President Gordon B. Hinckley on finding peace as we forgive one another

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.

"Are not the words of Abraham Lincoln beautiful which he spoke out of the tragedy of a terrible civil war: 'With malice toward none, with charity for all,... let us... bind up the... wounds.'

"My brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds—oh, the many wounds that have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances, by scheming plans to 'get even' with those who may have wronged us. We all have a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all have the power to rise above it, if we will 'clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.' (D&C 88:125.)

"'To err is human, to forgive divine.' (Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, 2:1711.) There is no peace in reflecting on the pain of old wounds. There is peace only in repentance and forgiveness. This is the sweet peace of the Christ, who said, 'blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.' (Matt. 5:9.)"

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "Of You It Is Required to Forgive," Ensign, June 1991, p. 2
Click here to read the full article

What does it mean to have "charity for all" in our lives? Is that just an encouragement to be generous with our means in helping those in need? Or does it speak of some higher emotion or attitude that should undergird our interactions?

President Hinckley suggests that we all have situations in our lives where experiences of the past have taken away the "Christlike love" from our hearts and replaced it with a "spirit of revenge" or a subtle need to "get even" with others. His invitation is to "rise above" those feelings and replace them with true charity.

True peace in life comes only as we learn to repent and to forgive others, for the two are certainly linked. "He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven." (Thomas Fuller)  "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32)

Elder Richard G. Scott on the power of making decisions and commitments

Elder Richard G. Scott (1928-2015) served as a Seventy from 1977-1988, when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.  He passed away in September 2015 at the age of 86.

"My parents gave me a beautiful watch for high school graduation. I looked at it frequently because of the love it communicated. Each night I carefully cleaned and wound it. As years passed, I often neglected to wind the watch. Consequently, it stopped being useful, often when I most needed it.

"Today I use an automatic watch. It is consistent and always gives me the correct time. It is totally dependable. I never need to worry whether I can count on it or not.

"I realize that as with watches, there are differences in youth. Some need to be wound up, while others are automatic because of important decisions already made.

"I commend you who are automatic, who have committed to be true to the Lord and to live by faith when you cannot see the end from the beginning. When faced with choices, you select the path consistent with the teachings of the Savior. I know you are sometimes criticized by those who call you fanatical, who cannot understand why you don't do what the crowd does. Hold fast to your principles.

"You cannot today remotely imagine what that decision to be unwaveringly obedient to the Lord will allow you to accomplish in life. Your quiet, uncompromising determination to live a righteous life will couple you to inspiration and power beyond your capacity now to understand."

- Richard G. Scott, "Making the Right Decisions," Ensign, May 1991, pp. 34-35
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

Elder Scott shares an analogy about an old-fashioned watch that requires regular winding and maintenance, and a newer "automatic watch" (presumably battery-powered) that was "totally dependable" even when he neglected it.

In his comparison, some people require regular "winding up" in order to live by their principles and make good choices. They need to be reminded or coached in important times. But he praises those who have become "automatic" in the sense that they have made deep commitments "to be true to the Lord and to live by faith" even in times of challenge and uncertainty.

The key is to always strive to "select the path consistent with the teachings of the Savior." That requires familiarity with that path; when the difficult choices or challenges arise, the "automatic" person can quickly recognize the underlying principles at play and apply Gospel teachings to make proper choices.

I remember President Spencer W. Kimball talking about this principle. For example:

"We hope we can help our young men and young women to realize, even sooner than they do now, that they need to make certain decisions only once. I have mentioned at this pulpit before some determinations made early in my life, which decisions were such a help to me because I did not have to remake those decisions perpetually. We can push some things away from us once and have done with them! We can make a single decision about certain things that we will incorporate in our lives and then make them ours—without having to brood and redecide a hundred times what it is we will do and what we will not do."
- Spencer W. Kimball, "Boys Need Heroes Close By," General Conference, April 1976

The commitments we make early in the process of life will bless us immeasurably. The commitments we make at any point in the process will bless every step that follows.

President Howard W. Hunter on perspective and comfort in life's challenges

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.

"'For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, ...righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad' (2 Ne. 2:11).

"I have taken great comfort over the years in this explanation of some of life's pain and disappointment. I take even greater comfort that the greatest of men and women, including the Son of God, have faced such opposition in order to better understand the contrast between righteousness and wickedness, holiness and misery, good and bad. From out of the dark, damp confinement of Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith learned that if we are called to pass through tribulation, it is for our growth and experience and will ultimately be counted for our good (see D&C 122:5-8).

