Declarations and Quotables

President Hinckley was the prophet of my early motherhood.  I never failed to be uplifted and encouraged after hearing him speak.  It is through his encouragements, I wanted to stand a little taller and I came to understand my roles as daughter of God, wife and mother more completely.  

Talks I particularly leaned upon and learned from include:

• Your Greatest Challenge Mother
• Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children
• To The Women of the Church
• This I Believe

Under his inspired guidance the world was given 3 amazing declarations and proclamations.

The first was The Family:  A Proclamation to the World.  President Hinckley presented this at the General Relief Society meeting in September1995.  He prefaced his reading of the proclamation by saying:

With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history.

The second helped me to see the true vision of Relief Society and the blessing it is to be in my life.  In 1999, then General Relief Society President Sis. Mary Ellen Smoot read The Relief Society Declaration.  This became an anchor in my soul as I've tried to be the woman my Heavenly Father wants me to be.

The third document is The Living Christ:  A Testimony of the Apostles.   Here is a pdf link:  The Living Christ.   Print it up and use it for your scripture study.  Write on it, cross reference it, strengthen your testimony with it.  I hope those who visit my blog who may doubt the "Christianity" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will come to better understand that we are indeed Christian.

You can read and listen to testimonies of the current prophets and apostles here and here.

President Hinckley  gave me plenty of  "quotables" place in my journal or on my fridge.  Here are a few:

• We cannot hope to influence others in the direction of virtue unless we live lives of virtue.  The example of our living will carry a greater influence than will all the preaching in which we might indulge.  We cannot expect to lift others unless we stand on higher ground ourselves...The home is the cradle of virtue, the place where character is formed and habits are established. 
• I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you.  I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity.  I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure....I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know.  If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.
• The Lord said, 'Wherefore, life up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made'.  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 life 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.
• Teach your children goodness.  Work together.  Read good books together.  Pray together.
• You wives and daughters...No one can calculate the tremendous force for good that you can become.  You are the keepers of the hearth.  You are the manager of the home...I charge you to stand tall and be strong in defense of those great virtues which have been the backbone of our social progress.  When you are unites, your power is limitless.  You can accomplish anything you wish to accomplish.  And oh, how very, very great is is the need for you in a world of crumbling values where the adversary seems so very much to be in control.
• Now, my brethren and sisters, the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike.