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Show Spirit of Cod is source of wisdom Men cannot understand the things of God if they dont have the Spirit of God, said Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve as he addressed the Saturday afternoon Youd think everybody would want to follow the example of the Savior himself as he was baptized in the river Jordan. Today, little children are sprinkled as infants, he said. When the people brought their children to Jesus, he took those little children up in his arms and blessed them, and that is the pattern for His Church, he said. Now mans interpretation today is that we no more need prophets and apostles, and all those things have been done away. There has never been a time the Lord has had a people on this earth that have been His people and His Church, that there wasnt a prophet at the head, he said. session. And because men had relied upon their own wisdom, there are more than a thousand churches in the land today, he added. "They have not been able to understand the things of God as they are given by our Fathers holy prophets, Elder Richards said. The prophet Isaiah said, Because they have trangres-se- d the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant, th jrefore hath the curse devoureth the earth. I am sure he had in mind these thousands of churches which are following the precepts of men Elder Richards said. He continued to quote Isaiah, who prophesied of a marvelous work and a wonder which would come forth in the last days. I would like to point out a few differences between the ways of man and their teachings and the truth as the Lord has revealed it through his holy prophets, he said. He referred first to the belief of the trinity, and the concept that God did not have a body. Moses knew that condition would prevail. He told the children of Israel that they would be scattered among the Elder LeGrand Richards . . . "gospel restored" nations and would worship gods made by the hands of men that is mans doing that could neither see nor hear nor taste nor smell. That is exactly the kind of God the whole Christian world was worshipping at the time Joseph Smith had his vision. He said the prophet Joseph saw two glorious personages, and the Savior of the world told the young man to join none of the thousand churches. Elder Richards pointed out other ways these churches had differed with the scriptures. The apostle Paul said there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. He said television and radio preachers say that to come to Jesus and confess and believe in Him is all that is required to be saved. How little do they realize that is just a step in the right direction. That is why Jesus said. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Elder Richards said that if confessing our belief in the Savior was enough, how could we explain the parable of the talents ? After quoting the parable, he emphasized the verse where the master takes from the unprofitable servant his talent and gives it to the most profitable servant. Jerold Ottley conducts the choir in basement of Tabernacle before conference starts . FMobGef" 'Enjoy life as a marvelous journey My father used to teach us that life is a journey and not a camp and he observed that too many people are camping, said Elder Paul H. Dunn of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Speaking in the Saturday afternoon session, he spoke of making good use of time, enjoying moments with loved ones as they happen. He said, as he drove with one of his grandchildren, she When will we get asked, there? How much longer will it take? Elder Dunn said, I couldnt help but think those questions are much like many of the observations we adults sometimes make. We think we will be happy when: we arrive at a certain destination, our schooling is finished, we get a better job, we arrive at a certain income, the baby is bom, our 8 CHURCH bills are paid, recover from our illness, we own a new car, finish some disagreeable task, we retire, we are free from all our vision. We nag the people we love the best over little inattentions, small faults, mere nothings in the whole scheme of responsibility. Then everyone, he challenged particularly the young adults and young married couples, to see life as a whole and to enjoy the marvelous journey. He told of a widow who related to her granddaughter how annoyed she was when her husband used to put his hat on the sewing machine instead of on the hook. Then one day, he got the pneumonia and died, grandmother said, leaving four little children and me to miss him for a lifetime. How many times through the years I have thought, What Id give to see that hat on the sewing machine, placed there by his own hand. WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 8, 1977 Elder Paul H. Dunn . . . "smell the flowers." Like the grandmother in this story, said Elder Dunn, we too often let trifles cloud things. Instead of treasuring the all too rare moments we share with our dearest ones, we pick at faults, imagined or otherwise. He said that his daughter left recently for college, suddenly ending 18 years of daily living with her. The first night she was away, I went into her room and looked at her record player and thought of all those times I had mechanically said, Turn that record player down. And I thought too, how often in the days ahead Id be longing to have the music still on. Life is fleeting at best, Elder Dunn said. We turn around and were young, turn around and were old. Is there ever enough time to nag, scold, dig, or complain at the ... fool people we love most? We ourselves if we think there is. Theres only time to stop and smell the flowers, to savor moments with loved ones, to cherish the small things with smilings in your heart. Concern yourself first with individuals, with relationships, with loved one. What else really matters? Dont imagine yourself busier than the Lord, Himself, who puts the worth of souls first. When will we get there? How much longer will it take? These are questions asked by impatient children in the car.a When will I arrive? is as question asked by adults life. they face the pressures of a take not it let of all For us, lifetime before we realize that we have been there all along, that life does not offer us anything sweeter than the love of loved ones and the sharing of time together. |