I\u2009 wish to begin today by expressing to you my witness that God is our Eternal Father, that He lives, that we are His children, and that He loves us. His great love was manifest when He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to atone for our sins and to teach and exemplify for each of us the things we should do in order to qualify and be worthy to return back into God\u2019s presence. I bear you my testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is our Savior and He is our Redeemer. He lives and He loves us and He knows each of us individually by our names. I love Him, and I know each of you do too. I also wish to bear my testimony that President Thomas S. Monson is God\u2019s prophet on the earth today. I know this through my personal experience in incorporating his counsel into my life and also because of the powerful witness that comes into my heart from the Holy Ghost each time I am in his presence or hear him speak. Today I express my commitment to him and my resolve and desire to assist him in his heavy responsibilities. I desire to serve as he does, with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.<\/p>\n
Today we stand at the beginning of a brand-new year\u2014part of an epic journey here in mortality. As we approach this clean, fresh page of our lives, unmarred and unspoiled, we have before us a new opportunity to rally the best within us. Everything that has gone before has prepared you for this moment in time. And I might hasten to testify to you that this is indeed a magnificent moment. It is yours. And set before you is the opportunity of a lifetime to become a force for good in the world. As a modern-day prophet of God foretold, \u201cMake no mistake about it\u2014this is a marked generation.\u201d He further said:<\/p>\n
There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us. .\u00a0.\u00a0.<\/i><\/p>\n
Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good enlist new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions showing the cause we support. The final outcome is certain\u2014the forces of righteousness will win. But what remains to be seen is\u00a0where\u00a0<\/b>each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle\u2014and\u00a0how tall<\/b>\u00a0we will stand. Will we be true to our last days and fulfill our foreordained missions?\u00a0<\/i>1<\/sup><\/p>\n When the gospel was restored to the earth through the instrumentality of a young teenage boy named Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery recorded these words: \u201cThese were days never to be forgotten.\u201d2<\/sup>\u00a0He then went on to describe\u2014in some of the most beautiful language I have ever read\u2014his experiences with the Prophet Joseph Smith as they translated the sacred records that are the Book of Mormon. I feel a deep sense of gratitude today for those young men\u2014for their faithfulness, for their obedience and commitment, and for the purity of their lives. They were exceptional! And because they went forward undaunted to do what the Lord had revealed and commanded them to do in answer to their sincere prayers and questions, today we have another testament of Jesus Christ: the Book of Mormon\u2014a true and precious record that was written for me and for you to help us become the leaders we have been reserved and prepared to become in these latter days. These are your days, and I am confident that you will also make them \u201cdays never to be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n To those who listen carefully, the Lord regularly prompts us to act. Never before has there been more opportunity than now. I believe the Lord is calling to each of us to become dedicated disciples. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that in order to become a dedicated disciple, \u201cit is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion. Discipleship is not a spectator sport.\u201d3<\/sup><\/p>\n The movie\u00a0Chariots of Fire<\/i>\u00a0is the moving story of Eric Liddell, the gold medal winner in the 400-meter track event in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Liddell was not only a gifted athlete who held to his convictions, but he lived out his faith to the very end as a Christian missionary in China. He was such an incredible athlete that his goal was to get to the 1924 Olympics in France and run in his best race\u2014the 100-meter race. He trained hard to get in top shape, and his country of Scotland was sure that he would win a gold medal for them. There was just one problem. The heat to decide who would make the Olympics was on a Sunday, and Liddell would not run on Sunday. Due to this conflict he chose not to run in the 100-meter race. Instead he qualified for the 200- and 400-meter races because those heats were not held on Sunday, but no one expected him to come close to winning. Just prior to the start of the 400-meter race, he was given a piece of paper on which was written words from 1 Samuel 2:30: \u201cThem that honour me, I will honour.\u201d Liddell ran with that piece of paper in his hand and held onto this promise tightly. And, to everyone\u2019s surprise, he won the gold medal and broke a world record.4<\/sup>\u00a0Listen to what his character in the filmChariots of Fire<\/i>\u00a0said after winning a previous race:<\/p>\n You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It\u2019s hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape\u2014especially if you\u2019ve got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe your dinner\u2019s burnt. Maybe you haven\u2019t got a job. So who am I to say, \u201cBelieve, have faith,\u201d in the face of life\u2019s realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within.