All that is taught in Primary is virtuous, lovely, and of good report, and praiseworthy. I ask you: What value is a car without an engine, a cup without water, a table without food, a lamp without oil? We have the general warning that comes from these world conditions, but we have no precise timetable. Sinai by the hand of Moses Lev. We bow down to the god of mammon, the god of luxuries, the god of dissipation. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. The responsibility was each for himself. This university is not of the world any more than the Church is of the world, and it must not be made over in the image of the world. The trees will be without fruit and the fields without verdure. Decadence which grew in the soil of tolerance and permissiveness soon seeks to drive out all of these. The newspapers carry glaring headlines, politicians wrangle, students and authorities harangue. 20:7 italics added). 31:13 Men golf and boat and hunt and fish rather than to solemnize the Sabbath. They had cheated themselves. and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (See Jacob 1:19). No wonder the response to the prophets has not always been one of indifference. This was not selfishness or unkindness. We can daily drive by a museum or an art gallery but know nothing of what is inside. In 1969, then-Mormon Apostle Spencer W. Kimball wrote a book addressed to his people titled The Miracle of Forgiveness. We read of the increased portion of our children who are being reared by a single parent and wonder again about what will come when the law of the harvest operates. We knew that we were taming the Arizona desert. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternitythese, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps. 20:9 italics added). These study aids were helpful not only in clarifying meaning, but also in linking the Bible, Book of Mormon, and other scripture more closely together, fulfilling the prophecy that the sticks of Joseph and Judah would be one in hand. Those who were so busy being indignant with David missed the purity in Davids indignation at Goliath, for the giant was defying the armies of the living God. The late Elder JohnA. Widtsoe wrote: The place of woman in the Church is to walk beside the man, not in front of him nor behind him. There will be faintness of heart and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase you into flight and you will fall when none pursueth. 26:14-43. 1:9, It shall be free from all nations under heaven., There shall be no enemies come into this land., It shall be free from bondage Ether 2:12, There shall be no kings upon the land 2 Ne. In fact, I will be watching and listening here in my room at the LDS Hospital. It is only the "when" that is unknown. 25:9 And modern prophets are warning frequently, constantly. He has even said it would be so. Few live up to the truth they know. As a boy I saw how all, young and old, worked and worked hard. It was unlike any other talk Ive ever listened to. (Luke 12:47-48.) The following year also brought an important development: the King James Version of the Bible was released with an inclusion of LDS study aids. The way to become perfect is to change your lifeto substitute the good for the evil in every case. How can one share obedience to the principle of tithing; a mind at peace from righteous living; an accumulation of knowledge? For example, the Presiding Bishopric was given stewardship over the temporal affairs of the Church so that the Quorum of the Twelve could focus on spiritual needs. That infallible cure is simply righteousness, obedience, Godliness, honor, and integrity. Throughout my experience in leaving Disney, I pondered and searched this quote from President Spencer W. Kimball: "Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith."1Our true security and peace is born of faith in Jesus Christ. Both a righteous man and a righteous woman are a blessing to all those their lives touch. Later, Kimball became Mormonism's twelfth president. Six days shalt thou labour Ex. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. The cares of the world are so many and so entangling, even very good people are diverted from following the truth because they care too much for the things of the world, such as the young man who had kept all the commandments from his youth up. Has there ever been an era when so many nations, large and small, have been involved in wars? And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Notes 1. Neither shall the sword go through your land. if they will but serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ Ether 2:12 There is only one way. This I know, for the Lord has so declared it through the ages, and I know he lives and is all powerful. Experience is a dear teacher but fools will learn by no other. But we continue on in our godlessness. Everybody expresses opinions, but few approach the real cause or the real cure. It cannot remember its previous illnesses nor the cure which was applied. There is a cure for the earths illness, an infallible one. The places change but the turmoil continues. They ignored the prophets. It is the parable of the Ten Virgins, a powerful warning to all men. The writer of Hebrews warns: Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. As the grandson of Heber C. Kimball and the son of a mission and stake president, Spencer W. Kimball grew up learning of and meeting prophets and apostles. The radios whine. A Sabbath show or a game or a race replaces solemn worship. Too late, too late, ye cannot enter now. Hunger scaled the walls; thirst broke down the gates; immorality, cannibalism, idolatry, godlessness stalked about till destruction came. It is a capitulation to the carnal in man and a rejection of joy and beauty in this life and in the world to come. Primary helps little boys and girls prepare for their future great responsibilities as mothers and fathers and citizens of Zion. Peace be with you. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.8. He predicted earthquakes and other terrestrial disturbances and we think of earthquakes and landslides in California, Chile and Greece, Japan and Alaska, and unprecedented floods in the United States. He also stayed involved in the growth of his community through civic and volunteer organizations. The Lord and David slew Goliath 1 Sam. Before closing I should like to just addthe four testimonies of these young, new leaders of the Church were very, very inspiring. ye cannot enter now. