Lesson 43: “Take upon You My Whole Armor” – Scriptures and Quotes

Lesson 43: “Take upon You My Whole Armor” – Scriptures and Quotes

Reading 1 - When he was President of BYU-Idaho, Elder Bednar said: I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the atonement than we are with the enabling power of the atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us–not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the atonement is also for saints–for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us “get it” concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves, through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.

Brothers and sisters, the gospel of the Savior is not simply about avoiding bad in our lives; it is also essentially about doing and becoming good. And the atonement provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do and become good. There is help from the Savior for the entire journey of life–from bad to good to better and to change our very nature. Indeed, this doctrine tastes good.

I am not trying to suggest that the redeeming and enabling powers of the atonement are separate and discrete. Rather, these two dimensions of the atonement are connected and complementary; they both need to be operational during all phases of the journey of life. And it is eternally important for all of us to recognize that both of these essential elements of the journey of life–both putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, both overcoming bad and becoming good–are accomplished through the power of the atonement. Individual willpower, personal determination and motivation, and effective planning and goal setting are necessary but ultimately insufficient to triumphantly complete this mortal journey. Truly, we must come to rely upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8).

Reading 2 – Doctrine and Covenants 76:25-28

Reading 3 – Moses 4:3-4

D&C 29:39

Reading 4 - Brigham Young said: "The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. He has placed life and death before his children, and it is for them to choose. If they choose life, they receive the blessing of life; if they choose death, they must abide the penalty.

This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice, and God brings forth the results of the acts of his creatures to promote his Kingdom and subserve his purposes in the salvation and exaltation of his children." (Discourses of Brigham Young,, 62.)

Reading 5 - Doctrine and Covenants 27:15-18

President Harold B. Lee said:  "We have the four parts of the body that . . . [are] the most vulnerable to the powers of darkness. The loins, typifying virtue, chastity. The heart, typifying our conduct; our feet, our goals or objectives in life; and finally, our head, our thoughts. . . ." (Elder Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace," BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 9 Nov. 1954, 2)

Reading 6 - President Lee said: "We should have our loins girt about with truth. What is truth? Truth, the Lord said, is knowledge of things as they are, things as they were, and things as they are to come. [Sec. 93:24.] What is going to guide us along the path of proper morals or proper choices? It will be the knowledge of truth. There must be a standard by which we measure our conduct, else how shall we know which is right? And how shall we know which is wrong? How do we know it is wrong to steal? How do we know it is wrong to lie? How do we know it is wrong to kill, unless we have a knowledge of the truth, that written by the finger of God on tables of stone were the divine injunctions, thou shalt not. 'Our loins shall be girt about with truth' the prophet said." (Elder Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace," BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 9 Nov. 1954, 2)

Reading 7 - President Lee said: "And the heart, what kind of breastplate shall protect our conduct in life? We shall have over our hearts a breastplate of righteousness. Well, having learned truth we have a measure by which we can judge between right and wrong, and so our conduct will always be gauged by that thing which we know to be true. Our breastplate to cover our conduct shall be the breastplate of righteousness." (Elder Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace," BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 9 Nov. 1954, 2)

Reading 8 - President Lee said: "By what shall we protect our feet, or by what shall we gauge our objectives or our goals in life?. . .'Your feet shall be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.' [Eph. 6:15.] Interesting? What is the gospel of peace? The whole core and center of the gospel of peace was built around the person of him who was cradled in the manger, of whom on that night the angels sang, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men.' Or to put it even more correctly, 'on earth peace to men of good will.' Our feet should he shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace to them of good will. . . .

