Simply stated, prayer is communication to Heavenly Father from His sons and daughters on earth...We are commanded to pray always to the Father in the name of the Son. We are promised that if we pray sincerely for that which is right and good and in accordance with God’s will, we can be blessed, protected, and directed...prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others with real intent and a sincere heart. I witness Heavenly Father lives and that He hears and answers every earnest prayer.
- David A. Bednar, Pray Always
Inspiring Short: Seeking Constant Divine Communication | Patrick Kearon
President Monson talks about Prayer
Inscribed on the front of each temple is a solemn statement: “Holiness to the Lord.” These inspired words are a clear invitation that when we enter the Lord’s house, we embark on a sacred journey of learning to become higher and holier disciples of Christ...
when the Lord sees even a spark of desire or a flicker of righteous effort in our willingness to center our lives on Him and on the ordinances and covenants we make in His house, He will bless us, in His perfect way, with the miracles and tender mercies we need.
- Ulisses Soares, Covenant Confidence through Jesus Christ
President Nelson and the House of the Lord
[R]egardless of any challenges that yet await us, there is hope and confidence in knowing that by keeping the covenants of the gospel, all of the momentary trials of life can be transcended. The scriptures teach us that all will eventually be well as we are faithful to our covenants… Covenants are agreements we make with our Heavenly Father in which we commit our hearts, minds, and behavior to keeping the commandments defined by the Lord. As we are faithful in keeping our agreement, He covenants, or promises, to bless us, ultimately, with all that He has.
- Paul E. Koelliker, Gospel Covenants Bring Promised Blessings
Teachings of Mormon Prophet - Joseph Smith: Temple Ordinances
The temple is the Lord’s house and a sanctuary from the world. His Spirit envelops those who worship within those sacred walls. He sets the standards by which we enter as His guests… Your temple recommend reflects a deep, spiritual intent that you are striving to live the laws of the Lord and love what He loves…Your temple recommend opens the gates of heaven for you... To be “recommended to the Lord,” we strive to be like Him.
- Ronald A. Rasband, Recommended to the Lord
Inspiring Short: Seeking Jesus in the Temple | Allen D. Haynie | 2023
President Nelson Updates Temple Recommend Interview Questions
Priesthood keys constitute the authority and power of presidency. Priesthood keys govern how the priesthood of God may be used to bring about the Lord’s purposes and bless all who accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ…The power of these priesthood keys is infinite and breathtaking...Priesthood keys distinguish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from any other organization on earth…Let us rejoice that priesthood keys are once again on the earth!
- President Russell M. Nelson, Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys
Priesthood keys the Restoration of Priesthood keys
FamilySearch is becoming what the Lord needs for part of His Restoration...help[ing] people gain feelings of familiarity and even love for their ancestors and complete their temple ordinances. Now, as the Lord surely knew would happen, young people are becoming computer mentors to their parents and ward members. All have found great joy in this service. The spirit of Elijah is changing the hearts of young and old, children and parents, grandchildren and grandparents... The desire to serve our ancestors and the bonding of parents and children are growing.
- President Henry B. Eyring, He Goes before Us
Discovering My Family’s History
Discovering Jesus Christ Through Family History
Rediscovering Purpose Through the Past | Amanda’s Story
Family History Helped Me Find Where I Belong | Jeremiah's Story
Why Will God Turn the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children? (Knowhy #219)
[T]he treasured blessings of the sacrament are available to us each time we attend sacrament meeting. We do not need to labor unsuccessfully…to find our treasure. Nor need we seek counsel from exotic sources, prizing the novelty of the source and thinking such counsel will be more enlightened than that which we can receive from a humble prophet of God...Treasure the opportunity to repent, the privilege of partaking of the sacrament, the blessing of making and keeping temple covenants, the delight of worshipping in the temple, and the joy of having a living prophet.
- Dale G. Renlund, Jesus Christ is the Treasure
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God. … The Lord will not forsake us.”... Scripture says, “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.” This doesn’t mean all things are good, but for the meek and faithful, things—both positive and negative—work together for good, and the timing is the Lord’s...Truly yoked to the Savior, we can say with confidence, “It will all work out.”
