Master Control

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Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

Help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do

To live with him someday. 

                                                              --I Am a Child of God

And this is life eternal, 

that they might know thee the only true God, and 

Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. -- John 17:3

The privilege of holding the priesthood, which is the power and authority to act in God’s name, is a great blessing and privilege and one that carries with it equally great obligations and responsibilities. When I ponder what kind of men and boys we should be as priesthood holders, I cannot help but think of the Savior’s questions to the Nephite twelve when He asked, “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27).

To be like the Savior—what a challenge for any person! He is a member of the Godhead. He is the Savior and Redeemer. He was perfect in every aspect of His life. There was no flaw nor failing in Him. Is it possible for us as priesthood holders to be even as He is? The answer is yes. Not onlycan we, but that is our charge, our responsibility. He would not give us that commandment if He did not mean for us to do it.

The Apostle Peter spoke of the process by which a person can be made a partaker “of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This is important, for if we truly become partakers of the divine nature, we shall become like Him. Let us examine closely what Peter teaches us about this process. Here is what he said:

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

“And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

“And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Pet. 1:5–7).

The virtues outlined by Peter are part of the divine nature, or the Savior’s character. These are the virtues we are to emulate if we would be more like Him. Let us discuss a few of these important traits.

The first characteristic, to which all the others are added, is faith. Faith is the foundation upon which a godlike character is built. It is a prerequisite for all other virtues.

When I think of how we show faith, I cannot help but think of the example of my own father. I recall vividly how the spirit of missionary work came into my life. I was about thirteen years of age when my father received a call to go on a mission. It was during an epidemic in our little community of Whitney, Idaho. Parents were encouraged to go tosacrament meeting, but the children were to remain home to avoid contracting the disease.

Father and Mother went to sacrament meeting in a one-horse buggy. At the close of the meeting, the storekeeper opened the store just long enough for the farmers to get their mail, since the post office was in the store. There were no purchases, but in this way the farmers saved a trip to the post office on Monday. There was no rural postal delivery in those days.

As Father drove the horse homeward, Mother opened the mail, and, to their surprise, there was a letter from Box B in Salt Lake City—a call to go on a mission. No one asked if one were ready, willing, or able. The bishop was supposed to know, and the bishop was Grandfather George T. Benson, my father’s father.

As Father and Mother drove into the yard, they were both crying—something we had never seen in our family. We gathered around the buggy—there were seven of us then—and asked them what was the matter.

They said, “Everything’s fine.”

“Why are you crying then?” we asked.

“Come into the living room and we’ll explain.”

We gathered around the old sofa in the living room, and Father told us about his mission call. Then Mother said, “We’re proud to know that Father is considered worthy to go on a mission. We’re crying a bit because it means two years of separation. You know, your father and I have never been separated more than two nights at a time since our marriage—and that’s when Father was gone into the canyon to get logs, posts, and firewood.”

And so Father went on his mission. Though at the time I did not fully comprehend the depths of my father’s commitment, I understand better now that his willing acceptance of this call was evidence of his great faith. Every holder of the priesthood, whether young or old, should strive to develop that kind of faith.

Peter goes on to say that we must add to our faith virtue. A priesthood holder is virtuous. Virtuous behavior implies that he has pure thoughts and clean actions. He will not lust in his heart, for to do so is to “deny the faith” and to lose the Spirit (D&C 42:23)—and there is nothing more important in this work than the Spirit. You’ve heard me say that many times.

He will not commit adultery “nor do anything like unto it” (D&C 59:6). This means fornication, homosexual behavior, self-abuse, child molestation, or any other sexual perversion. This means that a young man will honor young women and treat them with respect. He would never do anything that would deprive them of that which, in Mormon’s words, is “most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue” (Moro. 9:9).

Virtue is akin to holiness, an attribute of godliness. A priesthood holder should actively seek for that which is virtuous and lovely and not that which is debasing or sordid. Virtue will garnish his thoughts unceasingly (see D&C 121:45). How can any man indulge himself in the evils ofpornography, profanity, or vulgarity and consider himself totally virtuous?

Whenever a priesthood holder departs from the path of virtue in any form or expression, he loses the Spirit and comes under Satan’s power. He then receives the wages of him whom he has chosen to serve. As a result, sometimes the Church must take disciplinary action, for we cannot condone or pardon unvirtuous and unrepentant actions. All priesthood holders must be morally clean to be worthy to bear the authority of Jesus Christ.