\u00a0<\/i>5<\/sup><\/p>\n We must do more than just watch the race: we must take part in it. Believe! Have faith! Discipleship is not a spectator sport. \u201cAnd where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within.\u201d I think the Lord is saying, \u201cLet\u2019s move forward. Let\u2019s build the kingdom. Hasten my work.\u201d Those who have been prepared and reserved for this moment in time are here on the earth. You are here! The Lord knows what lies ahead, and this is just the beginning of your life\u2019s race and the many mighty miracles that will occur as He hastens His work! The Lord has said, \u201cI will hasten my work in its time.\u201d6<\/sup>\u00a0And now is the time! To hasten means to be quick to do something, to move forward quickly, to accelerate, to hurry and not delay. Several years ago President Boyd K. Packer said, \u201cMy young friends in the Church, I bear witness that this is the day of hastening, and as I speak to you about opportunity and obligation, I stress the word \u2018obligation.\u2019\u201d7<\/sup><\/p>\n In the Pearl of Great Price we have a record of Abraham written by his own hand. He described the decadent society in which he was living and his difficulty in standing alone, because even his parents had departed from the ways of the Lord. He recorded that it got so bad that it was necessary for him to flee his home because his father had offered him up to the priest as a human sacrifice to their gods. He recorded:<\/p>\n And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness.\u00a0<\/i>8<\/sup><\/p>\n The desire of his heart was to be a follower of righteousness\u2014which is, simply, a disciple. And the Lord, through His prophet, is calling you to determine to be an even \u201cgreater follower of righteousness.\u201d A disciple of Christ is a follower of Jesus who lives as He taught and exemplified. As we learn in Doctrine and Covenants 41:5, \u201cHe that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple; and he that saith he receiveth it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple.\u201d<\/p>\n Thus, as dedicated disciples we must act and make prophetic priorities our priorities. In order to do this we will need to be riveted on the words of the current prophets, seers, and revelators. Some of those prophetic priorities include (1) missionary work, (2) teaching and learning for youth, and (3) temple and family history work.<\/p>\n A few months ago we listened in general conference as President Thomas S. Monson announced the lowering of the age at which both young men and young women may serve missions. From my perspective on the stand in the LDS Conference Center, I watched as young men gasped, young women raised from their seats and started texting their bishops, and mothers started crying\u2014already missing their sons and daughters. Since then, the response has been overwhelming as both young men and young women have responded to the feelings in their hearts and started their preparations to serve missions. I loved the tweets, the chatter on the Internet, and the pictures you posted about what this would mean in your personal lives.<\/p>\n Now, if missionary work is one of the prophetic priorities, shouldn\u2019t it be one of our priorities in the coming year? Many here today are contemplating serving a mission. Many of you have already served missions. For the young men, this is a priesthood responsibility for which you should be and are preparing. For young women, this is a wonderful opportunity, but not an obligation. But do we need a formal call to serve a mission? After you return from your mission, has your identity as one of the Lord\u2019s missionaries changed? Can we, as dedicated disciples, follow a prophet of God and help to hasten the Lord\u2019s work by continuing to do our part to flood the earth with righteousness?<\/p>\n Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard business professor and well-known expert on innovation and growth, decided to call himself on a mission and to simply become an \u201ceveryday missionary\u201d9<\/sup>\u00a0by talking about the things he believes and about the gospel to anyone with whom he comes in contact and with anyone who will listen. He is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is a dedicated disciple. As we follow a prophet of God, could each of us determine to become an everyday missionary?<\/p>\n Prior to the last general conference, a First Presidency letter was sent to priesthood leaders announcing new teaching and learning resources for youth to be implemented starting this month. The focus of this new resource is to build faith, testimony, and conversion in the Savior. This will hasten personal spiritual progress. This new way of learning will give all who participate an added edge because they will know how to learn by study and also by faith. What you and I will observe in the coming days will be a wave of articulate advocates of the gospel of Jesus Christ\u2014filled with the Spirit and deeply converted\u2014going forth into all the world. This new way to learn will prepare youth for missionary work, for marriage, and for parenthood. This is not just for youth but for\u00a0you!\u00a0<\/i>Get on lds.org and become familiar with and practice these same principles. Apply the doctrine in your daily decisions and work to become a dedicated disciple of our Savior.