The Watson Family

1. “But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer,and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophesy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with the power and authority of God.”

Thomas S. Monson, Come All Ye Sons of God, April 2013 General Conference https://www.lds.org

2. “Usually such references as are made are associated with some particular occasion or in connection with attempts to receive communications from God, as was the case of the fasting of Moses and Elijah.”

Howard W. Hunter, Fast Day, October 1985 General Conference https://www.lds.org

3. “Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it’s simply going hungry.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Law of the Fast, April 2001 General Conference https://www.lds.org

4. “The fast also helps us to feel humble and meek so that the Holy Ghost may more easily be our companion. By our fast, we both keep our covenant to care for others and we prepare to keep our covenant to bear testimony.”

Henry B. Eyring, Witnesses for God, October 1996 General Conference https://www.lds.org

5. “Fast and allow your children to fast once a month before the meeting in which they will partake of the Lord’s Supper, hear others bear testimony, and perhaps themselves feel prompted to testify.”

Henry B. Eyring, A Legacy of Testimony, April 1996 General Conference https://www.lds.org

6. “A fast offering is at least the cost of the two consecutive meals from which we fast each month. By not eating these two meals, we draw close to the Lord in humility and prayer and also participate in anonymous giving to bless our brothers and sisters all over the world.”

Robert D. Hales, Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually, April 2009 General Conference https://www.lds.org

7.  “We don’t know much about the Mormon church, but we have learned a great deal about our friend; and we are fasting for him today.”

Thomas S. Monson, Building Your Eternal Home, April 1984 General Conference https://www.lds.org

8.  “I always marvel as I study the principles the Lord has designed for us to follow how simple they are in concept, how easy they are to administer, and how compliance always brings forth additional blessings.”

L. Tom Perry, The Law of the Fast, May 1986 General Conference https://www.lds.org

9. “From Malachi we read: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. … Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” 

Thomas S. Monson, Be Thou an Example, October 1996 General Conference https://www.lds.org

10. “The law of the fast has three great purposes. First, it provides assistance to the needy through the contribution of fast offerings, consisting of the value of meals from which we abstain. Second, a fast is beneficial to us physically. Third, it is to increase humility and spirituality on the part of each individual.”

L. Tom Perry, The Law of the Fast, May 1986 General Conference https://www.lds.org

1.”Part of it was knowing that I was well on the Lord’s side of the line. Another part was the feeling that Satan’s influence was farther away. Mostly it was the reinforcement received by the spiritual power which was generated. We had the rich feeling that the spiritual “fullness of the earth” (D&C 59:16) was ours, as promised by the Lord in section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants.”

2. “I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the verities they wish to learn.”

James E. Faust, The Lord’s Day, October 1991 General Conference https://www.lds.org

3. “As we consider the pattern of the Sabbath and the sacrament in our own lives, there appear to be three things the Lord requires of us: first, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world; second, to go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments; and third, to rest from our labors.”

4. “Brothers and sisters, in the latter days the adversary succeeds when we relax our commitment to the Savior, ignore His teachings in the New Testament and other scripture, and cease to follow Him.”

5. “When Sunday morning arrives, help them to be well rested, properly dressed, and spiritually prepared to partake of the emblems of the sacrament and receive the enlightening, edifying, ennobling power of the Holy Ghost.”

L. Tom Perry, The Sabbath and the Sacrament, April 2011 General Conference https://www.lds.org

6.  “No son was ever taught more effectively by his father than I was on that occasion. My father not only knew the truth—he lived it.”

Thomas S. Monson, Becoming Our Best Selves, October 1999 General Conference https://www.lds.org

7.”The Lord has given the Sabbath day for your benefit and has commanded you to keep it holy. Many activities are appropriate for the Sabbath. Bear in mind, however, that Sunday is not a holiday. Sunday is a holy day.”

Thomas S. Monson, That We May Touch Heaven, October 1990 General Conference https://www.lds.org

8. “This is the time we are to attend our regular meetings together, study the life and teachings of the Savior and of the prophets.”

9. “Other appropriate Sunday activities include (1) writing personal and family journals, (2) holding family councils, (3) establishing and maintaining family organizations for the immediate and extended family, (4) personal interviews between parents and children, (5) writing to relatives and missionaries, (6) genealogy, (7) visiting relatives and those who are ill or lonely, (8) missionary work, (9) reading stories to children, and (10) singing Church hymns.” 

