sustaining

The Savior is not absent from our mortal journeys. For the past two days we have heard Him speak through His chosen leaders that we might draw closer to Him. Time and again, with His pure love and mercy, He sustains us as we face the drama of life. Nephi describes: “My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions. … He hath filled me with his love.”

That love is evident when we sustain one another in His work.

We sustain our living prophet at general conference, and the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, General Authorities, and Officers of the Church. To sustain means to hold up another person, to give them our attention, to be faithful to their trust, to act upon their words. They speak by inspiration of the Lord; they understand the current issues, the moral decline of society, and the adversary’s increasing efforts to thwart the Father’s plan. In holding up our hands, we are committing our support, not just for that moment but in our daily lives.

Sustaining includes holding up our stake presidents and bishops, quorum and organization leaders, teachers, and even camp directors in our wards and stakes. Closer to home, we hold up our wives and our husbands, children, parents, extended family, and neighbors. When we hold up one another we are saying, “I am here for you, not just to hold up your arms and hands when they ‘hang down’ but to be a comfort and strength at your side.”

Ronald A. Rasband

“Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up” General Conference October 2024

more lifting and less murmuring

Brothers and sisters, we need to do more lifting and less murmuring, more upholding the word of the Lord, His ways, and His prophet, who has said: “One of our greatest challenges today is distinguishing between the truths of God and the counterfeits of Satan. That is why the Lord warned us to ‘pray always, … that [we] may conquer Satan, and … escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold [the adversary’s] work’ [Doctrine and Covenants 10:5; emphasis added].”

Ronald A. Rasband

“Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up” General Conference October 2024

plead for His help for your loved one

If you pray, if you talk to God, and if you plead for His help for your loved one, and if you thank Him not only for help but for the patience and gentleness that come from not receiving all you desire right away or perhaps ever, then I promise you that you will draw closer to Him. You will become diligent and long-suffering. And then you can know that you have done all that you can to help those you love and those you pray for navigate through Satan’s attempt to derail them.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Henry B. Eyring

"Simple Is the Doctrine of Jesus Christ" General Conference October 2024

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

repentance is the key to avoiding misery

Repentance is the key to avoiding misery inflicted by traps of the adversary. The Lord does not expect perfection from us at this point in our eternal progression. But He does expect us to become increasingly pure. Daily repentance is the pathway to purity, and purity brings power. Personal purity can make us powerful tools in the hands of God. Our repentance—our purity—will empower us to help in the gathering of Israel.

President Russell M. Nelson

"We Can Do Better and Be Better" General Conference April 2019

apply unto it

“Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. Therefore this is thy gift; apply unto it” (D&C 8:3–4). 

I emphasize the phrase “apply unto it” in relation to the spirit of revelation. In the scriptures, the influence of the Holy Ghost frequently is described as “a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12; 1 Nephi 17:45; see also 3 Nephi 11:3) and a “voice of perfect mildness” (Helaman 5:30). Because the Spirit whispers to us gently and delicately, it is easy to understand why we should shun inappropriate media, pornography, and harmful, addictive substances and behaviors. These tools of the adversary can impair and eventually destroy our capacity to recognize and respond to the subtle messages from God delivered by the power of His Spirit. Each of us should consider seriously and ponder prayerfully how we can reject the devil’s enticements and righteously “apply unto it,” even the spirit of revelation, in our personal lives and families.

David A. Bednar, "The Spirit of Revelation." April 2011 General Conference.

there shall be no disputations among you

3 Nephi 11:28–30  There shall be no disputations among you.... For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

anger is not evil

Anger is not evil; anger is not sinful; anger is not a part of our fallen nature; anger is not Satan at work in our lives. Quite the contrary. Anger is evidence that we are made in God’s image; it demonstrates that we still have some concern for justice and righteousness in spite of our fallen estate. The capacity for anger is strong evidence that we are more than mere animals. It reveals our concern for rightness, justice, and fairness. The experience of anger is evidence of our nobility, not our depravity.

We should thank God for our capacity to experience anger. When one ceases to experience anger, one has lost her sense of moral concern. Without moral concern, the world would be a dreadful place indeed.


Anger: Handling a Powerful Emotion in a Healthy Way by Gary D. Chapman, 2007.

there are two great powers

To show the importance of prayer I remind you, my brethren and sisters, that in this world there are two great powers, and these two powers are at warfare. There is the power of good and the power of evil. They do not harmonize, they do not mix. Like oil and water, they will not mix. On the one hand, there is the power of good striving with every man and woman; on the other hand, there is the power of evil striving with every man and woman. Their prospects, their record, and all their future will depend upon which of these two great powers controls them…

I firmly believe that if it were not for the faith and prayers of this people, which are ascending continually to heaven, Satan certainly would have power over us, and perhaps in many instances we would be overcome and destroyed.



Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, April 1904, p.44 as quoted in Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine & Covenants, Volume 1 compiled by Roy W. Doxey. Deseret Book. 1964. p.61

peace shall be taken from the earth

The Lord knew there would be only a few who would accept that message. The majority would reject it. He provided for the few a refuge of peace; but so far as the world is concerned he said (I am reading from the 1st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants):

And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;

For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.

And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst.

Peace taken from the earth, and the devil having power over his dominion. During the last one hundred years, or since these words were spoken, more light and knowledge has come into the world in the realm of science, through the laboratory, and otherwise, than in all the ages that have preceded it, and if this were all used for the alleviation of human suffering, peace and prosperity could be here, and poverty abolished.

But when we see men and nations spending their wealth to use the gas engine, the laboratory, the air plane, as means of human destruction, surely the devil has seized the blessings and privileges the Almighty intended to use to bring about peace, and is using them to destroy that which he presently shall lose the right to rule over. If the devil is not in the character of warfare that goes over the front line trenches, swoops down upon the poor helpless women and children, drops its deadly bombs and assassinates them, then I do not know anything that has ever happened in this world that is so like the work of the devil as that. He is ruling in the midst of men.



Melvin J. Ballard, Conference Report, October 1928, p.105-6, as quoted in Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine & Covenants, Volume 1 compiled by Roy W. Doxey. Deseret Book. 1964. p.14

Satan, the very devil and father of all lies, has slyly and slowly lowered the social norms of morality to a tragic and destructive level. In magazines and books, on CD's and tapes, on our television and theater screens is portrayed more and more often a lifestyle that might even rival the excesses of those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah….

This trash is nothing more nor less than pornography dressed in one of its many imitation robes of splendor - one of the master counterfeiter's best products…. Many men and boys do not recognize they are trapped or soon will be…. They see this as a form of entertainment that serves as a relief from the troubles of the day. In point of fact and in reality, it is only relieving them of their spirituality and their capacity to draw on the powers of heaven in times of need….

…Stay away from any movie, video, publication, or music regardless of its rating - where illicit behaviour and expressions are a part of the action. Have the courage to turn it off in your living room. Throw the tapes and the publications in the garbage can, for that is where we keep garbage.


H. Burke Peterson. Ensign, Nov. 1993 p.42-43 "Touch Not the Evil Gift, Nor the Unclean Thing"

ye must pray always

...if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

2 Nephi 32:8,9

Each of us should remember that he or she is a son or daughter of God, endowed with faith, gifted with courage, and guided by prayer. Our eternal destiny is before us. . . .

At times many of us let that enemy of achievement--even the culprit 'self-defeat'--dwarf our aspirations, smother our dreams, cloud our vision, and impair our lives. The enemy's voice whispers in our ears, 'You can't do it.' 'You're too young.' 'You're too old.' 'You're nobody.' This is when we remember that we are created in the image of God. Reflection on this truth provides a profound sense of strength and power.

President Thomas S. Monson, "Choose You This Day," Ensign, Nov. 2004, 68