Be Not Faithless, But Believing

“To all who may have doubts, I repeat the words given Thomas as he felt the wounded hands of the Lord: 'Be not faithless, but believing.' Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest figure of time and eternity. Believe that his matchless life reached back before the world was formed. Believe that he was the Creator of the earth on which we live. Believe that he was Jehovah of the Old Testament, that he was the Messiah of the New Testament, that he died and was resurrected, that he visited the western continents and taught the people here, that he ushered in this final gospel dispensation, and that he lives, the living Son of the living God, our Savior and our Redeemer.”

Gordon B. Hinckley Ensign, May 1978, 59

Suffering Can Make Saints

Doctrine and Covenants 35:9 "Heal the sick . . . blind . . . deaf . . . dumb"

Being human, we would expel from our lives, sorrow, distress, physical pain, and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort. But if we closed the doors upon such, we might be evicting our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education. (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], p.168)

Be Ready

Doctrine and Covenants 33:17 "Having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil . . . Be ready"

It can be properly and appropriately concluded that the ten virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ, and not alone the rank and file of the world. The wise and foolish virgins, all of them, had been invited to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the importance of the occasion. They were not pagans, heathens, or gentiles, nor were they known as corrupt or lost, but rather they were informed people who had the saving, exalting gospel in their possession, but had not made it the center of their lives. They knew the way, but were foolishly unprepared for the coming of the bridegroom. All, even the foolish ones, trimmed their lamps at his coming, but their oil was used up. In the most needed moment there was none available to refill their lamps. All had been warned their entire lives. (Marvin J. Ashton, Ensign, May 1974, p. 36; or Conference Report, April 1974, p. 49.)

He spoke of virgins attending a wedding, some of whom had sufficient oil for trimming their lamps while others saw their meager supply depleted because the bridegroom tarried longer than they supposed. Thus Jesus taught his disciples to watch and pray; however, he taught them that prayerful watching does not require sleepless anxiety and preoccupation with the future, but rather the quiet, steady attention to present duties. (Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, May 1974, p. 18; or Conference Report, April 1974, p. 23. Italics added.)

Whole Armor of God

Doctrine and Covenants 27:15-18 "My whole armor"

Now the loins is that part of the body between the lower rib and the hip into which you will recognize are the vital organs which have to do with reproduction. . . . And so he was saying that that part of the body was one of the most vulnerable. We should have our loins girt about with armour. . . . Next we would have a breastplate over the heart. Now in the scriptures you will remember that the heart has always been used to typify our conduct. . . .

. . . Now there we have the four parts of the body that the Apostle Paul said or saw to be the most vulnerable to the powers of darkness. The loins, typifying virtue, chastity. The heart typifying our conduct. Our feet, our goals or objectives in life and finally our head, our thoughts.
. . . We should have our loins girt about with truth. What is truth? Truth, the Lord said, was knowledge of things as they are, things as they were and things as they are to come. . . . What is going to guide us along the path of proper morals or proper choices? It will be the knowledge of truth. There must be a standard by which we measure our conduct else how shall we know which is right? . . . "Our loins shall be girt about with truth," the prophet said.
And the heart, what kind of a breastplate shall protect our conduct in life? We shall have over our hearts a breastplate of righteousness. Well, having learned truth we have a measure by which we can judge between right and wrong and so our conduct will always be gauged by that thing which we know to be true. Our breastplate to cover our conduct shall be the breastplate of righteousness.
What shall . . . protect our feet, or by what shall we gauge our objectives or goals in life? . . . "Your feet [should be] shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:15). Interesting. What is the gospel of peace? The whole core and center of the gospel of peace was built around the person of Him who was cradled in the manger, of whom on that night the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men." Or to put it even more correctly, "on earth peace to men of good-will." Our feet should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace to them of good-will. . . .
And then finally the helmet of salvation. Did you ever hear of that kind of a helmet? The helmet of salvation. What is salvation? Salvation is to be saved. Saved from what? Saved from death and saved from sin. . . .
. . . The Apostle Paul said, in effect, "A helmet of salvation shall guide our thinkings all through our days." Well, as we think that through, let me review them again for just a moment, to get the full significance. Truth to safeguard our virtue; righteousness to keep our conduct right; the preparation of the gospel of peace to guide our course and to set our standards and aims in life; salvation, a return back to the presence of the Lord shall be the inhibiting promise and a motivating objective to guide us on to the victory of life over death. That is what it means. . . .
Well, now the Apostle Paul went one step further. He didn't leave the man just with the armor on and expect him to cope against an army, seen or unseen. He had his armored man holding in his hand a shield and in his other hand a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That shield was the shield of faith and the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in which are contained the Word of God. One so armored and one so prepared with those weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy that is more to be feared than the enemies of the light. . . . More to be feared than the enemies that come in the daylight that we can see are the enemies that strike in the darkness of the night that we can't see with our eyes. (Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace", Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, [Provo, 9 Nov., 1954], pp. 2-3, 6-7.)

Attitude of Happiness

Doctrine and Covenants 25:13 "Lift up thy heart and rejoice"

I believe he is saying to each of us, be happy. The gospel is a thing of joy. It provides us with a reason for gladness. Of course there are times of sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice. I see so many people, including many women, who seem never to see the sunshine, but who constantly walk with storms under cloudy skies. Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine. (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1984, pp. 91-92; or Conference Report, Oct. 1984, p. 112.)

Song of the Heart

Doctrine and Covenants 25:11-12 "My soul delighteth in the song of the heart"

There is so much wonderful, uplifting music available that we can experience to our advantage. Our people ought to be surrounded by good music of all kinds. . . The time for music lessons seems to come along when there are so many other expenses for the family with little children. But we encourage parents to include musical training in the lives of their children.

Somehow Andrew and Olive Kimball did, and Spencer learned to play. Somehow Samuel and Louisa Lee managed to do it, and Harold learned to play. And now, as the leaders of the Church assemble for our sacred meetings in the upper room of the temple, we always sing a hymn. At the organ is President Spencer W. Kimball or President Harold B. Lee.
How wonderful is the music instructor who will teach children and youth to play and will acquaint them with good music in their formative years, including the music of worship. To have such music as a part of one's life is a great blessing. (Boyd K. Packer, in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, p. 23.)