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We live in an extraordinary time. Never has the gospel been preached so widely. Never have so many missionaries been called, so many people introduced to the restored gospel and baptized, so many nations opened to hear the message of the Restoration, and so many temples built throughout the earth.

Cling to the Book of Mormon. In doing so, you will see that you are not alone. You will see that Saints of all ages have had to wander through a wilderness—often more than once and sometimes for a long time.

A testimony is not a display of eloquent words or a knowledge of everything. It is a personal witness of eternal significance, borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost.

You measure success as a missionary by whether you do your best and not by whether someone exercises his or her agency in the way you desire.

I simply asked if the Book of Mormon was true. I soon felt as though I were being told, ‘I have been telling you all along that it is true.’ And with that, an indescribable warmth and peace came over me. I knew for myself that the Book of Mormon was true.

…Jesus Christ invites us to come unto Him in prayer, wherein He delivers us—not always by removing the burden but by strengthening us and giving us clarity, peace, and power to move forward with the simplicity found in Him.

Heavenly Father has a perfect and pure love for each of us. Even with our weaknesses, He is ever patient and always willing to communicate with us. He cares not only about our success, but especially about our eternal progress.

Now, while we strive to be worthy of having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we do not need to be perfect to receive His guidance and comfort. Worthiness is a process; perfection is an eternal journey.

Neither does your discipleship and covenant focus end after a period of only two years or 18 months. This is a lifelong quest.

Only the Lord fully knows our individual limitations and capacity, and because of that, He is the only one fully qualified to judge our performance.

Wherever you live in the world, no matter how remote it may be, please always remember that your Father in Heaven and your Savior know you completely and love you perfectly. You are never forgotten to Them. They want to bring you home.

To all of you who serve, and especially to the over 4,000 young service missionaries, we love you! If teaching missionaries are the Lord’s mouth, then service missionaries are the Lord’s hands, and you are not second-class missionaries. Each of you is vital to the gathering of Israel.

When you or a family member is blessed with a call as a service missionary, that is a moment to celebrate. Your family will now have a set-apart representative of the Lord Jesus Christ living in your home.

…our relationship with the Savior enables us to approach difficulties with smiling faces and grateful hearts.

God needs service missionaries. He needs people to love and serve others. These people stock toilet paper, bag broccoli, build furniture, and are good to people.

Fortunately, I had a wonderful missionary companion, Kevin Vick, who ministered to me with love, patience, and kindness. Each night as he witnessed my feelings of doubt and uncertainty, he would simply say to the younger Elder Johnson, ‘I love you.’

Know that He understands. He took upon Himself all our sins, mistakes, misery, and very bad days that we might live again with our Father in Heaven in eternity.

We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day.

When we say yes to serving, we are saying yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible.

…if you wait for sorrow to end before you experience joy, you might miss joy completely. To experience a measure of sorrow may enable your heart and mind to receive pure heavenly joy!

I have never seen my weaknesses and my need to repent so clearly as I have during my time in this calling. Yet, at the same time, I’ve never felt of His love so purely, so personally, and so powerfully. He shows us our weaknesses in love, His primary motivation.

If you have served a mission, leaving family and friends for two years or eighteen months to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others, the evidence of your maturity is unmistakable.

In all your communication with your missionary, remember to look to the Lord. He will inspire you to know what your missionary needs to hear and when. You and your missionary will be blessed as you learn, grow, and serve together.

It was on my knees that I started to experience peace. This peaceful feeling helped me understand that the Savior did know how I was feeling and that He does care—quite a lot, actually.

The Book of Mormon has taught me much of what I know about Jesus Christ. It is the foundation of my testimony and witness of Him. It has drawn me close to Him.

I am a living example of how the Lord can work with us and prepare us over time for the things we were sent here to do, even when we feel weak and simple and unqualified.

There will be many decisions that will require you to move forward without having certainty about the outcome—serving a mission, getting married, having children… But I testify that as you walk forward with faith in what the Spirit guides you to do—heeding the words of living prophets and trusting the Lord—you can be blessed with divine peace and support…

I have learned that a prayer for strength never goes unanswered. If we reach out to Him, He ‘reaches our reaching’…

In the beginning, there were times when the mission wasn’t as exciting as I had imagined it would be. Thankfully, I had an obedient and hardworking companion who helped me discover the joy of losing myself in the Lord’s service.

Our support should continue while they are on their missions. It is beautiful to hear the wonderful experiences our missionaries have almost daily. We can also be a part of those experiences by reaching out to those they teach.

Young men and young women who serve missions will be strengthened and prepared to face life’s challenges as they continue to apply what they learned while on their missions.

Sometimes you may want to know why something hard is happening in your life or why you didn’t receive a blessing you prayed for. Often the best question to ask Heavenly Father is not why but what.

Whether you need help from God, friends, family, or medical professionals, you are not a weaker person for seeking the extra help you need. In fact, you’re showing courage!

When I doubt my abilities, I often repeat to myself in my mind or out loud, ‘I am a daughter of God, I am a daughter of God,’ as many times as I need until I again feel confident to keep going.

I admonish you to seek friends who will lead you to Jesus Christ! Friends who will not be easily deterred. Friends who will pick you up and carry you, if need be, to the feet of the Savior.

Each day is a new day filled with hope and possibilities because of Jesus Christ. Each day you and I can come to know, as Mother Eve proclaimed, ‘the joy of our redemption,’ the joy of being made whole, the joy of feeling God’s unfailing love for you.

When we feel His love and reciprocate that love by choosing Him each day, the gospel becomes less about checkboxes and more about love and desire. This allows real gospel roots to grow in each of us, bringing us lasting nourishment and joy.

Look for Christ everywhere―I promise He is there! True joy rests on our willingness to come closer to Christ and witness for ourselves.

Begin where you are. Don’t let your condition hinder you. Remember, pace or placement on the path are not as important as progress.

We must remember: it’s not the course alone that will exalt us; it’s the companion—our Savior.

Because I felt my companion’s love, I began to feel God’s love again.

…I can’t go at it alone, and I don’t need to, and I won’t. Choosing to be bound to my Savior, Jesus Christ, through the covenants I have made with God, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’

A powerful testimony does not depend on eloquence or the volume of your voice—but on the conviction and sincerity of your heart.

Always express gratitude. A conscious effort to be grateful will help you recognize how merciful God has been in your life. It will open your heart and mind to inspiration.

As people read and pray about the Book of Mormon, they will come to know the Savior better and experience His love. They will grow in their testimony of Him. They will know how to come unto Him and be saved.

Assisting with the conversion of another person is a sacred work. You will find lasting joy as you devote yourself to this work and to serving others…

Be patient with yourself. God knows that change and growth take time. He is pleased with your sincere desires and will bless you for every effort you make.

Becoming more like the Savior is a gradual, lifelong process. With a desire to please God, improve one decision at a time.

Coming to know and love the scriptures can be a great lifelong blessing of your missionary service. As you experience the blessings of scripture study during your mission, you will want to continue for the rest of your life.

Encouraging people to seek a witness from the Holy Ghost about the Book of Mormon should be a central focus of your teaching. The Book of Mormon can change their lives forever.

Humbly put your confidence and faith in Jesus Christ, not in yourself. Rely on the Spirit rather than your own talents and abilities. The Holy Ghost will magnify your efforts far beyond what you can do on your own.

It is natural to be somewhat apprehensive about talking with people. Pray for faith and courage to teach the restored gospel. Everyone you meet is your brother or sister in the family of God.

Listen carefully and speak the language at every opportunity. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Everyone who learns a new language makes mistakes. People will understand, and they will appreciate your efforts to learn their language.

Local Church leaders and members are your partners in God’s work. Build relationships that help you work together to bring the restored gospel to Heavenly Father’s children. These relationships can bless you for the rest of your life.

You are united by your love for God and His children. He will magnify your efforts to the degree that you work in unity with local leaders and members.

Your efforts to find may bear fruit after you have been transferred or even after you have finished your mission. Regardless of the timing or the outcome, the Lord is grateful for your efforts.

Your Heavenly Father, who knows you perfectly, called you because of what you can offer as a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He will not forsake you.

The Lord will bless you as you humbly dedicate yourself to serving Him. May you find great joy and happiness as you labor among Heavenly Father’s children.

A mission might be the greatest chapter in a couple’s life. A good title might be ‘My Lord Will Have Need of Me.’ You may be on unfamiliar ground; however, the power of the Spirit will make you feel right at home.

I also promise that as you serve, you will feel the love of the Lord in your life, you will know Him, He will know you, and ‘how great shall be your joy.’

There are so many ways senior missionaries can do what no one else can. You are a remarkable force for good, seasoned in the Church, and poised to encourage and rescue God’s children.

Regardless of how insignificant our efforts may seem, if we are sincere, the Savior will use us to accomplish His work. If we simply do the best we can and trust Him to make up the difference, we can become part of the miracles that surround us.

…we see the tremendous need for senior missionaries. You can’t imagine what great good they do as they love the young missionaries and teach local members the doctrines and culture of Christ and His Church.

You can find the Savior’s relief from feeling alone and unloved when you bring His relief to others. At times when I have been feeling off or have needed help (which is often), I have felt to go and focus on someone else’s needs. Doing so has brought the blessings that I didn’t know I needed.

