Live worthy of the priesthood

God has given you (men of the priesthood) something of power and divinity and reality and usefulness. He has blessed you with the very essence of His power, with the authority to speak in His sacred name and bring to pass His work to bless, to teach, to encourage, to help, to govern in the affairs of His kingdom, the power of the royal priesthood. There is nothing simple or nothing to be taken for granted concerning this. This is His divine power. It is the power by which the earth was created and His work is carried forward. And He has deigned, as it were, to bestow upon you and me, out of His goodness and generosity, that power and authority. Oh, how we ought to strive to live worthy of it, to never do anything which would destroy our effectiveness as His sons in exercising this divine, sacred, and remarkable thing which we call the Holy Priesthood. — From regional conference, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan. 19, 2003

Nurture new converts

What have you done to bring friendship and understanding and a welcoming spirit to those who come into this Church as converts? I've said many times that every convert needs a friend, he needs a responsibility, he needs to be nurtured in the good work of God. If that is to happen, you and I must make it happen. — From regional conference, St. George, Utah, Nov. 24, 2002

Glorious day of restoration

What a marvelous and wonderful thing it was that after centuries of an absence of divine authority on the earth the glorious day of restoration came. And think of the manner in which it came. It came directly from the heavens under the hands of those who held it when the Savior walked the earth. At that time, He was immersed in the waters of Jordan by John who was called the Baptist and who held the Levitical priesthood.

YOUNG WOMEN: "Do not indulge in practices or anything of which you would be ashamed as a daughter of God."

It was this same John, who later . . . appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the 15th of May 1829. — From priesthood meeting, 175th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Priesthood, May 16, 2004

Saddled with debt

We are living in difficult times. . . . We do not know what is just over the horizon. We do not know what the economy is going to do. . . . There is a great deal of unemployment. . . .

I see a great imprudence on the part of so many of our people, saddling themselves with debt, homes that are costly, automobiles that have to have all the bells and whistles that you can hang on them, and such things as that, credit card debt. . . .

Debt is now higher than it was when the Depression hit us in 1929. I don't want to cry calamity. I want to speak of wisdom and restraint and discipline and to counsel you to encourage our people to be modest in their expenditures. — From leadership meeting, Spanish Fork Utah Regional Conference, Feb. 15, 2003

This last dispensation

How wonderful it is that (God) has smiled with favor in this the last dispensation, the dispensation of the fulness of times, when He has restored His work with all of its powers, with all of its glory and all of the truth, and all of the authority of all previous dispensations in this great and final period of time. . . . I know that God our Eternal Father lives and loves us; that Jesus is His Beloved Son, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord, our Friend; that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet; that this Church is true; that it is Their work restored to the earth for our blessing and our happiness. — From 14 Salt Lake area stakes' regional conference, May 4, 2003

To husbands and wives

To you husbands and wives, live together with love. Appreciate, honor, and respect one another. The Lord made us as companions. Under the gospel plan, the man does not take precedence over the woman. He does not walk ahead of her. He does not walk behind her. They walk together hand in hand as companions before the Lord. As you grow older, if you will observe that principle, the time will come when you will get on your knees and thank the Lord for a wonderful companion. — From member meeting, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 21, 2004

We all want to do a little better

I am satisfied that all of us want to do a little better. I do not think we rise in the morning and get on our knees without asking the Lord to give us strength and capacity to do that which is expected of us. And I believe with all my heart that when we retire at night, with very few exceptions, we get on our knees and pray the Lord will help us and give us the power and capacity and the strength and the time to do that which is expected of us. — From leadership training meeting, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan. 18, 2003

Young women, be careful

Be careful, you young women. Do not ever do anything, never, never do anything that would make you feel ashamed of what you have done. . . . Do not go places. Do not read things. Do not indulge in practices or anything of which you would be ashamed as a daughter of God.— From regional conference, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan. 19, 2003