All families need strengthening, from the ideal to the most troubled. That strengthening can come from you...It is important to establish patterns of righteousness in your own life, which will enable you to set a good example for your family, whatever form your family may take. The example of your righteous life will strengthen your family…you will be blessed throughout your life and will develop the spiritual foundation from which you can strengthen your family by example.
- Mary N. Cook, Strengthen Home and Family
I think of the many trials that Nephi experienced, many of which are included in his writing. His trials help us understand that we all have our dark days...Despite these...trials during the course of his life, Nephi always recognized the goodness of God…how do we react to our afflictions? Do we murmur before the Lord because of them? Or, like Nephi…do we feel thankful in word, thought, and deed because we are more focused on our blessings than on our problems?
- Moisés Villanueva, Favored of the Lord in All My Days
The God of heaven and earth will help us overcome discouragement and whatever obstacles we encounter if we look to Him, follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and just keep going—with faith. Thankfully, when we are weak or incapable, the Lord can strengthen our faith. He can increase our capacity beyond our own…Just as the Savior finished the work He was given to do, He has the power to help us finish the work we have been given.
- Carl B. Cook, Just Keep Going—with Faith
Where do we turn for help? “In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way”. The Savior isn’t our last chance; He is our only chance...the Savior will guide those who follow Him all the way home. Lehi’s family endured an intense wilderness experience designed to teach, test, and sanctify them. Likewise, the path from our former home to eternal life runs right through this earthly wilderness, where we may expect similar challenges and difficulties. But in our journey we are not alone, for the Lord’s promise to Lehi is the same to us...The Lord knows the way because He is the way and is our only chance for successfully negotiating mortality.
- Sheri L. Dew, Our Only Chance
The very factors that caused the Liahona to work for Lehi will likewise invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. And the very factors that caused the Liahona not to work anciently will likewise cause us to withdraw ourselves from the Holy Ghost today…The director was a physical instrument that served as an outward indicator of their inner spiritual standing before God. It worked according to the principles of faith and diligence…The Spirit of the Lord can be our guide and will bless us with direction, instruction, and spiritual protection during our mortal journey.
- David A. Bednar, That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us
[W]e are urged to search, feast, and ponder. Especially, however, we should also do more of what Nephi did, namely “liken all scriptures unto [ourselves]”…Laman and Lemuel’s rejection of the prophets and the scriptures meant there could be no useful likening or rehearsals of remembrance and no freshening of personal revelation to them for their time. They simply did not understand that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways....We can partake of His love by applying Jesus’ glorious Atonement in order to become more like Him. By likening precious scriptures to ourselves we will hasten that precious process!
- Neal A. Maxwell, Lessons from Laman and Lemuel
[W]e have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow... The account at the beginning of the Book of Mormon is of a prophet of God, Lehi. He was also the leader of a family. He was warned by God to take those he loved to safety. Lehi’s experience is a type of what happens as God gives counsel through His servants. Of Lehi’s family, only those who had faith and who themselves received confirming revelation saw both the danger and the way to safety.
- President Henry B. Eyring, Finding Safety in Counsel
Jesus Christ can heal more than just our physical bodies...[he] can also heal us when we sin. We sin when we knowingly break one of God’s laws. When we sin, our soul becomes unclean... God the Father knows we will sin, but He has prepared a way for us to be redeemed…Through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, we can be redeemed from our sins and brought back to the presence of God the Father if we repent... the faster we repent and bring the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives, the sooner we can be healed from the effects of sin.
- Matthew L. Carpenter, Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?
From the very beginning, God has taught his children that blessings come to those who are obedient... as we obey the commandments, we have the evidence of blessings, feelings of accomplishment, and inner peace… Obedience brings blessings here and now. Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Happiness and peace are found when we are in harmony with ourselves, with God, and with our fellowmen.
- Barbara K. Winder, Draw Near unto Me through Obedience
In unfair situations, one of our tasks is to trust that “all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ overcame the world and “absorbed” all unfairness. Because of Him, we can have peace in this world and be of good cheer. If we let Him, Jesus Christ will consecrate the unfairness for our gain. He will not just console us and restore what was lost; He will use the unfairness for our benefit.
- Dale G. Renlund, Infuriating Unfairness
Our Father’s plan provides for redemption from the Fall through the atonement of Jesus Christ. As the Only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, he made a perfect atonement for all mankind. It applies to everyone unconditionally as it pertains to the resurrection from temporal, or physical, death, for all shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies as a result of the Atonement.
- M. Russell Ballard, Answers to Life’s Questions
We teach that agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and “to act for [ourselves] and not to be acted upon.” Agency is to act with accountability and responsibility for our actions. Our agency is essential to the plan of salvation...we must continue to choose to follow the Savior. Eternity is at stake, and our wise use of agency and our actions are essential that we might have eternal life.
