President Spencer W. Kimball on the deceptive attractiveness of sin

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

"Whoever said that sin was not fun? Whoever claimed that Lucifer was not handsome, persuasive, easy, friendly? Whoever said that sin was unattractive, undesirable, or nauseating in its acceptance?

"Transgression wears elegant gowns and sparkling apparel. It is highly perfumed, has attractive features, a soft voice. It is found in educated circles and sophisticated groups. It provides sweet and comfortable luxuries. Sin is easy and has a big company of bed fellows. It promises immunity from restrictions, temporary freedoms. It can momentarily satisfy hunger, thirst, desire, urges, passions, wants, without immediately paying the price. But, it begins tiny and grows to monumental proportions. It grows drop by drop, inch by inch."

- Spencer W. Kimball, "The Mistletoe," Conference Report, April 1967, pp. 64-67

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I was 16 years old when President Kimball became the president of the Church. As a youth, I was always eager to hear him speak because of talks like this one (though it was given a few years earlier than that). He often shared very practical counsel, but with a way of expressing that was beautiful and inspiring. I learned to listen beyond the soft, raspy voice that was a result of throat cancer, and hear the power of his expression even when the delivery was not so powerful. It was a good lesson.

In this talk, President Kimball spoke of the mistletoe plant, that grows as a parasite on other trees. It starts as a small, attractive plant, but can eventually take over and destroy the whole host tree, sucking all the nutrition and energy from it. His analogy was to the way sin can overtake our lives—at first small and subtle, but then overpowering in impact.

In our time, 50 years after these words were first shared, the lures of Lucifer and his distractions are even more subtle and dangerous, and perhaps even more powerful in destroying life and hope. How carefully we must heed the prophetic warnings as they help us see the dangers that lie ahead from the "elegant gowns and sparkling apparel" of the world's ways!

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

President Harold B. Lee on the blessing of communication with God

President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1941. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1970-1972, then as Church president from July 1972 until his passing less than 18 months later in December 1973.

"One of the most prized of all the possessions that we can have or the prized knowledge that we can possess is that the Lord hears and answers prayers—or, to put it in another way, that we learn how to talk with God.

"Praying is not just a matter of saying words, as some various churches would teach, but to recognize that God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, are living, real personalities and that through the ministry of the other member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, we can communicate with Him, our Heavenly Father, and receive an answer to our inquiry and strength for our days."

- Harold B. Lee, Address to the Lausanne Switzerland conference, 26 Sept. 1972, Historical Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2.  See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, p. 53

This is an interesting question: what is the most "prized" knowledge to have or thing to possess? President Lee counts the gift of prayer high on that list. But not just going through the motions of prayer; having the knowledge that God both hears and answers, that the communication is real and alive:

He goes on to elaborate that prayer as he considers it includes understanding the nature of the Father and the Son, and that the Holy Ghost is a part of the process of facilitating that communication. In reality, we are involved with all three as we learn to communicate and "receive an answer to our inquiry and strength for our days."

Elder Bruce R. McConkie on the power and blessings from prayer

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (July 29, 1915 - April 19, 1985) served as a Seventy from 1946-1972 when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve.  He served in that assignment until his death from cancer at age 69.

"It is pleasing to that God whose we are when we fast and pray and seek his blessings; when we plead with all the energy of our souls for those things we so much desire; when, as Paul says, we 'come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' (Heb. 4:16.)

"Prayer is the way and means, given us by our Creator, whereby we can counsel and communicate with him. It is one of the chief cornerstones of pure and perfect worship.

"In prayer we speak to the Lord, and he speaks to us. It is our privilege to have our voices heard in the courts above and to hear the answering voice of the Lord conveyed by the power of his Spirit.

"Prayer changes our lives. Through it we draw near to the Lord, and he reaches out his finger and touches us, so we never again are the same.

"Prayer is a great tower of strength, a pillar of unending righteousness, a mighty force that moves mountains and saves souls. Through it the sick are healed, the dead are raised, and the Holy Spirit is poured out without measure upon the faithful.

"In prayer we bind ourselves by solemn covenants to love and serve the Lord all our days. In it we pay our devotions and offer our sacraments to the Most High."

- Bruce R. McConkie, "Patterns of Prayer," Ensign, May 1984, pp. 32-34
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In my youth, I loved listening to Elder McConkie. His words were always so sure, his voice so bold and clear in expounding doctrine and testifying of truth.

This explanation of the power of prayer and the role it can play in our lives is insightful and inspiring. Once we begin to grasp the blessings available through this heavenly gift, we truly will be willing to "come boldly unto the throne of grace."

Two more thoughts from Elder McConkie's quote impressed me. First, prayer provides the means through which "the Holy Spirit is poured out without measure upon the faithful." That is a gift to be sought after and prized as we deal with the challenges of mortality. The price to pay for the gift is small in comparison to that which is returned.