<\/p>\n Another prophetic priority was announced by the First Presidency in a letter dated October 8, 2012, that encouraged youth and adults to do their own family history work and to take their own family names to the temple. You may recall in the October 2011 general conference, prior to this letter, that Elder David A. Bednar invited the youth (including each of you) to become engaged in family history and temple work for their own ancestors.10<\/sup>\u00a0Following that invitation, Elder Richard G. Scott urged again for each of us to be worthy to enter the temples and do the work of turning \u201cthe hearts of the children to the fathers.\u201d 11<\/p>\n Also, one year ago a revised\u00a0For the Strength of Youth<\/i>\u00a0booklet was issued to help not just youth but you\u2014all of us\u2014understand the standards of the gospel. Living these standards enables each of us to be worthy to enter the temple and to do this work. A new limited-use recommend has also been made available, making it possible for anyone who is worthy to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead. The hand of the Lord has brought all these things together in a most miraculous way.<\/p>\n It is so vitally important that each of us determine now to make the necessary adjustments and changes in our lives to be worthy always of a temple recommend. As you take your own family names to the temple, the Lord will amplify your ability to learn and to focus on the things that matter most. You will come forth from the temple armed with power, and His \u201cangels [will be] round about you, to bear you up.\u201d12<\/sup>\u00a0Always with prophetic priorities come prophetic promises. Elder Bednar promised to those who would seek out their ancestors and do their work that \u201cyour testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. .\u00a0.\u00a0. You will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary [and,] as you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives.\u201d13<\/sup>\u00a0What would happen if each of us simply got on the Internet and found a few family names to take to the temple?<\/p>\n During the past several years I have been on the front row, so to speak, as I have watched these things unfold and come together. I have been an eyewitness to the arm of the Lord being revealed. None of these things has randomly happened. His hand is in this work, and He is hastening our preparation if we will listen and act. I testify that we are led by a prophet of God and that the Lord is inspiring every announcement, every letter, and every talk. It is an amazing time. And it is a time when we, like Abraham, must determine to act and not be acted upon.<\/p>\n These events make it clear that the Lord is indeed hastening His work, and they send a very powerful message that God loves and trusts you, the rising generation. President Monson said, when speaking of you, \u201cI think the youth today are stronger than they have ever been before in the history of the Church.\u201d14<\/sup>\u00a0I agree. You are amazing! You are not ordinary, and these are not ordinary times in which we live. You have been reserved and prepared to be on the earth at this time, and though the circumstances in which we live present many challenges, you can do it! You are, as the Savior stated, \u201cchildren of the prophets .\u00a0.\u00a0. and .\u00a0.\u00a0. of the covenant.\u201d15<\/sup>\u00a0You are of the noble birthright of our Father Abraham. You are exceptional, and you are doing difficult but correct things in the midst of great opposition. Your actions and decisions now will bless future generations. Indeed, you are a pivotal generation.<\/p>\n As you witness these prophetic priorities unfolding and as you participate in many of them, I would like to give you some counsel similar to the counsel Paul gave to his young friend Timothy. Paul said, \u201cLet no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.\u201d16<\/sup><\/p>\n First, don\u2019t let anyone tell you that you are too young. Paul told Timothy, \u201cLet no man despise thy youth.\u201d Many times you will hear, \u201cWell, come back when you have a little more experience.\u201d Or, \u201cWait to decide that until you are a little older.\u201d Or, \u201cDelay marriage until you have a little more financial security and schooling.\u201d But buying into that worldly philosophy denies the knowledge you already have that you are not ordinary and that you have come here to go forward with faith and with the power of your youth and your unique perspective. Don\u2019t let old paradigms become your parameters.<\/p>\n I am personally keenly aware that many of the blessings I am enjoying now in this life stem from decisions I made when I was between the ages of eighteen and thirty. This amazing man sitting with me here on the stand happens to be the best decision I made while here at BYU. To this day he still thinks he saw me first, but the fact is that I spotted him on campus, went to the administration building, found out his schedule, and just happened to be near some of his classes occasionally. I believe you might call that \u201cstalking\u201d today! But I called it flirting then. And I clearly remember sitting in a devotional similar to this having prayed about making the decision to marry or not marry this man. I was worried. I felt so young. That day the speaker spoke about how to make decisions. I can still vividly recall feeling that I was the only one in the entire devotional that morning, and I left with the formula for how to receive personal revelation\u2014to know all things that I should or should not do. That formula is one that all of you are familiar with in sections 8 and 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants\u2014but that day it was news to me. And, as you can see, I applied the formula, and the rest is history!