When we serve as full-time missionaries, we will be challenged at times, but the Lord Himself is our great exemplar and guide in such circumstances. He understands what a difficult mission is. With His help, we can do hard things.

The Lord knows you. When you are serving your mission, you will have experiences that will help you come to know Him better. You will grow spiritually in serving Him.

When you are released from your mission, remember that you are not released from activity in the Church. Build upon the good habits you learned on your mission, continue to strengthen your testimony, work hard, pray, and be obedient to the Lord.

Trials do not mean that the plan is failing; they are part of the plan meant to help me seek God.

None of us have perfect lives or perfect families; I certainly don’t. When we seek to empathize with others who also experience challenges and imperfections, it can help them feel that they are not alone in their struggles.

Ultimately, I realized that I wasn’t called to a service mission because I was inadequate, but because this was Heavenly Father’s direction for me. I wasn’t ‘less than’ proselyting missionaries; rather, He needed me to help build His kingdom through other means of service.

…don’t procrastinate a recognition of your blessings in the moment, right now. Finding joy in your journey and offering gratitude to your Heavenly Father and the Savior for those blessings is a way to batten down the hatches, prepare for storms, and secure your relationship with Jesus Christ.

We may have a tendency to think we have to perfect ourselves, but that is not possible. … Our perfection is only possible through God’s grace.

The Lord is mightier than our fears, our disappointments, our weariness, and even our deep wounds of the heart! He is the great healer and guide through our deep waters; He waits for us to come to Him.

All missionaries teach and testify of the Savior. The spiritual darkness in the world makes the light of Jesus Christ needed more than ever. Everyone deserves the chance to know about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission. For Latter-day Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility. You young men have been reserved for this time when the promised gathering of Israel is taking place.

You might also feel stressed spiritually, not being the person you want to be. Seeing our weakness is not a reason to be discouraged; it is a reason to be humble.

The Book of Mormon contains the answers to life’s most compelling questions, and it teaches the doctrine of Christ.

When it comes to missionary work, God doesn’t need you to be His sheriff; He does, however, ask that you be His sharer.

I testify that there is nothing in your life that is broken that is beyond the curative, redeeming, and enabling power of Jesus Christ.

The best way for you to improve the world is to prepare the world for Christ by inviting all to follow Him.

Trials are the elements of the plot that make our favorite stories compelling, timeless, faith promoting, and worthy of telling. The beautiful struggles written into our stories are what draw us closer to the Savior and refine us, making us more like Him.

Nearly every day our missionaries arrive in countries where they have little knowledge of the language … And yet they go boldly as modern pioneers, not fearing the journey, walking with faith in every footstep to bring to people everywhere the good news of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

God’s love is not found in the circumstances of our lives but in His presence in our lives. We know of His love when we receive strength beyond our own and when His Spirit brings peace, comfort, and direction.

It seems that each generation of missionaries is blessed to be able to stand on the shoulders of those who preceded them.

Unity is essential to the divine work we are privileged and called to do, but it doesn’t just happen. It takes effort and time to really counsel together—to listen to one another, understand others’ viewpoints, and share experiences—but the process results in more inspired decisions.

…every joy seems doubled and every sorrow supported when we bring it to God in prayer. Every prayer is a brick in the foundation of our relationship with Heavenly Father. The true gift of prayer is knowing we are not alone when the world literally brings us to our knees.

You and I have enough light to share right now. We can light the next step to help someone draw nearer to Jesus Christ, and then the next step, and the next.

Missionaries who return home early need the united efforts of family, friends, leaders, and ward members to help them through this difficult time. Reach out in love to comfort, encourage, and care for each returned missionary and his or her family.

…seeing deeply requires us to ask Him—and then act. Ask to see others as He does—as His true sons and daughters with infinite and divine potential. Then act by loving, serving, and affirming their worth and potential as prompted.

Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Christ will enable us to see ourselves and see others as He does. With His help, we can discern what is most needful.

I now understand that I am not starting over with each failed attempt, but that with each try, I am continuing my process of change.

I testify that because of Jesus Christ, we can change. We can adjust our habits, alter our thoughts, and refine our character to become more like Him. And with His help, we can keep the change.

What we give away comes to us in greater measure. It is bread upon the water. It is why missionary and other Christlike service is so fulfilling.

Even in turbulent times, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is gritty and resilient. It helps us sift through unimportant distractions. It encourages us to keep moving along the covenant path. Faith pushes through discouragement and allows us to face the future with resolve and squared shoulders.

The Lord loves effort, and effort brings rewards. We keep practicing. We are always progressing as long as we are striving to follow the Lord. He doesn’t expect perfection today.

Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are.

Develop a yearning to know the Lord, to understand His commandments and to follow Him. Then shadows of despair are dispelled by rays of hope, sorrow yields to joy, and the feeling of being lost in the crowd of life vanishes with the certain knowledge that our Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us.

I believe that the more we act upon the inspiration and impressions which come to us, the more the Lord will entrust to us His errands.

I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you.

Missionary work is difficult. It taxes one’s energies; it strains one’s capacity; it demands one’s best effort—frequently a second effort. No other labor requires longer hours or greater devotion or such sacrifice and fervent prayer.

My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.

[Our Father] did not call you … to build alone, without guidance, trusting to luck. On the contrary, He knows your skills, He realizes your devotion, and He will convert your supposed inadequacies to recognized strengths.

Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.

You will never know the full influence of your testimony and your service, but you will return with gladness for having had the privilege of responding to a sacred call to serve the Master. You will be forever loved by those to whom you bring the light of truth.

Choose to feel joy in your very existence as a child of God. That is not just a catchphrase in the Church or a song sung in Primary. Being a child of God means being connected to the heavens while we journey in mortality.

Sadly, many who suffer from severe depression distance themselves from their fellow Saints because they feel they do not fit some imaginary mold. We can help them know and feel that they do indeed belong with us. It is important to recognize that depression is not the result of weakness, nor is it usually the result of sin.

Your struggles do not define you, but they can refine you. Because of a ‘thorn in the flesh,’ you may have the ability to feel more compassion toward others.

I solemnly testify that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Holy Ghost will confirm the truth of it time after time to anyone who, with a sincere heart, seeks knowledge unto the salvation of their soul.

I promise that as you plan, prioritize, and act with humble faith in God’s love and in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you will develop an eternal perspective that will help you overcome the challenges of your life and you will feel unexpected, even indescribable, joy.

You can pray and ask the Lord for an errand. As you do, He can use your ordinary skills to accomplish His extraordinary work.

I testify you are beloved. The Lord knows how hard you are trying. You are making progress. Keep going. He sees all your hidden sacrifices and counts them to your good and the good of those you love. Your work is not in vain. You are not alone.

Take a few more steps on the covenant path, even if it’s too dark to see very far. The lights will come back on.

I know from my own experience that much of the spiritual growth and blessings we experience in our lives are ultimately tied back to our decision to respond when the Lord calls.

…you missionaries who returned home early for mental or physical health reasons are not less valiant, less strong, less courageous, or less worthy. Your perseverance through your trials is—and should be—astonishing.

Cherish the service you rendered. Be grateful for the opportunity to have testified, to have been out in the name of the Lord, to have worn that missionary name plaque. … Please, please do not relive this; do not rehash it; do not think you’re inadequate or a failure.

Because you have kept your covenants and gained valuable experiences on your mission, as a returned missionary your opportunity to create a happy, gospel-centered life is greater than ever before.

Understand that it’s not your job to convert people. That is the role of the Holy Ghost. Your role is to share what is in your heart and live consistent with your beliefs.

When we counsel together guided by the Holy Ghost, we can see where we are and where we need to be. The Holy Ghost gives us a vision that our natural eyes cannot see, because ‘revelation is scattered among us,’ and when we put that revelation together, we can see more.

Our sheep may be hurting, lost, or even willfully astray; as their shepherd, we can be among the first to see their need. We can listen and love without judgment and offer hope and help with the discerning guidance of the Holy Ghost.

Of course, all of us will fall short of our divine potential, and there is some truth in the realization that alone we are not enough. But the good news of the gospel is that with the grace of God, we are enough. With Christ’s help, we can do all things.

…the doors of your success will turn on small hinges: habits of prayer and patience, turning to the scriptures, and listening to the still, small voice. If you listen to that small voice, truly great things will proceed in your own life.

I absolutely love the courage of these young princes—these sons of Mosiah—to be servants and examples of the peace that is offered through the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter how vile our sins have been, if we repent and serve Him.

In spite of what we all feel are our limitations and inadequacies—and we all have challenges—nevertheless, may we labor side by side with the Lord of the vineyard, giving the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees.

…this life is perfectly designed to give us all the opportunities we need to grow ‘spiritual muscles’ and—through patience and dependence upon our Savior, Jesus Christ—become like our Father in Heaven.

We must have the courage to continue in faith and hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and not be overcome. Every single prayer is heard by our loving Father in Heaven. Doubt not. Fear not.

When serving our God becomes our main priority in life, we lose ourselves, and in due course, we find ourselves.

Go forth in the ministry, nothing doubting … Take no thoughts for your debts, nor the necessaries of life, for the Lord will supply you with abundant means for all things.