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles! It was not simply a call to repentance, but it felt like Spencer W. Kimball was raising a prophetic voice effectively saying "YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED" so as to wash his garments clean from the blood and sins of our generation. For those who heed the warning and make their preparations, for those found at midnight with the oil of righteousness in their lamps, for those with patience, long-suffering, and full dedication, the promise is that they shall sit down at the banquet with their Lord. Because we are not vicious enough to be confined in penitentiaries, we rationalize that we are pretty good people; that we are not doing so badly. They are too kind to be so cruel. When I heard each one of them say, I have put everything I own or ever have owned upon the altar; its there for the Lord or his servants to identify and to call upon, that pleased me because we know there is still faith in the Church, in Zion, among the youth, and among the young people who are growing up in this church. This past month I have received hundreds and hundreds of birthday cards. As we follow the teachings of Christ, we will feel the Spirit testify the truth of the things we do. But to what extent have we repented? One major plot of the book involves a character named Brigham . I have heard President JosephF. Smith and all who have followed him up to now. There were 364 temple marriages, and of the temple marriages about 10 percent were dissolved by divorce. But even then wickedness did not lessen, men did not learn lessons. Where it is permitted, though, which is most of the world, we should listen to the counsel of the Brethren and to the Lord." (President Spencer W. Kimball) We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life. The Great Wall of China with its 1,500 miles of unbreakable walls, with its twenty-five feet high impregnableness, with its innumerable watchman towers, was breached by the treachery of men. While enemies filter into our nation to subvert us and intimidate us and soften us, we continue with our destructive thinking: It cant happen here.. Flirtations, rationalized to be innocent ones, are the root of numerous of the divorces and other ills. All kinds of fish were caught, big and little, fat and snakelike. No wonder the adversary strives, even now, to prevent this from happening! 2:18). The Savior said, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" (John 7:17). (Luke 12:19-20.) The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. He goes through an immense personal struggle and emerges victorious. He oversaw reorganization of the structure of the Church to accommodate extensive growth and globalization. Do we twentieth century people have reason to think that we can be immune from the same tragic consequences when we ignore the same divine laws? How can one see the slackening of traditional moral standards and not notice the decline in decency? Can they not see the gross selfishness that will lead finally to deep loneliness? It is because of their love and integrity that they cannot modify the Lords message merely to make people feel comfortable. Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. No traffic will jam your desolate highways. "There will be no general warning to the membership that things will be shortly falling apart. President Boyd K. Packer indicated that Elder Kimball felt that his father came to him in this dream to let Spencer know that he approved of his life. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. The political physicians through the ages have rejected suggested remedies as unprofessional since they came from lowly prophets. May I stress again the value of reading the addresses given at our general conferences in the Ensign magazine. 20:3 italics added). The Samoan and Hawaiian Saints were gathered together in a grand celebration. We are led by revelation. I was invited to participate. I suspect that many people have let their insurance lapse. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Bombs are detonated. Some of you have lost your husbands through death, others through divorce. I have listened to over 4500 general conference talks. No light had we; for that we do repent; Of course, a one-sided disarmament could be madness if worldliness and materialism continued, but a serious turn of the masses could forestall all military conquests, all tragedies of conflict. While bombs are detonated and tested, and fallout settles on the already sick world, we continue in idolatry and adultery. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. While armies are marshaled and march and drill and officers teach men how to kill, we continue to drink and carouse as usual. We wish you to pursue and to achieve that education, therefore, which will fit you for eternity as well as for full service in mortality. And he that sat upon the throne said. Those who seem to flout the institution of marriage, and who regard chastity before marriage with fidelity after as old-fashioned, seem determined to establish a new fashion on their own and impose it upon others. We have equality as recipients of Gods perfected love for each of us. I will fight your battles, says the Lord God Omnipotent D&C 105:14 He never fails his promises. . He describes himself as a lad whom the people despised and who was slow of speech; yet he did his duty in love and compassion with stunning success. Language is like music; we rejoice in beauty, range, and quality in both, and we are demeaned by the repetition of a few sour notes. Today is another day, but history repeats itself. Then, finally, it reaches a point when, as one prophet declared, There was no remedy. In such moments the prophets of God speak out even more forcibly, doing as Alma did when he began bearing down in pure testimony against the evils of his time. Rushing for their lamps to light their way through the blackness, half of them found them empty. . The trouble with using obscurity as a test of validity is that God has so often chosen to bring forth his work out of obscurity. Terror is substituted for reason. 29-34 (Click here for a link to read the PDF version in the Conference Archives). I leave this testimony with you with my love and my blessings. Famine will stalk rudely through your doors and the ogre cannibalism will rob you of your children and your remaining virtues. But, on the scale of eternity, the missing of these blessings shall be but a small moment (see D&C 121:7). And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there by any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Christianity did not go from Rome to Galilee; it was the other way around. Concerning Jerusalem the Lord said: I will defend this city 2 Kgs. 5 likes. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and differentin happy waysfrom the women of the world. May God help us in the opportunities which are ours to live righteously as a way of witnessing to the world, to speak out humbly but forthrightly, to lead out effectively and thoughtfully, ever using the gospel of Jesus Christ as our constant guide. Midnight is so late for those who have procrastinated. 