Heaven Is Cheering You on Today Tomorrow and Forever Art

Brothers and sisters, exercise y'all have any idea—practise yous have whatever notion or inkling whatsoever—of how much we love you? For ten hours yous watch, stock-still on one face at this pulpit sequentially, only for those same ten hours, we seated backside this pulpit watch, fixed on you lot. You thrill u.s. to the center of our soul, whether that be the 21,000 here in the Briefing Heart, or multitudes in meetinghouses and chapels, or finally millions in homes around the globe, perhaps huddled around a family computer screen. Hither you are, at that place you are, hour afterwards hr, in your Sunday all-time, being your all-time. Y'all sing and you lot pray. You heed and you believe. You are the miracle of this Church. And we love you.

What some other remarkable general conference nosotros take had. We take been specially blessed by President Thomas S. Monson's presence and prophetic messages. President, we dearest you, nosotros pray for y'all, we thank y'all, and to a higher place all, we sustain you. Nosotros are grateful to have been taught by you and your marvelous counselors then many of our other bully men and women leaders. We have heard unequalled music. We take been urgently prayed for and pleaded with. Truly the Spirit of the Lord has been here in rich abundance. What an inspirational weekend information technology has been in every fashion.

Now, I exercise see a couple of problems. One is the fact that I am the but person standing between you and the ice cream y'all always accept fix at the close of full general briefing. The other potential problem is captured in this photo I saw recently on the Internet.

My apologies to all the children who are now hiding under the sofa, simply the fact of the matter is none of us want tomorrow, or the day later on that, to destroy the wonderful feelings we have had this weekend. We want to hold fast to the spiritual impressions we have had and the inspired teachings we have heard. But it is inevitable that after heavenly moments in our lives, we, of necessity, render to earth, so to speak, where sometimes less-than-ideal circumstances again face united states.

The author of Hebrews warned us of this when he wrote, "Phone call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a neat fight of afflictions."¹ That post-illumination illness tin come up in many means, and it can come to all of united states of america. Surely every missionary who has ever served soon realized that life in the field wasn't going to exist quite like the rarefied atmosphere of the missionary training centre. So too for all of us upon leaving a sweet session in the temple or last a specially spiritual sacrament coming together.

Remember that when Moses came down from his singular feel on Mountain Sinai, he found that his people had "corrupted themselves" and had "turned aside quickly."² In that location they were at the foot of the mountain, busily fashioning a golden calf to worship, in the very hr that Jehovah, at the summit of the mount, had been telling Moses, "Thou shalt take no other gods before me" and "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image."ⁱⁱⁱ Moses was not happy with his flock of wandering Israelites that day!

During His earthly ministry, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the Mount of Transfiguration, where, the scriptures say, "his face did polish as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light."⁴ The heavens opened, aboriginal prophets came, and God the Father spoke.

After such a angelic experience, what does Jesus come up down the mountain to detect? Well, first He found an argument between His disciples and their antagonists over a failed blessing administered to a young male child. So He tried to convince the Twelve—unsuccessfully, information technology turns out—that He would before long exist delivered upward to local rulers who would impale Him. And then someone mentioned that a tax was due, which was forthrightly paid. Then He had to rebuke some of the brethren considering they were arguing well-nigh who would be the greatest in His kingdom. All of this led Him at one indicate to say, "O faithless generation, … how long shall I endure yous?"⁵ He had occasion to ask that question more than than one time during His ministry. No wonder He longed for the prayerful solitude of mountaintops!

Realizing that nosotros all have to come down from peak experiences to deal with the regular vicissitudes of life, may I offer this encouragement equally general conference concludes.