    "'Train a child in the way he shall go and when he is old he will not depart from it' [Proverbs 22:6], the old adage said. . . . How fortunate are you if in your childhood in the home of your father and mother you were taught the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, the meaning of baptism and what you gain by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Fortunate is the child who has been taught to pray and who has been given those steps to take on through life. Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace!" (Elder Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace," BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 9 Nov. 1954, 2)

Brother Hoyt W. Brewster said in General Conference: "In the war between good and evil, one must be protected with the 'shield of faith' (D&C 27:17). An example of this shield of faith might be illustrated in the following home memories of Elder L. Tom Perry: 'We were dressed in our home each morning, not only with hats and raincoats and boots to protect us from physical storm, but even more carefully our parents dressed us each day in the armor of God. As we would kneel in family prayer and listen to our father, a bearer of the priesthood, pour out his soul to the Lord for the protection of his family against the fiery darts of the wicked, one more layer was added to our shield of faith. While our shield was being made strong, theirs was always available, for they were available and we knew it.'

    "Thus, this spiritual shield is that protective armament that becomes invincible through prayer, righteous obedience to all of God's commandments, searching and pondering the scriptures, and doing all within one's power to strengthen the power of faith." (CR, Apr 1974, pp140-41.)

Reading 9 - President Lee said: "A helmet of salvation shall guide our thinking all through our days. Well, as we think that through, let me review them again for just a moment, to get the full significance. Truth to safeguard our virtue; righteousness to keep our conduct right; the preparation of the gospel of peace to guide our course and to set our standards and aims in life; salvation, a return back to the presence of the Lord, shall be the inhibiting promise and a motivating objective to guide us on to the victory of life over death. That is what it means. . . ." (Elder Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace," BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 9 Nov. 1954, 2)

Reading 10 – Regarding the sword of God’s spirit and His word through revelation, Then-Elder Boyd K. Packer said, "…the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God" ("Feet Shod," 7). It should be noted that the sword is the only offensive weapon. The Spirit directs the word for each situation. The Savior himself is the perfect example of how knowledge of the scriptures is like wielding a double-edged broadsword "which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil" (Hel. 3:29). Recall when Jesus was being tempted after his fast. "Jesus deflected each temptation with scripture. 'It is written . . . . it is written again . . . . it is written . . . .'[Matthew 4:4,7,10]. Think on it carefully. When facing perdition himself, the Lord drew upon scriptures for protection" (Elder Packer, Ensign, May 2000, 7).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve warned that Satan “seeks to find any chink in the armor of each person. He knows our weaknesses and knows how to exploit them if we allow him to do so. We can defend ourselves against his attacks and deceptions only by understanding the commandments and by fortifying ourselves each day through praying, studying the scriptures, and following the counsel of the Lord’s anointed” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1988, 44; or Ensign, Nov. 1988, 35).

Doctrine and Covenants 42:22-24

Reading 11 - The First Presidency stated: “The Lord’s law of moral conduct is abstinence outside of lawful marriage and fidelity within marriage. Sexual relations are proper only between husband and wife appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage. Any other sexual contact, including fornication, adultery, and homosexual and lesbian behavior, is sinful” (First Presidency letter, 14 Nov. 1991).

Reading 13 - President Gordon B. Hinckley warned: “You must not fool around with the Internet to find pornographic material. You must not dial a long-distance telephone number to listen to filth. You must not rent videos with pornography of any kind. This salacious stuff simply is not for you. Stay away from pornography as you would avoid a serious disease. It is destructive. It can become habitual, and those who indulge in it get so they cannot leave it alone. It is addictive” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 66–67; or Ensign, May 1998, 49).

President James E. Faust taught: “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1996, 57; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, 41).

Doctrine and Covenants 51:9

The Securities and Exchange Commission describes Affinity Fraud as follows: Affinity fraud refers to investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are - or pretend to be - members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile. Many times, those leaders become unwitting victims of the fraudster's ruse.