…it’s quite possible to go through a mission experience without the mission actually going through us, right? Through our heart.

…in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.

…the sooner missionaries shifted to using their unique talents and helping people make desired changes in their lives, the faster they became powerful instruments in the hands of God.

Who is a shepherd? Every man, woman, and child in the kingdom of God is a shepherd. No calling is required. From the moment we emerge from the waters of baptism, we are commissioned to this work.

I had to work through feelings of failure. I had to learn how to judge the value of my mission by my desire to serve rather than the length.

But a missionary is not called to a place; rather, he or she is called to serve.

I testify that as you center your life on Jesus Christ, you will find joy in your circumstances, whatever they may be.

It was a blessing to have a companion who knew the language and how to navigate around the city. It was an even greater blessing to have a companion who had a testimony of the gospel, who knew how to teach, and who loved the people and the work.

The Holy Ghost knows the language; He knows the way; He knows what to do; He will guide us and warn us against danger and evil; He will bear witness of all truth; He knows how to teach us, comfort us, bless us with spiritual gifts, purify our hearts, sanctify us, and make us holy.

Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth.

…worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less! We continue to repent and strive to be like Jesus with our worth intact.

As the months went by, I observed that every elder and every sister in our mission was uniquely gifted. I saw firsthand how their various gifts complemented each other. No missionary possessed every gift, but each possessed at least one.

As a missionary, I learned that some of the companions that were most different to me could teach me the most and that our skills could be complementary as we respected each other and worked together.

As you serve, you will build rich eternal memories and friendships. I know of no field which produces a more bounteous harvest of happiness than the mission field.

The Lord loves you. He appreciates your sacrifice. He is aware of your disappointment. Know that He still has a work for you to do. Don’t let Satan tell you otherwise.

…I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life.

Instead of attending church with the question of ‘What am I going to get out of this meeting?’ ask, ‘Who needs me today? What do I have to contribute?’

If you return home early, please know that the Lord loves and appreciates every effort you made to serve Him. Anyone who goes on a mission and tries his or her best has had a successful mission.

…the more you testify, the more you grow as a missionary. You don’t just go out to serve a mission; you go out to become a missionary, and in the process you become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we get discouraged because every experience doesn't end with what we see as success. Every missionary experience may not be successful as we see it, but each one will be worthwhile. All the Lord expects is that we do our part.

By that promised power of the Holy Ghost I bear my personal witness that the Book of Mormon is God-given and that it is all it claims to be—a pure and powerful witness of Jesus Christ, His divinity, and His doctrine.

‘Really trying’ means doing the best we can, recognizing where we need to improve, and then trying again. By repeatedly doing this, we come closer and closer to the Lord, we feel His Spirit more and more, and we receive more of His grace, or help.

But one thing we do know. Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith.

Fathers and mothers, pray over your children. Pray that they may be shielded from the evils of the world. Pray that they may grow in faith and knowledge. Pray that they may be directed toward lives that will be profitable and good.

I cannot promise you fun. I cannot promise you ease and comfort. I cannot promise you freedom from discouragement, from fear, from downright misery at times. But I can promise you that you will grow as you have never grown in a similar period during your entire lives.

I hope every day is a great day in your lives—every one of you. I hope you can get ready to go in the morning and shake the hand of your companion and say, ‘Brother (Sister), life is good. Let’s go out and have a good day.’

…I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord.

Listen to the promptings of the Spirit. Be humble. You may be led to someone by the hand of the Lord because of your spirit, your attitude, your feeling, your humility.

The cause of Christ does not need your doubts; it needs your strength and time and talents; and as you exercise these in service, your faith will grow and your doubts will wane.

So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.

…I had learned enough that I knew I had to love my companion, be kind to him, and be patient with him. I knew I couldn’t push him.

I knew Heavenly Father loved me. I knew He cared about me. I knew He was with me. Knowing that gave me the strength I needed.

If you are tempted to think you’re not needed, let me reassure you that you are. There is not a mission president in the Church who would not love to have additional couples serving in his mission. Seniors strengthen the younger elders and sisters.

…the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.

The truth is, no senior missionary finds it convenient to leave home. Neither did Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, or Wilford Woodruff. They had children and grandchildren too, and they loved their families just as we do. But they also loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him.

When opposition comes or you are going through a trial in which it is hard to feel the Spirit, remember the times when you have received that witness and hold on to your faith with both hands and all of your strength.

Leadership is an expression of discipleship—it is simply a matter of helping others come unto Christ, which is what true disciples do. If you are striving to be a follower of Christ, then you can help others follow Him and you can be a leader.

For those who have already been given a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, remember that it can be lost so quickly. Keep reading, studying, and nurturing that testimony. Remember how it felt to receive your witness. Share that witness with others often.

How often have I lifted my heart in gratitude for the two missionaries who did not stop at the first floor! How often my heart reaches out in appreciation for their faith and work. How often have I given thanks that they kept going—even to the fourth floor, last door.

…no one is born an amazing missionary. Missionary skills develop with practice, lots of hard work, taking risks, overcoming obstacles, trying again after mistakes, learning from others, and complete reliance on the Lord. He loves you and will help you fulfill your personal as well as full-time mission.

Please use the skills you learned on your mission to bless the lives of people around you every day. Do not shift your focus from serving others to focusing exclusively on school, work, or social activities.

If you ask missionaries why they loved their missions, almost always they will eventually say because of their love for the people. The day a missionary starts to care more about others, they become happy.

Throughout the day I prayed in my heart, thanking Him when my plans went smoothly. And when they didn’t go smoothly, I thanked Him for the plan He had for me instead, which usually ended up being a better one anyway.

A life filled with unselfish service will also be filled with peace that surpasses understanding. … This peace can come only through living the principles of the gospel. These principles constitute the program of the Prince of Peace.

It is important to be appreciated. But our focus should be on righteousness, not recognition; on service, not status.

Life is wonderful, even in the hard times, and there is happiness, joy, and peace at stops all along the way, and endless portions of them at the end of the road.

Reading [the Book of Mormon] will have a profound effect on your life. It will expand your knowledge of the way God deals with man and will give you a greater desire to live in harmony with his gospel teachings. It will also provide for you a powerful testimony of Jesus.

The great miracle of the Church and kingdom of God in our day and in our time is the transformation of the human soul. As we journey throughout the stakes and missions of the Church, this is what we see—the transformation of the human soul because someone has taught the principles of truth.

The place to begin is here. The time to start is now. The length of our stride needs be but one step at a time. God, who has ‘designed our happiness,’ will lead us along even as little children, and we will by that process approach perfection.

We have been privileged to be born in these last days, as opposed to some earlier dispensation, to help take the gospel to all the earth. There is no greater calling in this life.

We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution.

…whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives. If Jesus lays his hands upon a marriage, it lives. If he is allowed to lay his hands on the family, it lives.

When [the difficulties of mortality] humble us and refine us and teach us and bless us, they can be powerful instruments in the hands of God to make us better people, to make us more grateful, more loving, and more considerate of other people in their own times of difficulty.

For 18 or 24 months, the Lord teaches missionaries how to live the rest of their lives. They learn to study the scriptures each day with their companion and they pray constantly. Their focus is on the Lord continually.

The Holy Ghost doesn’t tell us to improve everything at once. If He did, we would become discouraged and give up. The Spirit works with us at our own speed, one step at a time…

Some may think they have failed too many times and feel too weak to change sinful acts or worldly desires of the heart. However, as covenant Israel, we don’t just try and try on our own to change. If we earnestly appeal to God, He takes us as we are—and makes us more than we ever imagined.

If you are struggling, confused, or spiritually lost, I urge you to do the one thing I know will get you back on track. Begin again to prayerfully study the Book of Mormon and live its teachings every day, every day, every day!

As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were.

I now realize that in the Church, to effectively serve others we must see them through a parent’s eyes, through Heavenly Father’s eyes. Only then can we begin to comprehend the true worth of a soul.

Though we all have weaknesses, we can overcome them. Indeed it is by the grace of God that, if we humble ourselves and have faith, weak things can become strong.

…missionary work really is hard work! There is rejection and disappointment. Discouragement can easily set in. However, these are small sacrifices for the privilege of helping someone come closer to Christ.

What I have learned is that the precious fruit of missionary work grows even sweeter with the passing years.

We are inviting you to hear the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can study, ponder, pray, and come to know for yourself if the things we are sharing with you are true.

Be cheerful in all that you do. Live joyfully. Live happily. Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love.

I have a vision of thousands of missionaries going into the mission field with hundreds of passages memorized from the Book of Mormon so that they might feed the needs of a spiritually famished world.

I have tasted the joy of missionary work. There is no work in all the world that can bring an individual greater joy and happiness.

One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work. If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people, and he will be happy.

We hear the words of the Lord most often by a feeling. If we are humble and sensitive, the Lord will prompt us through our feelings. That is why spiritual promptings move us on occasion to great joy, sometimes to tears.

We should strive for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost all the days of our lives. When we have the Spirit, we will love to serve, we will love the Lord, and we will love those with whom we serve, and those whom we serve.

We will all have disappointments and discouragements—that is part of life. But if we will have faith, our setbacks will be but a moment and success will come out of our seeming failures. Our Heavenly Father can accomplish miracles through each of us if we will but place our confidence and trust in Him.