L. Tom Perry, The Importance of the Family, April 2003 General Conference https://www.lds.org

10. “But not all great music nor all popular religious music meets the special criteria of the sacred music of worship, of the Sabbath, of revelation.”

Boyd K. Packer, Reverence Invites Revelation, October 1991 General Conference https://www.lds.org

1. ” A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God.”

Thomas S. Monson, Obedience Brings Blessings, April 2013 General Conference https://www.lds.org

2. “Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can understand more fully the breadth and depth of healing provided by His Atonement because we have the fullness of His doctrine. We realize that what He has willingly done with immense suffering and sacrifice will affect us not only in this life but throughout all eternity.”

3. “Your understanding of the Atonement and the insight it provides for your life will greatly enhance your productive use of all of the knowledge, experience, and skills you acquire in mortal life.”

4.  “The Church is important, but it is in the home where parents provide the required understanding and direction for children. It is truly said that the most important callings in time and eternity are those of father and mother. In time we will be released from all other assignments we receive but not from that of father and mother.”

Richard G. Scott, He Lives! All Glory to His Name!, April 2010 General Conference https://www.lds.org

5. “Instead, he spent time with me and helped me understand not only the what of my assignment and new responsibility but, much more important, the why.”

6. “Applying priesthood doctrine will qualify us as husbands, as fathers, as sons who understand the why of the priesthood and its power to recapture and secure the beauty and holiness of eternal families.”

7. “Guided by the Holy Spirit, we will learn from our mistakes. If we stumble, we will rise. If we falter, we will go on. We will never waver; we will never give up.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Why of Priesthood Service, April 2012 General Conference https://www.lds.org

8. “Funny thing about assumptions—they can cut away the very roots of something that could flourish and grow if given a chance. I am forever grateful that assumptions were cast aside.”

9.  “At the same time, there may be those who move into our neighborhoods who are not of our faith who come with negative preconceptions about the Church and its members. Surely good neighbors should put forth every effort to understand each other and to be kind to one another regardless of religion, nationality, race, or culture.”

10. “I now speak to all those who are not of our faith. If there are issues of concern, let us talk about them. We want to be helpful. Please understand, however, that our doctrines and teachings are set by the Lord, so sometimes we will have to agree to disagree with you, but we can do so without being disagreeable. In our communities we can and must work together in an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and civility.”

M. Russell Ballard, Doctrine of Inclusion, April 2001 General Conference https://www.lds.org

1. “The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master’s blessing; the ingratitude shown by the nine, His disappointment.”

2.  “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.” 

3. “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.”

Thomas S. Monson, The Divine Gift of Gratitude, October 2010 General Conference www.lds,org

4. “He taught them that none of us is above another because we are all dust, to which God has given life and then sustained it.”

5. “The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude.”

6. “You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude.”

Henry B. Eyring, Remembrance and Gratitude, October 1989 General Conference www.lds.org

7. “Gratitude is also the foundation upon which repentance is built.”

8. “Through expression of prayerful gratitude and thanksgiving, we show our dependence upon a higher source of wisdom and knowledge—God the Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are taught to “live in thanksgiving daily.” (Alma 34:38.)”

9. “Gratitude is a state of appreciation, an act of thanksgiving, which causes us to be humble because we recognize an act of kindness, service, or caring from someone else which lifts us and strengthens us.”

Robert D. Hales, Gratitude for the Goodness of God, April 1992 General Conference www.lds.org

10. “One of the advantages of having lived a long time is that you can often remember when you had it worse. I am grateful to have lived long enough to have known some of the blessings of adversity.”

James E. Faust, Gratitude is a Saving Principle, April 1990 General Conference www.lds.org

1.  “He (Satan) uses addiction to steal away agency. According to the dictionary, addiction of any kind means to surrender to something, thus relinquishing agency and becoming dependent on some life-destroying substance or behavior.” 

2. “Satan knows how to exploit and ensnare us with artificial substances and behaviors of temporary pleasure. I have observed the impact when one struggles to win back control, to become free from destructive abuse and addiction, and to regain self-esteem and independence.”