- Neill F. Marriott, Yielding Our Hearts to God
Discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of asking in faith in meaningful prayer. However, simply saying the words “Thy will be done” is not enough. Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him...Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father...We can... engage in meaningful prayer as we...humbly acknowledge and accept “not my will, but thine, be done.”
- David A. Bednar, Ask in Faith
Inspiring Short: The Whisperings of Heaven | Bruce C. Hafen
The Bread Loaf Prayer | Come Learn with Me
Isn’t it wonderful that there are times when we can feel so fully and personally noticed and loved?...Is it any surprise that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love those around us? When I see people showing Christlike love for one another, it feels to me as if that love contains more than just their love; it is love that also has divinity in it. When we love one another in this way, as completely and fully as we can, heaven gets involved too. So if someone we care about seems distant from a sense of divine love, we can follow this pattern—by doing things that bring us closer to God ourselves and then doing things that bring us closer to them.
- Karl D. Hirst, God’s Favourite
The Heart of the Gospel: Love God and Neighbor
Love One Another - Elder Holland
Much like the five wise virgins who had their lamps full with oil when the bridegroom came, we can be whole in Jesus Christ as we fill our lamps with the nourishing oil of conversion to Him...all ten of the virgins were in the right location, awaiting the bridegroom. Every one of them came with a lamp. But when He came, at the unexpected midnight hour, the five foolish did not have sufficient oil for their lamps...in response to their petition to be permitted to enter the wedding supper, the bridegroom responded, “Ye know me not.”…Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ and in letting the light of that conversion shine.
- Camille N. Johnson, Spiritually Whole in Him
How Can Contrasts Teach Us about True Conversion? (Knowhy #562)
Follow Him—An Easter Message about Jesus Christ
Your testimony will be strengthened when you know in your heart through your prayers that the Prophet Joseph Smith was an instrument in the Lord’s hands...Joseph’s translation of the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God was foundational to the Restoration. The Book of Mormon is internally consistent, beautifully written, and contains the answers to life’s great questions. It is another testament of Jesus Christ. I testify that Joseph Smith was righteous, full of faith, and an instrument in the Lord’s hands in bringing forth the Book of Mormon.
- Quentin L. Cook, Conversion to the Will of God
Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet: The First Vision
Ministry of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet: The Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Lord Jesus Christ knew how important it was to clearly name His Church in these latter days…The name the Savior has given to His Church tells us exactly who we are and what we believe…Let us develop the habit within our families and our Church activities and our daily interactions of making it clear that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the name by which the Lord Himself has directed that we be known.
- M. Russell Ballard, The Importance of a Name
I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints
When you live the standards and qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, you can have a powerful impact in the world. Your example, even the light in your eyes, will influence others who see your “shine,” and they will want to be like you…The call to “arise and shine forth” is a call to each of you to lead the world in a mighty cause—to raise the standard...
- Elaine S. Dalton, Now is the Time to Arise and Shine!
Why does God give us commandments? Part 2
Shine Your Light So Others May See
The natural man is truly God’s enemy, because the natural man will keep God’s precious children from true and everlasting happiness... Whereas the natural man covets praise and riches, the men and women of Christ know such things are but the “drop”. Human history’s happiest irony will be that the covenant-keeping, unselfish individuals will finally receive “all that [the] Father hath”!
- Neal A. Maxwell, Put Off the Natural Man, and Come Off Conqueror
Seeking the Kingdom First: How to Align Your Life with God’s Will
To sacrifice means to give something up in favor of something more valuable... Throughout history, faithful Saints have sacrificed personal desires, comforts, and even their lives for the Savior. We all have things, large and small, we need to sacrifice in order to follow Jesus Christ more completely. Our sacrifices show what we truly value. Sacrifices are sacred and honored by the Lord... Very few of us will ever be asked to sacrifice our lives for the Savior. But we are all invited to consecrate our lives to Him.
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Our Heartfelt All
The Lord Loves Effort | General Conference April 2020
Why the Church of Jesus Christ Manages Its Finances So Carefully
All of us live in a world where Satan’s war against truth and against our personal happiness is becoming more intense...the loving God who allowed these tests for you also designed a sure way to pass through them...President Russell M. Nelson…described a way we might…put the Lord’s name upon our hearts to guide us through our trials. He said: “As you remember that ‘with God nothing shall be impossible’, know that [y]ou are a son or daughter created in His image, entitled through your worthiness to receive revelation to help with your righteous endeavors."