We will never be effective until we learn to have sympathy for all our Father’s children—until we learn to love them. People can feel when love is extended to them.

…sometimes we are tempted to give up or turn back because maybe we think we can’t do it alone. And we are right! We cannot do the difficult things we have been asked to do without help. Help comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the helping hands of others.

For capable young people accustomed to accomplishment, a mission may be life’s first great challenge. But missionaries can be exactly obedient without being perfect.

…acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don’t be immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you depart this earth life.

Sometimes in the harbor of our homes, we can’t see that by the simple, consistent acts—including family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening—great things are brought to pass. But I testify that these very acts carry eternal significance.

…I used to tell my missionaries that they came on a mission to help another person do what that person really wanted to do, but had not yet been able to do without some outside help.

Wherever we find ourselves on the path of discipleship, whatever our worries and challenges may be, we are not alone. You are not forgotten.

We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

Pray to your Heavenly Father. This is His sacred work. He will guide you in what to do. He will open doors, remove roadblocks, and help you overcome obstacles.

You can do this! The Lord you represent and serve knows you can do this. I know you can do this.

The Lord often places His servants in situations with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. In this manner He pushes us to humble ourselves and to rely solely on His strength. He makes us instruments of His miracles and the manifestations of His power and compassion.

If you are humble and obedient and hearken to the voice of the Spirit, you will find great happiness in your service as a missionary.

Think of the good that comes from broken things: Soil is broken to plant wheat. Wheat is broken to make bread. Bread is broken to become the emblems of the sacrament.

Missionary work has never been just about knocking doors or street contacting. Missionary work has always been about bringing people to Christ. Today, this includes talking to people where they are – including online.

As you are converted, you will have a desire to share with others what you have learned, and your confidence and ability to testify to others with conviction and power will increase.

If you do not yet have a firmly rooted testimony and conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on the earth, now is the time to do what it takes to gain that conviction. To delay making the effort required to earn that kind of conviction can be dangerous to your soul.

True conversion occurs as you continue to act upon the doctrines you know are true and keep the commandments, day after day, month after month.

And these missionaries, mostly young men, untrained in the ways of the world, go forth with this message of salvation and confound the great and the mighty, because they have the truth.

I’ve learned from my own experience that when you want to change, really want to change, you can do it. Our conscience and the scriptures tell us what to live by—and they tell us what habits we should change for our eternal welfare and progress.

…one of the chief purposes of our mortal probation is to see if we can learn with the spirit of prayer always in our hearts so that when the Lord chooses to speak, we shall hear his voice in our souls.

Prayer is something that humbles the soul. It broadens our comprehension; it quickens the mind. It draws us nearer to our Father in heaven. We need his help; there is no question about that.

The gospel is a light breaking forth in darkness, and every person who receives the light of the gospel becomes a light and a guide to all those whom he is able to teach.

The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten.

…no matter how many times you have slipped or fallen, rise up! Your destiny is a glorious one! Stand tall and walk in the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine. You can do it now!

…our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.

When it becomes impossible to carry on, it is that covenant to do the Lord’s will that causes a missionary to find a private place and get on his or her knees. His or her prayer may be ‘I cannot do this alone. Only with Thee can I continue…’

Knowing that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion. We should know the gospel is true and be true to the gospel.

We can write of Christ by writing letters to those who are away. Missionaries serving, sons or daughters in the military, and those we love are all blessed by letters we write.

Every person is different and has a different contribution to make. No one is destined to fail. As you seek revelation to see gifts God sees in those you lead in the priesthood—particularly the young—you will be blessed to lift their sights to the service they can perform.

We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word.

When you forget about your obstacles, you learn to be grateful. You learn to become more like Christ through serving others, and this is preparation to live with Heavenly Father. A mission could change the life of a senior.

…messages from home, messages of love and reassurance and guidance, however they arrive at your door or in your inbox, can have a powerful influence in steadying you along your journey while you are away from home. They remind you that you are loved and cherished.

We continue to need many more senior couples. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, I encourage you to make yourselves available for full-time missionary service. Both husband and wife will have a greater joy as they together serve our Father’s children.

We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become when they receive testimonies of the gospel of Christ.

Missionaries in their late teens or early 20s are young in ways of the world. But they are blessed with gifts—such as the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and testimonies of the truth—that make them powerful ambassadors of the Lord.

I am a child of God with my own gifts and talents. My companion is also a child of God with his own gifts and talents. When both of us bring those gifts to Him, He will magnify them so that we can both be good missionaries.

We have four grandsons on missions right now who tell us we were their inspiration to go… What could be more rewarding than that?

…I testify that He has not forgotten you! Whatever sin or weakness or pain or struggle or trial you are going through, He knows and understands those very moments. He loves you!

Be of good cheer—be not disheartened; for assuredly the day rapidly comes when your tears shall be dried, your hearts comforted, and you shall eat of the products of your labours.

Every man and woman who serves the Lord, no matter how faithful they may be, have their dark hours; but if they have lived faithfully, light will burst upon them and relief will be furnished.

My trust was in Him who created the seas and defined their bounds. I was on His errand—I knew that I was sent on this mission by the authority He recognizes, and, although the elements raged and the ship swayed and trembled amid the heaving billows, He was at the helm, and my life was safe in His keeping.

The Lord has strengthened us and increased us in our growth. Like the infant, when it grows up it knows not how it received gradual strength and the manner in which it increased in stature. It is larger this year than last. So in regard to our spiritual advancement. We feel stronger today than we did a year ago.

When I stood before that congregation, although I knew not one word I could say, as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, the Holy Ghost rested mightily upon me, filling my mind with light and communicating ideas and proper language by which to impart them.

When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone…

Where the Lord plants us, there we are to stand; when he requires us to exert ourselves for the support of these holy principles, that we are to do; that is all we need to trouble ourselves about; the rest our Heavenly Father will take care of.

We simply cannot force others to do the right thing. The scriptures make it clear that this is not God’s way. Compulsion builds resentment. It conveys mistrust, and it makes people feel incompetent.

Missionary service requires sacrifice. There will always be something you leave behind when you respond to the prophet’s call to serve.

Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon.

In no part of the work of God here upon the earth at the present time is there such a band of happy, contented, peaceful people as those who are engaged in missionary service. Service is the real key to joy.

We also recognize that there are some who have hoped all their lives to serve missions, but for health reasons or other impediments beyond their control, they cannot do so. We publicly and proudly salute this group. We know of your desires, and we applaud your devotion. You have our love and our admiration.

We need thousands of more couples serving in the missions of the Church. Every mission president pleads for them. Everywhere they serve, our couples bring a maturity to the work that no number of 19-year-olds, however good they are, can provide.

What greater gift could grandparents give their posterity than to say by deed as well as word, ‘In this family we serve missions!’

Men’s hearts must be changed. Christ came into the world for that very purpose. The principal reason for preaching the gospel is to change men’s hearts and lives…

To render service … in the mission field is a blessing to anyone. It is recognized as such by thousands of parents throughout the Church who appreciate the value of such labor to their sons and daughters, in whom this experience awakens an appreciation of home and of the gospel.

If you have something that the Lord asks or expects you to do and you don’t know just how to proceed, do your best. Move in the direction that you ought to go; trust the Lord, give him a chance, and he will never fail you.

Let us not complain at our friends and our neighbors, because they do not do what we want them to do. Rather let us love them into doing the things that our Heavenly Father would have them do. We can do that, and we cannot win their confidence or their love in any other way.

When we become confused, and find ourselves confronted by obstacles we, seemingly, cannot overcome, having faith in the Redeemer of the world, we can go to Him and know that our prayers will be answered for our good.

I have joy even now in contemplating the days of my missionary labors. The feelings produced by these peculiar experiences have become part and parcel of my very being.

There is a way to reach every human heart, and it is your business to find the way to the hearts of those to whom you are called.

I, myself, have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles preaching the gospel; and without purse or scrip, trusting in the Lord. Did he ever forsake me? Never, no never. I always was provided for, for which I feel to praise God my Heavenly Father.

You cleave to God, live your religion, magnify your callings, humble yourselves before God, call upon Him in secret and He will open your path before you.

Just as with missionaries past and present, the Lord knows you and has a mission experience prepared for you. He knows your mission president and his wonderful wife, who will love you as their own children and who will seek inspiration and direction on your behalf. He knows each of your companions and what you will learn from them.

We have a Father in Heaven who knows us—our strengths and weaknesses, our abilities and potential. He knows which mission president and companions and which members and investigators we need in order to become the missionary, the husband and father, and the priesthood holder we are capable of becoming.

I believe in you. I’m pulling for you. And I’m not the only one. Parents are pulling for you, leaders are pulling for you, and prophets are pulling for you. And Jesus is pulling with you.

I have waded swamps and swum rivers, and have asked my bread from door to door; and have devoted nearly fifty years to this work. And why? Was there gold enough in California to have hired me to do it? No, verily…

My father, step-mother and sister were among the number baptized. I afterwards added a number of relatives. I felt that this day’s work alone amply repaid me for all my labor in the ministry.

Unless you have the Holy Ghost with you when you go out to preach the Gospel, you cannot do your duty; but when you have that you are safe, go where you will, and your words will have their effect in the hearts of the honest and meek of the earth.

