LDS HIGHLIGHTS

This is a very powerful talk by David A. Bednar about the power of the Holy Ghost and that it is how we communicate directly with God, our Father. David A. Bednar states that "God communicates with us through our very thoughts and feelings" and then counsels us to "to avoid polluting our minds with pornography, watching R-rated and inappropriate movies and television programs, and taking into our bodies harmful and addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol...." As we already know, in regards to pornography, from the Dallin H. Oaks quote from a letter, in April, 2005: "In my eyes cocaine doesn't hold a candle to this. I have done both. . . . Quitting even the hardest drugs was nothing compared to [trying to quit pornography]"(letter of Mar. 20, 2005) Now David A. Bednar also does an amazing display in this talk, with a tuning fork and it really helped me to understand the talk better and what he was trying to explain about the Holy Ghost. David A. Bednar is a genius, a true man of God and knows how to reach deep into our hearts and souls. He said: "Just like the sound produced by this tuning fork, the Holy Ghost is constant, steady, and sure." He then states: "I have wondered if we as members of the Church talk about and emphasize marvelous, magnificent, and dramatic spiritual manifestations so often that we perhaps overlook the customary influence of the Holy Ghost that is quiet, delicate, and subtle." He then quotes President Boyd K. Packer, when he said: ".....I have come to believe also that it is not wise to continually talk of unusual spiritual experiences. They are to be guarded with care and shared only when the Spirit itself prompts us to use them to the blessing of others." David A. Bednar then talks about those who question their own testimony, because they haven't personally seen the angel Moroni. He mentions that if you have doubts about the truthfulness of the church and your testimony; "you are normal and everything is 'ok.'" Then, in his most powerful statement, in the entire talk, he says: "Please remember this important principle: People who have profound spiritual experiences 'do not talk about them, except in the rarest of circumstances.' It would be a good thing for you to consider the implications of that principle." He then quotes Joseph F. Smith, who said: "Show me Latter-day Saints who have to feed upon miracles, signs, and visions in order to keep them steadfast in the Church, and I will show you members of the Church who are not in good standing before God, and who are walking in slippery paths....." He then leaves us with a final warning regarding this, when he said: If we are not careful and discerning, we may mistakenly follow a false sound that will lead us astray." Finally, he quotes Joseph Smith saying: As the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, ". . . For nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God." So, the bottom line is that we all need to be very careful to not follow false spirits and sounds of Satan and realize how easily we can be deceived and tricked by Satan as "an angel of light." Also, we should rarely, if ever, share our personal spiritual experiences with anyone, at any time, because they are too sacred and holy. The more we share them, the more slippery our path will become and we may slip right into Satan's path and the false spirits will then control and deceive us, thus dragging us down to hell for all eternity. So, let us all go forward, not boasting or talking about our special spiritual experiences, rather keeping them sacred and to ourselves and very private. Please don't allow our sacred spiritual experiences to be our greatest downfall, that will destroy our soul for all eternity and separate us from our families. This talk was originally given at a Ricks College(Idaho) Devotional on August 31, 1999.

