“The Fabric of Faith and Testimony,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 89
The Fabric of Faith and Testimony
This has been a most remarkable thing, this conference. We have listened to twenty-eight different speakers. No one was assigned a topic on which to speak. Each was free to choose his or her message. There is always the risk of repetition in that. But isn’t it remarkable that all of it seems to have been woven together into a beautiful fabric of expression of faith and testimony. I am grateful for what we have heard. I will be a better man if I will put into my life the things of which I have been reminded in this conference, and I would like to suggest that each of you will be a better man or woman if you will put into your lives something of what you have heard in this great conference.
Brethren and sisters, I know that you are a praying people. That is a wonderful thing in this day and time when the practice of prayer has slipped from many lives. To call upon the Lord for wisdom beyond our own, for strength to do what we ought to do, for comfort and consolation, and for the expression of gratitude is a significant and wonderful thing. We know that you pray for us, and we appreciate your prayers. They sustain us; they remind us of the great trust which you have placed in us. I want you to know that we pray for you always. We pray for you that you may be happy, and that in living the gospel there may be love and peace in your homes and growing goodness in your lives. That is what this is all about, for God sent His Only Beloved Son “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The great purpose of the work in which we are engaged is to help each of us along the way of immortality and eternal life.
Please know of our great love for you. I thank the Lord every morning of my life for the restoration of the gospel and its meaning in the lives of faithful Latter-day Saints.
You parents, love your children. Cherish them. They are so precious. They are so very, very important. They are the future. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them. You need the help of the Lord. Pray for that help and follow the inspiration which you receive.
Now, as we say good-bye to you at the conclusion of this conference, please know of our love for each of you. Even those who transgress, we want you to know that we love you. We cannot condone the sin, but we love the sinner.
God bless you. I leave my blessing upon you, that as you walk in faith there may be peace in your hearts and goodness and gladness in your lives, and that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell with you in your homes, to bring nurture to you and those you love most dearly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.