The next step Peter describes in the growth process is to add knowledgeto our faith and virtue. The Lord has told us that “it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6). In another place God commanded, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Every priesthood holder should make learning a lifetime pursuit. While any study of truth is of value, the truths of salvation are the most important truths any person can learn. The Lord’s question “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26) can be applied to educational pursuits as well as the pursuit of worldly goods. The Lord might also have asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall learn everything in the world and not learn how to be saved?”

We must balance our secular learning with spiritual learning. You young men should be as earnest in enrolling in seminary and learning the scriptures as you are in working toward high school graduation. Young adults enrolled in universities and colleges or other postsecondary training should avail themselves of the opportunity to take institute of religion courses or, if attending a Church school, should take at least one religion course every term. Joining our spiritual education to our secular learning will help us keep focused on the things that matter most in this life. Though I am speaking to you priesthood holders, the same admonition applies to the women of the Church as well as to the men.

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., spoke of the desired balance in these words: “There is spiritual learning just as there is material learning, and the one without the other is not complete; yet, speaking for myself, if I could have only one sort of learning, that which I would take would be the learning of the spirit, because in the hereafter I shall have opportunity in the eternities which are to come to get the other, and without spiritual learning here my handicaps in the hereafter would be all but overwhelming” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1934, p. 94).

President Spencer W. Kimball said it this way: “Youth, beloved youth, can you see why we must let spiritual training take first place?—Why we must pray with faith, and perfect our own lives like the Savior’s? Can you see that the spiritual knowledge may be complemented with the secular in this life and on for eternities but that the secular without the foundation of the spiritual is but like the foam upon the milk, the fleeting shadow?

“Do not be deceived! One need not choose between the two but only as to the sequence, for there is opportunity for one to get both simultaneously; but can you see that the seminary courses should be given even preferential attention over the high school subjects; the institute over the college course; the study of the scriptures ahead of the study of man-written texts; the association with the Church more important than clubs, fraternities, and sororities; the payment of tithingmore important than paying tuitions and fees?

“Can you see that the ordinances of the temple are more important than the PhD or any and all other academic degrees?” (“Beloved Youth, Study and Learn,” in Life’s Directions: A Series of Fireside Addresses, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1962, p. 190).

When our formal education has been completed, we should make daily study of the scriptures a lifetime pursuit. What I said last April to priesthood leaders applies to every priesthood holder as well:

“I add my voice to these wise and inspired brethren and say to you that one of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently. Feast upon the words of Christ. Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. … Few other efforts … will bring greater dividends to your calling. … Few other ways [will result in] greater inspiration. …

“You must … see that studying and searching the scriptures is not a burden laid upon [us] by the Lord, but a marvelous blessing and opportunity” (Ensign, May 1986, p. 81).

Another attribute described by Peter as being part of the divine nature istemperance. A priesthood holder is temperate. This means he is restrained in his emotions and verbal expressions. He does things in moderation and is not given to overindulgence. In a word, he has self-control. He is the master of his emotions, not the other way around.

A priesthood holder who would curse his wife, abuse her with words or actions, or do the same to one of his own children is guilty of grievous sin. “Can ye be angry, and not sin?” asked the Apostle Paul (JST, Eph. 4:26).

If a man does not control his temper, it is a sad admission that he is not in control of his thoughts. He then becomes a victim of his own passions and emotions, which lead him to actions that are totally unfit for civilized behavior, let alone behavior for a priesthood holder.

President David O. McKay once said, “A man who cannot control his temper is not very likely to control his passion, and no matter what his pretensions in religion, he moves in daily life very close to the animal plane” (Improvement Era, June 1958, p. 407).

To our temperance we are to add patience. A priesthood holder is to bepatient. Patience is another form of self-control. It is the ability to postpone gratification and to bridle one’s passions. In his relationships with loved ones, a patient man does not engage in impetuous behavior that he will later regret. Patience is composure under stress. A patient man is understanding of others’ faults.

A patient man also waits on the Lord. We sometimes read or hear of people who seek a blessing from the Lord, then grow impatient when it does not come swiftly. Part of the divine nature is to trust in the Lord enough to “be still and know that [he is] God” (D&C 101:16).

A priesthood holder who is patient will be tolerant of the mistakes and failings of his loved ones. Because he loves them, he will not find fault nor criticize nor blame.