<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think either Steve or I realized or visualized what the future would hold then. We felt so young. We were so young! This Christmas I gave my husband a family portrait. As he opened it, it was one of those magic moments when heaven and earth come together. We looked at our eternal family and we sat in the living room and cried as we counted our blessings and as we thought about all those critical decisions along the path of life\u2014made when we were young, following the guidance of the Spirit. So I invite you to read Doctrine and Covenants sections 8 and 9, learn the pattern, follow the Spirit, and don\u2019t let anyone tell you that you are too young. \u201cLet no man despise thy youth.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lord loves and trusts the youth. He always has. He gave Joseph Smith the responsibility to open this dispensation, to translate the Book of Mormon, to hold the keys of the priesthood and the sealing power, and to receive prophetic witness and guidance. He was just fourteen. Through a prophet of God the Lord called Mormon when he was just ten to continue in his habit of being quick to observe and to prepare to keep the record when the time came. That record guides you and me today: the Book of Mormon. To Mary and Joseph, God entrusted His Only Begotten Son to be raised in virtue and holiness. They were young. Moroni led an army to defend family, religion, and God when he was about your age. And to Samuel was entrusted a kingdom because the Lord looked on his heart, not on his age. To 2,060 young men was given the responsibility to defend their parents\u2019 covenants. And the list goes on and on and on. So don\u2019t let anyone or anything convince you that you are too young. You must seize the day because these are your days, and if the adversary can get you to postpone or delay your progress or to freeze you in fear or to get you to wait because he has convinced you that you are too young, he wins. Your youth is your strategic advantage.<\/p>\n Second, \u201cneglect not the gift that is in thee.\u201d17<\/sup>\u00a0The gift that you received at baptism is one of your greatest assets. When hands were laid on your head and you were told to \u201creceive the Holy Ghost,\u201d it was not a passive pronouncement. Rather, those words implied that you would do all in your power to be worthy of that constant companionship. The guidance of the Holy Ghost is critical to you for your successful mission here on the earth. Is it any wonder then that the great deceiver has manipulated media, the Internet, pop stars, women\u2019s fashion\u2014anything he can\u2014to cause you to neglect \u201cthe gift that is in thee.\u201d We must value virtue, which is defined as chastity and moral purity.18<\/sup>\u00a0Virtue is solidified as we form patterns of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. We have all been eyewitnesses to the consequences of a disregard for virtue in our society and in families. You have heard me talk about it before, but virtue is absolutely necessary because, as Mormon taught Moroni, it is \u201cmost dear and precious above all.\u201d19<\/sup>\u00a0Why? Because the Holy Ghost simply does not dwell in \u201cunholy temples\u201d20<\/sup>\u2014\u201cwhich temple ye are.\u201d21<\/sup><\/p>\n We must qualify to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. This is difficult in a very noisy and polluted world, so that is precisely why the Lord gave us the sacrament so that we could each partake of the sacrament and become unspotted from the world. What blessings are available to us and what power we may have to be able to renew our covenants on a weekly basis and receive the promise that we will \u201calways have his Spirit to be with [us]!\u201d22<\/sup>Because you are members of the Church, you have an edge in the world\u2014an added advantage that puts you ahead of the crowd. You have the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and the roles of this third member of the Godhead are to teach, testify, warn, comfort, lead, guide, and purify, to name a few. Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said, \u201cThere is no price too high, .\u00a0.\u00a0. no struggle too severe, no sacrifice too great, if out of it all we receive and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost.\u201d23<\/sup><\/p>\n I am sure when we learned that we would be able to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost while here in mortality, we shouted for joy and confidently embraced our Father\u2019s plan because we knew that we would never be alone and that knowing what is right and wrong would be and is always possible. And we also knew that through the guidance of the Holy Ghost we would be magnified and, because of the Savior and His infinite Atonement, we could do hard things. We knew we would be enabled and strengthened to do whatever we must do and to endure whatever we must endure to be victorious in fulfilling our divine missions. I believe we knew and understood perfectly that mortality would not be easy, but, if we proved faithful, we would be able to return once again to our heavenly home proven, pure, and sealed in eternal families.