I just can't stress enough the importance of paying tithing and as we've learned, it is even more important than "feeding our families", if we have to choose between the two. This incredible talk by Sydney S. Reynolds once again shows how tithing, even when a man and his family had nothing; payed huge, life changing dividends, that wouldn't have happened otherwise. She talks about a man named John Orth, who had a terrible accident and had hot molten lead splashed onto his face and body. He lost complete vision in one eye and didn't have very good vision in his other eye. As a consequence, he lost his job, due to his poor eyesight. She says: "He was forced to go door-to-door seeking odd jobs and handouts to pay for food and rent." So, it's very clear that they had nothing. When it gets to the point that one has to "go door-to-door seeking odd jobs and handouts to pay for food and rent", things have gotten as bad as they can possibly get. other than death itself. He then went to see his Branch President, after a year of not paying tithing. The Branch President understood the situation and what a horrible time they'd been through, "but asked John to make it a matter of prayer and fasting so that he could find a way to pay his tithing." Of course, since John was out begging for food and had nothing to tithe on at all, "John and his wife, Alice, fasted and prayed and determined that the only thing of value they owned was her engagement ring—a beautiful ring bought in happier times." So, they went and pawned it out and then paid their tithing and some outstanding bills, even though it broke their hearts. It's obvious that the Bishop could not financially help a member that wasn't a full-tithe payer, no matter how much they were in need and suffering, because it just wouldn't be right or just. Well, a funny thing happened on his way to pay his tithing. As he left the Bishop's office, after paying his tithing from the ring they pawned; he ran into the Mission President, who just happened to be there and who just happened to be an eye doctor. Long story short, “President Dr. Rees” who was Sydney's Mother's Father; helped the man regain 95% vision in one eye and 15% in the other eye. As a result of this, "with his vision restored, John was never unemployed again; redeemed the ring, which is now a family heirloom; and paid a full tithing for the rest of his life. The Lord knew John Orth, and He knew who could help him." She then says: "Generations were blessed because a family decided they would pay their tithing regardless of the difficulty—and then met a man who 'happened by' and 'happened' to be an eye surgeon..." There is so much to learn here, but the bottom line is that unless this man had belonged to the LDS church and pawned off his wives engagement ring, to become a full-tithe payer, even when he had nothing and had to go door to door begging for food; he never would have regained his eyesight, or a job and would have suffered greatly, along with his family, until the day he died and probably for the rest of eternity. Just because he paid his tithing, everything changed and he was blessed for eternity instead, along with his family. Heavenly Father wanted to richly bless him and his family, but could not and would not, until he sacrificed everything and became a full-tithe payer, even when he had nothing to tithe on. Just another powerful example of how there is no excuse, or reason ever, even if we are begging on the streets for survival, to not pay our tithing. If this man, who had nothing, can pay his tithing, we can all pay our tithing and assure ourselves that we won't be "burned as stubble", like it says in the Doctrine and Covenants and like President Gordon B. Hinckley promises will happen to all of those that don't pay their tithing. What a wonderful, inspiring talk. This talk was originally given in the October 2003 General Conference.

This is a very powerful talk by David A. Bednar about the power of the Holy Ghost and that it is how we communicate directly with God, our Father. David A. Bednar states that "God communicates with us through our very thoughts and feelings" and then counsels us to "to avoid polluting our minds with pornography, watching R-rated and inappropriate movies and television programs, and taking into our bodies harmful and addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol...." As we already know, in regards to pornography, from the Dallin H. Oaks quote from a letter, in April, 2005: "In my eyes cocaine doesn't hold a candle to this. I have done both. . . . Quitting even the hardest drugs was nothing compared to [trying to quit pornography]"(letter of Mar. 20, 2005) Now David A. Bednar also does an amazing display in this talk, with a tuning fork and it really helped me to understand the talk better and what he was trying to explain about the Holy Ghost. David A. Bednar is a genius, a true man of God and knows how to reach deep into our hearts and souls. He said: "Just like the sound produced by this tuning fork, the Holy Ghost is constant, steady, and sure." He then states: "I have wondered if we as members of the Church talk about and emphasize marvelous, magnificent, and dramatic spiritual manifestations so often that we perhaps overlook the customary influence of the Holy Ghost that is quiet, delicate, and subtle." He then quotes President Boyd K. Packer, when he said: ".....I have come to believe also that it is not wise to continually talk of unusual spiritual experiences. They are to be guarded with care and shared only when the Spirit itself prompts us to use them to the blessing of others." David A. Bednar then talks about those who question their own testimony, because they haven't personally seen the angel Moroni. He mentions that if you have doubts about the truthfulness of the church and your testimony; "you are normal and everything is 'ok.'" Then, in his most powerful statement, in the entire talk, he says: "Please remember this important principle: People who have profound spiritual experiences 'do not talk about them, except in the rarest of circumstances.' It would be a good thing for you to consider the implications of that principle." He then quotes Joseph F. Smith, who said: "Show me Latter-day Saints who have to feed upon miracles, signs, and visions in order to keep them steadfast in the Church, and I will show you members of the Church who are not in good standing before God, and who are walking in slippery paths....." He then leaves us with a final warning regarding this, when he said: If we are not careful and discerning, we may mistakenly follow a false sound that will lead us astray." Finally, he quotes Joseph Smith saying: As the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, ". . . For nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God." So, the bottom line is that we all need to be very careful to not follow false spirits and sounds of Satan and realize how easily we can be deceived and tricked by Satan as "an angel of light." Also, we should rarely, if ever, share our personal spiritual experiences with anyone, at any time, because they are too sacred and holy. The more we share them, the more slippery our path will become and we may slip right into Satan's path and the false spirits will then control and deceive us, thus dragging us down to hell for all eternity. So, let us all go forward, not boasting or talking about our special spiritual experiences, rather keeping them sacred and to ourselves and very private. Please don't allow our sacred spiritual experiences to be our greatest downfall, that will destroy our soul for all eternity and separate us from our families. This talk was originally given at a Ricks College(Idaho) Devotional on August 31, 1999.