- Robert D. Hales, Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life
Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration...He was the instrument in God’s hands in bringing forth sacred scripture, lost doctrine, and the restoration of the priesthood. The importance of Joseph’s work requires more than intellectual consideration; it requires that we, like Joseph, “ask of God.”...Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith...Jesus...Christ...chose a holy man, a righteous man, to lead the Restoration of the fulness of His gospel. He chose Joseph Smith.
- Neil L. Andersen, Joseph Smith
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi speaks often of delight. He delights “in the things of the Lord,” “in the scriptures,” and “in the great and eternal plan” of our Father in Heaven... We too should delight in the things of the Lord for it will “lift” our hearts and give us cause to “rejoice”…To delight in Him is to acknowledge His hand in our lives. Our gospel duty is to do what is right and to love and delight in what is right. When we delight to serve Him, our Father in Heaven delights to bless us.
- Susan W. Tanner, My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord
Nephi knew in whom He could trust...There will be times when we will not be able to see any way that a current situation will end well and might even express, as Nephi, “My heart sorroweth because of my flesh.” There may be times that the only hope we have is in Jesus Christ. What a blessing to have that hope and trust in Him... Like Nephi, we can do difficult things and help others do the same, because we know in whom we can trust.
- John A. McCune, Come unto Christ—Living as Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ has always been led by living prophets and apostles...the Lord’s servants are inspired to help us avoid obstacles that are spiritually life threatening and to help us pass safely through mortality to our final, ultimate, heavenly destination...Through the centuries, prophets have fulfilled their duty when they have warned people of the dangers before them. The Lord’s Apostles are duty bound to watch, warn, and reach out to help those seeking answers to life’s questions.
- M. Russell Ballard, God is at the Helm
Happiness is a condition of the soul. This joyous state comes as a result of righteous living…After the struggles of the long journey to the promised land and after 30 years of faithful efforts to keep the commandments of God, the untiring prophet Nephi of the Book of Mormon summarized the history of his people by saying, “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.”
Happiness is defined in the Book of Mormon by the prophet-king Benjamin as “the blessed and happy state of those [that] keep the commandments of God."
- Benjamin De Hoyos, True Happiness: A Conscious Decision
Temples are the most sacred places of worship on earth where sacred ordinances are performed—ordinances which pertain to salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. Each one is literally a house of the Lord—a place where He and His spirit may dwell, where He may come or send others to confer priesthood blessings and to give revelation to His people. Temples built especially to the Lord have been erected in all ages...The Nephites built sacred temples.
- David B. Haight, Temples and Work Therin, Oct 1990
[T]he Book of Mormon came forth as a sign that the Lord had commenced to gather children of the covenant. This book, written for our day, states: “Then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel … is already beginning to be fulfilled…“For behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.”…The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored in these latter days to fulfill ancient promises of the Lord. It is part of the “restitution of all things.”
- President Russell M. Nelson, Children of the Covenant
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is available to each of us. His Atonement is infinite. It applies to everyone, even you. It can clean, reclaim, and sanctify even you. That is what infinite means—total, complete, all, forever. President Boyd K. Packer has taught: “There is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ”…
- Shayne M. Bowen, The Atonement Can Clean, Reclaim, and Sanctify Our Lives
God did not create our spirits to be independent of Him. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through the incalculable gift of His Atonement, not only saves us from death and offers us, through repentance, forgiveness for our sins, but He also stands ready to save us from the sorrows and pains of our wounded souls...He comes to us when others pass us by. With compassion, He places His healing balm on our wounds and binds them up. He carries us. He cares for us.
- Neil L. Andersen, Wounded
Righteous living is a shield, a protector, an insulation, a strength, a power, a joy, a Christlike trait. Yes, living a life of righteousness is a chainbreaker...We need to arise from the dust and enjoy the fresh air of righteousness. We need to move forward in patience, understanding, love, and never-ending commitment…The joys of happiness can only be realized by living lofty principles.
- Marvin K. Ashton, “Shake Off the Chains with Which Ye Are Bound”
The blessings that flow into the lives of those who follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ, who choose to be counted among His disciples, are numerous, joyful, and eternal… here is only one way into the fold of God and only one way to be saved. It is by and through Jesus Christ…[T]o receive the marvelous blessings promised to those who come into the fold of God requires us to do just that—we need to choose to come…
- Randy D. Funk, Come into the Fold of God
Redemption, by and through the Savior Jesus Christ, makes joy possible...The joy we speak of is a gift for the faithful, yet it comes with a price. Joy is not cheap or casually given. Rather, it is bought “with the precious blood of [Jesus] Christ.” If we really understood the value of true, godly joy, we would not hesitate to sacrifice any worldly possession or make any necessary life changes to receive it.
- Craig C. Christensen, “There Can Be Nothing So Exquisite and Sweet as Was My Joy”