Sharon Eubank
First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
For my text I am going back almost 40 years to a remarkable prophecy written by President Spencer W. Kimball. …
“… Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world … will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world” [“The Role of Righteous Women,” Ensign,Nov. 1979, 103–4]. …
… How do we play our part? What should we do? President Kimball refers to five things:
The first is to be righteous. …
The second is to be articulate. …
The third is to be different. …
The fourth is to be distinct. …
And finally, the fifth is to do one through four in happy ways. …
The prophets are calling on us, my sisters. Will you be righteous? Will you articulate your faith? Can you bear being distinct and different? Will your happiness in spite of your trials draw others who are good and noble and who need your friendship? Will you turn on your light?
Neill F. Marriott
Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency
We are here on this earth to learn and grow, and the most important learning and growing will come from our covenant connection to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. From our faithful relationship with Them comes godly knowledge, love, power, and capacity to serve. …
… Our sins and pride create a breach—or gap—between us and the font of all love, our Heavenly Father.
Only the Savior’s Atonement can cleanse us of our sins and close that gap. …
… The Savior repaired the breach—or distance—between us and Heavenly Father. He, through His great atoning sacrifice, opens the way for us to partake of God’s loving power, and then we are enabled to repair the “waste places” in our personal lives. Healing emotional distance between each other will require our acceptance of God’s love, coupled with a sacrifice of our natural selfish and fearful tendencies. …
Our Father’s infinite love reaches out to us, to bring us back into His glory and joy. He gave His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to repair the breach that gapes wide between us and Him. Reunion with Father in Heaven is the essence of lasting love and eternal purpose. We must make the connection with Him now to learn what really matters, to love as He loves and grow to be like Him.
Joy D. Jones
Primary General President
The Spirit will confirm to each of us individually our divine worth. Truly knowing that you are a daughter of God will affect every aspect of your life and guide you in the service you render each day. …
… No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.
Despite this marvelous truth, how many of us struggle, from time to time, with negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves? I do. It’s an easy trap. Satan is the father of all lies, especially when it comes to misrepresentations about our own divine nature and purpose. Thinking small about ourselves does not serve us well. Instead it holds us back. …
Sisters, let’s not be confused about who we are! While it is often easier to be spiritually passive than it is to put forth the spiritual effort to remember and embrace our divine identity, we cannot afford that indulgence in these latter days. May we, as sisters, “be faithful in Christ; … may Christ lift [us] up, and may his sufferings and death, … and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in [our minds] forever” [Moroni 9:25].
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
If you find yourself worrying about what other people say about you, may I suggest this antidote: remember who you are. Remember that you are of the royal house of the kingdom of God, children of Heavenly Parents, who reign throughout the universe.
You have the spiritual DNA of God. You have unique gifts that originated in your spiritual creation and that were developed during the vast span of your premortal life. You are the child of our merciful and everlasting Father in Heaven, the Lord of Hosts, the One who created the universe, spread the spinning stars across the vast expanse of space, and placed the planets in their appointed orbits. …
The promises of praise and acceptance by the world are unreliable, untrue, and unsatisfying. God’s promises are sure, true, and joyful—now and forever.
I invite you to consider religion and faith from a higher perspective. Nothing offered in the great and spacious building can compare with the fruit of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. …
You cannot allow circumstances to make you sad.
You cannot allow them to make you mad.
You can rejoice that you are a child of God. You can find joy and happiness in the grace of God and in the love of Jesus Christ.
You can be glad.
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