3. “I’m not questioning prescription medications for those suffering with treatable illness or great physical pain. They are indeed a blessing. What I am saying is that we need to carefully follow the doses prescribed by doctors. And we need to keep such medications in a safe place where youngsters or anyone else cannot gain access to them.”

M. Russell Ballard, O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One, October 2010 General Conference www.lds.org

4.  “Its grasp is so gradual. Enslaving shackles of habit are too small to be sensed until they are too strong to be broken. Indeed, drugs are the modern “mess of pottage” for which souls are sold. No families are free from risk.”

5.  “The importance of the will in making crucial choices must be known. Then steps toward relief can follow.”

6. “Choose to Exercise. Exercising the body and the spirit will aid in the climb toward recovery. Appropriate physical activity helps to combat depression, which so often accompanies addiction.”

Russell M. Nelson, Addiction or Freedom, October 1988 General Conference www.lds.org

7. “And for both debt and addiction, the hopeful solution is the same—we must turn to the Lord and follow His commandments. We must want more than anything else to change our lives so that we can break the cycle of debt and our uncontrolled wants.”

8. “We must remember that the adversary knows us extremely well. He knows where, when, and how to tempt us. If we are obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we can learn to recognize the adversary’s enticements. Before we yield to temptation, we must learn to say with unflinching resolve, “Get thee behind me, Satan”

9. “In seeking to overcome debt and addictive behaviors, we should remember that addiction is the craving of the natural man, and it can never be satisfied. It is an insatiable appetite.”

Robert D. Hales, Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually, April 2009 General Conference www.lds.org

10. “Consequently, we should abstain from anything that would keep us from fulfilling the Lord’s purposes for us, whereby the blessings of eternity may hang in jeopardy. We are in this life for the spirit to gain control over the body rather than the other way around.”

James E. Faust, The Power to Change, August 2007 Article www.lds.org

1. “All of us benefit from the transcendent blessings of the Atonement and the Resurrection, through which the divine healing process can work in our lives. The hurt can be replaced by the joy the Savior promised.”

2. “It is through repentance that the Lord Jesus Christ can work his healing miracle, infusing us with strength when we are weak, health when we are sick, hope when we are downhearted, love when we feel empty, and understanding when we search for truth.” 

James E. Faust, Woman, Why Weepest Thou? October 1996 General Conference www.lds.org

3. “Recently I talked to a sister who was in the psychiatric unit of a local hospital. She shared with me her sorrowful journey from complete mental and physical health, a wonderful marriage and family, into mental illness, debilitating health, and the breakup of her family—all of which started with the abuse of prescription painkillers.”

4.” I’m not questioning prescription medications for those suffering with treatable illness or great physical pain. They are indeed a blessing. What I am saying is that we need to carefully follow the doses prescribed by doctors. And we need to keep such medications in a safe place where youngsters or anyone else cannot gain access to them.”

M. Russell Ballard, O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One, October 2010 General Conference www.lds.org

5. “Each of us must go through certain experiences to become more like our Savior. In the school of mortality, the tutor is often pain and tribulation, but the lessons are meant to refine and bless us and strengthen us, not to destroy us.”

6. “Some of these are a necessary part of our mortal probation. Others, as Enoch foresaw, are part of the preparation for the Savior’s Second Coming, when “the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but,” said the Lord, “my people will I preserve.” And when Enoch saw all these things, he “received a fulness of joy.” 

Robert D. Hales, Faith through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy, April 2003 General Conference www.lds.org

7. “I see you caring for family members and neighbors who suffer from birth defects, mental and physical ailments, and the effects of advancing years. The Lord sees you also, and He has caused His prophets to declare that “as you sacrifice for each other and your children, the Lord will bless you.”

Dallin H. Oaks, Sacrifice, April 2012 General Conference www.lds.org

8. “One of my colleagues said to me that some good would come from this illness. He suggested that it is good, on occasion, for everyone to face adversity, especially if it causes introspection that enables us to openly and honestly assess our lives.”

9. “I realized that I needed to rearrange some of my priorities to accomplish the things that matter most to me.”

10. “First, think about your life and set your priorities. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there.

Second, set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced—not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting.

Third, everyone faces financial challenges in life. Through wise budgeting, control your real needs and measure them carefully against your many wants in life.

Fourth, stay close to your spouse, children, relatives, and friends. They will help you keep a balance in your life.