Another attribute mentioned by Peter is kindness. A priesthood holder iskind. One who is kind is sympathetic and gentle with others. He is considerate of others’ feelings and courteous in his behavior. He has a helpful nature. Kindness pardons others’ weaknesses and faults. Kindness is extended to all—to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of station as well as the high.

These are the true attributes of the divine nature. Can you see how we become more Christlike as we are more virtuous, more kind, more patient, and more in control of our emotional feelings?

The Apostle Paul used some vivid expressions to illustrate that a member of the Church must be different from the world. He commended us to “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27), “put off … the old man,” and “put on the new man” (Eph. 4:22, 24).

The final and crowning virtue of the divine character is charity, or the pure love of Christ (see Moro. 7:47). If we would truly seek to be more like our Savior and Master, then learning to love as He loves should be our highest goal. Mormon called charity “the greatest of all” (Moro. 7:46).

The world today speaks a great deal about love, and it is sought for by many. But the pure love of Christ differs greatly from what the world thinks of love. Charity never seeks selfish gratification. The pure love of Christ seeks only the eternal growth and joy of others.

When I think of charity, I again think of my father and that day he was called on his mission. I suppose some in the world might say that his acceptance of that call was proof he did not really love his family. To leave seven children and an expectant wife at home alone for two years, how could that be true love?

But my father knew a greater vision of love. He knew that “all things shall work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28). He knew that the best thing he could do for his family was to obey God.

While we missed him greatly during those years, and while his absence brought many challenges to our family, his acceptance proved to be a gift of charity. Father went on his mission, leaving Mother at home with seven children. (The eighth was born four months after he arrived in the field.) But there came into that home a spirit of missionary work that never left it. It was not without some sacrifice. Father had to sell our old dry farm in order to finance his mission. He had to move a married couple into part of our home to take care of the row crops, and he left his sons and wife the responsibility for the hay land, the pasture land, and a small herd of dairy cows.

Father’s letters were indeed a blessing to our family. To us children, they seemed to come from halfway around the world, but they were only from Springfield, Massachusetts; and Chicago, Illinois; and Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown, Iowa. Yes, there came into our home, as a result of Father’s mission, a spirit of missionary work that never left it.

Later the family grew to eleven children—seven sons and four daughters. All seven sons filled missions, some of them two or three missions. Later, two daughters and their husbands filled full-time missions. The two other sisters, both widows—one the mother of eight and the other the mother of ten—served as missionary companions in Birmingham, England.

It is a legacy that still continues to bless the Benson family even into the third and fourth generations. Was not this truly a gift of love?

This is what the Savior means when He speaks of the kind of men we should be. Does not His own life reflect perfect diligence, perfect faith, perfect virtue? If we are to be like Him, we too must become partakers of the divine nature.

The Savior declared that life eternal is to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ (see John 17:3). If this is true, and I bear you my solemn witness that it is true, then we must ask how we come to know God. The process of adding one godly attribute to another, as described by Peter, becomes the key to gaining this knowledge that leads to eternal life. Note Peter’s promise, which immediately follows the process described:

“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8; italics added).

Oh, my beloved brethren, I pray that these qualities and attributes of the Savior may abound in us so that when we stand at the Judgment and He asks each one of us, “What manner of man are ye?” we can raise our heads in gratitude and joy and answer, “Even as thou art.” This is my humble prayer for each and every priesthood holder in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Great Plan of the Eternal God

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One of the great blessings flowing from amplifying, latter-day revelations is the crucial, doctrinal framework known as the marvelous plan of salvation, the plan of happiness, or the plan of mercy. (See Alma 42:5, 8, 15.) However designated, it represents what Amulek called the “great plan of the Eternal God” without which mankind would unavoidably perish. (Alma 34:9.)

The plan is a most stunning example of the precious perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, full faith in the Lord Jesus Christ includes and requires full faith in His Father’s plan of salvation.

President Brigham Young declared: “The Spirit of revelation must be in each and every individual, to know the plan of salvation and keep in the path that leads them to the presence of God.” (Journal of Discourses,9:279.)

So vital is this framework that if one stays or strays outside it, he risks provinciality and misery. In fact, most human misery represents ignorance of or noncompliance with the plan. A cessation of such mortal suffering will not come without compliance to it. Hence, the Lord, who has freely shared this vital knowledge with us, has urged us to teach the fundamentals of this plan “freely.” (Moses 6:58.)