"Where one door shuts, another opens, even for a prophet in prison. We are not always wise enough nor experienced enough to judge adequately all of the possible entries and exits. The mansion that God prepares for each of his beloved children may have only certain hallways and banisters, special carpets and curtains that he would have us pass on our way to possess it....

"At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see."

- Howard W. Hunter, "The Opening and Closing of Doors," Ensign, Nov 1987, p. 54
Click here to read the full article

Do we find it comforting when opposition is encountered in life? President Hunter did! When you see opposition, the implication is that there is the potential for great righteousness, holiness, and good to be brought to pass. Like Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, we can learn that passing through tribulation means a chance for growth and experience that can bring good to our lives. That requires a complete and solid perspective of God's plan and our place in it.

The final sentence is a great key: peace and comfort come as we recognize and remember that "God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see." That kind of faith can carry us through all the challenges and opposition we encounter.

President George Q. Cannon obtaining living water through prayer

President George Q. Cannon (1827-1901) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1860. He served as counselor in the First Presidency to Brigham Young beginning in 1873, and then to the next three presidents, until his death in 1901.

"Prayer is to the soul like the irrigating stream to our dry and parched fields and orchards. Prayer nourishes, strengthens and imparts vitality to the seed. The seed grows under the influence of prayer. But where prayer is neglected, the results are just as we see them when we neglect to irrigate our fields and orchards. That which is planted there begins to wither and dry up.

"So it is with the word of God in the human soul; it must be watered by the Spirit of God. Prayer must be exercised in order to invoke the power and blessing of God to rest upon it. Then the seed grows; the tree grows and flourishes; its branches spread abroad and fill the whole man, and he knows that it is the word of God that he has received. He has a living and abiding testimony in his heart concerning it, and doubt has no room within him. But let him neglect his prayers, let him neglect to cultivate the seed and to watch over it, then it begins to wither, and he begins to doubt and to ask himself whether this is indeed the work of God. This is not because the seed was not good; it is because of the neglect of the individual."

- George Q. Cannon, Deseret Weekly Feb. 17, 1895; see Gospel Truth 1:345; or Millennial Star Aug. 6, 1898, 58:501
Click here to read the full talk 

In our time, we may not be quite as familiar with the processes of irrigation as President Cannon's contemporaries were. But we understand how crucial it is for plants to get appropriate amounts of water; many of us have seen a houseplant or a lawn wither and dry from lack of moisture.

President Cannon uses this analogy to link our spiritual growth to the need for prayer. Our soul needs to be "watered by the Spirit of God" and prayer is the mechanism to enable that watering.

When testimonies falter or faith grows weak, President Cannon's assertion is certainly relevant. Without the things that cultivate and nourish the seeds and plants, they will wither and die. We must never cut off the divine source of Living Water (see John 4:7-15) from our lives!

President Henry B. Eyring on turning to God in times of personal trial

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.

"In the depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out: 'O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?' (D&C 121:1.) Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of 'Thy will be done' (Matthew 6:10), create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time.

"Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him. That is not easy in a world where the opinions of other human beings can have such an effect on our motives. But it will help us recognize this truth: God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children....

"Jesus Christ lives, knows us, watches over us, and cares for us. In moments of pain, loneliness, or confusion, we do not need to see Jesus Christ to know that He is aware of our circumstances and that His mission is to bless."

- Henry B. Eyring, "Where Is the Pavilion?", Ensign, November 2011, pp. 72-75
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

I've always been moved by the despair expressed in Joseph Smith's words from Liberty Jail—the apparent feelings of loneliness, solitude, isolation. For some reason, God felt far, far away at that moment. For the first six verses of the section he pours out his soul in his sadness and concern, until the comforting response comes: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment..." (D&C 121:7).

President Eyring acknowledges that many of us have similar feelings of "personal anguish" at times, but he points out that God is not hiding from us; we have temporarily blocked our view or our access. In reality, the problem happens when we are "unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time." That is when we most need to examine our own hearts, to see if they are caught up in selfish desires, or sincerely open to God's will for us.

