This post will be updated as the session continues.
Hymn: “Nearer My God to Thee.”
First speaker: Elder Robert D. Hales
Bearers of the priesthood have the responsibility to stand strong. We must protect God-given inalienable rights and freedoms.
Elder Hales’ father drew a picture of a knight with the armor, shield, sword, etc. Loins: truth, breastplate of righteousness. Shield of faith. Helmet of salvation. Sword of the Spirit.
If we are faithful in the priesthood, this armor will be given to us as a gift from God. Young men face more temptations now. You are living in the last days. If your father wanted to get in trouble, he had to go searching for it. Not anymore. Temptation finds you. The way to resist is to put on the whole armor of God.
What we and our children and our grandchildren have to remember is that the Church will remain constant. The world will keep moving. Therefore, be very careful. If you judge your actions and the standards of the Church on the basis of where the world is and where the world is going, you will be lost.
The standards of the Church have not moved. The truth abideth forever and ever. We are prepared to face the social pressure, ridicule and discrimination that will come from the world.
A true friend does not ask us to choose between the Gospel and his or her friendship. From such turn away. A true friend strengthens us.
In the temple we are prepared and we promise to live the law of consecration. Young men live this law by seeking a mission call. Use your agency to develop yourself personally. Choose and act for yourself. Be motivated from within. Above all, have faith in the Savior. Fear not. As we diligently live the Gospel, we are able to reject the anti-Christ who justifies a little sin. In the strength of the Lord, we are able to stand against any philosophy that denies the Savior.
We may not be afraid if we are grounded in the doctrine of the Lord. We are never alone. Our Savior was despised, rejected of men. It is our sacred privilege to stand with Him. All of the prophets before us stood strong in their day. Lists many prophets. These prophets stood strong because they stood with the Savior.
Elder Tad R. Callister, Presidency of the Seventy
The priesthood in the boy is just as powerful as the priesthood in the man. Aimed at Deacons quorum.
Young men became more spiritual during mission years. Put up a graph. Spirituality peaks during the mission years.
How to increase spirituality earlier?
If you expect more from deacons, they will rise to the expectation. Give them an increased vision.
Deacons quorum presidents have a right to receive revelation. Teach them these principles.
Boys and men will respond to a call when they know the Lord is calling them. We must have the resolve to go get the lost and bring them back. Adult leaders do best when they step back and allow the young men to lead their quorums.
Elder David L Beck, president of the Young Men
Starts with the story of a young woman who was bullied. A leader on the football team befriended her and the bullying ended. The example of the young men on the football team motivated others in the school to be kinder to the young woman. Angels in disguise.
The young men experienced the joy of ministering. The young men will become fulltime missionaries. There are thousands of people who need support. Virtually everyone you know could be blessed in some way by your ministering.
The priesthood gives you the power and authority to minister to those in need. The next time your mother asks you do do something, say, “thanks for asking mom, I would love to help.” You minister as you speak kind words to family members. Young men minister by assisting their fathers in his role as spiritual leader of the family.
You also have a duty to minister in your quorum. Tells the story of a young man in Bangalore who called young men to get them back to Church. It worked.
Mocking and teasing have no place in a quorum meeting. Presidencies must take the lead to make sure the meetings have the right atmosphere. Priesthood holders never use vulgar or demeaning language.
Hymn: “Hope of Israel.”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
We all have titles. Father, son, occupations, titles of people within in the church.
Four titles for priesthood holders.
1)Son of Heavenly Father. We are God’s literal spirit children. This should change the way we look at ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Satan would rather you define yourself by your sins than by your divine potential. No father punishes a toddler for stumbling. Compared to the perfection of God, we mortals are awkward, faltering toddlers. Our Heavenly Father wants us to become more like Him, and this should be our goal. God understands we get to Him by taking one step at a time. Even when we stumble, God encourages us not to be discouraged.
2)Disciples of Jesus Christ. Followers of our master and king. The Church is not built for perfect people. Discipleship is a lifelong journey.
3)Healer of Souls. We must practice the healer’s art. We must follow the Savior’s example and reach out to those who suffer. Bind up the wounds of the afflicted. Strengthen the feeble knees. As home teachers, we are healers, as fathers, priesthood leaders, we are healers. We carry in one hand a vial of consecrated oil to heal the sick, and in the other hand we carry a loaf of bread to feed the hungry.
4)Heirs to all that the Father has. If we are children, we are heirs, joint-heirs with Christ. How beautiful to be joint-heirs with Christ. Don’t pursue newest electronic gadgets, prestige in jobs, things of the world. We should serve the Lord and our fellow man. This is the most noble labor for us.
If you are waiting on the sidelines, I encourage you to get in the game. As a priesthood holder, you are already called to the work. Live what you learn, first in your family but also in all situations of your life. Rise up to your true potential as a son of God.
Elder Henry B. Eyring
Tells a story of a boy who lives in a country where missionaries arrived just a year ago. The boy was an orphan, he was not baptized. He was walking on the street in March a year ago, and felt he should speak with a woman he did not know. She was a nurse sent by the Church. She told the missionaries. The boy was baptized, first baptism. He was ordained a priest, he baptized the second convert to the Church. The Church has six members in that city now. On some Sundays, he is the only local member in the city.
He served in New Mexico on a military base. He was called to missionary work in the branch. The church grew in Albuquerque.
He encourages missionary work.
President Monson
65000 missionaries in the field, and many thousands more waiting to go.
The scriptures say: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”
This is our watchword today as it was in the Meridian of time. Missionary work is an identifying feature of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Young men, are you prepared to respond? Are you willing to work? The challenge is to be more profitable servants in the Lord’s vineyard.
Formula for success.
1)Search the scriptures with diligence.
2)Plan your life with purpose.
3)Teach the truth with testimony. Great story about two missionaries who responded to a person who met them with derision. They gave their testimonies with the power of the Spirit. The inexperienced missionary testified that Joseph is a prophet, he did translate the Book of Mormon. The man could not sleep. He was a skeptic but the testimony touched him. He heard in his ears the words, “Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.” Their testimony changed the lives of this man and his family. He became a member of the Church.
(note: very touching story by Pres. Monson. Brought tears to my eyes.)
4)Serve the Lord with love. Ask yourself: have I increased in faith in virtue, in love, in godliness?
Told a great story about a missionary converting his nonmember father by writing to him every week. He baptized his own father. Love had won its victory.
(note: amazing spirit during Pres. Monson’s talk. He truly is a prophet of God).