Elder David A. Bednar and Sister Susan Bednar

Sister Susan Bednar: Elders and sisters, it’s wonderful to be with you tonight. And thank you for that beautiful music. I testify that you truly are “one” to the Savior. You’re not a multitude, but you’re a “one”. And He will bless you and strengthen you and help you with all the things that it talked about in the song. Calm your fears as you get ready to leave on your missionary service and He’ll be with you as you teach and you testify of His power and of His glory.

I’m grateful to be here. It’s been a little while since Elder Bednar and I have been to the MTC, so we welcome you here in Provo and all the Missionary Training Centers all over the world. We love the missionaries. In fact, three of our sons had the opportunity when they returned from their missions to be instructors here at the MTC. What a great experience that was for them, and for us to know that they were continuing on God’s path when they came home from their mission. And I know that they were blessed by the service that they rendered here. And it’s come back to bless their lives many, many, many times.

I just wanted to talk for just a minute briefly about something that I’ve been thinking about. In April of 2020, President Nelson gave a proclamation that he read from the Sacred Grove. And it’s called The Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And then at the Mission Leadership Seminar this past year he asked us to teach and to testify to the missionaries about this proclamation.

So, I want to just share a couple of comments from this proclamation and give an example. First of all, “Jesus Christ has once again called apostles and has given them priesthood authority.” I bear testimony tonight that Elder Bednar’s been called of God by prophesy and by the laying on of hands by those who have the authority to do so. And then, in the very last paragraph it says, “With reverence and gratitude we, as His apostles, invite all to know, as we do, that the heavens are open.” I want to testify, too, as we begin this meeting tonight, that the heavens are not closed, that God continues to speak His mind and will to men whom we sustain as prophets and seers and revelators.

In 2017 Elder Bednar had a couple of ideas rolling around his mind that he thought could maybe turn into a Conference talk. And when that happens he gathers information, he puts it in a folder, he thinks about it quite a lot. And then sometimes he’ll try out those ideas in a sacrament meeting if he’s asked to speak for a few minutes, or to missionaries, or in a stake conference. And the thought that he had was that you’re not called to serve -- well, you are called to serve and you’re called to labor in an area. I can’t remember now the… (Chuckles)

Elder David A. Bednar: Called to serve and assigned to labor.

Sister Susan Bednar: Okay. I forgot the word “assigned.” “Called to serve and assigned to labor.” And this is back in 2017. And let me tell you an experience that happened as he was thinking about this for maybe a Conference talk. We happened to be at the MTC in the Philippines and he talked about being called to serve and assigned to labor to the missionaries there. As we were walking out the door he looked at me and he said, “That was a strange message to give to those missionaries.” And he said, “What did you think?” And I said, “Well, I thought it was a little bit weird, too.” (Laughter) [00:04:19] And so, the mission president at the MTC grabbed him on the way out and he said, “How did you know?” And Elder Bednar said, “Know what?” And he said, “There was a missionary here with us tonight who had been assigned to labor in an area. And she got a letter just a couple of days ago that her missionary assignment where she was going to serve had been changed. And she has been so troubled and so anxious, and so just distraught about this. She can’t understand how it could be one place and then another.” Now, remember this is still in 2017.

And then, Elder Bednar decided to give a Conference talk about this, it’s called, “Called to the Work.” And he explained the importance of being called to serve, that that call comes to you through a prophet of God, and the assignment to labor is made by the apostles. So, I guess I’m telling you this because Elder Bednar didn’t know when he gave that talk that it would just help that missionary in the Philippines, or many people throughout the years that we’ve talked to, who had been bothered and concerned and burdened by the fact that they were called to a certain place to -- they were assigned to labor in certain place, but they ended up somewhere different, and it had been troubling them for a lifetime. He didn’t know at that time that COVID was coming, and that many, many assignments would be changed.