<\/p>\n Third, as the words of the hymn suggest, be \u201cmore fit for the kingdom.\u201d24<\/sup>\u00a0I heard about one young man who set a New Year\u2019s goal to do one push-up on January 1st and then each day add one more push-up to his fitness routine. He envisioned that at the end of the year he would pound his chest and with his buff body and his strong arms complete his goal by doing 365 push-ups. He lasted until January 12th. So, set little, attainable goals. Establish and rely on the power of habit. Your spiritual fitness routine will look different than mine. But make it a routine.<\/p>\n My husband has a routine he does every single morning. First, he prays. Then it is off to the stationary bike, the elliptical trainer, and then the treadmill. I call him a \u201cgreenhouse runner\u201d because he does all this inside. Nonetheless, on the bike he reads from the Book of Mormon, on the elliptical he studies a conference talk, and on the treadmill he memorizes things like scriptures, the family proclamation, \u201cThe Living Christ,\u201d and even the Young Women theme! I am in awe at his discipline\u2014he doesn\u2019t have to decide daily what to do. He is relying on the power of habit. And those habits have ripple effects in the rest of his life and in the lives of our entire family. He is a disciplined, dedicated, discerning disciple.<\/p>\n Now, last, \u201ccast not away [thy] confidence.\u201d25<\/sup>\u00a0Don\u2019t get distracted, discouraged, or dis\u00adqualified. The word\u00a0confidence<\/i>\u00a0is composed of two Latin words:\u00a0con,\u00a0<\/i>meaning \u201cwith,\u201d and\u00a0fideo,\u00a0<\/i>meaning \u201cfaith.\u201d So you see,\u00a0confidence<\/i>\u00a0means \u201cwith faith.\u201d Faith is a powerful power that can move mountains and call down miracles. You have exercised your faith up to this point, so keep on. Even if things do not go according to your plan, even if you think you are being delayed because of the actions or nonactions of others, press forward. Continue to draw close to the Lord. Cherish virtue. Stand firm and stand tall. You have been reserved to be here now on account of your exceeding faith in the premortal existence in our Heavenly Father\u2019s plan.26<\/sup>\u00a0Your life also has a plan, and, as you trust in the Lord, you will see that plan unfold in miraculous ways.<\/p>\n I believe that a great miracle is taking place right before our eyes. In these magnificent latter days you will see the \u201carmy [of the Lord] become very great.\u201d27<\/sup>\u00a0You will see the gospel preached in every nation. You will emerge from the temple accompanied by angels and \u201cendowed with power from on high.\u201d28<\/sup>\u00a0This will enable you to navigate in increasingly turbulent times with a peaceful walk.29<\/sup><\/p>\n Young women, you will be the ones who will provide the example of virtuous womanhood and motherhood. You will continue to be virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy, and of good report. You will also be the ones who will provide the example of family life in a time when families are under attack, being redefined, and disintegrating. You will understand your roles and your responsibilities and thus will see no need to lobby for rights.<\/p>\n Young men, you will be the ones who will know that priesthood power\u2014the power to act for God on the earth\u2014is to be accessed only through purity. And you will use that priesthood power to bless generations.<\/p>\n For each of you, the very purity and virtue of your lives will attract the gaze of all the world in these latter days, and, because of you, many will say, \u201cCome, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord\u2019s house, and we will learn His ways and we will walk in His paths.\u201d30<\/sup>You will be the ones who will help establish Zion because you understand that Zion is the pure in heart.<\/p>\n In the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay in Paris, France, hangs a painting I love by Eug\u00e8ne Burnand. It depicts two of the Lord\u2019s disciples\u2014Peter and John\u2014running in the light of a new day toward the Savior and the empty tomb.31<\/sup>\u00a0A print of this painting hangs in our home as well as in the homes of each of our children. It is a tangible representation of our vision as a family\u2014to be dedicated disciples who will always be found running toward the Savior.<\/p>\n We are being invited to take part in the greatest race there has ever been. Make prophetic priorities your priorities. Dedicate yourself to discipleship. Don\u2019t let anyone tell you that you are too young. Seek the Holy Ghost. Become more fit for the kingdom and go forward with confidence.<\/p>\n I want you to know that you are magnificent. You are making more progress than you think you are. Your trials, your challenges, and your triumphs are forging your character and destiny. Your virtue and purity is tangible. And today, as I gaze into your eyes and faces, I truly believe that one virtuous young woman or young man led by the Spirit can change the world!<\/p>\n Truly these are days never to be forgotten. As you run your personal best, as you run your personal race, may you never forget that \u201cthey that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.\u201d32<\/sup>\u00a0In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMissionary Work<\/b><\/h2>\n
Teaching and Learning for Youth<\/b><\/h2>\n
Temple and Family History Work<\/b><\/h2>\n
Counsel for Dedicated Disciples<\/b><\/h2>\n