At the center of the Father’s plan is Jesus Christ, mankind’s Redeemer. Yet, as foreseen, many judge Jesus “to be a thing of naught” (1 Ne. 19:9), or “consider him” merely “a man.” (Mosiah 3:9.) Whether others deny or delimit Jesus, for us He is our Lord and Savior! Comparatively, brothers and sisters, it matters very little what people think of us, but it matters very much what we think of Him. It matters very little, too, who others say we are; what matters is who we say Jesus is. (See Matt. 16:13–17.)

For instance, we appreciate not only the towering divinity of Jesus Christ, but His breathtaking mobility and the scope of His shepherding. The resurrected Jesus revisited the Middle East scene of His mortal messiahship. Then some souls in the Americas. (See 3 Ne 11.) And then His other lost sheep. (See 3 Ne. 17:4.)

In His selfless plan, the Lord doeth nothing save it be for the benefit of the children of men. (See 2 Ne. 26:24.) He labors, lovingly and constantly, as Moses and Jeremiah declared, “for our good always.” (Deut. 6:24; see also Jer. 32: 38–40.) In His grand design, His “work” and “glory” are “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) Thus, even when we truly learn to love God, we must humbly acknowledge that He loved us first. (See 1 Jn. 4:19.)

Meanwhile, Shakespeare was not very wide of the mark in writing, “All the world’s a stage.” (As You Like It, act 2, scene 7.) But not for playacting!

The very word plan confirms God’s paternal purpose, a realization so desperately needed by the confused and despairing on the world’s stage.

The “plan of happiness” not only ensures the immortalization of our individual identities, but can yield bettered and reborn individuals. Fittingly, one appreciative prophet declared, “O how great the plan of our God!” (2 Ne. 9:13.) Enoch wept when he saw the sweep of history and the unnecessary human misery. (See Moses 7:41.) But he also saw the triumph of God’s plan. Another prophet exclaimed: “God … made these things known unto us that we might not perish … because he loveth our souls … ; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us.” (Alma 24:14.)

It took visits by angels in our day, too, in order to instruct us anew regarding God’s plan of salvation and to reassure us that mortality is not a conclusive and massive mausoleum, and that death is not extinction.

Alma faced an awful and anguished moment when he felt that he might actually “become extinct both soul and body.” (Alma 36:15.) Then he remembered his father’s prophecies “concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.” (Alma 36:17.) In a moment of deep intellectual humility, his “mind caught hold upon this thought.” Out came Alma’s great soul cry: “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me”! (Alma 36:18.)

Purpose replaced pain. Joy swallowed up despair as Alma apparently viewed God upon His throne, and he longed to join God! (See Alma 36:22.)

Such longing for a heavenly home is real, especially in view of how this life is designed. After all, brothers and sisters, when we rejoice in beautiful scenery, great art, and great music, it is but the flexing of instincts acquired in another place and another time.

Life turns out, however, to be just what one would expect of a deliberately constructed proving and tutoring experience which features opportunities, choices, and deprivations. Furthermore, there is no wayaround—the only way to go is through!

And what a “through” it is!

Even so, for us mistake-prone mortals, this plan of mercy provides for recognition and redress of error and for the resumption of interrupted individual development.

Redemptive and refining provisions are made: For a brave Peter faltering and sinking on the churning waves—and yet knowing to whom to look to live, and crying out, “Lord, save me.” (Matt. 14:30.) For a meek Moses struggling with people, fatigued and with all the burdens of leadership. (See Num. 11:11, 14, 29.) For a Jonah seeking to substitute Tarshish, but still reaching Nineveh and, thereby, receiving a great lesson in compassion. For erring Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and Thomas B. Marsh to recover their spiritual poise and vote with their feet by traveling westward to rejoin, in reconciliation, and to sustain the plan and its enunciating latter-day prophets.

Hence, brothers and sisters, for the faithful, our finest hours are sometimes during or just following our darkest hours.

It is an incredible irony, therefore, that some complainingly attempt to use the very tutoring process of the Lord against Him. Or resent the reality that we are to walk by faith during this mortal experience. Yet, as practical and spiritual President Brigham Young said, “There is no saving faith merely upon … acknowledging a fact.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941, p. 154.)

Furthermore, since this life is such a brief experience, there must be regular exit routes. Some easy. Some hard. Some sudden. Others lingering. Therefore, we cannot presume, even by faith, to block all these exits, all the time, and for all people. Nor, if possessed of full, eternal perspective, would we desire so to do.