And then, "In prayer we bind ourselves by solemn covenants to love and serve the Lord all our days." What a beautiful expression of the sacred relationship we develop with our Father through sincere and regular communication. How deeply fortunate is the man or woman who establishes this habit and begins to receive the blessings that follow!

President Joseph Fielding Smith on living in the world but avoiding the world

Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) was the son of Joseph F. Smith, 6th president of the Church, and grandson of Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph. He was called as an apostle in 1910, and served as the 10th president of the Church from 1970 until his death in 1972 at age 95.

"In the wonderful prayer of our Redeemer, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John—I can hardly read this chapter without tears coming to my eyes—wherein our Lord, in praying to his Father in the tenderness of all his soul because he knew the hour had come for him to offer himself as a sacrifice, prayed for his disciples. In that prayer he said,

"'I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

"'They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

"'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.' (John 17:15-17.)

"If we are living the religion which the Lord has revealed and which we have received, we do not belong to the world. We should have no part in all its foolishness. We should not partake of its sins and its errors—errors of philosophy and errors of doctrine, errors in regard to government, or whatever those errors may be—we have no part in it.

"The only part we have is the keeping of the commandments of God. That is all, being true to every covenant and every obligation that we have entered into and taken upon ourselves."

- Joseph Fielding Smith, "Fulfillment of Prophecy," Conference Report, Apr. 1952, pp. 26-28
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This message from President Smith addresses one of the great challenges we face. We live in a world that seems to be increasingly contrary to the laws and principles of the gospel. We have no choice but to be exposed to those influences. How do we manage to stay above them, protected from them?

The key, according to President Smith, is simply to live our religion and obey the commandments of God. As we focus our efforts and dedicate ourselves to the principles of the Lord's gospel, we can be in the world but "have no part in all its foolishness."

Note that we don't just avoid the actions and deeds of the world that are contrary to the appropriate behaviors the gospel defines for us, but we also avoid "errors of philosophy and errors of doctrine, errors in regard to government, or whatever those errors may be." How critical it is that we are "true to every covenant and every obligation that we have entered into and taken upon ourselves."

President Joseph F. Smith on finding the rest of the Lord in this life

President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) was the son of Joseph's brother Hyrum. He was ordained an apostle in 1866 at age 28, and served as a counselor to Brigham Young and the three presidents who followed.  He became the 6th president of the Church in 1901, and served until his death in 1918 at age 80.

"The particular part that I wish to call your attention to is that which refers to 'entering into the rest of the Lord' (see Moro 7:3.); not unrest, fear, doubt, and trembling. What does it mean to enter into the rest of the Lord? Speaking for myself, it means that through the love of God I have been won over to Him, so that I can feel at rest in Christ, that I may no more be disturbed by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning and craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; and that I am established in the knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ, so that no power can turn me aside from the straight and narrow path that leads back into the presence of God, to enjoy exaltation in His glorious kingdom; that from this time henceforth I shall enjoy that rest until I shall rest with Him in the heavens.

"I desire to impress this thought upon your minds, for I want you to understand that this is the meaning intended to be conveyed by the words, 'entering into the rest of God.' Let me assure you that that man who is not thoroughly established in the doctrine of Christ, who has not yielded his whole soul unto the Lord, and to the Gospel He has taught to the world, has not yet entered into that rest. He is still at sea, so to speak, wandering, unstable, lacking firmness, lacking the faith that cannot be moved, ready to be overtaken by the cunning and craftiness of him who lies in wait to deceive and mislead into error and darkness.

"While he that has received the testimony of Jesus Christ in his heart, he that has yielded his all to the kingdom of God and to the will of the Father, is so established. His heart is fixed; his mind is made up; doubts have been dispelled; fears have all been removed; he knows in whom to trust; he is thoroughly established in his purposes and in his determination that, as for him and his house he will serve God, keep His commandments and walk, as far as it is possible for human creatures to walk, in purity of life, in honor, fidelity, and uprightness before the Lord."

- Joseph F. Smith, "At Rest in Christ," address at Provo, Utah, on 13 January 1907; see Millennial Star, 30 May 1907, 337-49
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Too many face life with "unrest, fear, doubt, and trembling." President Smith suggests that's the alternate to living in "the rest of the Lord." When we "rest in Christ" we are at peace, untroubled by the forces of the world around us, moving untroubled through the world's tribulations and the various "winds of doctrine."

The key is to be "established in the doctrine of Christ" and to have "yielded his whole soul unto the Lord." So the process begins with learning, studying, pondering the doctrine; and then applying it in a way that brings total devotion. The result is that peaceful state when the man so committed has doubts and fears dispelled, and is committed to God in obedience and service. He then is able to "walk, as far as it is possible for human creatures to walk, in purity of life, in honor, fidelity, and uprightness before the Lord." That's a beautiful and treasured state.