This is clip #2 of this amazing and powerful talk given by M. Russell Ballard. I posted part 1 a couple of days ago. In this clip, he basically says the same thing he said earlier in the talk, about running from those "that claim to know something that the First Presidency or the 12 Apostles of God don't know." He says again to, "run away from them as fast as you can." He also states: "There are people all around the world who are now making the declaration that they are the Christ. Please be careful." He also makes the same exact statement, word for word, that he made back at a BYU-Provo Devotional on November 6, 1994, in the talk entitled "What Came From Kirtland?"(posted here August 12, 2006) This is obviously very important for him to repeat it again, so let me post it again. M. Russell Ballard says again: "You keep your eyes riveted on the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. WE WILL NOT LEAD YOU ASTRAY. WE CANNOT." The difference this time, is that he goes on to explain why that is, that they can't lead us astray and it is beautiful the way he expresses himself. M. Russell Ballard is a very eloquent and blessed speaker, inspired directly by God himself. I think being a direct, living descendant of the beloved Joseph Smith, might be the reason for this. He then discusses a missionary who almost lost his testimony after reading some anti-Mormon literature for the first time. The bottom line, as he explains in this story, is that if you give the Lord equal time and read The Book of Mormon everyday, and nothing else, you will always know the church is true and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. It is also a strong warning to stay away from that evil anti-Mormon doctrine that is all lies and from the Devil himself, the master of all lies. Just reading it once, can cause even "the elect", to be led astray and lose their testimony. The last part of this clip explains that no matter how righteous we are and how focused on Christ we are, that we can still have a lot of problems and difficulties. M. Russell Ballard says: "Does that mean we will not have turmoil or personal problems or sickness or family challenges or employment difficulties? Not at all." However, he does point out: "But it does mean that if our faith is anchored securely in our testimonies of Christ, we will be able to cope with whatever adversity comes our way, and we will be able to do so in a positive, faith-promoting manner. If we keep the eye of faith focused on Christ, we gain a broader view and an eternal perspective, and with that we can understand adversity from within the context of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for all of His children. And we can find comfort in this life in the eternal safety, peace, joy, and security that He promises." So, no matter what has happened or is happening in our lives, whether someone has died or is extremely ill or sick, etc, we can look at the situation in a "positive, faith-promoting manner." We will also understand that it is all "from within the context of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for all of His children." How beautiful to know that Heavenly Father has blessed us all with such trials and pain, in order to help us grow and become better people. No matter how bad things are, they're for our own good in the long run and the eternal perspective of things. This talk was originally given at BYU-Provo, as a devotional Address, on March 12, 1996.