And so I guess I’m telling you this tonight because the Lord has an amazing way of planting seeds in the mind of an apostle of what they can talk about, and how it won’t only bless people at the time, but several years out. I hope that you and your friends who have served have felt comfort in those statements that you are called to serve, but assigned to labor, and that assignment can change. Some of you here might not get to the places where you’ve been assigned. Or you may have to come home because of COVID and be reassigned somewhere else. So I hope that you won’t ever worry that you haven’t been called to serve and assigned to labor where the Lord really does need you.

We have a granddaughter who’s serving as a missionary now, and she’s supposed to be in South America, but she’s not, she’s in the U.S. And she’s supposed to be speaking Spanish, and she’s not speaking much Spanish right now. But she’s been so happy about that reassignment. And before she left she said, “I know I might not get to Chile for a while, but it’s okay. I’m going to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, and I’m going to be happy wherever I’m sent.” And I hope that you will feel that way, too.

In the scriptures we learn about apostles and people that we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. Let me share the definition that Ammon told the king who wanted to have some records that he had translated and he needed to find somebody who could translate them. “And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet. And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given to him from God. But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and the things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.”

I want to testify to you tonight that Elder Bednar has the gift of prophesy, as he has been sustained as a prophet, a seer, and a revelator. And I truly believe as I’ve seen things come to pass over the last year and a half, that that talk that he gave in Conference in 2017 was written for our day and our time. Not necessarily for 2017, although it blessed many people then, but it’s blessed a whole lot more missionaries now as we’ve had to deal with reassignments.

I hope that you will continue to move forward, that you will be blessed by your service. And if things change that you can be happy and know that those reassignments, if they come, also come from the apostles. The call to serve doesn’t change, it comes from the prophet, the president of the Church. But an assignment initially or a reassignment is always done prayerfully and with great help and contemplation by the members of the Twelve. So you’re in good hands. With these wonderful callings that you receive. When one of our sons came home from his mission I said, “What’s the greatest thing that you learned about your service, Mike?” And he said, “I learned that I needed to be where I was asked to go.” And it’s blessed his life for a very long time.

So, in regards to this, the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I just want to bear my testimony that Jesus Christ lives, that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration, that through him so many things were brought to pass that bless our lives today. I testify that Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer, that He loves us, that He will bless us and help us to do things that we can’t do. And I testify, too, that the heavens aren’t closed, that God continues to speak His mind and will today to men whom we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. And you have the opportunity, the great opportunity, to hear from one tonight. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder David A. Bednar: Elders and sisters, what a delight to be able to gather together with you. We appreciate so many things when they’re taken from us. And the lack of opportunity to gather together for many, many months helps us to relish an experience like this together.

I note that in his invocation Elder Linton prayed that “we would hear the things we needed to hear”. I’d like to suggest to you that nothing tonight you need to hear will come from my voice, it will come by the power of the Holy Ghost, to your mind and to your heart. It will be individual and it will be personal and it will be private.

I don’t want to try to tell you how to do this, but I would recommend you don’t try to write down things that any of us say. I would suggest to you that that totally misses the mark. What you should write down are the things that only you hear that are being delivered to you very specifically by the power of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes in gatherings like this we want to furiously take notes about what a speaker is saying. The time when this makes me laugh is in General Conference. I sit on the stand and I watch people writing as fast as they can go. [00:12:32] And I want to, at some point, just get up and go, “Hey, it’s gonna be online in 40 seconds.” (Laughter) And the reason I would like to get up and do that some time in General Conference is because if you’re so focused and so engaged in writing down what someone is speaking, you likely will miss what the Holy Ghost is trying to deliver to you individually and personally. So, of course, you should jot things down, but I hope it’s not what I say, or what anybody else has said tonight.

Now, let me set the stage for what we’re going to do. I don’t have a teleprompter, I don’t have a script. I have some scriptures that I’ve jotted down in larger print, because the older I get the harder it is to read the small print in my scriptures. I want to walk you through some episodes in the holy scriptures. I want you to think about something, please note that sequence in the scriptures is often instructive. Sequence, the order in which things are presented, can teach you a great deal as you study the scriptures.