What I want to convey to you is that through your love, you are imparting the love of God. You are a treasure of this Church.

Your attitudes and the love that you show toward others are very significant messages. Even though I didn’t immediately grasp all the doctrines that the missionaries taught me, I felt of their great love, and their many acts of kindness taught me important lessons.

The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. Qualifying for the Lord’s Spirit begins with a desire for that Spirit and implies a certain degree of worthiness.

Elder, you send a letter home to your mother and father every week of your mission. Tell them what you are doing. Tell them how much you love them and then bear your testimony to them.

I had a further witness that morning that every missionary called in this Church, and assigned or reassigned to a particular mission, is called by revelation from the Lord God Almighty through one of these, His servants.

Missionary work is the lifeblood of the Church and the lifesaving blessing to all who accept its message.

No matter how gifted we may be, or how choice our language, it is the Spirit of our Father that reaches the heart and brings conviction of the divinity of this work.

We cannot drive these young people, and our neighbors and friends into the kingdom of heaven by scolding them and finding fault with them, but I want to tell you that we can love them into the direction of our Father in heaven, and by and by, perhaps, lead them there too.

…the Lord takes His chosen people out of comfort zones again and again and tutors them on the things that really matter.

…because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.

Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the ‘high priest of good things to come.’

I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.

I did not realize those many years ago, as we prayed for the borders to open and the missionaries to go in, that I was praying for our son.

As the missionaries yielded to the Spirit, they forgot themselves and they found they were magnified in their abilities to love and to learn and to feel a closeness to the Savior.

My mission had a great impact on my life. I learned to rely more on the Lord, to seek the guidance of the Spirit, and to feel an overwhelming love for God’s children. My knowledge of the scriptures and my understanding of the doctrines increased.

This is the Lord’s work, and He will help us do it. His gospel has to go to every nation, and we can be instruments in His hands to bless the lives of others by sharing with them His truth.

…as I contemplated the challenge of a mission, I felt very inadequate and unprepared. I remember praying, ‘Heavenly Father, how can I serve a mission when I know so little?’ I believed in the Church, but I felt my spiritual knowledge was very limited. As I prayed, the feeling came: ‘You don’t know everything, but you know enough!’

Just as expressing gratitude more often in our prayers enlarges the conduit for revelation, so praying for others with all of the energy of our souls increases our capacity to hear and to heed the voice of the Lord.

Messengers need to match the message. A disciple of Christ needs to bring a message of love. How can he if he doesn't show that love for his companion?

I asked him, ‘Which of these problems that you have had was a surprise to God?’

…bad days come to an end, that faith always triumphs, and that heavenly promises are always kept.

…I have never known a sister that served an honorable mission that did not grow from the experience and become better prepared to meet life.

No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations.

You may feel that there are others who are more capable or more experienced who could fulfill your callings and assignments better than you can, but the Lord gave you your responsibilities for a reason. There may be people and hearts only you can reach and touch. Perhaps no one else could do it in quite the same way.

Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

Let me assure you that calls are a matter of revelation. Missionaries serve where the Lord wants them to serve.

…missionaries become doctrinally anchored to the reality of the Atonement. There comes to them a love for and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ that will absolutely bless them and their families in mortality and on into eternity.

When missionaries first come into the field, they usually lack self-confidence. So we put them with good companions, and those companions teach them the way of missionary work. In a few months they are filled with the Spirit.

Mothers who know are leaders. In equal partnership with their husbands, they lead a great and eternal organization. These mothers plan for the future of their organization. They plan for missions, temple marriages, and education.

Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation.

Missionary work is not just one of the 88 keys on a piano that is occasionally played; it is a major chord in a compelling melody that needs to be played continuously throughout our lives if we are to remain in harmony with our commitment to Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My specific challenge to each of you is to make a commitment to be a missionary for the rest of your life.

…be prepared to lose track of time as you pray. You will feel love for the people you are to serve. You will feel their needs, their hopes, their hurts, and those of their families.

…I would ponder this question: ‘Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?’ … I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

The MTC is a wonderful greenhouse, but the time comes when missionaries must leave and be subjected to the adversities as well as the joys of the real mission field. It is a delight to watch them grow.

Asking to be an answer to someone’s prayer has a powerful impact. There are sacred, quiet experiences for those who participate with the Lord in answering prayers.

You must recognize that missionary service is emotionally demanding. Your support system is going to be withdrawn from you as you leave home and go out into the world. … Learn now about your emotional limits, and learn how to control your emotions under the circumstances you will face as a missionary.

A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon…

All are to preach the Gospel, by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost; and no man can preach the Gospel without the Holy Ghost.

All difficulties which might and would cross our way must be surmounted. Though the soul be tried, the heart faint, and the hands hang down, we must not retrace our steps; there must be decision of character.

As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expand, let them be enlarged towards others; you must be long-suffering, and bear with the faults and errors of mankind. How precious are the souls of men!

Be plain and simple and ask for what you want, just like you would go to a neighbor and say, I want to borrow your horse to go to [the] mill.

Do not be discouraged on account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful, and then you can say, ‘What art thou, O great mountain! before Zerubbabel shalt thou be brought down.’

I do not dwell upon your faults, and you shall not upon mine. Charity, which is love, covereth a multitude of sins [see 1 Peter 4:8], and I have often covered up all the faults among you; but the prettiest thing is to have no faults at all.

I know in whom I trust; I stand upon the rock; the floods cannot, no, they shall not, overthrow me.

I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.

I will try to be contented with my lot, knowing that God is my friend. In him I shall find comfort. I have given my life into his hands. I am prepared to go at his call. I desire to be with Christ.

Let us this very day begin anew, and now say, with all our hearts, we will forsake our sins and be righteous.

Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.

My dear Emma, my heart is entwined around you and those little ones. I want you to remember me. Tell all the children that I love them and will come home as soon as I can.

Oh, my Mother, … how often have your prayers been a means of assisting us when the shadows of death encompassed us.

Souls are as precious in the sight of God as they ever were; and the Elders were never called to drive any down to hell, but to persuade and invite all men everywhere to repent, that they may become the heirs of salvation.

Stand fast, ye Saints of God, hold on a little while longer, and the storm of life will be past, and you will be rewarded by that God whose servants you are, and who will duly appreciate all your toils and afflictions for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s.

The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs.

…the thoughts of home, of Emma and Julia, rush upon my mind like a flood and I could wish for a moment to be with them. My breast is filled with all the feelings and tenderness of a parent and a husband…

The world will war against you; the devil will, earth will, and hell will. But … you must preach the Gospel, do your duty, and the Lord will stand by you. Earth and hell shall not prevail against you.

There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God.

Trials will only give us the knowledge necessary to understand the minds of the ancients. For my part, I think I never could have felt as I now do, if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered.

We don’t ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more.

What God may do for us I do not know, but I hope for the best always in all circumstances. Although I go unto death, I will trust in God.

When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.

When we reflect upon the holiness and perfections of our great Master, who has opened a way whereby we may come unto him, even by the sacrifice of himself, our hearts melt within us for his condescension.

Ye are not sent out to be taught, but to teach. Let every word be seasoned with grace. Be vigilant; be sober. It is a day of warning, and not of many words. Act honestly before God and man.

Christ has suffered everything we could possibly imagine. He knows how we feel. He understands. He will help.

For me, everything changed. The fog really did lift, and happiness and joy came into my life.

You will be happy. The fog will lift. You will come to love the culture and the people you are called to serve. The work will be difficult, but there will also be great satisfaction and joy as you serve.

Charity, applied long enough, never fails to work its miracle either in the individual, in us, in both of us, or in others around the individual.

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.

If one labors all his days and brings in save it be one soul! What joy! One soul! How precious! Oh, that God would give us that kind of love for souls!

In the face of apparent tragedy we must put our trust in God, knowing that despite our limited view his purposes will not fail. With all its troubles life offers us the tremendous privilege to grow in knowledge and wisdom, faith and works, preparing to return and share God’s glory.

Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls?

Of course, there are discouragements, but nothing is ever lost. … Don’t be discouraged just because of a temporary lack of progress. There are hundreds of stories about the value of perseverance in missionary service.

Prayer is such a privilege—not only to speak to our Father in Heaven, but also to receive love and inspiration from him. At the end of our prayers, we need to do some intense listening—even for several minutes. We have prayed for counsel and help. Now we must ‘be still, and know that [he is] God.’

Service to others deepens and sweetens this life while we are preparing to live in a better world. It is by serving that we learn how to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective.

There is a great need in the world today for prayer which can keep us in touch with God and keep open the channels of communication. None of us should get so busy in our lives that we cannot contemplate with prayer. Prayer is the passport to spiritual power.

You have a testimony! It needs building and lifting and enlarging, of course; and that is what you are doing. Every time you bear your testimony it becomes strengthened.

You will never regret serving a mission, but you most probably will regret not serving if that is your choice.

There seems to be something inside each of us that resists being told or pushed or pulled. But if someone puts an arm around a young man and walks alongside him, he is likely to follow along with a desire to serve.

If you truly progress in the process of becoming a missionary, both before going on a mission and in the mission field, then when the day arrives for your honorable release as a full-time missionary, you will depart from your field of labor and return to your family—but you will never cease your missionary service.

