(6/20/03)
"In these paragraphs the terms, and obligations required of us as the
children of God, and the glorious promises or agreement which the Lord
makes if we will only do our part are clearly stated. This covenant
relates to both estates. We who now live upon the earth, or ever have
lived upon it, or ever will live upon it in bodies of flesh and bone
have kept our first estate in heaven before our coming to live upon
the earth, and hence we have been added upon, or in other words there
have been or will be added to our immortal spirits these bodies of
flesh and bone, and although we shall all surely die we shall all be
made alive again, and thus the Lord fulfills his agreement to all who
keep their first estate. God keeps his covenant." — Rulon S. Wells,
"Conference Report," October 1938, p. 62
(12/1/03)
"In this conflict there are two influences that are brought to bear
upon him. On the one hand 'the spirit of Christ is given to every man
that he may know good from evil.' (Moroni
7:16.) This spirit is ever striving to lead us to God. And, on
the other hand 'that which is evil cometh from the devil, for the
devil is an enemy unto God and fighteth against him continually, and
inviteth and enticeth to sin and to do that which is evil
continually.' (Moroni
7:12) Thus, it will be seen that God is ever present to guard
and protect us and deliver us from all evil. He is unchangeable for he
has said: 'I am the Lord, I change not.' And then, too, Satan, with
unrelenting zeal is endeavoring to carry out his evil purposes in
leading men away from God and hence unto darkness and the bondage of
sin, and 'to do that which is evil continually.' He shows no signs of
reformation. The devil is absolutely incorrigible, and this is what
the criminologists sometimes overlook and blame to 'the unchanging
nature of human appetites.'" - Rulon S. Wells, "General Conference
Reports," April 1938, p. 69
8/9/06
"It matters not what position we may occupy in the Church or out of
it. No man is so safe that he may boast of his own strength, but only
as God shall be our strength and come to our rescue, and then shorten
the days, will we be able to overcome, and finally gain the victory;
at least, that is the way I read the holy scripture. And what is the
equipment? Can, you, then, or can I, or can any human soul in all the
world, combat and overcome the temptations of the present day in and
of ourselves without being properly equipped for that great struggle?
I answer 'No, we cannot.' We need the help of God. We need the
companionship of His Holy Spirit. Without these we cannot succeed." -
Rulon S. Wells, Conference Report, April 1922, Third Day—Morning
Session, p.142
7/15/07
"If there is anything that I am grateful for it is for my standing in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that I have
fellowship with the Saints of God, that I have part in this glorious
work which the Lord has established for the salvation of mankind. I am
always conscious of the fact that the Lord is carrying on a great
work, that he has stretched forth his hand to perform a marvelous work
and a wonder, and that we are among his chosen people, the chosen
people of God." - Rulon S. Wells, "Conference Report," October 1938,
Second Day—Morning Meeting, p.60
2/14/08
"What a wonderful flood of light
came into this world with the advent of the Gospel, with the coming of
the Prophet Joseph Smith, that prophet of the latter days! What
wonderful discoveries have come to us and to all mankind! The same
almighty being who overrules all things is bringing to pass his mighty
purposes, and a flood of spiritual light has come to the world through
the instrumentality of the prophet of God in the day and age in which we
live. That is another source of joy and gladness to me that I live in
this glorious day, notwithstanding the fact the world seems to be
changing. We are merely discovering more truth."
- Rulon S. Wells, "Conference
Report," April 1934, Second
Day—Morning Meeting, p.57
8/5/08
"Latter-day Saints should be
ambitious to grow in knowledge of the truth; and if we shall know, even
better than we do today, all that we need do is to be better than we are
today, to be purer in our thoughts, to be holier in our lives, and our
knowledge will increase in proportion." - Rulon S. Wells,
"Conference Report," October 1910, Afternoon Session., p.29
2/11/09
"No
man can know the things of God, but the Spirit of God can bear witness
of their truth; and it is absolutely essential to every one who would
know that this is indeed the work of God, beyond all question, that he
shall obtain first the Spirit of God. As this Spirit will not and does
not dwell in an unclean tabernacle, it follows that we must cleanse
and purify our hearts by sincere faith in God, and repentance from
sin. Every soul that will adopt this method and seek to obtain
forgiveness of sin, from Him who alone can remit our sins, through the
holy waters of baptism, he shall come to a knowledge of the truth. If,
perchance, after these initial ordinances of the gospel have been
complied with, you find yourself still lacking in knowledge and
understanding, and in a testimony, do not blame in any degree the
ordinances themselves or the truth of those principles, but look deep
into your own souls, into your own hearts, and you will find the
reason there and nowhere else."