These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue their legal remedies and instead try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment. (http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/affinity.htm)

Scriptures and Quotes - Lesson 42: Continuing Revelation to Latter-day Prophet

"We testify to the world that revelation continues and that the vaults and files of the Church contain these revelations which come month to month and day to day. We testify also that there is, since 1830 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and will continue to be, so long as time shall last, a prophet, recognized of God and his people, who will continue to interpret the mind and will of the Lord. …

            "Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is continuous, a light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been no interruption." (Spencer W. Kimball, “Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets,” Ensign, May 1977, 76)

Reading 1 – Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written: Whenever the Lord has had a people on earth, they have received revelation from appointed prophets, apostles, and seers. If at any time they ceased to receive revelation, they ceased to be the Lord's people. This has been the unvarying course from Adam to the present moment. The receipt of revelation is one of the chief identifying characteristics of the true saints; where there are saints there is revelation, and where there is no revelation the saints of the Most High cease to exist among men. (McConkie, Bruce R. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 1985, pp. 475-77)

As early as 1852, however, Brigham Young said that the "time will come when they will have the privilege of all we have the privilege of and more" (Brigham Young Papers, Church Archives, Feb. 5, 1852), quoted in the topic, "Blacks", in "The Encyclopedia of Mormonism" at page 125.

"At a press conference held shortly after Spencer W. Kimball was ordained president of the Church [in 1973], he was asked about extending the priesthood to black members. He responded: "I am not sure that there will be a change, although there could be. We are under the dictates of our Heavenly Father, and this is not my policy or the Church's policy. It is the policy of the Lord . . . and I know of no change, although we are subject to revelations of the Lord in case he should ever wish to make a change." (quoted in LDS Church News, 06/04/88)

Reading 2 - In an area conference in South Africa, President Kimball declared: “I prayed with much fervency. I knew that something was before us that was extremely important to many of the children of God. I knew that we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and put them into place. Day after day I went alone and with great solemnity and seriousness in the upper rooms of the temple, and there I offered my soul and offered my efforts to go forward with the program. I wanted to do what he wanted. I talked about it to him and said, ‘Lord, I want only what is right.’ ” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 451.)

Reading 3 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie recalled, "President Kimball asked the brethren if any of them desired to express their feelings and views as to the matter in hand. We all did so, freely and fluently and at considerable length, each person stating his views and manifesting the feelings of his heart. There was a marvelous outpouring of unity, oneness, and agreement in the council." (The Church in the Twentieth Century, pp390-391)

Reading 4 - Elder McConkie described the prayer: "It was during this prayer that the revelation came. The Spirit of the Lord rested mightily upon us all; we felt something akin to what happened on the day of Pentecost and at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. From the midst of eternity, the voice of God, conveyed by the power of the Spirit, spoke to his prophet .... And we all heard the same voice, received the same message, and became personal witnesses that the word received was the mind and will and voice of the Lord." (The Church in the Twentieth Century, p 391)

OFFICIAL DECLARATION—2

To Whom It May Concern:

On September 30, 1978, at the 148th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the following was presented by President N. Eldon Tanner, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church:

In early June of this year, the First Presidency announced that a revelation had been received by President Spencer W. Kimball extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members of the Church. President Kimball has asked that I advise the conference that after he had received this revelation, which came to him after extended meditation and prayer in the sacred rooms of the holy temple, he presented it to his counselors, who accepted it and approved it. It was then presented to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who unanimously approved it, and was subsequently presented to all other General Authorities, who likewise approved it unanimously.

President Kimball has asked that I now read this letter:

June 8, 1978

To all general and local priesthood officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world:

Dear Brethren:

As we have witnessed the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the Church all of the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.

Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God’s eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.

He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color. Priesthood leaders are instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that they meet the established standards for worthiness.

We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.

Sincerely yours,

Spencer W. Kimball

N. Eldon Tanner

Marion G. Romney

The First Presidency

Recognizing Spencer W. Kimball as the prophet, seer, and revelator, and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is proposed that we as a constituent assembly accept this revelation as the word and will of the Lord. All in favor please signify by raising your right hand. Any opposed by the same sign.

The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous in the affirmative.

Salt Lake City, Utah, September 30, 1978."

Reading 5 – Elder McConkie said, "The voice of God—speaking audibly after the manner of our language, and also speaking by the power of the Spirit in the minds of men—has been heard over and over again in our day.