…the single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission.

You will not suddenly or magically be transformed into a prepared and obedient missionary on the day you walk through the front door of the Missionary Training Center. What you have become in the days and months and years prior to your missionary service is what you will be in the MTC.

Each of you has a part to play in this great and marvelous work. The Savior will help you. He will lead you by the hand. He knows you by name.

…you returned missionaries can set your goal not to maintain the spirituality you felt in the mission field, but to rise higher. That will take work and determination but you can do it.

After 51 years of marriage, I was asked, ‘What part of life would you want to live over again?’ I did not hesitate to reply, ‘When my wife and I served together in the great missionary work of the Lord.’

Certainly family concerns are real and should not be considered lightly. But we cannot meet our family challenges without the blessings of the Lord; and when we sacrifice to serve as full-time missionary couples, those blessings will flow.

Fathers, mothers, and missionaries ‘play’ before very small audiences. Yet, in the eyes of the Lord, there may be only one size of audience that is of lasting importance—and that is just one, each one, you and me, and each one of the children of God.

…God’s love had changed everything. The heat, the mud, the mosquitoes, the people, the language, the food were no longer challenges. Those who had tried to harm me were no longer my enemies. Everyone was my brother or sister.

I have come to understand that to honestly pray for a strong back is a very courageous thing to do. The spiritual exercise required is not an easy course, but the promised blessings make it worthy of our total commitment—whatever the cost.

These dear members are willing to serve and strengthen the lives of others. Even if these seniors don’t know the local language, their accomplishments are great and their spirit of sacrifice is precious.

Some worry endlessly over missions that were missed, or marriages that did not turn out, or babies that did not arrive, or children that seem lost, or dreams unfulfilled… I do not think it pleases the Lord when we worry because we think we never do enough or that what we do is never good enough.

…at all times and in all places—but especially in the face of great trials and tribulations—you cannot give up praying to Heavenly Father! You must just keep trying, even if the heavens seem sealed and silent.

…fear not. Trust in God. Let not your hearts be faint. Let your prayers ascend to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth day and night. Ask what you want. When you do that, the Lord will answer your prayers, if you ask what is right. There is where our strength lies. It is in God.

I have had many testimonies since I have been connected with this Church and kingdom. I have been blessed at times with certain gifts and graces, certain revelations and ministrations; but with them all I have never found anything that I could place more dependency upon than the still small voice of the Holy Ghost.

It is the plainest and the most simple things that edify us the most, if taught by the Spirit of God, and there is nothing more important or beneficial unto us. If we have that Spirit dwelling with us, if it abides with us continually, enlightening our minds by day and by night—we are in the safe path.

We all have our weaknesses; God has permitted them that we might be taught humility in ourselves and charity towards others.

When we enjoy the Holy Spirit, when we are trying to live our religion here on the earth, we are the happiest people on God’s footstool, no matter what our circumstances may be.

Whenever you are in doubt about any duty or work which you have to perform, never proceed to do anything until you go and labor in prayer and get the Holy Spirit. Wherever the Spirit dictates you to go or to do, that will be right; and, by following its dictates, you will come out right.

You have never seen a day, you never will see a day, in time or in eternity, when you can get beyond the need of the protection and care of God. You need it all the way through your lives.

Plead for help in the name of Jesus Christ. Power will come, the heavens will open, the Father will hear, and the powers of heaven will be activated in your behalf.

…your premortal spiritual valor indicated you would have the courage and the determination to face the world at its worst, to do combat with the evil one during his heyday, and, in spite of it all, to be fearless in building the kingdom of God.

It is true that the answers to our prayers may not always come as direct and at the time, nor in the manner, we anticipate; but they do come, and at a time and in a manner best for the interests of him who offers the supplication.

…the true Christian life is made up of little Christ-like acts performed this hour, this minute—in the home, in the quorum, in the organization, in the town, wherever our life and acts may be cast.

There are three things which must guide all teachers: first, get into the subject; second, get that subject into you; third, try to lead your pupils to get the subject into them—not pouring it into them, but leading them to see what you see, to know what you know, to feel what you feel.

True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for one’s fellowmen.

With faith in an over-ruling power, in the personal, intimate protection of our Father—and we like to consider him such, a loving Father—let us face our difficulties with courage.

Prayer, if given in faith, is acceptable to God at all times. If you ever feel you cannot pray, that is the time when you definitely need to pray.

What we need now is the greatest generation of missionaries in the history of the Church. We need worthy, qualified, spiritually energized missionaries who, like Helaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors, are ‘exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity’ and who are ‘true at all times in whatsoever thing they [are] entrusted’.

There will be times when you will feel overwhelmed. One of the ways you will be attacked is with the feeling that you are inadequate. Well, you are inadequate to answer a call to represent God with only your own powers. But you have access to more than your natural capacities, and you do not work alone.

Every kind word spoken gives you greater ability to speak another. Every act of assistance rendered by you, through the knowledge that you possess, to aid one of your fellows, gives you greater ability to aid the next one. Good acts grow upon a person.

I am converted to the thought that the way to peace and happiness in life is by giving service. Service is the true key, I believe, to happiness, because when we perform labors like missionary work, all the rest of our lives we can look back upon our accomplishments in the mission field.

I desire to impress upon the minds of the young [people] that because they have not succeeded in the past, or have failed to live proper lives, they should never feel that there is no hope for them in the future.

Now, the one thing above all others, that I want impressed on the heart and soul of the young people, is to pray to the Lord. Get faith. If you haven’t knowledge, have faith. Cultivate that faith and sooner or later knowledge will come.

The Lord will be always near you; He will comfort you; you will feel His presence in the hour of your greatest tribulation; He will guard and protect you to the full extent that accords with His all-wise purpose.

The Book of Mormon is one of the greatest sources of spiritual power given to men and women on earth to guide us on our quest for eternal life.

As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed.

You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, ‘No one understands. No one knows.’ No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did.

In life, when ‘unfair’ things happen to us, we shouldn’t use energy complaining but use it ‘swimming.’ When things go against us, if we row or swim with all our might, the Lord will bless us, and we’ll make it to shore.

There are two unique times in our lives when we can truly live the law of consecration and devote ourselves in full-time service to the Lord. One is as a young man or woman serving a full-time mission. The other is the unique time you are given after having fulfilled the requirements of earning a living.

Your life is your preparation. You have valuable experience. You have raised a family and served in the Church. Just go and be yourselves. The Lord has promised that angels will go before you…

I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy.

People do not join the Church because of what they know. They join because of what they feel, what they see and want spiritually.

When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions.

…we are not alone in this sacred trust of parenting, loving, and leading. There is no greater joy. It is worth every sacrifice, every inconvenient minute, every ounce of patience, personal discipline, and endurance.

I call on you returned missionaries to rededicate yourselves, to become reinfused with the desire and spirit of missionary service. I call on you to look the part, to be the part, and to act the part of a servant of our Father in Heaven.

You are a great army of returned missionaries. Go forward with new zeal and determination, and through your example shine the light of the gospel in this troubled world.

Do not trust in yourselves, but study the best books—the Bible and Book of Mormon—and get all the information you can, and then cleave to God and keep yourselves free from corruption and pollution of every kind, and the blessings of the Most High will be with you.

I rejoice in afflictions, for they are necessary to humble and prove us, that we may comprehend ourselves, become acquainted with our weakness and infirmities; and I rejoice when I triumph over them, because God answers my prayers; therefore I feel to rejoice all the day long.

Peace is the gift of God. Do you want peace? Go to God. Do you want peace in your families? Go to God.

We have learned many things through suffering. We call it suffering. I call it a school of experience.

We like enjoyment here. That is right. God designs that we should enjoy ourselves. I do not believe in a religion that makes people gloomy, melancholy, miserable and ascetic.

…whether the path is rough or smooth, it will only last a certain time, and I can only last a certain time; but the chief thing with me is, how to hold on to my faith, and maintain my integrity, and honor my calling…

Sharing the gospel is marvelous spiritual medicine for you as a returned missionary when you feel a bit down and are longing for that love of the Master you came to know so well as you gave full-time service in the mission field.

When you bring home and apply those principles learned in the mission field, you are prone to feel the Spirit and the Lord’s love more than ever before in your life. Your mission experience becomes a launching pad, so to speak, to even greater spiritual heights.

…amidst encircling gloom, amidst the darkest possible circumstances, it is possible to feel hope, peace, and comfort—all because of the light which is stronger than all darkness, the light of Jesus Christ.

If we have lived for it, if we have prepared for it and if we seek it, the guiding Spirit will give us the ability to teach. Remember, words are just words, in teaching the gospel, unless they are accompanied by the Spirit of the Lord.

No man or woman can teach the gospel if he doesn’t live it. The first act to qualify yourself to be a missionary is to live the principles which you teach.

Rarely, if ever, is there a truly great soul except he has been tried and tested through tears, and adversity—seemingly pruned by the hand of a master gardener.

So the all-important thing in life isn’t what happens to you, but the important thing is how you take it.

Testimony is as elusive as a moonbeam; it’s as fragile as an orchid; you have to recapture it every morning of your life. You have to hold on by study, and by faith, and by prayer.

