President David O. McKay always taught that in the control of morals there must be self-mastery, self-discipline, and self-control. President Joseph F. Smith said, “No man is safe unless he is master of himself, and there is no tyrant so merciless or more to be dreaded than an uncontrollable appetite or passion.” (Gospel Doctrine [Bookcraft, 1939], p. 247.) […]
Now, his commandments are not grievous. They are not burdensome. They are not oppressive. We sing in one of our hymns, “How gentle God’s commands! How kind his precepts are!” (Hymns, no. 67.) The laws of God are not given to us to burden us or to handicap us. They are not impositions. They are the […]
This is a great and good people. I am well acquainted with their inmost wishes and desires, for what they pray, and what they labor and toil to accomplish. Is their labor fully effectual, and their toil altogether calculated to bring them that which they desire? No matter what our exercises may be before the Lord […]
As we study the scriptures, we learn that the doctrine of the temple requires the following of the Latter-day Saints: First, the building of temples. Second, going to the temple for our blessings. Third, returning to perform the ordinances for deceased relatives. Fourth, doing the work for others as well. Fifth, frequent attendance for personal […]
True worship transforms us into sincere and earnest disciples of our beloved Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. We change and become more like Him. We become more understanding and caring. More forgiving. More loving. We understand that it is impossible to say that we love God while at the same time hating, dismissing, or disregarding […]
“Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of our loving Father, is ‘the resurrection, and the life.’ His birth, life and death brought the promise that ‘he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’ (John 11:25). During this Easter season, we invite all to ponder this glorious promise. Because He broke […]
During the early years of our married life, my wife and I intensely desired what we considered to be a particular blessing. We set about through fasting and prayer to obtain it. We considered many of the scriptures which seemed to make a blanket promise that “… Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye […]
One can still go to the Garden of Gethsemane, but the Lord Jesus cannot be found there, nor is He in the Garden Tomb. He is not on the road to Emmaus, nor in Galilee, nor at Nazareth or Bethlehem. He must be found in one’s heart. But He left us the great Comforter forever […]
As the people of God, we must be meek and lowly of heart. We must confess our sins one to another, help the poor, clothe the naked and administer sustenance to those who require it. We must cease our backbiting, our strife, our fault finding, our evil speaking, bearing false witness and all other practices […]
Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always” (Luke 21:36; 3 Nephi 18:15, 18; D&C 31:12). Such meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the […]