can do so when we look beyond self to give our love to God and others, and do so with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "And the Greatest of These Is Love," Ensign, March 1984, p. 3
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President Hinckley originally shared this message in a Valentine's Day devotional at BYU (February 14, 1978). The reminiscences from his youth are characteristic of his warm and personal approach. But the insights he shares of his impressions about the meaning of "love" are very thought-provoking. While the emotion is too often lessened and cheapened in colloquial use, it truly has a far-reaching and powerful meaning:

President Hinckley's conclusion speaks of the importance of love as the key to bring about change and improvement in the world. It starts with individual hearts, as each heart is changed and learns to love others as Christ loved us. Once we reflect His perfect love in our interactions with those around us, our individual world truly will be changed, and the broader world we are a part of will begin to feel the impact as well.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)

President Russell M. Nelson on help in today's world

President Russell M. Nelson (b. Sept 9, 1924) was an internationally-renowned heart surgeon when he was called to serve as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1984. He was set apart as president of the Quorum of Twelve on July 15, 2015.

"Problems abound in this world because it is populated by imperfect people. Their objectives and desires are heavily influenced by their faith or lack of it. Many put other priorities ahead of God. Some challenge the relevance of religion in modern life. As in every age, so today there are those who mock or decry the free exercise of religion. Some even blame religion for any number of the world's ills. Admittedly, there have been times when atrocities have been committed in the name of religion. But living the Lord's pure religion, which means striving to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ, is a way of life and a daily commitment that will provide divine guidance. As you practice your religion, you are exercising your faith. You are letting your faith show....

"The scriptures provide one of the best ways to find our course and stay on it. Scriptural knowledge also provides precious protection....

"My dear brothers and sisters, what are we missing in our lives if we are 'ever learning, [but] never able to come to the knowledge of the truth' (2 Timothy 3:7)? We can gain great knowledge from the scriptures and obtain inspiration through prayers of faith.

"Doing so will help us as we make daily decisions. Especially when the laws of man are created and enforced, God's laws must ever be our standard. In dealing with controversial issues, we should first search for God's guidance."

- Russell M. Nelson, "Let Your Faith Show," Ensign, May 2014, pp. 29-32
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It seems the world in which we live is becoming more and more secularized; in too many places and too many lives, religion no longer plays a significant role. President Nelson laments the lack of faith; but among the faithful, he is convinced that by living "pure religion" and "striving to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ" we open the way to receiving guidance from above.

The concept of "practicing your religion" or "exercising your faith" implies working to develop or strengthen them, as if exercising a muscle or improving a skill. Those are things true disciples must be eager to do, and never hesitate to let faith show.

But in the struggle against secularization, President Nelson counsels that scripture study and scriptural knowledge "provides precious protection" for our lives.

Our resistance to modern secularization will be much more effective as we have a stronger foundation of scriptural understanding. This is a very timely warning for our day.

President Gordon B. Hinckley on living in gratitude to God

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.

"Gratitude is of the very essence of worship—thanksgiving to the God of Heaven, who has given us all that we have that is good.

"As you know, I served as a counselor to President Ezra Taft Benson, and I was with him many times when he prayed. He did not ask for very much in his prayers. His prayers were expressions of gratitude. Be thankful. When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives. Be grateful. Be thankful to the Almighty for His wonderful blessings upon you. You have all that this great age has to offer, and beyond that the marvelous blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. How lucky can you be. Walk with appreciation and respect for the blessings of life and happiness which you enjoy."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Regional Conference, 4/28/96; see TGBH (1997), p. 250

This was a frequent theme for President Hinckley. He reminded us regularly that there are blessings that come to a grateful heart.

It's interesting to ponder what true worship is. Standing in awe and admiration of a divine Being far greater than ourselves seems only part of the action; but to express our deep and sincere appreciation to that Being, not just in words and thoughts, but in actions and emulation, seems to complete the expression.