Times without number faithful members of the Lord’s church have labored and struggled with near unsolvable problems, have reached what seemed to them to be proper solutions and have then received a spiritual confirmation certifying to the truth and verity of their decisions.

We cannot speak of revelation without bearing testimony of the great and wondrous outpouring of divine knowledge that came to President Spencer W. Kimball setting forth that the priesthood and all of the blessings and obligations of the gospel should now be offered to those of all nations, races, and colors.

Truly, the Holy Ghost is a revelator. He speaks and his voice is the voice of the Lord. He is Christ’s minister, his agent, his representative. He says what the Lord Jesus would say if he were personally present. . . .

This is the promised day when “God shall give unto” us “knowledge by his Holy Spirit,” when, “by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost,” we shall gain knowledge “that has not been revealed since the world was until now” (D&C 121:26). . . .

To the prophets, seers, and revelators he will manifest his mind and his will concerning the Church and the world. To the presiding officers in the stakes and wards and quorums he will reveal what should be for those organizations. To fathers and mothers and children he will reveal “great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” (D&C 89:19) to guide them along the way to perfection." (Bruce R. McConkie, “‘Thou Shalt Receive Revelation’,” Ensign, Nov 1978, 60)

Reading 6 – President Boyd K. Packer described the process of creating the LDS Scriptures:  "I cannot possibly describe in detail or even list all that has been put in place by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in recent years. In them you will see continuing revelation, open to the Church and to each individual member. I will describe a few of them.

More than 40 years ago, it was determined to make the doctrine quickly and easily available to every member of the Church by preparing a Latter-day Saint edition of the scriptures. We set out to cross-reference the King James Bible with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The text of the King James Bible was left completely unaltered.

To cross-reference more than 70,000 verses of scripture and provide footnotes and helps was known to be enormously difficult, perhaps even impossible. But it was begun. It took 12 years and the help of over 600 people to complete. Some were experts in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew or had a knowledge of ancient scriptures. But most were ordinary, faithful members of the Church.

The spirit of inspiration brooded over the work.

The project would have been impossible without the computer.

A remarkable system was designed to organize tens of thousands of footnotes to open the scriptures to every ploughboy and every ploughgirl.

With a subject-matter index, a member can, in just a few minutes, look up such words as atonement, repentance, Holy Ghost and find revealing references from all four scriptures.

Several years into the project, we asked how they were progressing with the tedious, laborious listing of topics in alphabetical order. They wrote, “We have been through Heaven and Hell, past Love and Lust, and now we’re working toward Repentance. . . .

Most notable in the Topical Guide are the 18 pages, single-spaced, small print, under the heading “Jesus Christ,” the most comprehensive compilation of scriptural information on the name Jesus Christ that has ever been assembled in the history of the world. Follow these references, and you will open the door to whose Church this is, what it teaches and by what authority, all anchored to the sacred name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Redeemer, our Lord.” (Boyd K. Packer, “On Zion’s Hill,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 70)

Reading 7 – Ezekial 37:15-19

Reading 8 – Speaking of the LDS editions of the scriptures, President Boyd K. Packer said: " The stick or record of Judah—the Old Testament and the New Testament—and the stick or record of Ephraim—the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ—are now woven together in such a way that as you pore over one you are drawn to the other; as you learn from one you are enlightened by the other. They are indeed one in our hands. Ezekiel’s prophecy now stands fulfilled.

With the passing of years, these scriptures will produce successive generations of faithful Christians who know the Lord Jesus Christ and are disposed to obey His will.

The older generation has been raised without them, but there is another generation growing up. The revelations will be opened to them as to no other in the history of the world. Into their hands now are placed the sticks of Joseph and of Judah. They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that which their forebears could achieve. They will have the testimony that Jesus is the Christ and be competent to proclaim Him and to defend Him." (Boyd K. Packer, “Scriptures,” Ensign, Nov 1982, 51)

Reading 9 - In the April 1995 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley made an observation that shows that Elder Packer’s words are being fulfilled: “I look back to my own youth. Neither young men nor young women were doing much scripture reading at that time. What a marvelous change has been wrought. A new generation is arising who are familiar with the word of the Lord” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 117; or Ensign, May 1995, 87).

