Keep the commandments

Painting by Dale Kilbourn

The First Vision: I hope with all my heart that each member of this Church will read the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith, read the story of the First Vision and think about it, and pray about it, and cultivate within your hearts a testimony of the truth of that marvelous experience.

The Lord cannot bless you unless you keep His commandments. But if you keep His commandments, then He is bound. He has said that and I believe it with all my heart. He has said that He would open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings too great for us to receive. I didn't make that promise, the Lord made that promise, and He has the power to keep His promise. And it is my testimony that He does so. Now I repeat, He cannot bless us unless we keep His commandments. But if we keep His commandments, He is then bound to keep His promise. And it is my testimony to you that He does so. — From member meeting, Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 1, 2005

Let's do better

Let us stand up and be better Latter-day Saints, every one of us. We can all improve our lives. We can be better husbands. We can be better fathers. We can be better wives. We can be better children. We can treat one another with greater kindness. We can gossip less. We can complain less. We can love more, serve better, and walk in faith before the Lord. — From member meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 4, 2005

Nature of God

Our Catholic friends, our Protestant friends, give us their definition of deity in the Nicene Creed. But that's just a creed that came of the discussions of men. The marvelous thing is that the boy Joseph was able to testify of the real nature of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And that makes it possible for you and for me to understand our relationship to them. Each of us is a child of God. A son or a daughter of God in a very real sense and we can pray to Him and He will hear and answer our prayers. — From member meeting, Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 1, 2005

Promise of the Book of Mormon

There came into being through the Book of Mormon . . . another witness for the living Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible had stood alone for centuries. Now there was a second witness. This is the only book ever published, of which I know, that carries in it a promise that one who reads it prayerfully and asks concerning it will have revealed to him by the power of the Holy Ghost a knowledge that it is true. — From member meeting, Apia, Samoa, Sept. 3, 2005

Respect one another

We are here to get along together, to love one another, to appreciate one another, to respect one another, and to honor one another. — From member meeting, Vladivostok, Russia, July 31, 2005

The priesthood is remarkable

Through the goodness of the Lord, the holy priesthood has been restored and that is a remarkable thing — that you and I can speak in the name of the Lord. No other can do it. It is our privilege, our opportunity, our responsibility to do so. And so, the work goes, with a great movement across the world, declaring the gospel of righteousness and peace to people everywhere. Everyone wants that peace which comes of the Lord. — From member meeting, Vladivostok, Russia, July 31, 2005

Testimony of the First Vision

I hope with all my heart that each member of this Church will read the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith, read the story of the First Vision and think about it, and pray about it, and cultivate within your hearts a testimony of the truth of that marvelous experience, when the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph.

There's no other event in all recorded history that compares with it, not even at the baptism of the Savior. Jesus was there at that time to be baptized, and the voice of God was heard, and the Holy Ghost was manifest in the form of a dove. But God the Father was not seen. At the time of the Mount of Transfiguration, again the voice of God was heard, but He was not seen. Again, among the Nephites, when the resurrected Lord appeared among the Nephites, the voice of God was heard again, but He was not seen. Now think of that. All of those great and marvelous things have happened. But in the year when Joseph knelt in the woods, both the Father and the Son appeared to him. And they spoke to him. And he spoke to them. He had an understanding of the Father and the Son that no other man had really ever experienced. — From member meeting, Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 1, 2005

We must have faith

We must have the faith to that which the Lord requires of us. He has not asked you to do something that we cannot do. He won't ask us to do something that we cannot do. He cannot bless us unless we show faith and a willingness to keep His commandments and do His will and His work. — From Aba, Nigeria, member meeting, Aug. 6, 2005