Elder James M. Dunn
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The world is full of words, many shrill, accusatory or sarcastic. But there are also precious words through the din — words to live by.
Such words help humans recognize that they are spiritually begotten children of a Heavenly Father. "Knowing our relationships to God helps us better understand where we came from and what our eternal possibilities are . . . Our earthly sojourn is part of a divine plan of happiness designed by him, which provides for us to live by faith, to gain mortal experiences and to become qualified through obedience and the power of the Atonement to return to his presence forever."
God loves his children equally in a greatly diverse world. "Courtesy, kindness, generosity and forgiveness all are elements of proper conduct among family members." Life is short and the precious time allotted to mortality should be used in those vital activities that lead to eternal success.
"Many of God's children live life as though there were no day of reckoning. They fill their lives with the pursuit of comfort, gain and pleasure." The notion that men should "eat, drink and be merry" and that they can with impunity "commit a little sin" has led to a world "filled with lurid and lascivious attractions. We see young men foolishly refusing to marry; young women foolishly surrendering their virtue in pursuit of lustful relationships; couples who refuse to have children. . . ." The answer to such challenges is to live by the words of God.