Doctrine and Covenants 107:25,34

President Kimball continued: "With this move, the three governing quorums of the Church defined by the revelations—the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of the Seventy—have been set in their places as revealed by the Lord. This will make it possible to handle efficiently the present heavy workload and to prepare for the increasing expansion and acceleration of the work . . . ." (CR, Oct 1976)

When he created the Third, Fourth and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy, President Hinckly said: President Hinckley said: “With these respective quorums in place, we have established a pattern under which the Church may grow to any size with an organization of Area Presidencies and Area Authority Seventies, chosen and working across the world according to need. Now, the Lord is watching over His kingdom. He is inspiring its leadership to care for its ever growing membership” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1997, 5; or Ensign, May 1997, 6).

Doctrine and Covenants 107:93-97

Reading 10 – Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: Revelation is as eternal as God himself; he is the Eternal Revelator. When he speaks, his words are revelation; they set forth what is in his heart and mind, and he cannot exist without speaking. Should revelation cease, God would cease to be God, the purposes of creation would come to naught, and all things would vanish away-all of which is beyond the realm of possibility...Revelations came in days past; revelations come now; and revelations will continue as long as the earth shall stand. Those saints whose souls are attuned to the Infinite believe all that God has revealed; they need only be taught than any particular truth came by revelation, and they automatically believe it ... those who are enlightened by the power of the Spirit know by spiritual instinct, without argument, without persuasion, without debate, that any authoritatively announced revelation came from the Divine Source. (McConkie, Bruce R. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 1985, pp. 475-77; 481.)

Lesson 39: “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers” - Scriptures and Quotes

Reading 1 - Frederick William Hurst was working as a gold miner in Australia when he first heard Latter-day Saint missionaries preach the restored gospel. He and his brother Charles were baptized in January 1854. He tried to help his other family members become converted, but they rejected him and the truths he taught.

Fred settled in Salt Lake City four years after joining the Church, and he served faithfully as a missionary in several different countries. He also worked as a painter in the Salt Lake Temple. In one of his final journal entries, he wrote: “Along about the 1st of March, 1893, I found myself alone in the dining room, all had gone to bed. I was sitting at the table when to my great surprize my elder brother Alfred walked in and sat down opposite me at the table and smiled. I said to him (he looked so natural): ‘When did you arrive in Utah?’

“He said: ‘I have just come from the Spirit World, this is not my body that you see, it is lying in the tomb. I want to tell you that when you were on your mission you told me many things about the Gospel, and the hereafter, and about the Spirit World being as real and tangible as the earth. I could not believe you, but when I died and went there and saw for myself I realized that you had told the truth. I attended the Mormon meetings.’ He raised his hand and said with much warmth: ‘I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart. I believe in faith, and repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but that is as far as I can go. I look to you to do the work for me in the temple. … You are watched closely. … We are all looking to you as our head in this great work. I want to tell you that there are a great many spirits who weep and mourn because they have relatives in the Church here who are careless and are doing nothing for them” (Diary of Frederick William Hurst, comp. Samuel H. and Ida Hurst [1961], 204). (Taken from the Lesson Manual for Lesson 39)

Reading 2 – Joseph Smith History 1:37-39

Reading 3 - President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “What was the promise made to the fathers that was to be fulfilled in the latter days by the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers? It was the promise of the Lord made through Enoch, Isaiah, and the prophets, to the nations of the earth, that the time should come when the dead should be redeemed” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:154).

Reading 4 – Joseph Smith said: "In the days of Noah, God destroyed the world by a flood, and he has promised to destroy it by fire in the last days: but before it should take place Elijah should come first and turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, etc.