Elder Eldred G. Smith on our personal ability to bind Satan

Eldred G. Smith (1907-2013) served as "Patriarch to the Church" from 1947 to 1979, during which time he was sustained as a prophet, seer, and revelator along with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. He was then released and designated an emeritus general authority; he was not replaced as presiding patriarch. Elder Smith passed away on April 4, 2013 at age 106.

"Many other scriptures refer to the thousand years of wonderful, glorious conditions on the earth, because Lucifer, Satan, the devil, will be bound.

"The scriptures say he will be 'bound with a chain' and 'put into a bottomless pit.' To me, these are symbolical terms. I cannot quite conceive of steel chains or pits that could hold Satan. The only power I know of that will bind Satan, or render him powerless, is righteous living.

"The war that started in heaven has not ended yet and shall not end until everyone has proved the extent of his ability to resist Satan. Even Jesus Christ had to bind Satan when he was tempted in the wilderness. Satan had no power over him, because Jesus resisted his temptations. Then the record says, '...he departed from him for a season.' (Luke 4:13)

"When you have resisted a temptation until it no longer becomes a temptation, then to that extent, Satan has lost his power over you, and as long as you do not yield to him, to that degree he is bound.

"For instance, if you have learned to pay tithing until it is no burden or no real temptation anymore, then to that extent you have bound Satan. The same is true in keeping the Word of Wisdom or living the laws of chastity, or the other laws of the gospel. Satan becomes powerless to you in that field.

"Then step by step, you may bind Satan now; you don't have to wait for the millennial reign.

"This has to start first on an individual basis, each person individually; then a group, then several groups, and so on until the whole earth is full of righteousness.

"This is how I believe the conditions described during the millennial reign will be developed.

"Today is the time to prepare for the ushering in of that glorious time on the earth. This is why the gospel has been restored, with the plan, the keys, and the authority to administer therein.

"Then by each individual binding Satan through his righteous living, we can bring about the glorious conditions like those spoken of which will exist during the millennial reign."

- Eldred G. Smith, "Choose Ye This Day," Conference Report, April 1970, pp. 142-143
Click here to read the full talk

When the scriptures talk of Satan being bound during the Millenium, to what are they referring? Elder Smith gives a wonderful interpretation. Satan isn't bound by external force or physical restraint; he is bound when those he tries to influence refuse to allow him any power. It's "righteous living" that binds him. And we can begin that now, in our daily lives and challenges:

I also appreciate the insight that any "binding" happens first individually, then in groups, and then throughout the earth. Our individual efforts to bind Satan from our personal lives, through righteous living, are the first steps to "bring about the glorious conditions like those spoken of which will exist during the millennial reign."

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

President Boyd K. Packer on finding spiritual protection through the scriptures

President Boyd K. Packer (1924-2015) served as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve (a position that no longer exists) from 1961 to 1970, when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.  He served as president of that Quorum from 1994 until his death on July 3, 2015 at age 90.

"The scriptures hold the keys to spiritual protection. They contain the doctrine and laws and ordinances that will bring each child of God to a testimony of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer....

"Make scripture reading a part of your regular routine, and the blessings will follow. There is in the scriptures a voice of warning, but there is also great nourishment....

"The gospel teaches us to be happy, to have faith rather than fear, to find hope and overcome despair, to leave darkness and turn toward the light of the everlasting gospel.

"Paul and others warned about the trials of our time and the days yet to come. But peace can be settled in the heart of each who turns to the scriptures and unlocks the promises of protection and redemption that are taught therein. We invite all to turn to the Savior Jesus Christ, to His teachings as found in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

"I bear certain witness of the scriptures as a key to our spiritual protection. I also bear witness of the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, 'that through him all might be saved' (D&C 76:42) who will be saved."

- Boyd K. Packer, "The Key to Spiritual Protection," Ensign, Nov 2013, pp. 26-28
Click here to read or listen to the full article

President Packer was a devoted student of the scriptures. He not only taught the importance of faithful personal study, he exemplified it in his life, and taught with power because his teachings were founded on the scriptures.

This is an important insight. We read scriptures to learn about doctrine, laws, and ordinances. But we also read them for "spiritual protection" and the "great nourishment" they provide to aid in our daily challenges:

That promise has been given and reiterated many times: blessings will follow as we study the scriptures regularly and consistently. We obtain the greatest nourishment as we develop habits and patterns of feasting. We learn to live with happiness, hope, and faith; fear and despair are controlled and replaced as we "leave darkness and turn toward the light of the everlasting gospel."