In this excerpt, President Hinckley describes what a life of gratitude looks like—the simple humility that will accompany a person who is truly grateful to God for the blessings that have come.

To truly "walk with gratitude" is more than just occasionally remembering to feel or express it. It implies a constant, consistent, ongoing attitude that expresses itself in all we do.

President Spencer W. Kimball on faith during trials of life

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was ordained an apostle in 1943 and served as President of the Church from 1973 to 1985.

"If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

"Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

"If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

"Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood.

"'For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things... righteousness... wickedness... holiness... misery... good... bad....' (2 Nephi 2:11.)

"Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery....

"I love the verse of 'How Firm a Foundation'—

"'When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.' [See Hymns, no. 5]"

- Spencer W. Kimball, "Tragedy or Destiny," in Faith Precedes the Miracle, 97-100. Adapted from a BYU devotional address, December 6, 1955
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Click here to listen to a recording of the talk

In this wonderful, memorable address, President Kimball considered the classic problem of evil in the world. Why does a loving God allow so much suffering and sorrow to exist? The deeply thoughtful answers President Kimball offers give a powerful perspective on our mortal experience that can bless us as we struggle through times of challenge, disappointment, or pain.

A critical part of the answer lies in understanding the eternal duration of our lives, from pre-existence to an everlasting future. The experiences of this life are a part of the training and schooling required to prepare us for the eternities, and we entered this life with full awareness of the coming struggles. We accepted a plan that included the requirement of "free agency" for each individual, allowing us to grow and progress as we learned to make correct choices.

But if every prayer were granted immediately and all suffering relieved, how different life would be! We would lose the chance to grow through the trials, to learn the lessons that a mortal experience teaches.

"Suffering can make saints of people"—can, if they learn to respond with the perspective of eternity and with faith in God's wisdom and support. Truly, God may call us to pass through "deep waters;" but He promises to "sanctify to thee thy deepest distress" and those struggles can become holy.

Incidentally, it's wonderful to listen to the recording linked above (at the end of the quote), and hear President Kimball's beautiful, strong voice share the remarks. Within 2 years of giving this address, cancer of the throat would require the removal of most of President Kimball's vocal cords, leaving him with the harsh, gravelly, whispered voice that the Saints would come to love as a sign of his own patient endurance of trials and suffering.

President Howard W. Hunter on expressing appreciation before it's too late

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.

"We should never delay expressing appreciation. Some time ago I had a lesson of gratitude taught to me. I was in the mission home in San Francisco when the mission president received a telephone call and said, 'I must cross the bay and take a message to an elder that his father has just passed away.' I went with him. We crossed over the Bay Bridge, up to Berkeley, and stopped at an apartment building. A fine-looking elder came to the door. He was excited to see his mission president and said, 'Oh, president, come in; we want to tell you what happened this morning.' The president said, 'Elder, sit down with us for a moment; we have a sad message to deliver to you.'

"I will never forget that occasion as the young man's head fell into his arms and he commenced to sob. After we had comforted him he said, 'My father was the greatest man I have ever known. I have never told him that. I don't believe I realized it in my years of growing up, but since I have come into the mission field a maturity has come to me to make me appreciate my father and my mother. I decided last week I was going to sit down and write my father a letter and tell him how much I loved him and how much he has meant to me, but now it is too late.' He commenced to sob again.

"My heart went out to that young man, but I thought how typical that is of many of us. The letter we intended to write, the word of appreciation we intended to express, the prayers we intended to offer when we had more time to express to the Lord our appreciation for his goodness. We are grateful for all of these things that are done for us, of course, but in our busy life we don't always express appreciation for what others do for us."

- Howard W. Hunter, New Zealand Area Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 11/27/79; see THWH, p. 94

This was a touching and poignant message from President Hunter. Someone waited too long to share feelings that should have been expressed. Book of Mormon prophets talked several times about "procrastinat[ing] the day of your repentance" (Alma 13:27) but we don't usually think about procrastinating the day of gratitude "until it is everlastingly too late" (Helaman 13:38).

