Seek the Blessings of the Church

By Elder James M. Paramore

of the Seventy

(Adapted from an April 1988 general conference address. See Ensign, May 1988, pages 10–12.)

You shall have my word, my rock, my church, and my gospel (D&C 11:16).

When I think about what the Church has done for me, my family, and the whole human race, I feel like a child who has discovered a treasure.

The Savior himself established the Church when he walked upon the earth in the Holy Land and later in America. In 1830 he restored it to perfect and exalt all mankind. The Church is indispensable to the plan of God. It

• proclaims the teachings of the Savior;

• receives God’s instructions for the world through prophets;

• provides the saving ordinances of the gospel—a fulness of all that the Father has;

• promotes brotherhood and sisterhood; and

• helps us to overcome selfishness by serving others.

The Church provides opportunities that are the envy of this world. Loving leaders and teachers offer warmth, security, and activities. They help us learn to love the Savior and to follow Him. Our seven-year-old grandson has, through the Primary and the example of his father, found the wonder and blessing of the New Testament and now carries his little edition around with him, reading it often.

I invite all to seek the blessings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—its truths, its programs and activities, its opportunities to serve and to be of one heart and one mind.

I know with all the strength of my soul that the Church is true. It is God’s instrument to help us become like His Son and to find the peace the Savior promised.

Illustrated by John Johnson