For example -- now, when I ask a question don’t answer, but I want you to think. I want to push you a little bit tonight. What’s the very first thing that happens in the Restoration of the gospel in this latter-day dispensation? Obvious answer, the First Vision. That’s why it’s called the First Vision. The Father and the Son appear to Joseph Smith. And then when Joseph left the grove he had a greater understanding about the nature, the attributes and the characteristics of the Father and the Son than anybody had ever had. He could speak authoritatively about who God is and what He is like, that He has a tangible perfected body of flesh and bone, and indeed, we are created in His image. That’s number one.

What’s the second thing that happens in the Restoration? Well, over the course of the next ten years Joseph is prepared, receives the Golden Plates and brings forth The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. What’s the third thing that happens? While engaged in the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph and Oliver have questions about the proper mode of baptism. They pray, and the priesthood is restored, both Aaronic and Melchizedek.

So what are the three signal events at the beginning of the Restoration? A correct understanding about the nature of God, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the importance of priesthood, covenants, and ordinances. If you don’t know what to tell somebody on some occasion, think of that sequence and it answers your question. Those are the things of foundational importance in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, many times when you have a question that you’re trying to answer, go to the scriptures, read the words, study and pray, but also pray for eyes to see sequence, and see in sequence, things that you may never have seen before.

Now, because I don’t have something that’s pre-prepared, the translators who are helping this message to go all over the world are probably going crazy. I make it very hard for them. So, in front of all of you I apologize to the translators. I’ll try to go a little bit slower, and I’ll give reference to the verses so that they can be projected, and they’ll have time to get to their scriptures to use that in translation.

If you have your scriptures, I’d recommend that you get them. I know that they’ll be projected, but I would invite you to get into your own scriptures. There may come a thought that you want to jot in the margin or something, something delivered to you individually that you want to have written in your scriptures and you want to always remember.

So as we begin I want to do two things, number one, I earnestly pray that the Holy Ghost will be with each one of us. That indeed, as Elder Linton prayed, “we will hear what we need to hear”. And number two, I invoke a blessing upon the translators, so that they will have an extra measure of the gift of tongues. And that all that we hope can be communicated tonight can be communicated in languages that will go all over the world.

Now, my first question: Would you love to know what the Savior thinks is of greatest worth and most important? As you prepare for your service, of course, you would want to know that. This is not some unknowable mystery, it is embedded in the scriptures and in sequences that you find in the scriptures.

We’re going to begin in Matthew, in chapter 26. But before we get to particular verses let me just describe the setting and set the stage, the Savior is gathered with His Twelve Apostles, and He says to them, “My time is at hand.” Question: What is the Savior communicating in the statement, “My time is at hand”? Now, this is the beginning of the first of the events in the final 24 hours of His life in mortality. “My time is at hand.” In essence, Jesus is saying to His Twelve Apostles, “I will die soon.”

Now, if He only has a short period of time to yet be with His apostles, to teach and instruct them, is it a reasonable assumption that He will focus on what matters most in that short amount of time that He has? I think that’s a pretty reasonable assumption. Now, we’re not going to do this, this takes more time and it’s more extensive. Make a list of what He did from the time He said, “My time is at hand” until He gave up the ghost on the cross. And do you know what you’ll find? You’ll find a pretty good indication of what the Savior thinks is really important.

Next question: What’s the first thing He did after He said that? Now again, just think, “What is the very first thing He did?” Let’s begin reading in verse 17. “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.”

Now, in verses 21 through 25, we’re not going to read those, but this is Jesus foretelling the betrayal by Judas. Then, in verse 26, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for the remission of sins.”

What’s the very first thing the Savior did with His Twelve Apostles in the old world, the first event in the last 24 hours of His life after announcing, “My time is at hand”? He instituted a priesthood ordinance, He focused on an ordinance. Something very important to learn from that.