What a wonderful reminder. We should be looking for every opportunity to express that gratitude to those we love, those who have helped and blessed us, set examples, made sacrifices, inspired, lifted, encouraged. Surely there are almost countless people that fall in those categories for all of us!

President Thomas S. Monson on the classroom of the home

President Thomas S. Monson (b. 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.

"Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, 'Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one's own family.'

"A happy home is but an earlier heaven. President George Albert Smith asked, 'Do we want our homes to be happy? If we do, let them be the abiding place of prayer, thanksgiving and gratitude.' (In Conference Report, Apr. 1944, p. 32.)"

- Thomas S. Monson, "Precious Children—A Gift from God," Ensign, Nov 1991, 68
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"The classroom of the home"—President Monson makes good use of this expression and imagery. Many of the important lessons of life are taught and learned as a family interacts together in that setting. And I think it's not just the children who are learning; adults continue to learn as well, throughout their lives, in that special "laboratory":

It's not hard to extrapolate on the situation when home life deteriorates, as it has in so many ways since President Monson shared this thought in 1991, more than 25 years ago. The lessons he describes are not being learned in far too many home settings in our time. Crucial attitudes and beliefs that should be learned are missing. And hope is destroyed more than it is fostered. Society is definitely impacted.

On the other hand, there are still many who can testify to the statement, "A happy home is but an earlier heaven." As we carefully retain the practices of prayer, thanksgiving, and gratitude, we can be blessed with that joy and peace.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell on mortal vs. eternal perspective

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004) served as a Seventy from 1976-1981, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve until his death from cancer in 2004.

"God is infinitely more interested in our having a place in His kingdom than with our spot on a mortal organizational chart. We may brood over our personal span of control, but He is concerned with our capacity for self-control. Father wants us to come home, bringing our real resume, ourselves!

"Even so, our mortal jealousies still occur regularly over money, turf, a slight, or the 'robes' and the 'fatted calf' given to others (see Luke 15:22-23)....

"Yes, we are free to choose the mortal perks with their short shelf life. However, ahead lies that great moment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! (See Mosiah 27:31; D&C 88:104). Then the galleries and the mortal thrones will be empty. Even the great and spacious building will fall—and resoundingly! (see 1 Ne. 8:26-28). Then, too, those who have lived without God in the world will confess that God is God! (see Mosiah 27:31). Meanwhile, His character and attributes should evoke adoration and emulation from us.

"Isn't it marvelous, brothers and sisters, that God, who knows everything, still spends time listening to our prayers? Compared to that cosmic fact, what does the world really have to offer us? One round of applause, one fleeting moment of adulation, or an approving glance from a phantom Caesar?

"May God bless us to see things as they really are and as they really will be (see Jacob 4:13; D&C 93:24), and may we give the glory and honor and praise unto God."

- Neal A. Maxwell, "The Tugs and Pulls of the World," Ensign, Nov. 2000, pp. 35-37
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This is a classic message by Elder Maxwell. The talk's title explains the theme: how the world tries to pull us away, to distract us from what really matters in the eternity scheme. One of those "tugs and pulls" for many people is the desire for public recognition. We want to be high on the chart, with the power and prestige that accompany the position. But Elder Maxwell explains that such "mortal perks" are fleeting and short-lived. It's the ultimate, eternal, divine recognition that matters more.

Can there be valid reasons for desiring a position of influence or leadership? Can it be done with a pure heart? Perhaps. This is reminiscent of Jacob's counsel about seeking riches:

"But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
"And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted."
(Jacob 2:18-19)

Just as a person with a solid foundation of faith might desire riches in order to bless others and further the work of God's kingdom, so he might desire leadership opportunities or chances to help direct the work with the same motivation.

Elder Maxwell then reminds us of the astonishing love of an all-powerful God, as manifested in His willingness to listen and support us in our needs and trials:

Following God's example of service and love will always keep us on the right path to eternal progress.