Commencement of all, if in the days ahead y'all not only run into limitations in those around y'all simply besides find elements in your own life that don't yet mensurate up to the messages you take heard this weekend, please don't be cast down in spirit and don't give up. The gospel, the Church building, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are non intended to discourage y'all. Simply the adversary, the enemy of u.s. all, would try to convince u.s. that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don't actually improve, that no i really progresses. And why does Lucifer give that spoken language? Because he knows he tin't improve, he tin't progress, that worlds without terminate he volition never have a brilliant tomorrow. He is a miserable man jump by eternal limitations, and he wants you to be miserable as well. Well, don't autumn for that. With the gift of the Amende of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to assist u.s.a., we can better, and the great affair nigh the gospel is we go credit for trying, fifty-fifty if nosotros don't always succeed.

When in that location was a controversy in the early on Church regarding who was entitled to heaven's blessings and who wasn't, the Lord declared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, "Verily I say unto you, [the gifts of God] are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep … my commandments, and [for them] that seeketh so to do."⁶ Boy, aren't nosotros all thankful for that added provision "and … seeketh so to practise"! That has been a lifesaver because sometimes that is all we can offer! Nosotros take some solace in the fact that if God were to reward only the perfectly true-blue, He wouldn't have much of a distribution list.

Please recollect tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to amend, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to learn them. If you lot stumble in that pursuit, and then does everyone; the Savior is at that place to help yous keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out similar Alma, "O Jesus, … have mercy on me."⁷ He will assist you become support. He will aid you lot apologize, repair, fix any yous have to fix, and continue going. Shortly enough you will take the success you seek.

"As yous desire of me so it shall exist done unto you," the Lord has alleged.

"… Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to approximate righteously. …

"… [Then] whatsoever you desire of me [in] righteousness, … you shall receive."⁸

I beloved that doctrine! It says once more and over again that nosotros are going to be blessed for our desire to exercise adept, even as nosotros really strive to exist so. And it reminds usa that to authorize for those blessings, we must make certain nosotros do non deny them to others: we are to deal justly, never unjustly, never unfairly; we are to walk humbly, never arrogantly, never pridefully; we are to judge righteously, never self-righteously, never unrighteously.

My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to honey God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that'southward the commencement bully commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves the states with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed information technology is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that nosotros tin take the conviction to continue trying to improve, proceed seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor.

President George Q. Cannon once taught: "No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert united states. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do information technology. It is not His grapheme [to do so]. … He will [always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may laissez passer through deep waters; just we shall non be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the amend and purer for them."⁹

Now, with that purple devotion ringing from heaven equally the bang-up constant in our lives, manifested about purely and perfectly in the life, expiry, and Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we tin can escape the consequences of both sin and stupidity—our own or that of others—in whatever form they may come to u.s. in the class of daily living. If nosotros requite our heart to God, if nosotros honey the Lord Jesus Christ, if we exercise the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other 24-hour interval—is ultimately going to exist magnificent, even if we don't always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a programme predicated on the truth "that all things work together for good to them that beloved God."^x So go along loving. Go on trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.

"Hast k not known? hast k not heard?" Isaiah cried.

"[God] giveth power to the faint; and to them that accept no might he increaseth strength. …

"… They that wait upon [Him] shall renew their forcefulness; they shall mountain up with wings as eagles. …

"For … the Lord … God will hold [their] right manus, saying unto [them], Fear not; I will assistance thee."^xi

Brothers and sisters, may a loving Father in Heaven anoint united states of america tomorrow to think how we felt today. May He bless u.s.a. to strive with patience and persistence toward the ethics we have heard proclaimed this conference weekend, knowing that His divine love and unfailing help will exist with us fifty-fifty when we struggle—no, will be with us particularly when we struggle.

If gospel standards seem high and the personal improvement needed in the days alee seems out of reach, remember Joshua's encouragement to his people when they faced a daunting future. "Sanctify yourselves," he said, "for to morrow the Lord will practice wonders among you."¹² I declare that aforementioned promise. Information technology is the promise of this conference. It is the hope of this Church. It is the promise of Him who performs those wonders, who is Himself "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, … The Prince of Peace."¹³ Of Him I bear witness. Of Him I am a witness. And to Him this conference stands equally a testament of His ongoing work in this great latter day. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2016/05/sunday-afternoon-session/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng

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