2004 Fall President's Message, 

A little bit from the talk
"Let the Fire of the Covenant Burn in Your Hearts" 
Susan W. Tanner
Young Women General President

to see the full message click on the link below.

http://lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,5408-1,00.html

1. Joseph Smith was the Lord’s instrument in restoring His Church upon the earth.
2. His First Vision and subsequent revelations established basic, fundamental truths.
3. Under inspiration, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.
4. Priesthood authority and keys were returned to the earth.
5. Temple ordinances and covenants provide eternal blessings for individuals and families.
6. Each of us can make and keep covenants.

1. Joseph Smith was the Lord’s instrument in restoring His Church upon the earth.

Joseph Smith was a righteous and humble young man who was taught by his parents to work hard, to pray, to be honest and upright. He was prepared not only in his home by his earthly parents but also in the premortal existence before the foundation of this world to usher in the long-promised dispensation of the fulness of times.

President James E. Faust told of a lecturer at a London University named Joseph Hamstead, who was teaching his fellow lecturers about some of the programs of our Church. “One of them said [to him]: ‘I like all of this, what is being done for families, etc. If you could take out that bit about an angel appearing to Joseph Smith, I could belong to your church.’ Brother Hamstead replied, ‘Ah, but if you take away the angel appearing to the Prophet Joseph, then I couldn’t belong to the Church because that is its foundation’ ” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2003, 19; or Ensign, Nov. 2003, 19–20).

President Gordon B. Hinckley confirms that testimony. He said: “We declare without equivocation that God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, appeared in person to the boy Joseph Smith. . . . Without that history we have nothing. The truth of that unique, singular, and remarkable event is the pivotal substance of our faith” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2002, 85–86; or Ensign, Nov. 2002, 80).

The spirit of all of our work rests upon our testimonies of Joseph Smith as the prophet of the Restoration. David O. McKay’s father, Bishop David McKay, learned this as he served a mission in Scotland in 1881. He faced much bitterness and antagonism as a missionary, so he decided that the best way to reach the people was to concentrate on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and on the first principles of the gospel but to avoid mentioning the Restoration. President McKay tells his story: In a month he felt oppressed with gloom. He lacked the spirit of the work, but didn’t know the cause of his depression. Weighed down with such heaviness, "he went to the Lord and said, ‘Unless I can get this feeling removed, I shall have to go home. I can’t continue having my work thus hampered.’ The discouragement continued for some time." One morning, following a sleepless night, he felt to retire to a cave near the ocean and pray. "He heard a voice [distinctly] say, ‘Testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.’ " He then remembered what he had tacitly decided six weeks or more before. Being overwhelmed with the thought, he realized he had not given the Prophet’s special mission the attention it deserved. "He cried . .nbsp;. ‘Lord, it is enough’ ” (Cherished Experiences from the Writings of President David O. McKay, comp. Clare Middlemiss [1976], 11–12). I know that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration. In a recent visit to Palmyra, I felt a renewed witness of his mission burn itself into my soul.

2. His First Vision and subsequent revelations established basic, fundamental truths.

Soon after I received this calling, I was sitting in a sacrament meeting in France. In a powerful way, the Spirit burned within me, witnessing of this again to my heart, perhaps in preparation for this very time of remembrance and celebration. From Joseph’s sincere inquiry in the Sacred Grove came important fundamental truths. We learn the nature of God the Eternal Father and His Son, that we are made in Their image, that we are sons and daughters of God. We also learn that He knows us individually by name, that He will answer our prayers, that the fulness of His gospel had been taken from the earth but in His great love for us it would soon be restored again. I testify that we can each have our own experience, that our prayers are answered, that we are children of God, and that He knows each one of us.

3. Under inspiration, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is also an integral part of this great and marvelous Restoration. Isn’t it glorious that the prophet Moroni, who sealed up the ancient records, talked face-to-face with the modern prophet who opened the records in this dispensation? Joseph also exults over this astounding miracle. He says: “What do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the book to be revealed” (D&C 128:20). The Bible declares that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:16). The Book of Mormon is another testament or witness of Jesus Christ. Through living the precepts taught in this great volume of scripture, we can draw nearer to God than in any other way (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1976], 194). The Book of Mormon contains a promise that we can know of its truthfulness through the power of the Holy Ghost, if sought in prayer. The Spirit has borne witness to my heart that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and through striving to live its doctrines, I have felt His presence near.

4. Priesthood authority and keys were returned to the earth.

Ancient prophets appeared at different times to Joseph Smith to restore all the authority and keys of the priesthood. John the Baptist restored the Aaronic Priesthood (Joseph Smith—History 1:68–69). Peter, James, and John restored the Melchizedek Priesthood (D&C 27:12). Moses, Elias, and Elijah restored priesthood keys—the keys of the gathering of Israel and establishing families and sealing blessings (D&C 110:11–16). In these is reflected the mission of the Church: to proclaim the gospel, to perfect the Saints, and to redeem the dead.