Okay, let me set up another episode. As recorded in the Book of Mormon, the Savior appears to a multitude of 2,500 people who are gathered together near the temple in the land of Bountiful. Now, I want to set the stage for what He did there beginning in chapter 11, 3rd Nephi, beginning in verse 10. “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.” So the first thing He does is testify of who He is and what He has done.

Now, again, we won’t read this part, in verses 13 through 17. Don’t just listen to the words of this, try to imagine this. The Savior invited those 2,500 people to come forward one by one to feel the wounds in His hands, in His feet, and in His side so that each individual could have the experience and know that He was who He testified He was, the beloved Son of the living God.

Have you ever wondered how long would it take for 2,500 people to do that? I don’t know. But if you imagine 15 to 30 seconds apiece -- we might have 700 or 800, so take a congregation three times the size of this, line them up so they can come through and have that experience one by one. That’s Him.

Do remember earlier Sister Bednar said, “You’re not a multitude, you’re a “one”.” Seated with lots of other “ones”. You’re not a congregation, you’re a “one”. Everything about the Savior’s ministry was focused on individuals. He didn’t talk to crowds, He dealt with “ones”. That’s what you do in your labors. You focus on the needs of an individual, you strive to bless and help “ones”.

Nothing emphasizes that more significantly than this episode in 3rd Nephi. And if you’ve never noticed, this is on the same day that He blessed the children. He took them one by one and blessed each child. So, 2,500 people, 15, 30 seconds apiece, six, eight, ten hours, on the same day that He blesses all of the children? That’s Him. Tells you something about Him.

Okay, now, we’ll go to verses 20 through 23. Before we start reading, we know that the Savior was not with these people on the American continent for a long period of time. Again, is it reasonable to assume that if you only have a short period of time to teach these people you will emphasize what matters most? We won’t do it now, you do this on another occasion. [00:25:21] Just make a list of what He did from the time He appeared until the time He returned to the presence of the Father. Make that list and study it, and it will teach you a great deal, just look at the sequence. And if you really want to get something that’s great, take those two lists, put them side by side and see if you find some common elements in the same sequence in both lists.

Now, I’m not the brightest bulb in the package -- good luck translating that one -- (Laughter) but if you take those two lists and you find common elements in the same sequence, guess what, those are things the Savior really thinks are important. And you ought to know it and it ought to be reflected in what you become, and in the way you teach and testify and help others to come to the covenant path.

Verse 20 -- so after He introduces Himself, testifies of His mission, and then invites the people to come forward one by one, here’s what He does. Verse 20, “And the Lord commanded Nephi that he should arise. And he arose and stood before Him. And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. And again, the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and He gave unto them power to baptize; and He said unto them: On this wise shell ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them – Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.”

One of the very first things the Savior did in the limited amount of time He had to be with the people on the American continent was to emphasize priesthood authority and priesthood ordinances. Are you beginning to detect a pattern here? Are you beginning to figure out what the Lord really thinks is important? Priesthood, priesthood ordinances, and the associated covenants. Now, the natural question is, why? Why would He place so much emphasis on that? Well, just hang on, we’re going to get there.

Next pattern, the Book of Moroni in the Book of Mormon, this is the final book within the Book of Mormon. Now, you’ve just got to remember the life of Moroni, do remember the end of the Book of Mormon? He has seen incredible, horrific atrocities committed. He is alone. At one point he’s done with the record, but he comes back and says, “Well, I didn’t think I’d have an opportunity to write anymore”, but he does, and he puts some more things in. He includes writings from his father, Mormon, and then he adds some of his own editorial comments in the Book of Moroni.

I’m gonna help you a little on this one. What does he do in the very first chapter? Notice the sequence of the chapters in the Book of Moroni. Chapter one, now, there’s nothing to show on the screen, I’m just going to highlight some things. He says, “I write a few more things that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day according to the will of God.” He’s not writing this for the people who lived then. He’s looking forward to our day. Everything in the Book of Mormon is not history, it’s a foretelling of our day. So when you read the Book of Mormon you’re looking to the future, you’re not looking to the past.

