“Words of the Living Prophet,” Liahona, Mar. 1997, 16
Words of the Living Prophet
Husbands and Wives Are Equal
“[Brethren,] your wives are indispensable to your eternal progress. I hope you will never forget that. There are a few men in this Church—I’m glad there are not very many, but there are a few—who think they are superior to their wives. They better realize that they will not be able to achieve the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom without their wives standing at their side equally beside them. Brethren, they are daughters of God. Treat them as such. 1
Rear Families in Righteousness
“As I look at you and think of you in terms of who you are, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, now and to be, I think of the tremendous opportunity that you have to bring into this world a generation that could become the turnaround generation in this world that is slipping so seriously into the muck and the mire that is seen across the earth, to rear your families in righteousness and in truth with fidelity and love and faith and faithfulness. God be with you in the great and sacred undertaking in which you are engaged. 2
To Singles
“We need your strength. We need your faith. We need your capacity. We need your testimonies. We need your willingness to work in this the work of the Lord. Be faithful, be true, be devoted to this work. It is the only way you will find peace and happiness in your lives, and you will find peace and happiness if you will live the gospel. It is the way of truth and life and understanding. 3
Seek Spiritual Roots
“There is much of beauty about [the people of the world], but without the root that finds itself in faith and conviction concerning God and the risen Lord, there isn’t much of real substance when it comes to a crisis or a showdown of some kind. Seek for the real things, not the artificial. Seek for the everlasting truths, not the passing whim. Seek for the eternal things of God, not for that which is here today and gone tomorrow.” 4
Safety in the Church
“The greatest safety you have in your lives, my dear young friends, is your membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Cling to the Church and live its principles, and I do not hesitate to promise you that your lives will be happy, that your accomplishments will be significant, and that you will have reason to get on your knees and thank the Lord for all He has done for you in giving to you the marvelous and wonderful opportunities that you have.” 5
The Mission of the Church
“The important thing we must never forget in this Church is the great preeminent mission of assisting our Father in Heaven with His work and His glory—to bring to pass the immortality and the eternal life of His sons and daughters. That is the thing we must keep in mind. Everything else is ancillary and subsidiary to that.” 6
Heavenly Father’s Wish for Us
“I am satisfied that our Father in Heaven likes to see His children happy—not miserable, but happy. I believe He wants to see them enjoy the good things of the earth, obtained in a righteous way. … I don’t think He likes to see His children in poverty and misery and trouble and wickedness and sin and want. I think He wants to see them happy.” 7
Reach Out to Those Disciplined
“We have to discipline people sometimes. I hope we won’t forget them. I hope we won’t neglect them. I hope that we won’t cut them off from the Church to a point where they feel there is no way back. This is a work of redemption. This is a work of salvation. This is a work of reaching out to lift people, to help them find their way through the thicket of life. I want to plead with you, if there be those in your stakes, your wards, who are aggrieved over something, to nurture them while it is still possible. Don’t delay. Don’t let them feel they are abandoned and forgotten and cast out and cut off. That’s so important. … I plead with you to reach out to those who are in need of help.” 8
Photograph of President Hinckley by Jed Clark
Photograph by Steve Bunderson