President Boyd K. Packer said as he addressed the brethren of the Church: “We are all ordinary men with weaknesses." "We . . . have been called and sustained and ordained to an office in the Melchizedek Priesthood” (Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2003, 1). The Apostle Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Often in our own wards, a neighbor or a friend whom we know as an individual with strengths and weaknesses is called to serve as our bishop for a season. We need to respect his office. I know a bright young mother who wanted her nursery-age child to advance to Primary before the set age. She talked to the Primary president, who didn’t feel good about authorizing this. So she referred the mother to the bishop. Likewise the bishop did not allow it. The mother felt that the bishop was not as competent as she was and did not understand her situation and her child, and she said as much to a few people. Then once again she entreated the bishop. He again declined her wish and then said to her that he was aware of his deficiencies as a person but that in this case he was speaking to her as her bishop and he hoped she would honor that. At the moment he said that, an almost electrical shock went through her. She started to cry because she felt the Spirit teaching her about the righteous authority of this man who was called of God to serve as her bishop. She realized her need to repent of her negative feelings and respect him in his office.

I know the authority and keys of the priesthood have been restored to the earth. Men who are called to preside in priesthood callings have keys conferred upon them. Women receive callings in auxiliaries under authority from those who hold the keys of the priesthood. I testify that I have felt that power and strength blessing me in this sweet service. I hope with all of my heart that all women and all young women understand and know as I do that all the blessings of the priesthood are available to both men and women. We learn this most profoundly in the temple.

5. Temple ordinances and covenants provide eternal blessings for individuals and families.

It is the restoration of the priesthood which provides the privilege of participating in all the saving ordinances and making covenants that bind us eternally to Heavenly Father’s family and to our earthly families. President Boyd K. Packer said, “The very purpose for the Restoration centers on the sealing authority, the temple ordinances, baptism for the dead, eternal marriage, eternal increase—centers on the family!” ("The One Pure Defense," address to CES religious educators, Feb. 6, 2004, 4).

Last spring my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to many cities in southern Brazil. We felt the power of the temple ordinances blessing that land. We visited three temples and the building site for a fourth one. In those holy places I learned again of the many blessings obtained there. The ordinances bless us in our immediate families, with our extended families, and as members of Heavenly Father’s family. I saw two beautiful little girls in pretty white dresses waiting to be sealed to their parents. I was thrilled to see the baptistry full of youth waiting to be baptized for their own ancestors. I learned that youth leaders are making the temple the focus of everything they do and teach. The young men and young women take temple trips often. They must earn their own money for the bus, whether they come from rich or poor circumstances. They must research their family lines to bring names of their own ancestors. They must be worthy to receive a recommend to enter that holy place. And they have a burning desire in their hearts to do this work.

People now, like the early Saints, come forth from the temples fortified with the fire of their covenants burning in their hearts like a flame unquenchable. In the Doctrine and Covenants it says: “Yea the hearts of thousands . . . shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house. And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands; and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people” (D&C 110:9–10).

My husband served his mission over 30 years ago in some of the very cities we visited. At that time there were no temples there. He learned several years after he returned home that the faithful Klein family whom he had baptized sold literally everything they owned to travel to the Sao Paulo Temple as soon as it was built. What a sweet reunion we had as we unexpectedly met Sister Klein and her faithful, married children in one of our meetings. They now have a temple in Porto Alegre, a city nearer to her, where she is a temple worker. It takes four bus rides and two hours each way for her to get there every day. But serving in the temple continues to mean everything to her. The fire of her covenant burns in her heart like a flame unquenchable.

6. Each of us can make and keep covenants.

Keeping covenants does not solve nor obliterate all of our earthly problems, but it gives us power and strength to deal with them. Great promises come to those who keep covenants. The Lord promises that we will always have His Spirit to be with us (D&C 20:77). We are also promised personal revelation if we keep the commandments. He says, “I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice” (D&C 110:8). Elder Eyring said in a leadership training that “the Lord sets His standards so that He can bless us.” He said, “Your happiest moments, and mine, have been when someone we loved and served rose up to live the Lord’s standards of worthiness and reaped blessings from it” (Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2003, 10). And we as Young Women leaders are all well aware of the promises to youth in For the Strength of Youth if they keep the commandments. It promises, among other things, that they will have greater wisdom, skills, and abilities to bear trials.

I have developed a personal motto in this calling. It is “I can do hard things.” Youth face hard things, and they need to know they can do them. As they keep their covenants, “the Lord [will] strengthen them that they [can] bear up their burdens with ease” (Mosiah 24:15), as he did with Alma’s people. “The Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage” (Mosiah 24:13).

I live in a wonderful ward with many fine examples of covenant-keeping people who have been strengthened by the Lord so they could bear their trials. We have seen cancer, death, accidental disabilities, out-of-wedlock babies, homosexuality, divorce, never marrying, and childless couples. Trials have not embittered them, but tutored them.

What are some of the universal challenges or “hard things” that youth face? They are concerned about their identity (Who am I?), about isolation and feeling alone, about the wicked world in which they live, and about uncertain times and conditions. Their baptismal covenants can help them know that by taking His name upon them, they belong to the covenant family of God. By keeping their covenants and living righteously, they can know eternal joy and peace and assurance.

A group of fine youth from a wide variety of circumstances visited with us in Palmyra, New York, recently. Marcella, a Bolivian girl, joined the Church when she was adopted at age 12. Her many physical disabilities made it nearly impossible for her to walk. John, a Cambodian immigrant, was the only Latter-day Saint in his family. And there were others, each with their own stories and challenges. But it was apparent in their appearance and in their countenances that each of them carried His name upon them; they kept the standards of the gospel; they remembered Him in all they did. They were Spirit-filled. They came to us prepared to share their testimonies of the Restoration. They had studied the Joseph Smith History and memorized the hymn "Joseph Smith’s First Prayer." As we shared favorite scriptures and favorite hymns in the Sacred Grove, we felt the fire of covenant in their hearts.

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