Since certain recollections are withheld, we do not now see the end from the beginning. But God does. Meanwhile, we are in what might be called “the murky middle.” Therein, however, we can still truly know that God loves us, individually and perfectly, even though we cannot always explain the meaning of all things happening to us or around us. (See 1 Ne. 11:17.)

Enclosed in this mortal cocoon, or classroom, we would be totally provincial in outlook except for faith in, and knowledge of, the “great plan of the Eternal God.”

Hence, Christ’s doctrines pertaining to the plan of salvation stand like sentinel scriptures to mark and light the way. His gospel guardrails line the strait and narrow path to steady us, nudge us, and even jar us for the sake of our spiritual safety!

So much more than a matter of abstract theology, this great plan can focus daily life. Its truths are crucial to how we see ourselves, others, life, the Lord, and even the universe. Or how we view a baby. Or death. Or the praise and honors of the world. This plan constitutes the mother lode of meaning and can cradle us, conceptually, amid any concern.

Its truths and perspectives permit us to distinguish between a great book and mere want ads, between vengeance and justice, rage and righteous indignation, and pleasure and happiness.

With an understanding of God’s plan of salvation, we know that the rejoicing, the striving, the suffering, the tutoring, and the enduring experiences of life all play their part in an intelligible process of helping us, if we will, to become, as the Savior beckoningly invited, “even as I am.” (3 Ne. 27:27.)

This individual development sometimes requires the march of a Zion’s Camp, or an arduous Hole in the Rock trek, or special classrooms like the settlements in northern Mexico, wherein special individuals were fashioned. Those episodes, however, had nothing to do with real estate but everything to do with our second estate!

Hence, in submitting knowingly and meekly to this plan, we cannot say to the Lord that we are willing to surrender but only on our terms. There are no conditions in unconditional surrender!

Even with all of its interior consistency, however, the plan cannot bring true happiness to anyone whose life is grossly inconsistent with its standards. It cannot fully enfold him who is too worried about being taken in. It has no place of honor for one too concerned with losing his place in the secular synagogue. (See John 12:42–43.)

Though the plan reflects a caring Father and a Savior, believers in the plan are not automatically immune to the consuming cares of the world.

The plan places a striking emphasis on present human freedom to choose. (See 2 Ne. 2:27.) Yet some of our present circumstances may reflect previous agreements, now forgotten, but once freely made.

The plan always points the way, but does not always smooth the way, since individual development requires an “opposition in all things.” (2 Ne. 2:11.)

The Lord will give us the needed intellectual and spiritual confirmation concerning His plan, but on His terms and in His own way.

“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17.)

Truly, of all the errors mortals could make, God’s plan of salvation is the wrong thing to be wrong about!

No error could be more enormous or more everlasting in its consequences!

No wonder this Church and its people go to such great lengths and expense to share the fulness of the gospel concerning this plan.

No wonder the Lord wants the plan taught plainly and repetitively.

And why not? It is God’s plan—not ours! And, given the unimpressive outcomes of man’s plans to solve the world’s problems, aren’t we glad! Furthermore, of all the things about which we might converse, as Jacob wrote, “Why not speak of the atonement of Christ?” (Jacob 4:12.) Why not, brothers and sisters? This event arches over all of human history, as a Redeeming God and Savior Son pressed onward with the great plan of happiness. Yes, in the plan, God would have us be happy, but first we had to be free to choose.

God’s gift to us of this moral agency tells us wonderful things about His beneficial and developmental purposes. Our abuse of that agency tells us awful things about ourselves!

Yet, on this mortal stage, we see great moments of mercy, stirring celebrations of compassion, striking selflessness, and quiet and constant heroism among people of all creeds and colors and cultures.

This should not surprise us. After all, whose spirit children are we? (SeeHeb. 12:9.)

Unsurprisingly, therefore, this mortal school produces some soaring triumphs but also a history filled with individual mistakes. But we should not blame the school, nor the curriculum! Least of all, the Schoolmaster! Furthermore, we dare not lecture Him on the plight of His students!

Meanwhile, brothers and sisters, no one ever promised us that discipleship in the last days would be a picnic in the park.

Former periods of stress can guide us. When the earlier coming of Jesus was imminent, signs abounded. Still, for some, there were “doubtings.” (3 Ne. 8:4.) But the faithful prevailed and were vindicated.

There were determined detractors then, mocking the faith of believers, briefly creating “a great uproar,” even rejoicing over the seeming prospect that the faith of Christ’s followers would be in vain. (See 3 Ne. 1:5–7.) It was not. Members kept the faith, and the faith kept them!

