The Lord knew—in this fast-paced world full of distractions and in commotion—that making quality time for Him would be one of the major challenges of our day. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, He provided these words of counsel and caution, which can be likened unto the tumultuous days in which we live:

“In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

“But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.”

In other words, even though our salvation depends on returning to Him often and resting from the cares of the world, we do not. And even though our confidence will come from a strength developed in quiet times sitting with the Lord in meditation and reflection, we do not. Why not? Because we say, “No, we are busy with other things”—fleeing upon our horses, so to speak. Therefore, we will get further and further away from God; we will insist on going faster and faster; and the faster we go, the swifter Satan will follow in pursuit.

Perhaps this is why President Nelson has repeatedly pled with us to make time for the Lord in our lives—“each and every day.” He reminds us that “quiet time is sacred time—time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace.” But to hear the still voice of the Lord, he counseled, “you too must be still.”

Being still, however, requires more than just making time for the Lord—it requires letting go of our doubtful and fearful thoughts and focusing our hearts and minds on Him. Elder David A. Bednar taught, “The Lord’s admonition to ‘be still’ entails much more than simply not talking or not moving.” To be still, he suggested, “may be a way of reminding us to focus upon the Savior unfailingly.”

Being still is an act of faith and requires effort. Lectures on Faith states, “When a man works by faith he works by mental exertion.” President Nelson declared: “Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee.” Speaking of this need to focus our minds, President David O. McKay said: “I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion. … Meditation is one of the … most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord.”

There is a word in Japanese, mui, that, for me, captures this more faith-filled, contemplative sense of what it means to be still. It is comprised of two characters (無為). The one on the left means “nothing” or “nothingness,” and the one on the right means “to do.” Together they mean “non-doing.” Taken literally, the word could be misinterpreted to mean “to do nothing” in the same way “to be still” can be misinterpreted as “not talking or moving.” However, like the phrase “to be still,” it has a higher meaning; for me it is a reminder to slow down and to live with greater spiritual awareness.

L. Todd Budge

"Seek Him with All Your Heart" General Conference October 2024

to have eyes to see and a heart to feel

[T]he Savior’s perfect love is focused on enabling all of God’s children to fulfill our divine potential that we may “partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption.” As we become more like our Master, our desire to help our brothers and sisters along the covenant path will naturally increase.

For instance, we can uplift and befriend those who feel offended or forgotten, help those who are new to our congregation feel welcome, or invite friends to worship with us at sacrament meeting—perhaps this coming Easter. There are countless ways to encourage and assist others in their progression if we deliberately and prayerfully seek heaven’s help to have eyes to see and a heart to feel how Jesus Christ sees and feels for them.

Michael B. Strong

"Charity—a Sign of True Discipleship", General Conference April 2025

what God would prefer

Ordinances don’t save us because they fulfill a heavenly checklist. Rather, when we live the covenants connected with these ordinances, we become the kind of person who wants to be in God’s presence. This understanding overcomes hesitations to serve or preferences not to serve. Our preparation to meet Jesus Christ accelerates when we stop asking what God will permit and start asking what God would prefer.

Steven D. Shumway

"Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return", General Conference April 2025

so he could do what was right

In the spring of 1820, a young boy named Joseph Smith went into the woods near his home to pray. He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul, and he yearned “to know which of all the [churches] was right, that [he] might know which to join.” Joseph trusted that God would answer his prayer and direct him.

Please note that Joseph did not pray merely to know what was right. Rather, he prayed to know what was right so he could do what was right. Joseph asked in faith and was determined to act in accordance with the answers he received.

“In [response] to his [sincere] prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and inaugurated the ‘restitution of all things’ (Acts 3:21) as foretold in the Bible. In this vision, he learned that following the death of the original Apostles, Christ’s New Testament Church was lost from the earth.” Joseph Smith would be instrumental in restoring once again the doctrine, the authority, and the covenants and ordinances of the Savior’s ancient Church.

David A. Bednar

"The Times of Restitution of All Things", General Conference April 2025

the very reason the earth was created

The very reason the earth was created was so families could be formed and sealed to each other. Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter. No one can be exalted alone.

President Russell M. Nelson

In the funeral services for Sister Pat Holland, wife of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. July 2023. As found in "The Sealing Power," by D. Todd Christofferson. General Conference October 2023

a perfect manifestation

The validity that the sealing power gives to priesthood ordinances includes, of course, vicarious ordinances performed in the place designated by the Lord—His temple. Here we see the majesty and sacredness of the sealing power—it makes individual salvation and family exaltation universally available to the children of God wherever and whenever they may have lived on the earth. No other theology or philosophy or authority can match such an all-inclusive opportunity. This sealing power is a perfect manifestation of the justice, mercy, and love of God.

