Contents

September 2009 Volume 39 • Number 9

On the cover

Front: In Favor with God, by Simon Dewey. Back: Photo illustration by Jerry Garns.

Using This Issue

Sit at the feet of prophets. General Conference is October 3 and 4. How might you prepare for the messages that will be shared? What answers have you found to your questions and challenges through the words of living prophets? Read four members’ experiences on p. 34.

Start your home storage. “Two Cans of Corn” (p. 66) shares ways you can be creative in starting home storage when space, budget, or other resources are limited. You might also buy products from a home storage center or ldscatalog.com. The Family Home Storage Starter Kit (item no. 06604000), is a great way to begin.

Strengthen your family. Several articles in this issue focus on building family relationships (see pp. 12, 17, 46, 62). You can find more information on helping your family at www.lds.org under “Home and Family” and then “Building a Strong Family.” You’ll find tips on strengthening marriages, improving parent-child relationships, and much more.

Messages

• First Presidency Message

  4

  The Influence of Righteous Women

  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

  As we look at the history of this earth and of the restored Church, it becomes obvious that women hold a special place in our Father’s plan.

• Visiting Teaching Message

  61

  Understand and Live the Gospel of Christ

Feature Articles

• 10

  We Were Both Blessed

  Jennifer Coleman

  Cami didn’t think she needed us, but I wanted to be her friend.

• 12

  Fidelity in Marriage: It’s More Than You Think

  Kenneth W. Matheson

  The emotional and spiritual aspects of fidelity are just as important as the physical.

• 17

  Questions and Answers

  What was the best marriage advice you ever received?

• 26

  Lessons from Liberty Jail

  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

  God can turn the debilitating prisons of our lives into circumstances that can bring comfort and revelation, divine companionship and peace.

• 34

  Four Talks, Four Lives Changed

  How general conference changed these members’ lives for the better.

• 40

  Tangible Testimonies

  Heather L. Stock

  Images from the Eighth International Art Competition sponsored by the Church History Museum.

• 46

  One Family’s Heritage of Service

  Don L. Searle

  How did five generations of a family in Paraguay develop a tradition of gospel service?

• 51

  Acting on Spiritual Promptings

  A chaplain, a missionary, and a mission president blessed the lives of others when they heeded spiritual direction.

• 54

  The Saga of Revelation: The Unfolding Role of the Seventy

  Elder Earl C. Tingey

  The history of the latter-day Seventy offers a pattern of revelation for the Church and for individuals, showing how the Lord reveals His will line upon line.

• 62

  The Best Thing I Can Do for Leigh

  Name Withheld

  Although my sister’s same-gender relationship does not fit in the gospel plan as I know it, I am trying to see her heart as the Savior does.

• 66

  Two Cans of Corn: Home Storage for Newlyweds

  Allie Schulte

  Newlyweds can begin home storage, even when resources and space are limited.

Departments

• Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants

  22

  This Is Our Religion, to Save Souls

  Elder Erich W. Kopischke

  Reaching out and helping is not limited by age, health, time, skills, or financial resources.

• 37

  The Blessings of Sacrifice

  Elder Octaviano Tenorio

  What inspires God’s children to give up temporal blessings in order to obtain the gift of eternal life?

• 70

  Random Sampler

  Emergency preparation, councils for husbands and wives, “can-do’s” for the Sabbath, and making your family a part of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

• 72

  Latter-day Saint Voices

  What would you give up for your testimony of the gospel?

• 76

  News of the Church

Do you have a story to tell?

The Ensign invites you to share your experiences with the power of prayer. Tell us about a time you have received an answer to prayer, learned about the nature of prayer and of our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, or felt the effects of someone else’s prayer. Please label your submission “Prayer” and send it by October 30.

We also welcome other submissions that show the gospel of Jesus Christ at work in your life. You can find this and other calls for articles online at http://ensign.lds.org. Ensign Magazine Writers’ Guidelines are posted on the same page under “Resources.”

You can submit articles through our Web site, ensign.lds.org, or send them to Ensign Editorial, 50 E. North Temple Street, Room 2420, Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0024, USA. Include your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, ward (or branch), and stake (or district). Because of the volume of submissions we receive, we cannot acknowledge receipt. Authors whose work is selected for publication will be notified. If you would like your manuscript, photos, art, or other material returned, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The Ensign can be found online at http://ensign.lds.org

Coming in October

Look for articles on:

• The power of temple worship

• The blessings of ministering

• A look inside the new Church History Library

Gospel Topics in This Issue

• Activation, 10, 62

• Atonement, 26, 37, 62

• Book of Mormon, 74

• Charity, 10, 22, 26

• Conversion, 34, 72

• Faith, 16, 26, 37, 46

• Family, 4, 12, 34, 46, 62, 70

• Family Home Evening, 39, 69, 71

• Friendship, 10, 12

• Gender, 4

• General Conference, 34

• Gospel, 61, 70, 72

• Gratitude, 26, 37, 73, 74

• Happiness, 17, 72

• Holy Ghost, 51, 61, 74

• Humility, 12, 17

• Jesus Christ, 37, 61, 62, 73

• Joseph Smith, 16

• Love, 10, 12, 17, 22, 34, 62

• Loyalty, 12, 17

• Marriage, 12, 17, 70, 72

• Missionary Work, 34, 70

• Obedience, 17, 46, 61, 66, 70, 72

• Plan of Salvation, 37, 73

• Preparation, 66, 70

• Priesthood, 54

• Prophets, 34, 74

• Revelation, 16, 26, 51, 54

• Sabbath, 70

• Sacrifice, 17, 37, 72

• Salvation, 22

• Scriptures, 62, 66

• Service, 10, 17, 22, 46, 51

• Seventy, 54

• Temples, 16

• Visiting Teaching, 10, 61

• Women, 4, 10, 46