“Words of the Living Prophet,” Liahona, June 2001, 34
Words of the Living Prophet
Cultivate a Testimony of the Restoration
“Cultivate a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel. You know this work is true as well as I do, … but you have to cultivate, you have to nourish, you have to feed your testimony of these things by reading the scriptures and by being active and faithful in the Church.
“If you don’t have a testimony, go to work to get one. The Lord told us how to do it. He said, He that doeth the will of the Father ‘shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself’ (John 7:17). That is as true as anything on earth. It is just that simple. It is a law of God that carries with it a marvelous and remarkable promise.”1
Be True
“To you young women who will marry and become mothers and pass on the qualities of your generations; to you young men who will become fathers and pass on the lineage which is your greatest possession, I say, be true. Be true to the faith. Be ‘true to the faith that [your] parents have cherished.’ Be ‘true to the faith for which martyrs have perished’ (Hymns, number 254). Be loyal to your great inheritance. Pass on in an unblemished fashion to those who come after you the great virtues of those who have preceded you. All of your heritage of body and mind has come from your forebears. Pass to those who will follow an unblemished inheritance, and thus continue bright and strong the links of your generations.”2
Expectations of Latter-day Saints
“We expect our people to live to a very high and sacred standard, and when you expect people to do things they do them. … They do what is expected of them in a remarkable and wonderful way. Some fall by the wayside—that is true. But the great majority go on and build their faith and do what is expected of them as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“We expect them to live clean, moral lives.
“This Church expects that we will be faithful and true and obedient and do what is required of us. And if we do so, the Lord will bless us.”3
Tolerance and Peace
“We are taught as members of this Church to be tolerant, to bring about good results, not to give in on our doctrine, not to give in on our standards, but to be tolerant in a way that will move forward the cause of peace and righteousness and goodness in the earth. May the Lord bless us so to do, and may each of us have happiness in our hearts and that peace which we can have even in the midst of conflict, which comes of a testimony and witness of the truth of this work.”4
Share the Gospel by Example
“Bring people into the Church. Bring them in with love. Bring them in with kindness. Bring them in with the example of your lives. So live the gospel that they will see in you something of wonder and beauty and be encouraged to inquire, study the gospel, and join the Church.”5
Left: Photograph by Jed Clark
Below: The surviving pioneers of 1847 gathered for a commemorative photograph 50 years after their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. (Photograph by George Edward Anderson.)