17:2832. By President Spencer W. Kimball Read by his wife, Sister Camilla Kimball My beloved sisters: I have been looking forward for months to the pleasure of meeting with you dear sisters once again in a worldwide conference of the women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But time ran out. He promised to the children of Israel: The land shall yield her increase and trees their fruit. I know he is Gods recognized prophet. We have the general warning that comes from these world conditions, but we have no precise timetable. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity. In the Church there is full equality between man and woman. While the iron curtains rise and thicken, we eat, drink, and make merry. Yet on the corner, in public places, on work projects, at banquet tables, there come ringing into our ears the sacred names of Deity without solemnity. Pray carefully over all your decisions. Fear envelops the world which could be at ease and peace. Spencer Woolley Kimball was born in Salt Lake City, March 25, 1895, one of 11 children born to Andrew and Olive Kimball. When the world is full of tribulation and help is needed, but it seems the time must be past and hope is vain, then Christ will come. Can they not see that, pushed by pleasure, they will become more and more distant from joy? Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Let us harken to those we sustain as prophets and seers, as well as the other brethren as if our eternal life depended upon it, because it does! Too often the holy prophets are wrongly perceived as harsh and as anxious to make a record in order to say, I told you so. Those prophets I have known are the most loving of men. What is wrong is wrong, and trends do not make something right which is at variance with the laws of God. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. The lamps then make patterns of joy on the hillside, and the procession moves on toward the house of banqueting, and those without lamps or oil are left in darkness. Within those great assurances, however, our roles and assignments differ. How special it is for Latter-day Saint women to be given the lofty assignments they have been given by our Father in Heaven, especially those of you who have been privileged to be born in this part of this last dispensation. They were sealed the following year in the Salt Lake Temple. The pioneers thought it would be soon and watched for signs; our grandparents watched for the sprouting of the fig tree; our parents watched for the reddening of the sky; and we ourselves have heard all our lives that the Second Coming is near. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain Ex. I'll never forget an experience that Sister Nelson and I had about three decades ago with President Spencer W. Kimball and his beloved Camilla. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight (see Lev. We read the headlines. Nuclear races get swifter. Ve, inc. 1 some special things here that are left undone by other institutions. This saintly soul realizes there is one thing left undone to make him a totally honest man. "Rationalizing is the bringing of ideals down to the level of one's conduct. It was baptized by water, and its sins were washed away. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion. And ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. At midnight! "Heave ho!" For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceivedverily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. Thou shalt not commit adultery Ex. (See 1Sam. They're not too much this or too . I would not wish to talk longer but just say, the Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters, as you return to your homes. It is not only worth waiting for; it is worth living for! There is one principle, a modern prophet said, (that we should) understand:that is of blessings and cursings. You can be a much needed force for love and truth and righteousness on this planet. This is my personal read it later solution. Strength is not in concrete and re-enforcing steel. The righteous were saved in Enochs day and the wicked were drowned in the flood. They see evil in their enemies, but none in themselves. Seek excellence in all your righteous endeavors, and in all aspects of your lives. Education for Eternity Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Jesus spoke of famines and pestilences and we remember Biafra and Bangladesh. They had been warned all their lives. They are boats, cars, and luxuries. This talk is AMAZING. But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure. Like. The wise had to go, else the bridegroom would have gone unwelcomed. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives. Now as we conclude this general conference, let us all give heed to what was said to us. 2:7.) People are destroyed by their own acts. By President Spencer W. Kimball From an address delivered to the Young Presidents organization, Sun Valley, Idaho, 15 January 1977 Spencer W. Kimball, "Jesus: The Perfect Leader," Ensign, Aug. 1979, 5 There are far more things to be said about the Lord Jesus Christ's remarkable leadership than By one means or another, the swiftest method of rejection of the holy prophets has been to find a pretext, however false or absurd, to dismiss the man so that his message could also be dismissed. War clouds gather, fear heightens; tenseness increases, yet there need be no fear and worry and sleepless nights. Partly due to his work in Brazil and other South American countries, he was led to question the Churchs policy of restricting priesthood and temple blessings from those of African descent, a practice which had begun during the time of Brigham Young. Our national and international authorities should know that men have . When Spencer was twenty-nine, his father passed away and Spencer was called to the stake presidency that his father had served in for three decades. Perhaps it was a myth. (Matthew 24:21-22.) It has had shorter periods of good health, but longer ones of ailing. Become scholars of the scripturesnot to put others down, but to lift them up! President Spencer W. Kimball spoke frequently at Brigham Young University, encouraging students and faculty to strengthen their testimonies, increase their moral fiber, and rededicate themselves to the principles of education and service. These real heroines have true humility, which places a higher value on integrity than on visibility. He could not do the one last thing that Jesus asked: Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor. (Luke 18:22.) It is the parable of the Ten Virgins, a powerful warning to all men. He gave the parable of the rich young fool who, in the feeling of temporal security, razed his inadequate barns and built greater ones in which to store his fruits and goods. They help us to see the end from the beginning. I am confident there is not one within the sound of my voice who has not had his or her life influenced for good by the teachings of the devoted officers and teachers of this Primary organization.
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