Testimony Meeting

Elder M Russell Ballard, God Is at the Helm, October 2015 General Conference

"This same spirit of worship should permeate our monthly fast and testimony meetings. This sacrament meeting is for members to briefly express gratitude, love, and appreciation for our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the restored gospel and to bear personal witness of these things. Fast and testimony meeting is a time to share brief inspirational thoughts and bear solemn testimony. It is not a time to give a speech.

"Young children should practice sharing their testimonies in Primary and with their parents in family home evening gatherings until they understand the important meaning of a testimony."

Gift of Tongues

1 Corinthians 14

History of the Earth

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet, April 2015 General Conference
"In our increasingly secular society, it is as uncommon as it is unfashionable to speak of Adam and Eve or the Garden of Eden or of a “fortunate fall” into mortality. Nevertheless, the simple truth is that we cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death—in other words, there is no way to truly celebrate Christmas or Easter—without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it.

"I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that, but I do know these two were created under the divine hand of God, that for a time they lived alone in a paradisiacal setting where there was neither human death nor future family, and that through a sequence of choices they transgressed a commandment of God which required that they leave their garden setting but which allowed them to have children before facing physical death.3"

Dispensations

Last Dispensation
Bishop Gérald Caussé, Is It Still Wonderful to You?, April 2015 General Conference

"In no previous dispensation have so many missionaries been called, so many nations been opened for the gospel message,"

Putting Duty to Christ Before Family

Luke 9:59-62
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Virtue

D&C 121:45
“Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven”

James E. Faust, “The Virtues of Righteous Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2003, 108
“Virtue in its fuller sense encompasses all traits of righteousness that help us form our character.”

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign,Apr. 1996, 73
“Love of God is the root of all virtue, of all goodness, of all strength of character.”

How Missionaries Are Assigned to a Mission

M Russell Ballard, The Greatest Generation of Young Adults, April 2015 General Conference
"...a member of the Quorum of the Twelve assigns every missionary to his or her mission."
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"Your photograph comes up on a computer screen, together with key information provided by your bishop and stake president. When your picture appears, we look into your eyes and review your answers to the missionary recommendation questions."
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"As we look at your photograph, we trust that you have cleared in every way the 'raised bar' required today to be a faithful, successful missionary. Then, by the power of the Spirit of the Lord and under the direction of President Thomas S. Monson, we assign you to one of the Church’s 406 worldwide missions."