That man who is ambitious for personal gain and personal advantage is never a happy man, for before him always are the receding horizons of life that will ever mock his attempts at acquisition and conquest. That man who serves unselfishly is the man who is the happy man.

We have been called to difficult tasks in a difficult age, but this could be for each of us a time of high adventure, of great learning, of great inner satisfaction.

You will know no matter what comes; you will not be able to stand on borrowed light. You can only stand on the light that you have by the witness of the Spirit that all of you have the right to receive.

The most important conversion for any of us is our own. If we are to bring the light of the gospel into others’ lives, it must shine brightly in our own.

The Savior isn’t our last chance; He is our only chance. Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean. Our only chance to purify our hearts, subdue our weaknesses, and avoid the adversary.

Truth can prepare its own way. Simply hearing the words of doctrine can plant the seed of faith in the heart. And even a tiny seed of faith in Jesus Christ invites the Spirit.

You may come upon your missionary journals put away in a closet in your home. You may read and feel a shock as you remember how hard you worked, how constantly you thought of the Savior and His sacrifice for you and for those you tried to meet and teach…

If you’re retired and wondering what to do with those extra years, there’s a world out there of excitement.

After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel his love and hear the word of the Lord, ‘go forward.’ Don’t fear, don’t vacillate, don’t quibble, don’t whine.

Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.

When you read the Book of Mormon, concentrate on the principal figure in the book—from its first chapter to the last—the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.

Love of God and love of His children is the highest reason for service. Those who teach out of love will be magnified as instruments in the hands of Him whom they serve.

At times, when we are asked or expected to do something new or difficult, we feel inadequate. … But those feelings of inadequacy can also humble us and turn us to the Lord. With His help we can accomplish many good things.

If we place a little more patience in the process and a greater amount of faith in the Lord, our challenges will find their way toward successful conclusions.

This Church is a Church of revelation. Our challenge is not one of getting the Lord to speak to us. Our problem is hearing what He has to say.

…so might we all be lifted, helped, even carried at times by our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He feels what we feel; He knows our heart. It was His mission to wipe away our tears, cleanse our wounds, and bless us with His healing power.

Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift and ameliorate the condition of mankind, it is our mission to do it, it is an essential part of our religion to do it.

I never pray to the Lord without remembering His servants who are in the nations of the earth preaching the Gospel. The burden of my prayer is, ‘O God, keep them pure and unspotted from the world; … lead them to the honest in heart.’

…in the ministry, where I labored earnestly, I began to comprehend more fully, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what I had read and been taught, and so they became in my mind established facts, of which I was as absolutely certain as I was of my own existence.

Men are not converted by eloquence or oratory; they are convinced when they are satisfied that you have the truth and the Spirit of God.

Never forget God; seek him in prayer morning and night. … Be prayerful in storm and sunshine, then when darkness overtakes you, relief will assuredly come.

O! God, my Father, bless, comfort, sustain and make efficient my sons, and all thy servants in the mission field. When doors are shut in their faces, give them grace, forbearance and forgiving hearts. When coldly spurned by scornful men, warm them by thy precious love…

The truth of the gospel does not depend for its demonstration on heated discussion; the message of truth is most effectively delivered when expressed in words of simplicity and sympathy.

There is a course marked out for us to walk in—it is that strait and narrow path which leads back to the presence of God; the lamp to light our onward march is the Holy Ghost, which we received on or after our new birth.

We should uphold and sustain each other, not destroy, nor pull down, not dwell upon the weaknesses of our neighbors or our brethren, or upon the defects we see in mankind, but rather if we can see a virtue let us magnify it, and, if possible, fan it into a living flame…

The gospel of Jesus Christ puts such joy within reach. It is yours for the finding and yours for the sharing.

I shall be forever grateful that my father served a mission and that I was motivated and taught to follow his example.

Missionaries serve in companionships for protection. A missionary best protects his companion when he is loyal to the Lord and helps his companion. By keeping the missionary rules, you gain the freedom of having the Spirit assist you.

It is not our words that carry the power but rather the Spirit of God that accompanies our words and confirms them in the hearts of the listeners.

There can be no greater joy than to know that our children love the Lord, no greater peace than that which comes when we feel of His love and understand the meaning of His atoning sacrifice.

On four different occasions, Sister Brough and I and our family have excitedly opened the envelope containing the mission call and assignment for one of our children. … We each knew that a prophet had guided a divine selection process to which four of our children have gladly responded.

He wishes us to come unto him, to follow him, to be comforted by him. Then he wishes us to give comfort to others. However halting our steps are toward him—though they shouldn’t be halting at all—his steps are never halting toward us.

Jesus certainly did his missionary work, and he did that first. But as he went about preaching and teaching, he bound up all manner of wounds in the process.

I’m so thankful I stayed and did something that was hard for me. From those demanding experiences I began to mature.

It is not in the proper spirit for us to decide where we will serve or where we will not. We serve where we are called. It does not matter what the calling may be.

We are all required to make journeys of faith. That is the gospel plan. Our path may not be crossing an ocean or walking alone from an empty train station. But whatever it is, it will demand faith in every footstep.

How easy it is to want quick and dramatic results in exchange for a day’s labor! And yet how happy people are who have learned to bend to the rhythm of paced and steady progress—even to celebrate and delight in the ordinariness of life.

Those who understand their own personal growth patiently continue to pray, do their daily work, and give time a chance.

Everything that I cherish in life today began to mature from my sacred experience as a full-time missionary.

Many of our assignments in the Church are shared with companions. Ever since the Lord sent out His disciples two by two, companionships have advanced the work of the Kingdom.

The phrase ‘good-bye,’ then, when fully understood, means, ‘If we can’t be together, if we must part, if I can’t be with you—then may God be with you.’

A great many good people, who possess much of the Spirit of the Lord are naturally given to doubting, having so little self-reliance that they sometimes doubt whether they are Saints in truth or not. These often doubt when they should not.

Be diligent and prayerful. It is your privilege to know for yourself God lives and that He is doing a work in these last days and we are His honored ministers. Live for this knowledge and you will receive it. Remember your prayers and be fervent in spirit.

Go trusting in God, and continue to trust in him, and he will open your way and multiply blessings upon you, and your souls will be satisfied with his goodness.

I have learned not to fret myself about that which I cannot help. If I can do good, I will do it; and if I cannot reach a thing, I will content myself to be without it. This makes me happy all the day long.

…I would rather hear an Elder, either here or in the world, speak only five words accompanied by the power of God, and they would do more good than to hear long sermons without the Spirit.

It matters not whether you or I feel like praying, when the time comes to pray, pray. If we do not feel like it, we should pray till we do.

Let us have compassion upon each other, and let the strong tenderly nurse the weak into strength, and let those who can see guide the blind until they can see the way for themselves.

Make sure the path for your own feet to walk to eternal life, and take as many with you as you can. Take them as they are, understand them as they are, and deal with them as they are; look at them as God looks at them.

My faith is, when we have done all we can, then the Lord is under obligation, and will not disappoint the faithful; he will perform the rest.

Parents should never drive their children, but lead them along, giving them knowledge as their minds are prepared to receive it.

Should our lives be extended to a thousand years, still we may live and learn. Every vicissitude we pass through is necessary for experience and example, and for preparation to enjoy that reward which is for the faithful.

There is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth…

There is not a single condition of life [or] one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain.

This is the comparison I draw when I think of what I have suffered for the Gospel’s sake—I have thrown away an old coat and have put on a new one.

Truth commends itself to every honest person, it matters not how simply it is told, and when it is received it seems as though we had been acquainted with it all our lives.

We are the happiest people when we have what are called trials; for then the Spirit of God is more abundantly bestowed upon the faithful…

When men enjoy the spirit of their missions and realize their calling and standing before the Lord and the people, it constitutes the happiest portions of their lives.

…as you offer the gospel to others, it will go down more deeply into your own heart. It becomes the well of water springing up into eternal life for us as we offer it to others.

Do not feel that you must obtain a quota of baptisms to be successful. An old saying teaches that you can count the number of seeds in a single apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a single seed. The harvest is the Lord’s.

Now, my dear young friends, missionary work is not easy. In fact, it is often quite difficult, but the Lord is the greatest paymaster in the world. Dedicated missionary service is one of life’s most fulfilling experiences.

…you will be under call from the Lord Jesus Christ. What a marvelous thing it is to have the confidence of the Lord, your bishop, stake president, all of the General Authorities, and President Hinckley to honor you with a call. You will be a servant of the living God and an ambassador of the Church.

Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Remember that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.

I testify that my Christ is my hope. He is my hope on rainy Monday mornings, my hope on dark nights, and my hope in the face of death and despair.

You will bless the lives of those you teach, and their posterity after them. You will bless your own life. You will bless the lives of your family, who will sustain you and pray for you.

You will come to know your Redeemer as your greatest friend in time or eternity. You will realize that through His atoning sacrifice He has opened the way for eternal life and an exaltation above and beyond your greatest dreams.

Young men, wherever you are called will be right for you, and you will learn to love your mission.

…let us do the best we can and try to improve each day. When our imperfections appear, we can keep trying to correct them. We can be more forgiving of flaws in ourselves and among those we love.

