www.kevinhinckley.com

I have often thought that Nephi's being bound with cords and beaten by rods must have been more tolerable to him than listening to Laman and Lemuel's constant murmuring.

Surely he must have said at least once, "Hit me one more time. I can still hear you."

…we never began to build a temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring. I want to hear them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we uncover the walls of this temple. But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to

T This is a church dedicated

to being “honest, true, chaste, benevolent…and

doing good to all men.”

Why would there be such opposition?

Ephesus

Acts 19:24-31Paul’s Response

and WarningActs 20:22-31

During the Mexican Revolution, Rafael Monroy was the president of the small San Marcos Mexico Branch, and Vicente Morales was his first counselor. On July 17,

1915, they were apprehended by the Zapatistas. They were told they would be spared if they would give up their weapons and renounce their strange religion.

Brother Monroy told his captors that he did not have any weapons and simply drew from his pocket his Bible and Book of Mormon. He said, "Gentlemen, these are the only arms I ever carry; they are the arms of truth against error."

When no arms were found, the brethren were cruelly tortured to make them divulge where arms were hidden. But there were no arms. They were then taken under guard to the outskirts of the little town, where their captors stood them up by a large ash tree in front of a firing squad. The officer in charge offered them freedom if they would forsake their religion and join the Zapatistas, but Brother Monroy replied, "My religion is dearer to me than my life, and I cannot forsake it."

They were then told that they were to be shot and asked if they had any request to make. Brother Rafael requested that he be permitted to pray before he was executed. There, in the presence of his executioners, he kneeled down and, in a voice that all could hear, prayed that God would bless and protect his loved ones and care for the little struggling branch that would be left without a leader. As he finished his prayer, he used the words of the Savior when He hung upon the cross and prayer for his executioners: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." With that the firing squad shot both Brother Monroy and Brother Morales.. James E. Faust, Oct 2006 General Conference

Acts 19: 1-8Why is the Gift of the

Holy Ghost so critical?

“Unless and until a person is baptized by the Spirit, his soul is not cleansed, evil and iniquity are not burned out of him as by fire, and he cannot go where God and Christ are”

(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. II [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1971], p. 166).

2 Nephi 31:14,15What is the ‘new tongue’ and what

does that mean?

The Spirit of truth leads men to righteousness, but we must have a desire to seek truth and to take the time to form spiritual habits and respond to spiritual impressions if we are to keep our souls alive—and is not now the time to begin?A person who has developed spirituality may suffer deeply and know frustration; but yet he is able to continue in showing forth kindness and love because of a power that rises up from his spiritual base that governs his actions and urges him to “speak with a new tongue” as Nephi said, and to be his best despite obstacles and setbacks.

Please know that your Father in Heaven loves you and so does His Only Begotten Son. When They speak to you—and They will—it will not be in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but it will be with a voice still and small, a voice tender and kind.

It will be with the tongue of angels. May we all rejoice in the thought that when we say edifying, encouraging things unto the least of these, our brethren and sisters and little ones, we say it unto God.

"Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom.

Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God.

Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world."13