Chapter 2 and 3 are instruction about priesthood and the proper procedure for conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost. Chapters 4 and 5, the sacrament prayers. Chapter 6, the work of the Church. Chapter 7 through 10, spiritual gifts and coming unto the Savior.

Now, let me emphasize this as clearly as I can, just as the Savior did with His ancient apostles in the old world and with His disciples at the temple in the land of Bountiful, Moroni emphasized priesthood authority and sacred covenants and ordinances. Why? Why is there this repeated emphasis on priesthood authority, ordinances, and covenants? The answer is really very simple.

Turn with me to Doctrine and Covenants 84. “And this greater priesthood –” this is beginning in verse 19 -- “And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh.”

Now, elders and sisters, if I’ve put you to sleep you need to wake up now, okay? Through ordinances. These are not rituals, they are not just perfunctory performances. In those sacred ordinances we obtain access to the power of godliness in our life. Have you ever wondered why we take the sacrament every week? It’s because it’s a holy ordinance through which, if we repent and sincerely come to the sacrament table hungering and thirsting for righteousness, then we can have an additional increment of the power of godliness in our life.

Have you ever looked around at what’s happening in the world today and you get a little nervous? Say, “Boy, this stuff’s getting out of control.” Guess what, it’s going to get worse. You ought not be afraid of that. How can you live in this confusion? Black is white, white is black. Wrong is right, right is wrong. In all of this commotion and chaos, how can anybody have any sense of being settled? [00:32:34] Because in the restored church of Jesus Christ, priesthood authority has been restored. Proper priesthood ordinances administered with the authority of God open the heavenly portals so each one of us can have in our life strength beyond our own. Do you remember that lyric when you sing the hymn? It’s more than words on the page in a hymnbook. It is an actual vibrant, living, practical truth in the latter days. It’s not something you just know in your head, it has to be in the fabric of who you are as a disciple of Christ in the latter days in this world of commotion.

Now, because I’m speaking to so many young people I’m going to say something more boldly than you may like. When I was the president of BYU-Idaho, every Tuesday afternoon we had a devotional. Incredible leaders of the Church and wise people came and spoke to the students. Susan and I did that every Tuesday for eight years, hundreds of these devotionals. And every one of them said to a group of young people just like you, almost word for word, “Oh, you’re the finest young people that have ever lived on the planet. You’ve been saved for the latter days.” I am sick of hearing this! (Laughter)

I’ve heard this more than you’ve ever heard it in your life, and I am sick of hearing this! Because some of you have over-interpreted this acknowledgment in kind of a dysfunctional way. “Yeah, we’re really special.” Yeah, you are, and do you know what -- when I lived in Arkansas they had a phrase -- and again, I apologize to the translators -- they say, “When you pick up a stick, you get both ends.” You don’t just get one end or the other, you get ‘em both. You know that that means for you? If, indeed, you and I have been saved for the latter days, it’s because we have a lot to do and it’s not going to be easy. And that’s why we’re here. So don’t get bummed out when you see what’s prophesied in the scriptures and has been foretold by living prophets, what is foretold in the Book of Mormon is coming to pass. We shouldn’t be surprised by that. And we have access to the power of godliness.

Now, listen to this verse, please. This is in 1st Nephi, 14:14. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”

Do we understand that Nephi is talking about us? The ancient prophets saw our day. The writers and compilers of the Book of Mormon, having known about us, put in the record the things that would be needful for us in our day. If you ever look around in all this commotion and go, “Oh, what do you do?” Read this, it’s an easy one to remember, 14:14 in 1st Nephi. And I want you to burn into your brain and into your heart and soul this phrase, “Armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” The power of godliness.