- Henry B. Eyring, Try, Try, Try
Nephi Breaks His Bow | 1 Nephi 16:18–22
These sacred funds are used in a rapidly growing church to spiritually bless individuals and families by constructing and maintaining temples and houses of worship, supporting missionary work, translating and publishing scriptures, fostering family history research, funding schools and religious education, and accomplishing many other Church purposes as directed by the Lord’s ordained servants... I testify spiritual and temporal blessings come into our lives as we live the law of tithing.
- David A. Bednar, The Windows of Heaven
What Does the Church Do With Tithing Money? | Elder David A. Bednar
Tithes and Offerings - Made Simple | Mormon Hub
The Six Main Ways the Church of Jesus Christ Uses Its Finances
How long do we wait for relief from hardships that come upon us? What about enduring personal trials while we wait and wait, and help seems so slow in coming? Why the delay when burdens seem more than we can bear?...How long, O Lord, how long?…When will these burdens be lifted? The answer is “by and by.” And whether that be a short period or a long one is not always ours to say, but by the grace of God, the blessings will come to those who hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- President Pres. Jeffrey R. Holland, Waiting on the Lord
If God Loved Me, He Wouldn't Let This Happen | His Grace
Feeling the Lord's Love and Goodness in Trials
Trust in the Lord - Youth Theme 2022
When the Prophet Joseph Smith, suffering what had to be one of his darkest moments while confined to the dungeon called Liberty Jail, cried out, “O God, where art thou?”, the Lord comforted him...How difficult it is and painfully foreign it may seem to find the good out of our personal tragedy and suffering. How inconsistent the words “for thy good” may seem... out of our adversity we might seek our greatest triumphs, and the day may well come that from our challenges we will understand the familiar words “for thy good.”
- Richard C. Edgely, For Thy Good
Falling Is Part of the Process, Just Get Up
Embrace the Hit: My Darkest Hour | Hope Works at Home
Your Great Adventure: Overcoming Life’s Obstacles
[W]hen adversity arrives in our lives, the only true source of comfort is God. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”… I witnessed how a…faithful family dealt with great adversity…pain and sorrow left because of the light of the gospel, which filled them with peace and comfort, providing the assurance that everything would be well…If we live our lives in accordance with teachings of the Savior, we will surely find the peace and consolation that only God can give.
- Rafael E. Pino, Faith in Adversity
Peace in Christ- 2018 Youth Theme
Overcoming Life's Storms with Faith in Christ
God Delivers Us in Our Trials | Hope Works at Home
[W]e must lead by “principles of righteousness.” Such principles apply to all leaders in the Church as well as to all fathers and mothers in their homes. We lose our right to the Lord’s Spirit and to whatever authority we have from God when we exercise control over another person in an unrighteous manner...When setting firm limits for another person is in order, those limits should always be administered with loving patience and in a way that teaches eternal principles…If we are going to help those in our stewardships make the all-important link with heaven, we must be the kind of parent and leader described in Doctrine and Covenants, section 121.
- Larry Y. Wilson, Only upon the Principles of Righteousness
If you saw someone drowning, wouldn’t you reach your hand out and rescue them? Can you imagine your Savior rejecting your outstretched hand? I imagine Him diving into the water, descending below all things to lift us up so we can take a fresh breath!… Everyone is diving with their own degree of difficulty. And your Savior is the only one who truly knows the difficulty you are diving with. I want a relationship with the one person who gets me, who knows my heart and how hard I’m trying!…“Your Savior knows the degree of difficulty you’re experiencing. He’s felt it!”
- Tamara W. Runia, Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy
Jesus Christ Suffered for Us All
Perhaps you look at others whose gifts are obvious and impressive and you feel pretty ordinary by comparison...Oh, how I wish I could embrace you and help you understand this great truth: You are a blessed being of light, the spirit child of an infinite God! And you bear within you a potential beyond your own capacity to imagine…It may be true that our spiritual gifts are not always flashy, but that does not mean they are less important...I hope you can see how precious they are to the Lord’s work and how you might have touched, blessed, or even saved one of God’s children by your gifts. Remember: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” So let us each do our little part.
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Do Your Part with All Your Heart
Accomplish Your Goals Through Small and Simple Things