D. Todd Christofferson

"The Sealing Power," General Conference October 2023

this life - a hopeful context

The Book of Mormon teaches that “this life is the time for [us] to prepare to meet God.” Alma 34:32 But that challenging limitation to “this life” was given a hopeful context (at least to some extent for some persons) by what the Lord revealed to President Joseph F. Smith, now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 138. “I beheld,” the prophet wrote, “that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.

“The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,

“And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.” D&C 138:57-59

In addition, we know that the Millennium, the thousand years that follow the Second Coming of the Savior, will be a time to perform the required ordinances for those who have not received them in their mortal lives. D&C 29:11

Dallin H. Oaks

"Kingdoms of Glory," General Conference October 2023

everything depends on the will of God

God has assuredly promised His grace to the humble [1 Peter 5:5], that is, to those who lament and despair of themselves.

But no man can be thoroughly humbled until he knows that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, devices, endeavors, will, and works, and depends entirely on the choice, will, and work of another, namely, of God alone.

For as long as he is persuaded that he himself can do even the least thing toward his salvation, he retains some self-confidence and does not altogether despair of himself, and therefore he is not humbled before God, but presumes that there is—or at least hopes or desires that there may be—some place, time, and work for him, by which he may at length attain to salvation.

But when a man has no doubt that everything depends on the will of God, then he completely despairs of himself and chooses nothing for himself, but waits for God to work; then he has come close to grace.

Martin Luther

The Bondage of the Will, in Career of the Reformer III, in Luther's Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1955-1986), 33:61-62. As quoted in Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane C. Ortlund. Crossway. 2021. p.38

ye must press forward

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.

2 Nephi 31:20

sanctification

D&C 88:68 Sanctify yourselves…

The meaning of “sanctification” is explained in the words that follow, “That your minds become single to God.” Our Lord had regard only to the glory of the Father, when He undertook the salvation of man. To follow in His footsteps and to be able to say at all times, truthfully, “Thine be the honor,” is to be sanctified; that is to be a Saint.


Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl. Deseret Book. 1965. p.552

if you fear, then fear not

Salvation comes through the power of God; yet only those who “endure to the end” will be saved, and, generally speaking, those who feel too sure of their salvation are farthest from it. Soren Kjerkegaard has expressed this thought in the following quaint paradox: “If you fear, then fear not; but if you do not fear, then fear.”


Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl. Deseret Book. 1965. p.114

those who are favored with divine instructions must follow them

D&C 19:46 And after that you have received this, if you keep not my commandments you cannot be saved in the kingdom of my Father.

Those who are favored with divine instructions must follow them; if they do not, they cannot be saved in the Kingdom of God.


Doctrine and Covenants Commentary by Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl. Deseret Book. 1965. p.90

a partnership with the Lord

In our pre-existent state, in the day of the great council, we made a certain agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan, conceived by him. We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we become parties to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and there, to be not only saviors for ourselves, but measurably saviors for the whole human family. We went into a partnership with the Lord.

The working out of the plan became then not merely the Father's work, and the Savior's work, but also our work. The least of us, the humblest, is in partnership with the Almighty in achieving the purpose of the eternal plan of salvation. That places us in a very responsible attitude towards the human race. By the doctrine, with the Lord at the head, we become saviors on Mount Zion, all committed to the great plan of offering salvation to the untold numbers of spirits. To do this is the Lord's self-imposed duty, this great labor his highest glory. Likewise, it is man's duty, self-imposed, his pleasure and joy, his labor, and ultimately his glory.

There is no place for forgetting the other man in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There stands my brother; it was for him that the whole plan was made, for him the Church was organized, for him all these blessings were given—not for me alone. Oh, I stand there, too. The Church was made for me, the gospel was given for me, all the blessings were given for me; but my brother is entitled to them just as much as I am. He and I together and all of us must unitedly work together to fulfill the great purposes of the Almighty Father.

Under the Gospel, what is man’s highest ideals? Under the Gospel it must be to become like the Father. [D&C 76:54-60, 132:24; Moses 1:29.] If the Lord’s concern is chiefly to bring happiness and joy, salvation to the whole human family, we cannot become like the Father unless we too engage in that work. There is no chance for the narrow, selfish, introspective man in the kingdom of God. He may survive in the world of men; he may win fame, fortune and power before men, but he will not stand high before the Lord unless he learns to do the works of God, which always point toward the salvation of the whole human family. [D&C 15:6, 18:10-16, 128:5,15-18.]



John A. Widtsoe, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, October 1934, p.289 [see History of the Church 6:59-61.], Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine & Covenants, Volume 1 compiled by Roy W. Doxey. Deseret Book. 1964. p.21,22

exaltation is a family matter

While salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a family matter.