Now, none of us amounts to much. Do you remember Ammon, “I will not boast of my own strength, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things.” You got to be able to do more than repeat that verse, you got to believe it applies to you. You can’t look down the row and think, “Well, this elder, this sister, I’m sure that works for them.” You got to know what works for you. And it does.

Now, a covenant is a promise. It’s a promise that we made with God. And the conditions of a covenant are set by God. Go to the Bible Dictionary some other time and read about covenants. Sometimes you’ll hear a person say, “Well, I was very sick and I made a covenant with God that if God would heal me then I’d do these things.” I’m sure that was a sincere pledge, I’m sure it was a valid commitment, but it’s not a covenant. We don’t set the conditions of a covenant, God does.

So for example, what are the conditions of the baptismal covenant? We pledge our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. As we do our best to live up to those elements of the baptismal covenant then we are promised that we may always have His spirit to be with us. That’s a portion of the power of godliness in our lives today, tangible, practical, necessary in our lives.

Okay, hang on. An ordinance is a holy act performed in the authority of the priesthood that teaches us about the covenant. Let me say that again, you may not have heard it quite this way. An ordinance is not just some ritual where we do some things, and what do we do that for? Because if you’re paying attention, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear, the performance of that ordinance in the authority of the priesthood helps you learn about the conditions of the covenant that you’re entering in to.

Think of the sacrament, the preparation of the bread and the water is part of the ordinance that the officiators and the sacrament table perform. What do you learn when they break the bread? “Brother Bednar, please, they’re just breaking bread so we can get a piece.” Do you remember the hymn, “His body was bruised, broken, and torn for us.”

If we have eyes to see, the performance of that holy act in the authority of the priesthood teaches us about the nature of the covenant. And when you break the bread into all of those pieces, no one piece of bread is exactly like another piece of bread. One by one. That’s reflected in what would seem to be the mundane action of simply tearing the bread as a part of the ordinance. In the ordinances of the priesthood, the power of godliness is manifest. Pay attention to what happens in those ordinances. Seek for eyes to see, because there are incredible lessons in those ordinances.

You already know about the ordinance of baptism. Why does it have to be immersion? What you find throughout the scriptures? We’re born again. We put off the natural man, come forth in a newness of life, symbolizing, if you will, also the resurrection of Christ. Those covenants and those ordinances, I don’t want to overstate this, but everything we do in this church is focused upon helping people learn about, understand, worthily receive, live, and remember the covenants and the ordinances, period, exclamation point, end of sentence. There is nothing else. That’s all we do.

And elders and sisters, can you see that you have to look way beyond the baptismal font? You’re helping people learn about the covenant path and baptism is the beginning. As you, or someone, stands in the baptismal font, you’re helping that individual being baptized, look far beyond the font and on to the temple. You have to help people understand that, begin to understand that, even before they’re baptized.

Can you see the role of the sacrament in the life of a new convert who smokes or does something else, and after baptism falls back and has another cigar, or they go out and they have some drinks, or even get drunk? They then condemn themselves, “I had my chance to be clean, I was baptized, I was clean, I’ve messed it up, there’s no hope for me.”

Some of you have thought that. A person who thinks that the only opportunity for cleansing is in the waters of baptism misses the mark and does not understand. Every one of us in this room at some point in our life has said, “Oh, I wish I could be baptized again.” We don’t get it if we wish for that. Why do we have the sacrament? The sacrament doesn’t remit sins, eating the bread, drinking the water, doesn’t make sins go away. [00:42:22] The process of repenting and preparing to participate in the ordinance, if we do that worthily, what’s the covenant promise? We may always have His spirit to be with us. Can the spirit be with you if you’re not worthy? No. So the sacrament is that ongoing ordinance that enables us to retain a remission of our sins, just as when we were baptized, if we understand the ordinance of the sacrament, prepare, and worthily participate.

