The regularly broadcast program "Music and the Spoken Word" which today preceeded the Sunday morning session of General Conference was beautiful. I really think that the improvements in technology, the addition of the Orchestra at Temple Square to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the many relatively new and beautiful musical arrangements that fully utilize the talents of the organists, orchestra members, and choir members, and what seems to be more rigorous requirements of musicianship of choir members has made the quality of music better and better over the years. Beautiful music!

Sunday Morning Session

Now as the morning session begins, there's a gentle arrangement of "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" they're singing and it's stunning! Gorgeous! What a perfect opening to the session. Good music well done makes me teary eyed like a weepy girl, such is the power of music, celestial music, the power it has to penetrate to my heart. Wow. And I like the video cuts they've been interspersing, of an actor protraying the 14-year-old boy Joseph Smith in the grove of trees where Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared in person to the Prophet on that beautiful spring morning in 1820.

President Hinckley is conducting this session.

Now President James E. Faust is speaking. It's good to see him on his feet. He opened talking about how we are bombarded in modern life by messages that we don't need, by more information than we could absorb in a lifetime, howe we need breathing space, and peace of mind. He rhetorically asked, "How?" and then answered that "We must rise above the evil that encroaches..." and that "We must follow the counsel of the Lord who said: 'It is my will that all they who call on my name and worship me...stand in holy places.'"

President Faust shared what Brigham Young thought what the phrase "Holiness to the Lord" meant to him, that it meant that every moment of his life must be holiness to the Lord. We must conform our will to God's will. We are urged to look deeper for the profound spiritual meaning found in the sacred temple ordinances.

I liked the experience shared about a family member arriving to attend a session at the Manhattan, New York temple in a taxi, the hustle and bustle outside crowding in, and yet, there outside that temple, the Spirit of the Lord was felt, bringing peace.

As Brigham Young counseled, we are to strive every day to rise to a higher standard of righteousness. Every moment of our lives must be Holiness to the Lord. We will find the spiritual protection for ourselves and our families by standing in holy places. President Faust concluded with a promise, that if we do this, the Lord will bless us forever and we will be made mighty in faith and in works.

Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke next. He's talking about how important it is to prepare the young men of the Church better to serve full-time missions at age 19. He talked about making sure every young man is worthily ordained a Deacon at age 12, worthily ordained a teacher at age 14, worthily ordained a Priest at age 16, and that each worthily be ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthoo d at age 18. Some of the things he mentioned that missionaries at the Missionary Training Center mentioned that would have helped them better prepare for a mission include working harder, more discipline, better study of the scriptures, sincere prayer, and thorough interviews with priesthood leaders and parents.

I liked Elder Ballard's story of the fellow trying to teach a colt to be lead, failed because he thought he could just pull on the lead rope, how Elder Ballard likened it to how no one likes to be told what to do, forced, or coerced.

One of Elder Ballard's quotes that stood out: "It is the doctrine that converts and commits."

Elder David E. Sorensen, in the Presidency of the Seventy spoke next. He opened taking about how during the Korean war he had been recommended by his ward to serve a mission (the U.S. Government allowed each LDS Ward to call one young man on a mission and he would receive a military service deferrment). He would be drafted after the mission (he'd intended on entering the R.O.T.C. before missionary service was recommended by his ward leaders). He talked about putting our trust in the Lord, exercising faith, relying on Christ. He closed with a testimony about how Presidenty Hinckley is not only a living prophet, but a living seer as well, how his last 10 years of leadership in the Church has brought so many blessings, many not seen.

Following the choir and congregation singing "Sweet Is the Work", Sister Hughes spoke. She spoke of love, of how we must love one another, how we must be one She quoted the Prophet Joseph Smith when he said that friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism, then used an occurence from Joseph Smith's life when a neighbor's home had been burned to the ground and many church members expressed sympathy, but Joseph said that he was sorry about the tragedy to the amount of five dollars, how friendship should be more than just a polite voice of sympathy, but includes action.

Elder Henry B. Eyring is going to speak next. I really like him. I remeber a Stake Conference he came and spoke at before he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve, and the marvelous promise he delivered there, by the Spirit, to the members of that Stake about the blessings that would come from daily reading the Book of Mormon.

He opened his talk about the love the Lord has for converts baptized into the church. He told of a 20-year-old convert he baptized and that convert's expression of joy afterward, "I'm clean, I'm clean!" He spoke of the change of heart that comes as the Holy Ghost changes the heart.

He continued talking about families and the sealing power restored to the prophet Joseph Smith. Me quoted the promise and the warning in Malachi 4:5-6. He spoke of President Joseph F. Smith's vision of the Savior's ministry in the Spirit World where he organized missionary work there so that the blessings of the gospel could be made available to all, even those who have passed away without having heard the gospel.

We are under obligation to find the names of our ancestors so that we can make available to them those ordinances that can only be performed here on earth in mortality by having those ordinances performed by proxy in the holy temples. This is part of what is meant in Malachi of the hearts of the children turning to their fathers, and the fathers to the children, this marvelous linking of generations through the ordinances of the temple.