Fifth, study the scriptures.

Sixth, many people, including me, have difficulty finding the time for sufficient rest, exercise, and relaxation.

Seventh, the prophets have taught repeatedly that families should teach one another the gospel, preferably in a weekly family home evening.

My last suggestion is to pray often as individuals and as families.”

M. Russell Ballard, Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance, April 1987 General Conference www.lds.org

1. “For many years our Church leaders have warned against the dangers of images and words intended to arouse sexual desires. Now the corrupting influence of pornography, produced and disseminated for commercial gain, is sweeping over our society like an avalanche of evil.”

Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org

2. “Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call a brain. The brain won’t vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing you away from the wholesome things in life.” 

Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org

3.”Pornography is also addictive. It impairs decision-making capacities and it “hooks” its users, drawing them back obsessively for more and more.”

Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org

4. “Apathy toward pornography stems mostly from a widespread public attitude that it is a victimless crime and that police resources are better used in other areas.”

Thomas S. Monson, Pornography -the Deadly Carrier,October 1979 General Conference https://www.lds.org

5. “Today we have a rebirth of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. From seldom-read pages in dusty Bibles they come forth as real cities in a real world, depicting a real malady—pernicious permissiveness.”

Thomas S. Monson, Pornography -the Deadly Carrier,October 1979 General Conference https://www.lds.org

6. “The FBI points out that pornography may have a direct relationship to sex crimes.” “In one large western city,” an agency report states, “the vice squad advised that 72 percent of the individuals arrested for rape and child-related sexual offenses had in their possession some type of pornographic material.”

Thomas S. Monson, Pornography -the Deadly Carrier, October 1979 General Conference https://www.lds.org

7. “Satan has become a master at using the addictive power of pornography to limit individual capacity to be led by the Spirit.”

Richard G. Scott, To Acquire Spiritual Guidance, October 2009 General Conference https://www.lds.org

8. “The onslaught of pornography in all of its vicious, corroding, destructive forms has caused great grief, suffering, heartache, and destroyed marriages. It is one of the most damning influences on earth.”

Richard G. Scott, To Acquire Spiritual Guidance, October 2009 General Conference https://www.lds.org

9. “If you are ensnarled in pornography, make a total commitment to overcome it now. Find a quiet place; pray urgently for help and support. Be patient and obedient. Don’t give up.”

Richard G. Scott, To Acquire Spiritual Guidance, October 2009 General Conference https://www.lds.org

10. “Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is in the lives of children who become its victims. The saddest trend of our day is the alarming, large increase in child abuse. Much of it occurs within families and involves corrupting the divine innocence that children have from birth.”

David B. Haight, Personal Morality, October 1984 General Conference https://www.lds.org

1. “There, in a Grand Council, our Heavenly Father would continue the gift of agency to prove us here in mortality, “to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command.” 

2. “Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here “there is an opposition in all things.”  This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives.”

3. “For example, if we make choices that put us deeply in debt, we will lose our agency to meet our wants and needs or to save for that inevitable rainy day.”

Robert D. Hales, To Act for Ourselves, April 2006 General Conference www.lds.org

4. “Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. We hold that key within our hands, and agency is ours to use it.”

5. “But he cannot, in all eternity he cannot, with all his power he cannot completely destroy us; not without our own consent. Had agency come to man without the Atonement, it would have been a fatal gift.”

6. “How well I know that among learned men are those who look down at animals and stones to find the origin of man. They do not look inside themselves to find the spirit there. They train themselves to measure things by time, by thousands and by millions, and say these animals called men all came by chance. And this they are free to do, for agency is theirs.”

Boyd K. Packer, Atonement, Agency, Accountability, April 1988 General Conference www.lds.org

7. ” The secret to solve problems in your life will be found in understanding and using the eternally beneficial interaction of your agency and His truth.” 

8. “He defended our right to choose our path in life so that we would grow, develop, and be happy, butwe do not have the right to choose the consequences of our acts.”

9. “Our agency does allow us to choose among alternate paths, but then we are bound to the consequence God has decreed. Later, if we don’t like where the path takes us, the only out is through repentance.”

Richard G. Scott, Healing Your Damaged Life, October 1992 General Conference www.lds.org

10. “But we know from both ancient and modern revelation that Satan wished to deny us our independence and agency in that now-forgotten moment long ago, even as he wishes to deny them this very hour.”

