The Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is the heart and core and center of revealed religion.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie Christ and the Creation

What Is This Thing Man Calls Death?

January 26, 2012

Death, General Authorities, Hinckley, Resurrection

(No comments)

What is this thing that men call death
This quiet passign in the night?
’Tis not the end but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change,
With recompense for vict’ry won.
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“What Is This Thing Man Calls Death?“, Ensign, Feb. 2010, 39
(Copyright © 2007 by Gordon B. Hinckley and Janice Kapp Perry. All rights reserved. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial home and church use.)

The Fact of All Life is that It is Eternal

January 20, 2012

Eternal Life, Fundamental Principles, General Authorities, Hinckley, Sacrifice

(No comments)

The fact of all life is that it is eternal. That’s the great, salient truth. We have come into the world for a purpose, under a divine plan, and when we conclude this life we will go on to something that will be better, if we live worthy of it. And that great eternal course which we may follow is made possible through the sacrifice of the Son of God.

 

President Gordon B. Hinckley
Charlotte North Carolina Regional Conference, priesthood leadership session, February 24, 1996
Included in Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
Deseret Book Company, 1997

The way of the gospel is a simple way

December 18, 2011

General Authorities, General Conference, Hinckley, Humility

(No comments)

The way of the gospel is a simple way. Some of the requirements may appear to you as elementary and unnecessary. Do not spurn them. Humble yourselves and walk in obedience. I promise that the results that follow will be marvelous to behold and satisfying to experience.

.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
Everything to Gain—Nothing to Lose, General Conference, October, 1976

The Greatest Event in Human History

September 6, 2011

General Authorities, Hinckley, Hope

(No comments)

[Jesus Christ’s] Atonement is the greatest event in human history. There is nothing to compare with it. It is the most fundamental part of our Father’s plan for the happiness of His children. Without it, mortal life would be a dead-end existence with neither hope nor future. The gift of our divine Redeemer brings an entirely new dimension to our lives. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice, instead of dismal oblivion, death becomes only a passage to a more glorious realm. The Resurrection becomes a reality for all. Eternal life becomes available to those who walk in obedience to His commandments” (Australia stake conference satellite broadcast, Feb. 12, 2005).

.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, September, 2007, 4-8

The Great Atonement of the Redeemer

September 5, 2011

Forgiveness, General Authorities, General Conference, Hinckley

(No comments)

Age does something to a man. It seems to make him more aware of the need for kindness and goodness and forbearance. He wishes and prays that men might live together in peace without war and contention, argument and conflict. He grows increasingly aware of the meaning of the great Atonement of the Redeemer, of the depth of His sacrifice, and of gratitude to the Son of God, who gave His life that we might live.

I wish today to speak of forgiveness. I think it may be the greatest virtue on earth, and certainly the most needed. There is so much of meanness and abuse, of intolerance and hatred. There is so great a need for repentance and forgiveness. It is the great principle emphasized in all of scripture, both ancient and modern.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Forgiveness,” Liahona, Nov 2005, 81–84

The Substance of Our Theology

September 4, 2011

Fundamental Principles, General Authorities, General Conference, Hinckley

(No comments)

“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1). This is our primary declaration of faith. We speak unabashedly of the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. We declare without equivocation the fact of His great act of Atonement for all mankind. That act brought assurance of universal resurrection and opened the way to exaltation in our Father’s kingdom.

This is the burden of our declaration to the world. It is the substance of our theology. It is the wellspring of our faith. Let no one ever say that we are not Christians.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Our Testimony to the World,” Ensign, May 1997, 83

Believe that it was He who was born to earth in a manger

December 25, 2010

Christmas, Faith, General Authorities, General Conference, Hinckley

(No comments)

Doubt not, but believe that it was he who was born to earth in a manger when there was no room in the inn. Well did an angel ask a prophet who had forseen these things in vision: “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (1 Ne. 11:16.) I suppose none of us can fully understand that—how the great Jehovah should come among men, born in a manger in a vassal state, among a people who would hate him. But at his birth there was an angelic chorus that sang of his glory. There were shepherds who worshipped him. There was a new star in the east. Later, there were wise men who traveled far to bring tributes of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. One can surmise they touched those tiny hands in wonder and awe as they presented their gifts to the new king.

. . . .

Believe and know that he was a man of miracles. He who had created the world and governed it as the great Jehovah understood the the elements of earth and all the functions of life. Beginning at Cana, where he turned the water into wine, he went on to cause the lame to walk, the blind to see, the dead to return to life—he, the Master Physician, who healed the sick by the authority inherent in him as the Son of God.

He was the comforter of the burdened of his time, and of all the generations who came before and who have come after who have truly believed in him. Said he to each of us:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28–30.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley
““Be Not Faithless””, Ensign, Apr. 1989, 2

Gratitude is an acknowledgment of a greater power and an acceptance of God’s commandments

November 27, 2010

General Authorities, Gratitude, Hinckley, Humility

(No comments)

Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord has declared through revelation: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. …

“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” (D&C 59:7, 21.)

Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty. I have driven through thousands of acres of blackened land scourged by a fire evidently set by a careless smoker whose only concern had been the selfish pleasure gained from a cigarette.

Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without appreciation, there is arrogance and evil.

Where there is gratitude, there is humility, as opposed to pride.

How magnificently we are blessed! How thankful we ought to be!

. . . .

Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges each of us enjoy. The Lord has said that the meek shall inherit the earth. (See Matt. 5:5.) I cannot escape the interpretation that meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments. This is the beginning of wisdom. Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
“‘With All Thy Getting Get Understanding’,” Ensign, Aug 1988, 2–5

Live in thanksgiving daily for the many mercies and blessings which God doth bestow upon you

November 25, 2010

General Authorities, General Conference, Gratitude, Hinckley, Monson

(No comments)

My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.

My beloved friend President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), 250)

. . . .

Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord declared through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. …

“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:7, 21)

In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you.” (Alma 34:38)

. . . .

The English author Aldous Huxley wrote, “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” (Aldous Huxley, Themes and Variations (1954), 66.)

We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express that gratitude. Speaking of loved ones he had lost, one man declared his regret this way: “I remember those happy days, and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due them in life, and so ill returned.” (William H. Davies, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (1908), 4)

The loss of loved ones almost inevitably brings some regrets to our hearts. Let’s minimize such feelings as much as humanly possible by frequently expressing our love and gratitude to them. We never know how soon it will be too late.

A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” (William Arthur Ward, in Allen Klein, comp., Change Your Life! (2010), 15)

President Thomas S. Monson
“The Divine Gift of Gratitude,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 87–90

The Fact of All Life is that It is Eternal

November 11, 2010

Eternal Life, Fundamental Principles, General Authorities, Hinckley, Sacrifice

(No comments)

The fact of all life is that it is eternal. That’s the great, salient truth. We have come into the world for a purpose, under a divine plan, and when we conclude this life we will go on to something that will be better, if we live worthy of it. And that great eternal course which we may follow is made possible through the sacrifice of the Son of God.

President Gordon B. Hinckley
Charlotte North Carolina Regional Conference, priesthood leadership session, February 24, 1996
Included in Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
Deseret Book Company, 1997

← Older entries