By Small and Simple Things

"A few years ago, I spoke with a young bishop who was spending hours each week counseling with members of his ward. he made a striking observation. The problems that members of his ward faced, he said, were those faced by Church members everywhere - issues such as how to establish a happy marriage; struggles with balancing work, family, and Church duties; challenges with the Word of Wisdom, with employment, or with pornography; or trouble gaining peace about a Church policy or historical question they didn't understand.

His counsel to ward members very often included getting back to simple practices of faith, such as studying the Book of Mormon... paying tithing, and serving in the Church with devotion. Frequently, however, their response to him was one of skepticism; "I don't agree with you, Bishop. We all know those are good things to do. We talk about those things all the time in the Church. But I'm not sure you're understanding me. What does doing any of those things have to do with the issues I'm facing?"

It's a fair question. Over time, that young bishop and I have observed that those who are deliberate about doing the "small and simple things" (Alma 37:6) - obeying in seemingly little ways - are blessed and, in fact, may seem totally unrelated to them. It may seem hard to draw a connection between the basic daily acts of obedience and solutions to the big, complicated problems we face. But they are related.... Small acts of faith, even then they seem insignificant or entirely disconnected from the specific problems that vex us, bless us in all we do. 

Elder Whitney Clayton October 2016 General Conference

Increased Time in the Temple

 "I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can."

President Nelson, October 2022 General Conference

Bridle Your Passions: Anger and Lust

 

Be True to God and His Work

By Elder Quentin L. Cook

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Bridle is an interesting word. When we ride a horse, we use the bridle to guide it. A good synonym might be to direct, control, or restrain. The Old Testament tells us we shouted for joy when we learned we would have physical bodies.¹³ The body is not evil—it is beautiful and essential—but some passions, if not used properly and appropriately bridled, can separate us from God and His work and adversely impact our testimony.

Let’s talk about two passions in particular—first, anger, and second, lust.¹⁴ It is interesting that both left unbridled or uncontrolled can cause great heartache, diminish the influence of the Spirit, and separate us from God and His work. The adversary takes every opportunity to fill our lives with images of violence and immorality....

President Nelson strongly emphasized this yesterday morning.¹⁷ Please make up your mind that regardless of whether your parents did or did not abuse you, you will not physically or verbally or emotionally abuse your spouse or children.

In our day one of the most significant challenges is contention and verbal abuse related to societal issues. In many cases anger and abusive language have replaced reason, discussion, and civility. Many have abandoned the admonition of the Savior’s senior Apostle, Peter, to seek Christlike qualities such as temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.¹⁸ They have also abandoned the Christlike quality of humility.

Elder Kearon

 

Elder Patrick Kearon: Prepared and Called by the Lord

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

One Saturday several years after having been called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Patrick Kearon and his wife, Jennifer, were entering a supermarket as Elder W. Rolfe Kerr and his wife, Janeil, were leaving. They visited briefly, and then the Kerrs headed to their car.

Almost immediately, a man approached Elder Kearon and excitedly asked him, “Was that a General Authority you were speaking to?” Elder Kearon responded, “Yes. That was Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy.” The man nodded, looked directly at Elder Kearon without recognizing him, and said, “You can always tell a General Authority, can’t you?” Then the man hurried off.

“I love that story because it so represents how I feel,” says Elder Kearon with a smile. “I could have the same experience today, and that man would still probably not pick me out of a crowd as being a General Authority.”

Bear Your Testimony

“Some testimonies are better gained on the feet bearing them than on the knees praying for them.”

Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 27.

Testimony

April 2008 general conference

Names of Christ

 

That They Might Know Thee

(John 17:3)

By Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt

Of the Seventy

A few years ago, President Russell M. Nelson studied all the scriptures concerning Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide.¹⁰ He then invited young adults to study these same scriptures. Concerning Jesus’s many names, President Nelson said, “Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you.”¹¹

Following President Nelson’s invitation, I began developing my own list of Jesus’s many names. My personal list now has over 300 names, and I’m sure there are many more that I haven’t discovered yet....

I invite you to develop your own list as you come to know Jesus by His many names. In doing so, you will find that there are other names—along with their corresponding Christlike attributes—that you will want to take upon yourself as Jesus’s covenant disciple....

Jesus’s life was a pattern of holiness. As we follow Jesus, we can become a holy one in Israel.³⁵ We increase in holiness as we regularly visit the temple, where “Holiness to the Lord” is etched above every entrance. Every time we worship in the temple, we leave endowed with greater power to make our homes places of holiness...

Time in the temple will increase holiness in our lives.

No One Can MAKE Us Offended or Angry - we choose to

 Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.”

David A. Bednar, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” 90.

And Nothing Shall Offend Them

October 2006 general conference