When we support one another in Church councils, we begin to understand how God can take ordinary men and women and make of them extraordinary leaders. The best leaders are not those who work themselves to death trying to do everything single-handedly; the best leaders are those who follow God’s plan and counsel with their councils.

Remember, our eternal progression is the very essence of our earthly existence. It is the Lord’s plan to get us all the way home to our Father in Heaven. This I know: Each of us can get there from here.

God knows you perfectly. He loves you perfectly. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, has asked you, ‘Come, follow me.’

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, and they are in charge of this world. They know you. They love you. They have a plan for your futures. You must obey the commandments, work hard, and trust in their plan. And sooner or later, everything will be wonderful.

We all know that more faith won’t make our problems disappear. But I believe as our faith increases, we become more able to not only survive the hard times but become better because of them.

When Peter began to sink, he turned to the Lord and cried out, ‘Lord, save me,’ and Jesus immediately ‘stretched forth his hand, and caught him.’ He will do that for you. He will do that for each one of us.

While watching family expressions of love and joy and tears at the airport, I thought of the hundreds of young men and women and couples who, week after week, leave our missionary training centers around the world to embark on the grandest experience of their lives…

To get a life is to be grateful. When we see most clearly, we see the Lord’s hand in everything. The truly grateful, like Nephi, dwell on the goodness of life even while acknowledging that there may be more adversity than there are even words to describe it.

…strengthen yourselves by seeking the source of true strength—the Savior. Come unto him. He loves you. … There is no burden we need bear alone. His grace compensates for our deficiencies.

…whatever your family circumstances, I believe the strength we need can always be there because it comes from the Savior and his love. Sometimes our own faith enables us to draw on that love. Sometimes it is the faith and love of others that strengthen us.

…warm and steady, the light beckons us on. Follow it, knowing the challenges are real, but so is the Lord. Light a torch of faith at home and keep it burning brilliantly, even when the night is long and the journey difficult.

Perhaps our Heavenly Father’s greatest hope is that through our fears we may choose to turn to him. The uncertainties of earth life can help to remind each of us that we are dependent on him.

After a period of anxious anticipation, a letter from the prophet containing a mission call for our son Bradley arrived. This was the third such letter that we have received in our family, but each time really is the first time.

The real success of a mission is not measured on a chart—it is etched in your heart and in the hearts of those whose lives are eternally changed because of you.

There is no way a successful missionary can have one foot in the world and one in his missionary labors. Successful missionaries make that transition. They leave behind everything that may distract them from their primary purpose. Resist bringing extra luggage with you into the mission field, both in your suitcase and in your mind.

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.

Patient endurance permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord and our faith in His timing when we are being tossed about by the surf of circumstance.

To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done.

Facing some of life’s challenges may require a ‘leap of faith,’ where we walk forward with only our faith and trust in the Lord to lead us. It will require all the heart and soul we have to act, to move, to reach out and grasp handholds the Lord will extend to us in times of extremity.

I testify that by prayerfully reading and pondering the Book of Mormon, each of us can gain strength to meet our daily challenges.

Those of you who are preparing to serve the Lord as missionaries, I call upon you to prepare well. Your day in Church history is yet to be written. It will be what you make of it.

What an example and a blessing it is to a family’s posterity when grandparents serve missions. Most senior couples who go are strengthened and revitalized by missionary service.

Don’t worry about your clumsily expressed feelings. Just talk to your Father. He hears every prayer and answers it in His way.

One can still go to the Garden of Gethsemane, but the Lord Jesus cannot be found there, nor is He in the Garden Tomb. He is not on the road to Emmaus, nor in Galilee, nor at Nazareth or Bethlehem. He must be found in one’s heart.

Fill your spiritual lungs with the elements of eternal life by constantly inhaling the truths in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, so that you may arrive safely once again in the presence of our Eternal Father.

In many respects, a mission is a family calling. The letters which a missionary sends to Mother and Father are packed with power—spiritual power. They are filled with faith—abiding faith.

Joy, it seems, is not only happiness, but the resultant feeling of the Holy Ghost manifest within us.

There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.

My satisfaction has come from the assurance that I did what the Lord wanted me to do and that I was an instrument in His hands for the accomplishment of His purposes.

The work in the field was not easy. It was difficult and discouraging. But what a wonderful experience it was.

There will be some steep climbs ahead, but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has covenanted and promised to climb with each of us every step of the way.

You should expect some ‘down’ days and some hard tests. Learn from them. Grow from them. Be stronger because of them.

Of course we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval.

I know from previous and sacred experiences that it is through the faith and hope we have in Christ that we can overcome our trials.

It is hope combined with faith that motivates us to plant the seed, that moves us when we’re too weary, that causes us to take the first step and then another.

I am convinced, boys, that the Lord has no better place to get acquainted with you than when you serve him in the mission field.

Fathers, your greatest influence with your sons will be your example. If you want your boys to see what the gospel will do for them, let them see what it has done for you.

The holy scriptures are like letters from home telling us how we can draw near to our Father in Heaven. He tells us to come as we are. No one will be denied. He loves everyone.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son…

Part of seeking is to give space for an answer. After you have asked for help, pause and listen. Many times the Lord answers our prayers in a still, small voice.

…there is nothing so terrible in your life that you cannot take it to the Lord. Maybe you feel lonely. Perhaps you think there is not one person in the whole world who cares about you, but I promise, Someone does. No matter what, you have a Father who cares, who knows your heart, who is ready to listen anytime.

When family members disappoint us, we especially need to learn endurance. As long as we exercise love, patience, and understanding, even when no progress is apparent, we are not failing. We must keep trying.

A missionary learns that God, our Heavenly Father, can and does answer prayers. He learns to recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to be directed by that Spirit.

My father was called on a mission and left mother at home with seven young children, and the eighth was born four months after he arrived in the field. There came into our home a spirit of missionary work that never left it, for which I am deeply grateful.

…if the Master served, we should serve. If He taught, we should teach. If He prayed, we should also pray.

May we grow strong and tall in our convictions. The day may come when we will have to stand as a lone tree against the sky.

Missions are for missionaries. It is a marvelous gift of time, a time given when you can experience glimpses of heavenly life here on earth. It is a time of cleansing and refreshing.

When temptations come, as they surely will, you are going to be prepared. You will have made the choice in advance: ‘I am going on a mission!’ ‘I am going to be married in the temple!’ ‘I am always going to be active in God’s Church!’ ‘Therefore, I will not partake!’

Can the Master touch others’ lives through you and me? Oh yes, he can, and he will if we will just do our part.

…the Holy Ghost has come into the presence of those who are teaching and those who are listening and has given them a witness of the mind and will of God.

I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein.

Yes, there is pain in change, but there is also great satisfaction in recognizing that progress is being achieved. Life is a series of hills and valleys and often the best growth comes in the valleys.

All we need to do is try with all our might to live as we should, keep our eyes on our goal, and leave the rest to the Lord.

No matter what the Lord requires of you, if you keep trying you will be able to fulfill the mission he has in store for you.

Jesus trusts his followers enough to share his work with them so that they can grow. … If we brush other people aside in order to see a task done more quickly and effectively, the task may get done all right, but without the growth and development in followers that is so important.

Inspiration comes more quickly when we need it to help others than when we are concerned about ourselves.

Every missionary is a story of love and sacrifice. I love them so much. Their great devotion to the cause, their love for the Lord, and their willingness to serve him, whose work this is, will bless their lives and their posterity forever.

…when the train finally left the station here in Salt Lake and I was headed for the little land of Holland, the last thing I said to my loved ones was, ‘This is the happiest day of my life.’

We do not have to have these profound approaches out in the mission field; all we have to do is be sincere and strike that responsive chord that lets someone know we come with proper authority and indeed represent the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a waste of time and effort and energy and money when a missionary returns home and abandons his missionary habits and character! We should strive to claim on a lifetime basis the benefits of serving as missionaries. We should always be missionaries.

I hope that you will not mind if I have recalled some of the souvenirs of what you always referred to as the best time of your life. Why can’t it be the same way today? Why should the ‘best time’ always refer to yesterday instead of tomorrow?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a gospel made of souvenirs. It is a gospel presented to us so that we may live it today in order to know where we will be tomorrow.

Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others.

The most effective medicine for the sickness of self-pity is to lose oneself in the service of others.

Fathers, you are the first-line priesthood leader, and almost without exception my missionaries expressed their love and respect for you. There is no one in the world that can prepare and train the future missionaries of the Church like you can.

Self-contempt is of Satan; there is none of it in heaven. We should, of course, learn from our mistakes, but without forever studying the instant replays as if these were the game of life itself.

The bonds of brotherhood are forged deep and strong in the mission field. You will develop a love for a companion with whom you kneel in daily prayer. You will learn to love the people where you serve, no matter what nationality or condition.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

…if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

…the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

…he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

…they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things…

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord?

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

…this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

…they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him.

…they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

…your families are well; they are in mine hands, and I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power.

Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God…

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.

Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family; nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church.

And the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for your instruction; and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things.

…I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.

Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.

And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God.

…he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

…I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

He wrote a very short letter to me which said, ‘Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.’

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

…the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

…I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

…I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

…they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish…

You are surrounded by people. You pass them on the street and travel among them. You visit them in their homes and connect with them online. They are all children of God—your brothers and sisters. God loves them just as He loves you.