- Rulon S. Wells, "Conference Report,"
October 1910, Afternoon Session, p.29
11/22/09
“No one realizes more than I do myself the weaknesses by which we are
beset at every hand. Sometimes we hear one say that we ought not to
preach anything that we do not practice. It seems to me that that is
not altogether correct, but I do endorse the doctrine that we ought
not to preach anything that we do not try to do, even though we may
not completely succeed in coming to that degree of excellence. We
should preach Christ and Him crucified. We should preach the
excellence of His life, whether or not we are able to come up to His
standard completely. We are living in a world of sin. We are exposed
to the temptations of the world. We have our weaknesses and our
imperfections. Nevertheless we have delivered unto us the power of God
unto salvation, and that power of God is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and obedience to that will perfect us in our lives.
Nevertheless there is sin in the world, and none of us are perfect. We
have our weaknesses and our imperfections, but we ought not to glory
in them. We ought not to think that they are justified, or that we are
justified in doing anything that is wrong. We are only in the right
attitude when we are engaged in the fight against sin.” - Rulon
S. Wells, “Conference Report,” April 1914, Third Day–Morning
Session, p. 112
7/10/10
"Now let in the
sunshine of God's Holy Spirit. How can the garden grow in darkness? How
can the trees blossom and produce their luscious fruit? Or how can the
fields grow and ripen into golden harvests, unless the sun shall shine
upon them? How can we know or understand the things of God without the
light of his Holy Spirit? And yet, 'This is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent.' Hence, there is need to obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost which
in the gospel of our Lord is bestowed upon repentant and baptized
believers by the laying on of hands." - Rulon
S. Wells, "Conference Report," October 1927, Second Day-Morning
Meeting, p. 57
5/13/14
The mind does not
control the heart. It does not say to the heart, "beat thou on," or
"cease thou now to beat." The heart is governed by a higher
intelligence, and when the voice comes from Him, "Cease thou to
beat," that son or daughter is called to God. So that when the Lord
says, "Son, give me thine heart," He asks for that which belongs to
Him; and when He requires us to love Him with all our hearts it
means simply this: that we should love Him with all our life. The
life-giving power of man should be devoted to the service of God.
Whatever may be our occupation, everything must come secondary to
our allegiance and devotion to God, who gave us life and being upon
earth, and by whom that life is maintained. It seems to me, my
brethren and sisters, that if we would keep that great commandment
and love the Lord with all our hearts, then would our feet be
planted in the paths of safety and then, let come what may, we are
founded upon the rock and we will be able to stand. - Rulon
S. Wells, "Conference Report," April 1904, Afternoon Session, p.97
3/15/15
Having
said this much regarding the Peculiarities of our people, let us, my
brethren and sisters, continue to be a peculiar people. Let our
influence be felt wherever we go. Let it be said of us that we are
indeed a peculiar people, in this, that the love of God abounds in
our hearts, and that we seek to build one another up, not to tear
down. When we come in contact with the world let them feel that we
have no spirit of hatred toward them, no spirit to tear them down,
but that in the depths of our hearts we desire to save their souls
and to do them good. - Rulon S.
Wells, Conference Report, October 1905, Afternoon Session, p.97
1/28/16
What
a glorious promise! A never-ending glory that is to be added upon
the heads of those who keep their second estate, by doing what the
Lord commands them, obeying His glorious Gospel. That is the only
plan. It is God's plan, and has been given to the inhabitants of the
earth in the various dispensations of His providence. - Rulon
S. Wells, "Conference Report," October 1940, Second Day-Morning
Meeting, p.69