“The power of godliness” -- think of these words spoken to Joseph Smith, just listen carefully, by the Father and the Son, “They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness –” not the power -- “a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” [00:43:33] In essence, they have no priesthood, they have no covenants that are authorized, they have no ordinances, so they do their best with what they’ve got. We don’t belittle that. But they don’t have the power of godliness. What was restored? A correct understanding of the nature of God. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ, and priesthood authority, and the ordinances, and the covenants.

Now, if we can tie all this together, the Savior said, “Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I shall give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Question: How are we yoked to and with the Savior? Have you ever seen two animals that are yoked together, two oxen? The yoke helps them pull in unity. Otherwise they’d each be going their own way, doing their own thing, you dissipate their power. [00:44:42] We can be yoked, bound to, the Savior. How? The covenants and the ordinances of His gospel are the means whereby we are yoked to and with the Savior. We can’t pull equally with Him, He does most of the heavy lifting. But His strength blesses us. That’s how Ammon can say, “In the strength of the Lord I can do all things.” If I’m yoked with him, even though I don’t have the capacity to do this, with His strength I know that it’s possible and I can do this.

With all the energy of my soul I wish I had the capacity to come to each one of you -- in a world of COVID I can’t do this -- I would put my hands on your face and I would look at you eyeball to eyeball and face to face, and I would say, “I am talking to you.” Please do not sit there and think that what I am describing is only for some other elder, or some other sister, or some other person. I am saying this to you. It is practical, it is livable, and it is available, and you don’t have to be perfect at 18 years of age, or 20 years of age, to qualify for this blessing. You have to be seeking for it, you have to be asking, seeking, and knocking, and doing your best to improve and repent and keep going. Some of you are way too hard on yourselves, you think you’re supposed to be ready for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom at 19, or else “I’m not worthy to a be a missionary”. Well, we wouldn’t have any missionaries. (Laughter)

So, if there’s something that is amiss in your life, fix it now. If you need to repent, do not procrastinate the day of your repentance. If there’s some unresolved issue, get it fixed now. And if you do that, and you do your best to press forward, you’re not going to do it perfectly, you’re gonna stumble, we all do. That’s why we can repent and renew the covenants, and again have a remission of our sins. And that doesn’t come by being baptized multiple times.

Now, I want to conclude by reiterating this verse. I pray you can see in these words things you’ve never seen before, and that you can hear in these words things you have never heard before. “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” [00:48:09] I invoke upon you this blessing, that by the power of the Holy Ghost you’ll ultimately be able to see yourself in that verse. It’s for you. It’s for each one of us in these latter days of commotion. The most quoted verse of scripture now is “The whole world will be in commotion.” Well, guess what, we’re there. You’re in this verse, it’s talking about you and me.

As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ I joyfully witness that He lives, He is the living Son of the living God. He is our Savior and our Redeemer. And I witness that He lives. The tomb is empty. “He is not here, for He is risen.” This is the living church of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ lives.

You have the glorious blessing and opportunity to declare that message to everyone who will listen, and to people who won’t listen. I hope you waste and wear out your life doing your service as a missionary and set the pattern for the remainder of your life, of being anxiously engaged, in helping people learn about the covenant path, the blessings that are available. This is not nebulous, this is not ambiguous, this is not ethereal. It is tangible and practical, and day to day in the world in which we live, I bear witness that is true.

To my fellow servants, I also witness that the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove and that was the beginning of the Restoration of the gospel in these latter days. And I witness that that Restoration is ongoing. It was ongoing today, it was ongoing yesterday, it will be ongoing tomorrow, and it will be ongoing until the Savior comes to take His rightful place in His kingdom here upon this earth.

I love you. I declare the truthfulness of the things I have tried to express. I’m sure in my weakness I’ve done some things in an incomplete way. But the truths that we have read about in the scriptures, the sequences, the patterns, the priorities, I witness they are true. I pray you will remember. And I express this witness, I invoke this blessing upon you. And I pledge my support, my sustaining support to each and every one of you, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.