Ezra Taft Benson

No society will long survive without mothers who care for their young and provide that nurturing care so essential for their normal development.

The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His Servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?

The world teaches birth control. Tragically, many of our sisters subscribe to its pills and practices when they could easily provide earthly tabernacles for more of our Father\'s children. We know that every spirit assigned to this earth will come, whether through us or someone else. There are couples in the Church who think they are getting along just fine with their limited families but who will someday suffer the pains of remorse when they meet the spirits that might have been part of their posterity.

Woman was given to man as an helpmeet. That complementary association is ideally portrayed in the eternal marriage of our first parents-Adam and Eve. They labored together; they had children together; they prayed together; and they taught their children the gospel together. This is the pattern God would have all righteous men and women imitate.

You must not allow yourselves to become discouraged. Missionary work brings joy, optimism, and happiness. Don\'t give Satan an opportunity to discourage you. Here again, work is the answer. The Lord has given us a key by which we can overcome discouragement: \'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.\'

One good yardstick as to whether a person might be the right one for you is this: in her presence, do you think your noblest thoughts, do you aspire to your finest deeds, do you wish you were better than you are?

He is the way, the truth, and the light, and no one can come back into the presence of our Father in heaven except through him. Christ is God the Son and possesses every virtue in its perfection. Therefore, the only measure of true greatness is how close a man can become like Jesus. That man is greatest who is most like Christ, and those who love him most will be most like him.

When individual members and families immerse themselves in the ures regularly and consistently, ... other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow

Many of us have a tendency to forget the Gracious Hand which has preserved our nation, enriched it, strengthened it. Many of us imagine in the foolishness of pride, that our manifold blessings are due not to God\'s goodness, but to our own wisdom and virtue. Too many of us have been so drunk with self-sufficiency as no longer to feel the need of prayer.

One of the cardinal sins in our country is profanity -- the taking of the name of the Lord in vain. Reverence for the name of Deity is enjoined in holy writ. Jesus made this clear when teaching His disciples to pray. He said, addressing the Father, \'Hallowed be thy name: (see Matthew 6:9). Blaspheming the name of God separates man from his Creator.\'

If you want to get the spirit of the gospel in your home, support the missionary program. Prepare your sons and daughters through your home evenings; through setting the proper example in your homes. Prepare to send them into the mission field. These young sons and daughters will bless your names forever if you help to make it possible through your training and your example and your willingness to sacrifice just a little, if you can call it sacrifice, to see them go into the mission field.

We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, adjusting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives.

Prepare yourselves mentally. A mission requires a great deal of mental preparation. You must memorize missionary discussions, memorize ures, and oftentimes learn a new language. The discipline to do this is learned in your early years. Establish now the daily practice of reading the ures ten to fifteen minutes each day. If you do so, by the time you reach the mission field, you will have read all four of the standard works. I urge you to read particularly the Book of Mormon so that you can testify of its truthfulness as the Lord has directed.

What does the Atonement have to do with missionary work? Any time we experience the blessings of the Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of others. ... A great indicator of one\'s personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others.

I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work-there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.

As members of the Lord\'s Church, we must take missionary work more seriously. The Lord\'s commission to \'preach the gospel to every creature\' (Mark 16:15) will never change in our dispensation. We have been greatly blessed with the material means, the technology, and an inspired message to bring the gospel to all men. More is expected of us than any previous generation. Where \'much is given much is required.\' (D&C 82:3.)

Our wise founders seemed to understand, better than most of us, our own ure, which states that 'it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority ... they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.'

Can human hearts be changed? Why, of course! It happens every day in the great missionary work of the Church. It is one of the most widespread of Christ's modern miracles. If it hasn\'t happened to you-it should.

To the humble, the Lord has given this promise: \'If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me.\'

The Book of Mormon is also the keystone of the doctrine of the Resurrection. As mentioned before, the Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the \'fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ\'.

In the beginning, Adam - not Eve- was instructed to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow. Contrary to conventional wisdom, a mother\'s calling is in the home, not in the marketplace.

One sure way we can determine whether we are on the strait and narrow path is that we will possess the Spirit of the Lord in our lives. Having the Holy Ghost brings forth certain fruits. . . . The most important thing in our lives is the Spirit. I have always felt that. We must remain open and sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost in all aspects of our lives.

In the ures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it. . . . Essentially, pride is a \'my will\' rather than \'thy will\' approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness.

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 fault. Kindness is extended to all--to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of stations as well as the high.

We are recipients of God\'s choicest blessings. We enjoy an abundance of material things beyond that enjoyed by any other nation in the history of the world; but unless we keep alive a realization that all these blessings come from God and are a part of our great spiritual heritage, they may crumble as ashes in our hands. \'In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things and obey not his commandments.\'

We need to be more grateful. I think there is no true character without gratitude. It is one of the marks of a real strong character to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in the church, everywhere. It doesn\'t cost anything, and it is so easy to cultivate.

Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles? Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others? Could we defend the Constitution? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound? Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it?

With good health, all other activities of life are greatly enhanced. A clean mind in a healthy body enables one to render far more effective service to others. It helps one provide more vigorous leadership. It gives our every experience in life more zest and more meaning.

A father's duty is to make his home a place of happiness and joy.

The high cost of low living.