This is clip #2 of this amazing and powerful talk given by M. Russell Ballard. I posted part 1 a couple of days ago. In this clip, he basically says the same thing he said earlier in the talk, about running from those "that claim to know something that the First Presidency or the 12 Apostles of God don't know." He says again to, "run away from them as fast as you can." He also states: "There are people all around the world who are now making the declaration that they are the Christ. Please be careful." He also makes the same exact statement, word for word, that he made back at a BYU-Provo Devotional on November 6, 1994, in the talk entitled "What Came From Kirtland?"(posted here August 12, 2006) This is obviously very important for him to repeat it again, so let me post it again. M. Russell Ballard says again: "You keep your eyes riveted on the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. WE WILL NOT LEAD YOU ASTRAY. WE CANNOT." The difference this time, is that he goes on to explain why that is, that they can't lead us astray and it is beautiful the way he expresses himself. M. Russell Ballard is a very eloquent and blessed speaker, inspired directly by God himself. I think being a direct, living descendant of the beloved Joseph Smith, might be the reason for this. He then discusses a missionary who almost lost his testimony after reading some anti-Mormon literature for the first time. The bottom line, as he explains in this story, is that if you give the Lord equal time and read The Book of Mormon everyday, and nothing else, you will always know the church is true and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. It is also a strong warning to stay away from that evil anti-Mormon doctrine that is all lies and from the Devil himself, the master of all lies. Just reading it once, can cause even "the elect", to be led astray and lose their testimony. The last part of this clip explains that no matter how righteous we are and how focused on Christ we are, that we can still have a lot of problems and difficulties. M. Russell Ballard says: "Does that mean we will not have turmoil or personal problems or sickness or family challenges or employment difficulties? Not at all." However, he does point out: "But it does mean that if our faith is anchored securely in our testimonies of Christ, we will be able to cope with whatever adversity comes our way, and we will be able to do so in a positive, faith-promoting manner. If we keep the eye of faith focused on Christ, we gain a broader view and an eternal perspective, and with that we can understand adversity from within the context of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for all of His children. And we can find comfort in this life in the eternal safety, peace, joy, and security that He promises." So, no matter what has happened or is happening in our lives, whether someone has died or is extremely ill or sick, etc, we can look at the situation in a "positive, faith-promoting manner." We will also understand that it is all "from within the context of Heavenly Father's eternal plan for all of His children." How beautiful to know that Heavenly Father has blessed us all with such trials and pain, in order to help us grow and become better people. No matter how bad things are, they're for our own good in the long run and the eternal perspective of things. This talk was originally given at BYU-Provo, as a devotional Address, on March 12, 1996.

Brent L. Top, asks everyone the question: “Would you be willing to lay down your life rather than denounce your faith and testimony of the restored gospel?” What is our answer? Would we die for our testimony of the LDS church? If our life hung in the balance, and we were about to be executed in front of our families, like the example he uses, would we have the courage to take the bullet for the restored gospel? I sure hope so, because their is no greater cause or anything more important than being able to have the privilege of dying for the LDS church, Jesus and our testimony. What a blessing that would truly be! Brent L. Top says: "I like to believe that I could definitively and without hesitation declare that I would gladly lay down my life for my faith. Yet I am not sure giving that answer is as easy as it sounds. In fact, I am quite convinced that it isn’t that easy—nor was true discipleship ever intended to be easy, comfortable, convenient, painless, or free from sacrifice and sorrow. Nevertheless, I hope that I could and would be able to sacrifice my life for my testimony. In the meantime, however, I can say (as I should have said to my student who posed that penetrating question to me), 'I have made a covenant to do so if necessary.'" The last sentence is the most important part of all, where he says: "I have made a covenant to do so if necessary." Exactly! All of us that have been through the temple, and have made a very sacred covenant with God, "to die if necessary", if that is what it takes, to stand up for the church, our testimony, sacred temple covenants, Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. Those that haven't been through yet; this is what you have to look forward to and it is a great privilege to make these covenants. The example he shared, was the famous story about 2 LDS men in Mexico, that wouldn't renounce their testimony, when facing a firing squad. Brent L. Top said: "....two LDS fathers, the branch president and his first counselor, who were imprisoned and sentenced to death. They were told they would be spared the firing squad if they would denounce their Mormon beliefs. Because they refused to do so, the two men, President Rafael Monroy and Brother Vicente Morales, were executed in front of their families and branch members on 17 July 1915." What great men, to allow themselves to be executed in front of their families and branch members. Would you all be willing to do this and be so strong and brave like they were. Like I said earlier; let's hope so. I'm sure that their families were very proud of them and what they did for the LDS church and Jesus and would have wanted nothing less in that moment, than to see their great example. I'm sure they went straight to the Celestial Kingdom, where we all want to be. So, once again, be honest and ask yourselves: “Would you be willing to lay down your life rather than denounce your faith and testimony of the restored gospel?” This talk was originally given at a BYU-Idaho Devotional on December 9, 2003.