For today’s spiritually attuned, the reassurances will be there, as with Elisha’s young servant. Encircled by an outnumbering enemy, the young man rightly sought reassurance from the prophet and seer, who told him, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kgs. 6:16.) But the young man could count, and, clearly, it did not look that way to him—until after the prophet’s prayer in his behalf. Then, the young man’s eyes were opened, and he saw the mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire. (See 2 Kgs. 6:17.)

All will be well now, as anciently, because the Lord’s covenant keepers have His echoing assurance:

“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

“And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good.” (Jer. 32:38–40.)

I so testify and assure in Apostolic authority and in the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen. --Neal A. Maxwell

Come Follow Me

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Mormon taught that a man “cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.”¹ He added that without such attributes, “faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart.”²

Meekness is the quality of those who are “Godfearing, righteous, humble, teachable, and patient under suffering.”³ Those who possess this attribute are willing to follow Jesus Christ, and their temperament is calm, docile, tolerant, and submissive.

The Apostle Paul taught that meekness is a fruit of the Spirit.⁴ Therefore, it can most easily be attained if we “live in the Spirit.”⁵ And to live in the Spirit, our lifestyle must reflect righteousness before the Lord.

As we take Christ’s name upon us, it is expected that we strive to emulate His attributes and change our character to become more like Him each day. The Savior, admonishing His disciples, said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”⁶ If we “come unto Christ, … deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness; … and love God,” then through Christ’s grace the day will come when we may be perfect in Him.⁷

“Christlike attributes are gifts from God. [These attributes] come as [we] use [our] agency righteously. …With a desire to please God, [we have to] recognize [our] weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.”⁸

Meekness is vital for us to become more Christlike. Without it we won’t be able to develop other important virtues. Being meek does not mean weakness, but it does mean behaving with goodness and kindness, showing strength, serenity, healthy self-worth, and self-control.

Meekness was one of the most abundant attributes in the Savior’s life. He Himself taught His disciples, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.”⁹

We are blessed to be born with the seed of meekness in our hearts. We need to understand that it is not possible to grow and develop that seed in the twinkling of an eye but rather through the process of time. Christ asks us to “take up [our] cross daily,”¹⁰ meaning that it must be a constant focus and desire. -- by ELDER ULISSES SOARES

In the Midst of Tactical Tribulation, Be of Good Cheer

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"As in all things, Jesus is also our attitudinal Exemplar as to cheerfulness.

"When, just prior to the great intercessory prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus told Peter, James, and John to 'be of good cheer,' such an attitude was certainly not justified because of immediate circumstances. Instead, it was possible because Jesus had 'overcome the world.' Contemplate, however, the grim experiences that then lay immediately ahead, scarcely justifying an attitude of cheerfulness. Gethsemane was imminent. So were Judas's betrayal; the capturing of Jesus, who was Peter, James, and John's beloved leader; Peter's disheartening disavowal; and Jesus' unjust trial. The populace's chilling preference for Barabbas rather than Jesus would soon echo in the air. The Shepherd would be smitten and the sheep scattered. Then there would be those awful, final moments on Calvary.

"Therefore, what, pray tell, was there to be cheerful about? Yet in the face of all of this, Jesus told them to 'be of good cheer'!

"The glorious, irrevocable, and long-awaited Atonement was about to be accomplished. The adversary had failed to stop it. The resurrection was assured. Death was soon to be done away. Christ had overcome the world-not the reverse. These irrepressible realities, both then and now, give rise to gospel gladness, permitting us to be of good cheer even in the midst of tactical tribulation." (Even As I Am [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 99.)  –Neal A. Maxwell

The Family Is the Most Important Organization in Time or in Eternity

     May I remind you of just how important the family unit is in the overall plan of our Father in heaven. In fact, the Church organization really exists to assist the family and its members in reaching exaltation.

     Family unity and family commitment to the gospel are so important that the adversary has turned much of his attention to the destruction of families in our society. On every side there is an attack on the basic integrity of the family as the foundation of what is good and noble in life. 

  – Joseph Fielding Smith

So live your life...

"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, and beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.

Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home." 

-- Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee

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http://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-stories

This is from a page of an older copy of New Testament Stories that my children grew up reading. I like the foundational principles depicted in the pictures: studying the Scriptures, working hard, being of service to others, and prayer.