Times I Have Heard His Voice

DATE: ___________

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_

*__________________________________________________
_
“Ancient Keys”
Read the account of King Benjamin’s address in Mosiah 2 and
focus on verses 5-6.

What counsel do you remember most from the last conference?

Glance through the Ensign or visit www.lds.org to help you recall
some of your favorite talks.

Write down the counsel given and place it somewhere that you
will see it often. How can following that counsel strengthen your
testimony of Jesus Christ? What is one way you can apply
inspired counsel to your life today?



Repent and Be Made Clean

“Most of you have held to high standards. Possibly some few of you have
slipped. I would like to say that I assure you that even if this is the case, you
have not lost everything. With sincere repentance on your part, the Lord will
forgive, and those about you will forgive. I hope that you will somehow come
to forgive yourselves and put your trust and faith in the Lord, who will be kind
and gracious to you. Already you’ve paid a terrible price for your mistakes.
They have haunted you day and night. They seem never to leave you.
Confess them if that is necessary and then get them behind you. Parents and
bishops stand ready to help. Your bishops have been ordained and set apart
and promised wisdom beyond their own in working with you and assisting
you. Isaiah said: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ (Isaiah 1:19).”

Gordon B. Hinckley, ‘Be Not Afraid, Only Believe,” CES Fireside for Young
Adults, Sept. 9, 2001
 Counsel Given in Conference

Today’s Date: ___________________________

Title of Talk: _____________________________________________

Talk Given By: ___________________________________________

Date of Talk: ___________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

“Stand”

Read Luke 22: 31-32

When you see the battle raging, where do you see yourself in the
fight? Consider your church calling, your role as a parent, or your
role as a friend. Do you give some, or do you give all?

Find one way that you can strengthen someone today.



We Were All on the Side of Jesus

“In a premortal council at which we were all present, [the Savior] led the
forces of good against those of Satan and his followers in a battle for the
souls of men that began before this world was formed. That conflict
continues today. We were all the side of Jesus then. We are on the side
of Jesus today.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Christians in Belief and Action,” Ensign, Nov. 1996,

71


A Priceless Miracle and Glorious Miracle
“There is a glorious miracle awaiting every soul who is prepared to
change. Repentance and forgiveness make a brilliant day of the darkest
night. When souls are reborn, when lives are changed—then comes the
great miracle to beautify and warm and lift. When spiritual death has
threatened and now instead there is resuscitation, when life pushes out
death—when this happens it is the miracle of miracles. And such great
miracles will never cease so long as there is one person who applies the
redeeming power of the Savior and his own good works to bring about
his rebirth---“The essence of the miracle of forgiveness is that it brings
peace to the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps tormented
soul. In a world of turmoil and contention this is indeed a priceless gift.”
NOTES:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
______________

“Calm the Storm”

Read the accounts of Peter’s focus on Christ in Matthew 14:22-33

and John 21:1-19.
Today remember to focus on Christ. Allow Him to become part of
your conversations, your celebrations, your teaching moments,
and your thoughts. Long to be near Him.



The Anchor of Knowing

“God our Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have spoken again
from the heavens and have called prophets and Apostles to teach the
fullness of the everlasting gospel once again upon the Earth. That is a
glorious thing to know…It changes the course of your life to a safer one
because it provides an anchor that helps hold you fast to the teachings
of the gospel.”

M. Russell Ballard, ‘Steadfast in Christ,” Ensign, Dec. 1993, 50



Life Is Everlasting

Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through the heartache
and loneliness of losing loved ones, there is assurance that life is everlasting.
Our Lord and Savior is the living witness that such is so.”

Thomas S. Monson, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives!” Ensign, May 2007,

25

Action with Correct Principles

 “True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to
righteous action. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘faith [is] the first
principle in revealed religion, the foundation of all righteousness’ and that it
is also ‘the principle of action in all intelligent beings’ (Lectures on Faith
[1985], 1). Action alone is not faith in the Savior, but acting in accordance
with correct principles is a central component of faith. Thus, ‘faith without
works is dead’ (James 2:20).”

David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith,” Ensign, May 2008, 95


“Joseph Smith was not only a great man, but he was an inspired servant of the
Prophet of God Lord, a prophet of God. His greatness consists in one thing—the truthfulness
of his declaration that he saw the Father and the Son and that he responded to
the reality of that divine revelation. Part of the divine revelation was instruction
to reestablish the true and living Church, restored in these modern times as it
existed in the day of the Savior’s own mortal ministry. The Prophet Joseph
Smith said the Church of Jesus Christ was ‘organized in accordance with
commandments and revelations given by Him to ourselves in these last days,
as well as according to the order of the Church as recorded in the New
Testament.” (History of the Church, 1:79).

“For the first time in eighteen hundred years, God had revealed himself as a
personal being. Furthermore, the Father and the Son demonstrated the
undeniable truth that they are separate and distinct personages. Indeed, the
relationship of the Father and the Son was reaffirmed by the divine introduction
to the boy prophet, ‘This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him.’ (JS—H 1:17). Those
who were baptized into the Church on the sixth of April, 1830, believed in the
existence of a personal God; they believed that his reality and the reality of his
Son, Jesus Christ, constitute the eternal foundation upon which this Church is
built.”

Howard W. Hunter, “The Sixth Day of April, 1830,” Ensign, May 1991, 64

“The Gift”
Read the account of the lepers in Luke 17: 11-19.

Identify a change that you would like to make in your own life. It
could be something amiss in your family, your work, your
relationships, or an individual weakness. Write down a plan that
will enable you to make that change. Approach the Lord in prayer
and ask for His help.



If Necessary, Can I Be Clean Again?