Brent L. Top, asks everyone the question: “Would you be willing to lay down your life rather than denounce your faith and testimony of the restored gospel?” What is our answer? Would we die for our testimony of the LDS church? If our life hung in the balance, and we were about to be executed in front of our families, like the example he uses, would we have the courage to take the bullet for the restored gospel? I sure hope so, because their is no greater cause or anything more important than being able to have the privilege of dying for the LDS church, Jesus and our testimony. What a blessing that would truly be! Brent L. Top says: "I like to believe that I could definitively and without hesitation declare that I would gladly lay down my life for my faith. Yet I am not sure giving that answer is as easy as it sounds. In fact, I am quite convinced that it isn’t that easy—nor was true discipleship ever intended to be easy, comfortable, convenient, painless, or free from sacrifice and sorrow. Nevertheless, I hope that I could and would be able to sacrifice my life for my testimony. In the meantime, however, I can say (as I should have said to my student who posed that penetrating question to me), 'I have made a covenant to do so if necessary.'" The last sentence is the most important part of all, where he says: "I have made a covenant to do so if necessary." Exactly! All of us that have been through the temple, and have made a very sacred covenant with God, "to die if necessary", if that is what it takes, to stand up for the church, our testimony, sacred temple covenants, Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. Those that haven't been through yet; this is what you have to look forward to and it is a great privilege to make these covenants. The example he shared, was the famous story about 2 LDS men in Mexico, that wouldn't renounce their testimony, when facing a firing squad. Brent L. Top said: "....two LDS fathers, the branch president and his first counselor, who were imprisoned and sentenced to death. They were told they would be spared the firing squad if they would denounce their Mormon beliefs. Because they refused to do so, the two men, President Rafael Monroy and Brother Vicente Morales, were executed in front of their families and branch members on 17 July 1915." What great men, to allow themselves to be executed in front of their families and branch members. Would you all be willing to do this and be so strong and brave like they were. Like I said earlier; let's hope so. I'm sure that their families were very proud of them and what they did for the LDS church and Jesus and would have wanted nothing less in that moment, than to see their great example. I'm sure they went straight to the Celestial Kingdom, where we all want to be. So, once again, be honest and ask yourselves: “Would you be willing to lay down your life rather than denounce your faith and testimony of the restored gospel?” This talk was originally given at a BYU-Idaho Devotional on December 9, 2003.

Wow!! This is another great talk by M. Russell Ballard, where he says: "You may not be aware of it, but there are 'false prophets' rising within and without the Church. They believe they have had revelations, that they know something the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles don't know." He then says: "You need to be very careful of such people. If you are ever approached by anyone who claims special authority or revelation from God outside the sustained priesthood authority, turn and run from them as fast as you can." This just confirms to me once again, that the Prophets and Apostles know everything there is to know and we just need to blindly follow them, with great faith, because they can never lead us astray or God will remove them. These men are not just fallible men, who can sin like us and they know so much more than any of us will ever know and they will give us everything we need to get through life and help us with every challenge we face. If we know anyone in or out of the church, that claims special visions, authority or revelations; please everyone, let's all take M. Russel Ballard's Prophetic advice and "RUN FROM THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN", because they are all "false Prophets" and very dangerous people, that work directly for Satan and they may drag you down to the depths of hell. Are we willing to take that risk? You can't say you haven't been warned. This talk was originally given at BYU-Provo, as a devotional Address, on March 12, 1996.

Wow!! This is another great talk by M. Russell Ballard, where he says: "You may not be aware of it, but there are 'false prophets' rising within and without the Church. They believe they have had revelations, that they know something the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles don't know." He then says: "You need to be very careful of such people. If you are ever approached by anyone who claims special authority or revelation from God outside the sustained priesthood authority, turn and run from them as fast as you can." This just confirms to me once again, that the Prophets and Apostles know everything there is to know and we just need to blindly follow them, with great faith, because they can never lead us astray or God will remove them. These men are not just fallible men, who can sin like us and they know so much more than any of us will ever know and they will give us everything we need to get through life and help us with every challenge we face. If we know anyone in or out of the church, that claims special visions, authority or revelations; please everyone, let's all take M. Russel Ballard's Prophetic advice and "RUN FROM THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN", because they are all "false Prophets" and very dangerous people, that work directly for Satan and they may drag you down to the depths of hell. Are we willing to take that risk? You can't say you haven't been warned. This talk was originally given at BYU-Provo, as a devotional Address, on March 12, 1996.