Russell M. Nelson, “Celestial Marriage,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 92–95

thankfulness in meaningful prayer

During our service at Brigham Young University–Idaho, Sister Bednar and I frequently hosted General Authorities in our home. Our family learned an important lesson about meaningful prayer as we knelt to pray one evening with a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Earlier in the day Sister Bednar and I had been informed about the unexpected death of a dear friend, and our immediate desire was to pray for the surviving spouse and children. As I invited my wife to offer the prayer, the member of the Twelve, unaware of the tragedy, graciously suggested that in the prayer Sister Bednar express only appreciation for blessings received and ask for nothing. His counsel was similar to Alma’s instruction to the members of the ancient Church “to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all things” (Mosiah 26:39). Given the unexpected tragedy, requesting blessings for our friends initially seemed to us more urgent than expressing thanks.

Sister Bednar responded in faith to the direction she received. She thanked Heavenly Father for meaningful and memorable experiences with this dear friend. She communicated sincere gratitude for the Holy Ghost as the Comforter and for the gifts of the Spirit that enable us to face adversity and to serve others. Most importantly, she expressed appreciation for the plan of salvation, for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for His Resurrection, and for the ordinances and covenants of the restored gospel which make it possible for families to be together forever.

Our family learned from that experience a great lesson about the power of thankfulness in meaningful prayer. Because of and through that prayer, our family was blessed with inspiration about a number of issues that were pressing upon our minds and stirring in our hearts. We learned that our gratefulness for the plan of happiness and for the Savior’s mission of salvation provided needed reassurance and strengthened our confidence that all would be well with our dear friends. We also received insights concerning the things about which we should pray and appropriately ask in faith.



David A. Bednar, “Pray Always,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 41–44

only one thing we truly deserve

It is true that we are commanded to love and honor others, and it is likely true that Carol fails always to do that - just as you and I fail. But what's false is this idea that you or I deserve that love and devotion - that we are somehow entitled to it. The truth is that there is only one thing we truly deserve, and that's to be sent to hell - you, Carol, me, Jonah, Nineveh, all of us. Love and salvation are gifts. How grateful we should be to receive them in any measure!


The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell. 2004. p.96

go, and sin no more

This connection between effort and the repentance which attracts the Lord's forgiveness is often not understood. In my childhood, Sunday School lessons were given to us on the 8th chapter of John wherein we learned of the woman thrown at the feet of the Redeemer for judgment. My sweet Sunday School teacher lauded the Lord for having forgiven the woman. She did not understand the impossibility of such an act. In my years since then I have repeatedly heard people praise the Lord for his mercy in having forgiven the adulteress. This example has been used numerous times to show how easily one can be forgiven for gross sin.

But did the Lord forgive the woman? Could he forgive her? There seems to be no evidence of forgiveness. His command to her was, "Go, and sin no more." He was directing the sinful woman to go her way, abandon her evil life, commit no more sin, transform her life. He was saying, Go, woman, and start your repentance; and he was indicating to her the beginning step—to abandon her transgressions.

The Lord's prophet Amulek had said emphatically: ". . . Ye cannot be saved in your sins." (Al. 11:37. Italics added.) It was this same Lord Jesus Christ who made the laws, and he must observe them. Accordingly, how could he have forgiven the woman in her deep sin? When she had had time to repent; when she had abandoned her evil ways and evil associates; when she had made restitution so far as she could; and when she had proved by her works and the living of the commandments that she was "born again" and was a new creature—when she had done these things the forgiveness of the Savior could overshadow her and claim her and give her peace.


Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball. 1969. p. 165, 166

believing in his ability

We often think that having faith in Christ means believing in his identity as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But believing in Jesus' identity as the Christ is only the first half of it. The other half is believing in his ability, in his power to cleanse and to save - to make unworthy sons and daughters worthy.


Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, 1992, p. 9, 10. See also 1st Article of Faith

I can be saved

The "good news" of the gospel is good news to me not because it promises that other people who are better than I am can be saved, but because it promises that I can be saved - wretched, inadequate, and imperfect me. And until I accept that possibility, until I believe in Christ when he says he can bring me into his kingdom and set me on a throne, I have not really accepted the good news of the gospel - I have only accepted the messenger while rejecting his wonderful message.


Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, 1992, p. 9

we would float in wealth right down to Hades

I don't wonder why the Lord chose tithing as the means to finance his Church. It was to save us. He wouldn't need to do it to get the money. He made the earth. He could give. . . a revelation as to where the oil and the ore and the wealth of the earth is, we could hire gentiles to dig it out and we could float in wealth, and we would float in wealth right down to Hades. The payment of tithes is to save you and me, to make us liberal, to make us interested in the building of the kingdom, and to develop our characters, and that's what the welfare program does for us.


Marion G. Romney, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith by F. Burton Howard. Bookcraft. Salt Lake City. 1988. P.126. Originally in remarks, Welfare Agricultural Meeting, April 5, 1969.