“Through the infinite Atonement, God has provided a means whereby we can
both overcome our sins and become completely clean again. This is made
possible by the eternal law of mercy. Mercy satisfies the claims of justice
through our repentance and the power of the Atonement. Without the power of
the Atonement and our complete repentance, we are subject to the law of
justice.”

Earl C. Tingey, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, May 2006, 72



His Atoning Sacrifice

“The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This includes
faith in His divine birth and heavenly heritage and faith that, under His Father’s
direction, He created the earth and all things that dwell therein (see John 1:10;
Mosiah 3:8). At the very heart of our faith in Christ is the assurance that
through His atoning sacrifice, though our sins may be as scarlet, they can
become as white as snow (see Isaiah 1:18).”

Spncer J. Condie, “Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, Ensign,
Nov. 2007, 16

My Plan for Improvement:

DATE: ___________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________________________________________

“Out of Darkness”

Read Isaiah 50:10-11.

Write down some ways that you have been able to turn to the
Lord for direction and support.

Write down some of the ways you have learned to trust Him.

Today find one way to share your testimony of these two

principles with someone who is struggling.



The Truths of a Testimony

 “A testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will always include
these clear and simple truths:

“—God lives. He is our loving Father in heaven, and we are His

children.

—Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and the Savior of the world.

--Joseph Smith is the prophet of God through whom the gospel of

Jesus Christ was restored in the latter days.

--The Book of Mormon is the word of God”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Power of a Personal Testimony, Ensign, Nov.

2006, 38


“The marvelous and wonderful thing is that any individual who desires to
know the truth may receive that conviction. The Lord Himself gave the
formula when He said, ‘If any man will do [the will of the Father], he shall
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself’
(John 7:17).

It will take study of the word of God. It will take prayer and anxious
seeking of the source of all truth. I do not hesitate to promise, because I
know from personal experience, that out of all of this will come, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, a conviction, a testimony, certain knowledge.”

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Faith: The Essence of True Religion,” Ensign, Oct.

1995, 5
Date: ________

I turned to the Lord when:

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________
I have learned to trust him by:

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________________________________

“The Better Part”

Read the story of Martha found in Luke 10:38-42.

Remember who you are. What are you best at? What gift can
you offer? How can that gift bring more joy to the people around
you?

Choose to give the better part today. Find one way that you can
use your gift to serve someone else’s need.



God Grant Us Faith

“Let us never forget, my brethren and sisters, that each of us is a part of
the whole and that what we do mars or beautifies the magnificent
panorama of the kingdom of God.

As our fathers labored in faith with a moving vision of the destiny of this
work, even so can we. There is so much to be done, so much
improvement to be made, but we can do it, walking in faith.

‘If ye have faith as a grain of mustard see, ye shall say unto this
mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ (Matt. 17:20).

“So declared the Lord. God grant us faith.”

Gordon B. Hinckley, “God Grant Us Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1983, 53



The Importance of the One

“We are becoming a great global society. But our interest and concern must always
be with the individual. Every member of this church is an individual man or woman,
boy or girl. Our great responsibility is to see that each is ‘remembered and
nourished by the god world of God’ (Moroni 6:4), that each has opportunity for
growth and expression and training in the work and ways of the Lord, that none
lacks the necessities of life, that the needs of the poor are met, that each member
shall have encouragement, training, and opportunity to move forward on the road of
immortality and eternal life. This, I submit, is the inspired genius of this the Lord’s
work. The organization can grow and multiply in numbers, as it surely will.

NOTES: Gordon B. Hinckley, “This Work is Concerned with People,” Ensign, May 1995, 52-
53.

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
“The Sycamore Tree”

Read the story of Zacchaeus

“Like so manyfound in Luke
young people 19:1-6.
do, when I was young I occasionally dreamed of
being rich and famous. I am now grateful that that dream was not realized. My
understanding of what success really is has changed over the years of my life. It
began to change on my first mission to Brazil over 45 years ago.
First, find your sycamore tree, or the quest place you can go to
focus on the Lord. One day, my companion and I went out to visit a poor sister who was widowed.
In those days there were no stakes or wards in Brazil, only mission districts and
branches. Sometimes missionaries looked after the members.
Second, make haste Finally,
and we invite the Lord into your home. How will
arrived at a humble home in a very isolated area. This home had a
you prepare to receive Him?
dirt floor and open windows without any glass. The wind and the flies could come
right through. Never before in my life had I been in a home where people live with
open windows and a dirt floor. Despite this, the house was clean and neat,
curtains were hung, and the boards on the inside of the house were whitewashed.

Despite being primate, the home had a cozy feeling about it. We asked after this
poor widow’s health and well-being. She seemed quite happy and contented.
We then began to have something of a gospel lesson. She participated freely.
Rich in Things that Matter We thought that we were the teachers, but it soon became apparent that she
knew more than we did. Her faith was deep, and her knowledge of the great
eternal truths of where we came from, who we are, and where we are going was
very profound.

I had my eyes opened. It was astonishing to hear this sister in these humble
circumstances explain the great purposes of God in the grand scheme of the
earth and its creation. I was reminded about what James said in his great epistle:
‘Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom
which he hath promised to them that love him?’ (James 2:5)…

This poor widow on the outskirts of São Paulo made the most of her straitened
circumstances—circumstances that could not easily be changed. She realized
that she should not make her life miserable by wishing it were otherwise. We
ought always to try to improve on the things that can be improved, but there are
some circumstances that cannot be changed. This impoverished woman enjoyed
her independence, and she owed no one any money. She was industrious and
thrifty. She crocheted beautiful cloths which were sold in the city to satisfy her
simple wants, but she was not poor in spirit. She was rich in the things that really
matter.
NOTES:

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________