In this amazing talk, Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley reminds everyone that doesn't pay their tithing, or obey all of the other commandments of the Lord, that they will be "burned as stubble", at the 2nd coming, using the Doctrine and Covenants[D&C 34:7–9] for the reference. He says: "Nonetheless, the word of the Lord is clear that those who do not keep the commandments and observe the laws of God SHALL BE BURNED at the time of his coming." He also jokes about tithing being "fire insurance" and some people in the audience laugh, but then he confirms that paying tithing is indeed fire insurance and therefore no laughing matter. He also speaks of the 2nd coming and the faith and surety of good, obedient Latter-Day Saints. The bottom line is to pay your tithing everyone or you will indeed be burned as stubble at the time of the 2nd coming, as the Modern-day Prophet of God has promised and I for one, do not want to be burned up like stubble. Do you guys want to be burned? Pay that fire insurance or suffer the consequences! This talk was originally a fireside address that was given at Brigham Young University on March 25, 1979.

In this amazing talk, Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley reminds everyone that doesn't pay their tithing, or obey all of the other commandments of the Lord, that they will be "burned as stubble", at the 2nd coming, using the Doctrine and Covenants[D&C 34:7–9] for the reference. He says: "Nonetheless, the word of the Lord is clear that those who do not keep the commandments and observe the laws of God SHALL BE BURNED at the time of his coming." He also jokes about tithing being "fire insurance" and some people in the audience laugh, but then he confirms that paying tithing is indeed fire insurance and therefore no laughing matter. He also speaks of the 2nd coming and the faith and surety of good, obedient Latter-Day Saints. The bottom line is to pay your tithing everyone or you will indeed be burned as stubble at the time of the 2nd coming, as the Modern-day Prophet of God has promised and I for one, do not want to be burned up like stubble. Do you guys want to be burned? Pay that fire insurance or suffer the consequences! This talk was originally a fireside address that was given at Brigham Young University on March 25, 1979.

Another powerful clip, where Susan W. Tanner explains how there is "an intimate link between body, mind and spirit." She then explains the importance of the word of wisdom and says, "she remembers an incident in my home growing up when my mother's sensitive spirit was affected by a physical indulgence. She had experimented with a new sweet roll recipe. They were big and rich and yummy—and very filling." What happened, is that her mother ate 3 of these "big and rich and yummy—and very filling" sweet rolls, which in turn, offended her spirit and made her feel unworthy to say the family prayer. I'm sure that most of us would feel the same exact way she did. As I have reflected on all of the past Thanksgiving holiday meals, buffets, eating cookies, pizza parties, etc, I too realize that I have overindulged way too many times and deeply offended my spirit in the process. I remember and recognize that I usually felt good and normal before a buffet, but then afterwords, I felt sluggish, bogged down, sad and somewhat depressed. Now, thanks to Susan W. Tanner and this example of her Mother, that she shared with all of us, I understand that this feeling that I've had, is my sensitive spirit having been offended. I too, now feel shame and embarrassment, just like Susan W. Tanner's Mom felt and I feel the need to repent and not take part in these overindulgences again. I hope that I can have the strength to not overindulge and offend my spirit. It is certainly a humbling experience. I hope that the rest of you will do the same and stop offending your spirits through gross overindulgence, especially during the upcoming holidays. I know that this will be a challenge for all of us to obey the Word of Wisdom and stay in the good graces with our spirit. We must learn to obey both the spirit and letter of the law, in order to achieve eternal salvation in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom and one day become a God of our own worlds without number. I don't know why everyone laughed during such a serious and important example of how we shouldn't offend our spirit and I hope that those that laughed, now understand that it wasn't funny, but a very serious matter. I don't think that they understood the severity of the matter and I think that Susan W. Tanner was quite shocked at the laughter. Next time any of you want to eat more than one sweet roll, chocolate chip cookie or cake, please remember this story by Susan W. Tanner, say a prayer and refrain from the temptation, thus not offending your amazing spirit. Let's not be like Susan W. Tanner's Mother and have to bow our head it shame and not feel worthy to pray. This talk was given in the October 2005 General Conference.