    "Now comes the point. What is this office and work of Elijah? It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the fathers, and the fathers to the children. . . . 

"I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important; and if you will receive it, this is the spirit of Elijah, that we redeem our dead, and connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven, and seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection; and here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those who dwell in heaven. This is the power of Elijah and the keys of the kingdom of Jehovah." (HC, 6:251-252)

Doctrine and Covenants 138:47-48

Reading 5 - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught that without the sealing power, “no family ties would exist in the eternities, and indeed the family of man would have been left in eternity with ‘neither root [ancestors] nor branch [descendants].’ Inasmuch as … a sealed, united, celestially saved family of God is the ultimate purpose of mortality, any failure here would have been a curse indeed, rendering the entire plan of salvation ‘utterly wasted’ ” (Christ and the New Covenant, 297–98).

Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16

Reading 6 - Elder Wilford Woodruff taught: “For the last eighteen hundred years, the people that have lived and passed away never heard the voice of an inspired man, never heard a Gospel sermon, until they entered the spirit-world. Somebody has got to redeem them, by performing such ordinances for them in the flesh as they cannot attend to themselves in the spirit, and in order that this work may be done, we must have Temples in which to do it” (in Journal of Discourses, 19:228–29).

Reading 7 -  "I will here say that two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, 'You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.'

    "These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives.

    "I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McAllister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others. I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them." (JD 19:229)

Pres. Woodruff said " You have acted up to all the light and knowledge that you have had; but you have now something more to do than you have done. We have not fully carried out those principles in fulfillment of the revelations of God to us, in sealing the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. . . . When I went before the Lord to know who I should be adopted to (we were then being adopted to prophets and apostles), the Spirit of God said to me, 'Have you not a father, who begot you?' 'Yes, I have.' 'Then why not honor him? Why not be adopted to him?' 'Yes,' says I, 'that is right.' I was adopted to my father, and should have had my father sealed to his father, and so on back; and the duty that I want every man who presides over a Temple to see performed from this day henceforth and forever, unless the Lord Almighty commands otherwise, is, let every man be adopted to his father. When a man receives the endowment, adopt him to his father; not to Wilford Woodruff, nor to any other man outside the lineage of his fathers. That is the will of God to this people...  We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it. This is the will of the Lord to his people, and I think when you come to reflect upon it you will find it to be true." (Messages of the First Presidency, p255)

This is what Pres. Smith said during his address: “I have been undergoing a siege of very serious illness for the last five months. … I have not lived alone these five months. I have dwelt in the spirit of prayer, of supplication, of faith and of determination; and I have had my communication with the Spirit of the Lord continuously” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1918, 2).

Reading 8 - Doctrine and Covenants 138:1-4

Doctrine and Covenants 138:11-15

Doctrine and Covenants 138:20-21

Reading 9 – Doctrine and Covenants 138:30-32

"I have a burning desire that a temple be located within reasonable access to Latter-day Saints throughout the world. We can proceed only so fast. We try to see that each temple will be in an excellent location, where there will be good neighbors over a long period of time. Real estate prices in such areas are usually high. A temple is a much more complex structure to build than an ordinary meetinghouse or stake center. It is built to a higher standard of architecture. It takes longer and costs more. The work is moving about as fast as we can go. It is my constant prayer that somehow it might be speeded up so that more of our people might have easier access to a sacred house of the Lord" (Gordon B. Hinckley, C.R., Oct. 1995, p. 77).

Reading 10 - “There are many areas of the Church that are remote, where the membership is small and not likely to grow very much in the near future. Are those who live in these places to be denied forever the blessings of the temple ordinances? While visiting such an area a few months ago, we prayerfully pondered this question. The answer, we believe, came bright and clear.

“We will construct small temples in some of these areas, buildings with all of the facilities to administer all of the ordinances. They would be built to temple standards, which are much higher than meetinghouse standards. They would accommodate baptisms for the dead, the endowment service, sealings, and all other ordinances to be had in the Lord’s house for both the living and the dead. …