Howard W. Hunter, The Golden Thread of Choice, October 1989 General Conference www.lds.org

1. “To be redeemed is to be atoned—received in the close embrace of God with an expression not only of His forgiveness, but of our oneness of heart and mind.”

2. “The Savior’s gift of immortality comes to all who have ever lived. But His gift of eternal life requires repentance and obedience to specific ordinances and covenants.”

3. “Eternal life, made possible by the Atonement, is the supreme purpose of the Creation. To phrase that statement in its negative form, if families were not sealed in holy temples, the whole earth would be utterly wasted.”

Elder Russell M. Nelson, The Atonement, October 1996 General Conference www.lds.org

4. “Before the Crucifixion and afterward, many men have willingly given their lives in selfless acts of heroism. But none faced what the Christ endured. Upon Him was the burden of all human transgression, all human guilt.”

5. “Atonement is really three words: At-one-ment, meaning to set at one, one with God; to reconcile, to conciliate, to expiate.”

6. “I seldom use the word absolute. It seldom fits. I use it now—twice. Because of the Fall, the Atonement was absolutely essential for resurrection to proceed and overcome mortal death. The Atonement was absolutely essential for men to cleanse themselves from sin and overcome the second death, which is the spiritual death, which is separation from our Father in Heaven.”

Elder Boyd K. Packer, Atonement, Agency, Accountability, April 1988 General Conference www.lds.org

7. “We realize that what He has willingly done with immense suffering and sacrifice will affect us not only in this life but throughout all eternity.”

8. “Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. He has the capacity to communicate love that is so powerful, so overwhelming as to surpass the capacity of the human tongue to express adequately.”

9. “The Atonement gives all the opportunity to overcome the consequences of mistakes made in life. When we obey a law, we receive a blessing. When we break a law, there is nothing left over from prior obedience to satisfy the demands of justice for that broken law. The Savior’s Atonement permits us to repent of any disobedience and thereby avoid the penalties that justice would have imposed.”

Elder Richard G. Scott, He Lives! All Glory to His Name, April 2010 General Conference www.lds.org

10. “Christ came to save us. If we have taken a wrong course, the Atonement of Jesus Christ can give us the assurance that sin is not a point of no return. A safe return is possible if we will follow God’s plan for our salvation.”

Elder Deiter F. Uchtorf, Point of Safe Return, April 2007 General Conference www.lds.org

1.”A mission is a family affair. Though the expanse of continents or oceans may separate, hearts are as one.”                                                                                                                   Elder Thomas S. Monson, Come, All Ye Sons of God, April 2013 General Conference www.lds.org

2.”In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities.”

3.“President Brigham Young explained that our families are not yet ours. The Lord has committed them to us to see how we will treat them. Only if we are faithful will they be given to us forever. What we do on earth determines whether or not we will be worthy to become heavenly parents.” 

4. “May it be our resolve this year to build a gospel-centered home, a safe harbor from the storms of the adversary.”

Elder L. Tom Perry, The Importance of the Family, April 2003 General Conference www.lds.org

5. “When children see their parents faithfully perform Church callings, it strengthens their family relationships. When families are strong, the Church is strong. The two run in parallel.”

6. “There are cultures or traditions in some parts of the world that allow men to oppress women, but those abuses must not be carried into the families of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

7. “The ultimate mission of our Savior’s Church is to help us achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and that can only be accomplished in a family relationship.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church, October 2005 General Conference www.lds.org

8. “The family relationships we have here on this earth are important, but they are much more important for their effect on our families for generations in mortality and throughout all eternity.”

9. “Because of the importance of the family to the eternal plan of happiness, Satan makes a major effort to destroy the sanctity of the family, demean the importance of the role of men and women, encourage moral uncleanliness and violations of the sacred law of chastity, and to discourage parents from placing the bearing and rearing of children as one of their highest priorities.”

10. “Being one in a family carries a great responsibility of caring, loving, lifting, and strengthening each member of the family so that all can righteously endure to the end in mortality and dwell together throughout eternity. It is not enough just to save ourselves. It is equally important that parents, brothers, and sisters are saved in our families.”

Elder Robert D. Hales, The Eternal Family, October 1996 General Conference www.lds.org