Another powerful clip, where Susan W. Tanner explains how there is "an intimate link between body, mind and spirit." She then explains the importance of the word of wisdom and says, "she remembers an incident in my home growing up when my mother's sensitive spirit was affected by a physical indulgence. She had experimented with a new sweet roll recipe. They were big and rich and yummy—and very filling." What happened, is that her mother ate 3 of these "big and rich and yummy—and very filling" sweet rolls, which in turn, offended her spirit and made her feel unworthy to say the family prayer. I'm sure that most of us would feel the same exact way she did. As I have reflected on all of the past Thanksgiving holiday meals, buffets, eating cookies, pizza parties, etc, I too realize that I have overindulged way too many times and deeply offended my spirit in the process. I remember and recognize that I usually felt good and normal before a buffet, but then afterwords, I felt sluggish, bogged down, sad and somewhat depressed. Now, thanks to Susan W. Tanner and this example of her Mother, that she shared with all of us, I understand that this feeling that I've had, is my sensitive spirit having been offended. I too, now feel shame and embarrassment, just like Susan W. Tanner's Mom felt and I feel the need to repent and not take part in these overindulgences again. I hope that I can have the strength to not overindulge and offend my spirit. It is certainly a humbling experience. I hope that the rest of you will do the same and stop offending your spirits through gross overindulgence, especially during the upcoming holidays. I know that this will be a challenge for all of us to obey the Word of Wisdom and stay in the good graces with our spirit. We must learn to obey both the spirit and letter of the law, in order to achieve eternal salvation in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom and one day become a God of our own worlds without number. I don't know why everyone laughed during such a serious and important example of how we shouldn't offend our spirit and I hope that those that laughed, now understand that it wasn't funny, but a very serious matter. I don't think that they understood the severity of the matter and I think that Susan W. Tanner was quite shocked at the laughter. Next time any of you want to eat more than one sweet roll, chocolate chip cookie or cake, please remember this story by Susan W. Tanner, say a prayer and refrain from the temptation, thus not offending your amazing spirit. Let's not be like Susan W. Tanner's Mother and have to bow our head it shame and not feel worthy to pray. This talk was given in the October 2005 General Conference.

This is another very powerful and emotional talk on the importance of tithing and how our eternal life literally depends on it, even if you are a non-member, just taking the discussions. Robert D Hales mentions that even donating tithing money to charitable donations is very wrong. It is up to the LDS Church, Jesus' Church, to decide where your money goes, what it is spent on, not the person that is donating. He then says: "As soon as you have demonstrated your faith in paying tithing over a period of time and kept the other necessary commandments, you will be able to enjoy the eternal blessings of the temple. I plead with you, do not let this opportunity pass by. Do not procrastinate." This tells me that our eternal life hangs in the balance. No matter how great of a person we are, no matter how great of a spouse, parent, etc, we will not be eligible for the "eternal blessings of the temple", if we don't pay our tithing to Jesus Christ and his Church. As he also mentions, "I encourage you to gather your little ones around you and help them count their pennies." The Lord's Church needs every cent that it can get, even "little one's pennies", in order to further the work. He then discusses 2 missionaries that were teaching a very poor family, that lived in a house "made out of pressboard and sticks, with a dirt floor and no electricity or beds." The Father worked everyday, just to be able to put food on the table each night. In other words, they were about as poor as you can get. The Senior companion wondered if they should even teach tithing at all, or at least delay it, while the junior companion, wanted to teach it in the next discussion, even though it wouldn't be for 4 more discussions. Why you ask? The junior companion expressed it this way: "I know the principle of tithing isn't taught for four more discussions, but can we please teach it the next time we visit? They need to know about tithing now because they need the help and the blessing of the Lord so much." You see, even though they weren't members; the Lord couldn't bless them, even though he wanted to, because they weren't members of his Church, paying their tithing. As Robert D. Hales says, in a summary of this story: "The Lord wants to bless this family and anxiously awaits their obedience so He can." So, even though they didn't realize or know that they should be paying tithing and that they were being disobedient, The Lord couldn't bless them, even though he anxiously wanted to. That is powerful. The Lord can't wait for them to be LDS and paying their tithing, so that He can bless them. In the meantime, The Lord needs to leave them in poverty, without those blessings that he "anxiously awaits" to bless them with. This clip shows the importance and power of tithing and how the Lord can't and won't bless you and will withhold blessings from you if you don't pay it, even if you aren't LDS and didn't even know that you should be paying it. Their is no salvation in ignorance and we are all accountable for our sins of commission and omission, even if we don't know better. Robert D. Hales says the following: "Keeping the commandments, which includes paying our tithing, will qualify us to enter those temples, be sealed to our families, and receive eternal blessings." So, the opposite is also true; if we don't pay our tithing, "we will not be qualified to enter the temples, be sealed to our families and we will not receive eternal blessings." Robert D. Hales gets very emotional at one point in this talk, as you can hear his voice crack, talking about the importance of tithing and you may want to get the tissues ready. He is a great man. This talk is amazing and basically breaks it all down and leaves no doubt; if we don't pay our tithing, nothing else we do really matters and everything in eternity, hinges on paying our tithing. This talk was given in the October 2002 General Conference.