The "rest of the Lord" can begin in this life, and not just in the eternities!

Elder Richard L. Evans on consistently living our beliefs

Elder Richard L. Evans (1906-1971) served as a Seventy from 1938-1953, when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.  He died in 1971 at age 65.  He was known as "the voice of the Tabernacle Choir" from the beginning of its broadcasts in 1929 until his passing.

"I am reminded of the story of Jacob in the Old Testament, in Genesis, when he was traveling in a strange land. Up to that time he had had limited experience and had been held close to home ties. But in this strange place he awoke one night after a dream and said. 'Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.' (Genesis 28:16) I would like our young men to remember that wherever they are, God is in that place and they must take Him into their confidence and conduct themselves in His ways.

"We cannot departmentalize the eternal record of our lives. It is one continued story. As Latter-day Saints we don't behave one way in the army and one way in business and another in Church. That is, not if we give heed to our principles. We do not behave one way at home and another way away from home. Wherever we are, remember that God is in this place also, and when the final record is written and read, all that we have done and thought, at home and abroad, in all the occupations and in all the pursuits that we may be called upon to undertake, is all a part of the eternal record of all of us, and it stands unalterably for us or against us."

- Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1941, p. 53
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I am impressed by that wonderful Old Testament insight from Jacob's life. We can find God in many places where we may not expect to see Him, and should never assume that He is not near. We just may not have the spiritual sensitivity and maturity to notice Him at times; what a challenge to work on!

The idea of "departmentalizing" our lives also rings true. We are not part-time disciples. We must look to Him in every thought (see D&C 6:36) and every deed.

Elder Jeffrey R, Holland told more recently of an experience when LDS members behaved badly as members of an audience at a sporting event, saying they "check their religion at the door" so they can enjoy the game with vocal abuse and taunting. Elder Holland stated:

"Lesson number one for the establishment of Zion in the 21st century: You never 'check your religion at the door.' Not ever.

"My young friends, that kind of discipleship cannot be—it is not discipleship at all. As the prophet Alma has taught the young women of the Church to declare every week in their Young Women theme, we are 'to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in,' not just some of the time, in a few places, or when our team has a big lead."

- Jeffrey R. Holland, "Israel, Israel, God Is Calling," CES Devotional broadcast from Dixie State College, St. George Utah, September 9, 2012

Elder Evans reminds us that "we don't behave one way in the army and one way in business and another in Church." God is in every place where we are, and we must behave as one who understands that vital principle.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on finding peace in a troubled world

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) served as a Seventy from 1976 to 1986, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1986 until his passing in 2008 at age 91.

"While we yearn for peace, we live in a world burdened with hunger, pain, anguish, loneliness, sickness, and sorrow. We see divorce with all of its attendant conflict and heartache, especially among the innocent children caught in the middle. Wayward, disobedient children cause their parents grief and anxiety. Financial problems cause distress and loss of self-respect. Some loved ones slip into sin and wickedness, forsake their covenants, and walk in their 'own way, and after the image of [their] own god.' (D&C 1:16.)

"The value of peace within our hearts cannot be measured. When we are at peace, we can be free of worry and fear, knowing that with the Lord's help, we can do all that is expected or required of us. We can approach every day, every task, and every challenge with assurance and confidence in the outcome. We have freedom of thought and action, freedom to be happy.... Few, if any, blessings from God are more valuable to our spiritual health than the reward of peace within. In modern-day revelation the Savior said, 'But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.' (D&C 59:23.)

"Despite dismal conditions in the world and the personal challenges that come into every life, peace within can be a reality. We can be calm and serene regardless of the swirling turmoil all about us. Attaining harmony within ourselves depends upon our relationship with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and our willingness to emulate him by living the principles he has given us. He has extended to us an invitation: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' (Matt. 11:28-30.)"

- Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Peace Within," Ensign, May 1991, pp. 36-38
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Church leaders frequently acknowledge the challenges of our times; they are aware of the difficulties we face. While we sometimes assume they "have it all together" and are beyond such problems in areas of "hunger, pain, anguish, loneliness, sickness, and sorrow," I am certain they either face or have faced many of them, and they see challenges faced by their acquaintances and own loved ones. Add to these the situations of divorce, wayward children, financial struggles, those who choose to forsake covenants, and we have a pretty good picture of the difficulties of living in our time.

But there is hope! With the Lord's help, we can find peace in the world, in spite of these challenges. To be "calm and serene regardless of the swirling turmoil all about us" is the invitation Elder Wirthlin presents. That "peace within" comes from "doing the works of righteousness."

So much depends on our relationship with the Lord, our understanding of His plan, and our level of commitment to His path. We don't choose the trials and adversity we face; but we choose whether to have peace in our life.