CLEAN LANGUAGE
I think the Lord expects us that we will keep our language clean. You don't have to swear. You don't need to use filthy language. You don't need to take the name of the Lord in vain. He has said, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain' and has pronounced a penalty upon those who take His name in vain. You don't need to do it. Don't take the name of the Lord in vain. To do so simply says that you don't have vocabulary enough to express yourself without taking the name of the Lord in vain. Avoid it. You don't need to do that, not for one minute. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST
What does He [the Lord] expect of us as members of this Church? He expects us to be Latter-day Saints. He expects us to be His followers. He expects us to bring into our lives something of a pattern of the life of the Savior, the only perfect man who ever walked the earth, who condescended to come down, to leave His Father, to walk the dusty roads of Palestine and die on the cross in the great act of Atonement which has brought blessings into our lives that could come in no other way -- the blessing of salvation, the blessing of the resurrection, the opportunity of exaltation, if we will work for it.
. . . There is before us a great model of the Redeemer of the world, whose life and precepts and teachings we try to follow. And that will lead to growth and opportunity and exaltation. He has opened the way. And we, His grateful sons and daughters, ought to be working at it constantly. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998
MEN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
There can be no place among the men of this Church for spouse abusers of any kind, no place among the men of this Church as child abusers of any kind. You men hold the priesthood of God, the power to speak in His name, the authority to serve in the governance of the Church, the capacity, the right, the privilege, the blessing of laying your hands upon the heads of others and pronouncing a blessing in the name of the Lord; you must keep your life clean. There can be no place for pornography in any of your lives, or anything of the kind. We must be men of God. Men who walk in faith. Men of righteousness. Men of truth. Good husbands. Kind fathers. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998
MISSIONARY WORK
I believe in the good that all churches do. I thank them for the good they do, but I would like to say to people everywhere, "You bring with you all the good that you have and let us see if we can add to it." And it is in that spirit, my brothers and sisters, that we ask you, every one of you who is a member of this Church, to reach out to assist the missionaries, to help them get to those whom they can teach. You offer the greatest opportunity in the world to build the Church and kingdom of God in the earth. And if you will do that, there will be no problem with retention, because you will be the friend of the man or the woman who is baptized and you will take care of them and lead them and answer their questions and give them encouragement in their hours of trouble and need. -- From Montreal, Quebec, member meeting, Aug. 6, 1998
PERFECTION
The Lord expects so very much of you. He expects you to be the best people in the world, and you will be if you live the gospel. To the degree you live the gospel, you'll be working toward perfection in your lives. You won't attain it in this world, but you can move forward a long ways in that direction. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998
REVELATION
Where did our knowledge of Christ come from? Direct revelation. He came to earth. The Father came, the Son came, and the Father introduced the Son to the boy, Joseph Smith. He saw them with his eyes. They were there. I am so thankful for that knowledge. -- From Winnipeg, Manitoba, member meeting, Aug. 4, 1998
SPEAK SOFTLY
You mothers, are you the kind to scream at your children, shout with shrill voices? Please don't. Be quiet in your talk. Soft words. "The soft answer taketh away wrath." It does. Bless your children with the love that you carry in your hearts. "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children," said Isaiah. (Isa. 54:13.) How true it is. Be teachers to your children. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998
YOUTH
All of you [young people] are in school, I hope you are getting 'A's in your classes. Tonight I am going to give you some 'B's.
To every young man and woman here tonight I say this: Be smart. Be true. Be humble. Be clean. Be prayerful. And God will bless you and bring joy into your life. -- From Montreal, Quebec, member meeting, Aug. 6, 1998
WORD OF WISDOM
I believe the Lord expects us to live the Word of Wisdom. He gave it to us as a great law of health. Not to put shackles on us, but to bless our lives. What a marvelous and wonderful thing it is. Nobody needs alcohol. Nobody. You young people, don't touch beer. You don't need it. It won't do you a bit of good. Not one bit of good. You don't need tobacco. A marvelous thing has happened. The people of the world are finally awakening to a realization of the harmful results from indulging in tobacco. The Word of Wisdom was given in 1833, in which it is stated that tobacco is not good for man. What a marvelous thing [the Word of Wisdom] is. -- From Sudbury, Ontario, member meeting, Aug. 5, 1998