This is another very powerful and emotional talk on the importance of tithing and how our eternal life literally depends on it, even if you are a non-member, just taking the discussions. Robert D Hales mentions that even donating tithing money to charitable donations is very wrong. It is up to the LDS Church, Jesus' Church, to decide where your money goes, what it is spent on, not the person that is donating. He then says: "As soon as you have demonstrated your faith in paying tithing over a period of time and kept the other necessary commandments, you will be able to enjoy the eternal blessings of the temple. I plead with you, do not let this opportunity pass by. Do not procrastinate." This tells me that our eternal life hangs in the balance. No matter how great of a person we are, no matter how great of a spouse, parent, etc, we will not be eligible for the "eternal blessings of the temple", if we don't pay our tithing to Jesus Christ and his Church. As he also mentions, "I encourage you to gather your little ones around you and help them count their pennies." The Lord's Church needs every cent that it can get, even "little one's pennies", in order to further the work. He then discusses 2 missionaries that were teaching a very poor family, that lived in a house "made out of pressboard and sticks, with a dirt floor and no electricity or beds." The Father worked everyday, just to be able to put food on the table each night. In other words, they were about as poor as you can get. The Senior companion wondered if they should even teach tithing at all, or at least delay it, while the junior companion, wanted to teach it in the next discussion, even though it wouldn't be for 4 more discussions. Why you ask? The junior companion expressed it this way: "I know the principle of tithing isn't taught for four more discussions, but can we please teach it the next time we visit? They need to know about tithing now because they need the help and the blessing of the Lord so much." You see, even though they weren't members; the Lord couldn't bless them, even though he wanted to, because they weren't members of his Church, paying their tithing. As Robert D. Hales says, in a summary of this story: "The Lord wants to bless this family and anxiously awaits their obedience so He can." So, even though they didn't realize or know that they should be paying tithing and that they were being disobedient, The Lord couldn't bless them, even though he anxiously wanted to. That is powerful. The Lord can't wait for them to be LDS and paying their tithing, so that He can bless them. In the meantime, The Lord needs to leave them in poverty, without those blessings that he "anxiously awaits" to bless them with. This clip shows the importance and power of tithing and how the Lord can't and won't bless you and will withhold blessings from you if you don't pay it, even if you aren't LDS and didn't even know that you should be paying it. Their is no salvation in ignorance and we are all accountable for our sins of commission and omission, even if we don't know better. Robert D. Hales says the following: "Keeping the commandments, which includes paying our tithing, will qualify us to enter those temples, be sealed to our families, and receive eternal blessings." So, the opposite is also true; if we don't pay our tithing, "we will not be qualified to enter the temples, be sealed to our families and we will not receive eternal blessings." Robert D. Hales gets very emotional at one point in this talk, as you can hear his voice crack, talking about the importance of tithing and you may want to get the tissues ready. He is a great man. This talk is amazing and basically breaks it all down and leaves no doubt; if we don't pay our tithing, nothing else we do really matters and everything in eternity, hinges on paying our tithing. This talk was given in the October 2002 General Conference.