He spoke of how we can do this genealogy work and temple work. Many people in the world have felt the spirit of Elijah and have recorded information about their ancestors. He spoke of how when we find the first few generations of our ancestry, once the work is done for them, we may be tempted to stop or delay further genealogical research. When we pass on ourselves and meet our ancestors, he said, "You will see in their eyes either gratitude, or terrible disappointment," about whether we faithfully worked to make sure that person's temple work was done.

I certainly need to get with it in the genealogy department, as well as attend the temple regularly. I can improve in this.

The women of the choir are singing a verse of "We Ever Pray for Thee, Our Prophet Dear" now. Now it's the men of the choir's turn. I liked the key change between the women's verse and the men's verse. Craig Jessop is conducting the choir for this number. I enjoy watching his conducting style. Ooh, they just switched keys again and now men and women have joined together in harmony. There are subtle differences between this arrangement and the one in the hymn books. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a Mack Wilberg arrangement. Or it could be someone else's. There are so many good arrangers whose work the choir has sung these days.

(Ack, I can't type quickly enough, and my error rate for typos and misspellings skyrockets! I'm doing some post-conference editing to make this stuff more clear.)

President Hinckley is now speaking. He began reminding us of the anniversary this December of the 200th year since the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith - 15th in s - Pres. Hinckley's testimony of Joseph Smith's divine calling - book pub by orson pratt in 1853 in liverpool, england, lucy mack smith's narrative of her son Joseph's life, visits of angel moroni, coming forth of book of mormon - Brother Alvin suggest that the family get together as he detailed the "great things which God has revealed to you." President Hinckley took this phrase as his sermon topic, great things which God has revealed through His prophet Joseph Smith. Some of the things President Hinckley mentioned during his talk include:

First, the manifestation of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. President Hinckley said that this event is the greatest such event since the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the meridian of time (and I agree). President Hinckley went on to talk about how mankind has struggled to know the true nature of God. He invited us to read the Nicene Creed, that statement that men came together to formulate in their search for the true nature of God, and then to compare that to the simple statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that he saw two personages, separate, physical beings, each who spoke directly with him, and he with them. President Hinckley stated that Joseph learned more about God in that miraculous meeting than the all of the clerics and scholars of the past had been able to learn on their own. Knowledge of Deity which was hidden from the world for centuries, was the restored and revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Next President Hinckley talked about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon by the hand of God. He spoke of how the christian world accepts the Bible as the word of God, yet don't fully understand how the Bible came to be. He mentioned that he'd recently read a book by a Christian scholar about the Bible. President Hinckley rhetorically posed the question about the Bible: Is it true? He then stated, "We reply that it is the word of God so far as it is translated correctly," and continued that the hand of the Lord was present in the making of the Bible. But it doesn't stand alone.

.......
- read a book by a scholar - is it true? we reply that it is the word of God so far as it is translated correclty, the hand of the Lord was in it's making, but it now doesn't stand alone, as there is another witness, mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses every word established, - came forth by the gift and power of god, it speaks as a voice from the dust - speaks of His birth, ministry, resurretion, and his appearance in the land Bountiful on the American Continent. It can be read, it can be tested. It contains within it's covers a testament of it's divine origin. Named by those not of our faith as one of the 20 greatest books that hvae had influence on those who have read them. Bible and book of mormon go hand in hand as a testimony of Jesus - 51 million copies distributed - avail. in 106 languages - it indeed a testament of the divinity of our Lord - would hope the entire Christian world would come together and accept it as another testimony of Christ

3) restored priesthood - authority to act in the name of god - the keystone of any religion - read a book of the loss of authority of ancient church, of apostacy - how could authority return? Only by the hands of heaven - John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Pristhood, later Peter James and John restored upon Joseph and Oliver the Melchez. Priesthood which had been received by these three by the hand of the Lord himsellf "I will give unto thee the keys of Heaven...bind on earth shall be bound in heaven"- how beautiful is the unfolding of the pattern of restoration which led to the reorganization of the church in 1830 - the very name of the church came of revelation - whose church? Josephs? Oliver's? No, Christ's.

4) Plan of the eternal life of the fmaily - most sacred of all relationships - most serious of all undertakings, the fundamental organization of society - by Prophet Joseph Smith came the power and authority to seal this relationship for eternity - if we could teach this one doctrine it would capture the interest of millions who love their families

5) Baptism is for the remission of one's individual sins, a covenant between God and Man, at age of accountability when one knows right from wrong, symbolic of His death and resurrection

6) God is no respecter of persons, yet only in this church is provision made for those beyond the veil of death as Bry Eyring spoke, the doctrine of salvation for the dead is unique to this church - Jesus' atonement for all is a great vicarious sacrifice, he acting as aproxy for all mankind, this pattern of how one can act on behalf of another is how we serve on behalf of those who died without a knowledge of the gospel (they can accept or reject the ordinance which is performed so that the dead have the same opportunity as the living to choose.

7) Eternal nature of man has been reveealed, we are all sons and daughters of god, we lived before we came here, we had personality, we were born into this life under a divine plan acting in the agency God gave us, when we die we shall go on living, 3 phases, premortal, mortal, postmortal existence - in death we die to this world and step through the veil into the sphere we are worhty to enter

He offered this brief summary of the tremendous outpouring of knowledge through Joseph Smith

One more: principle of modern revelation AF declars" all that he does now reveal and that he will yet reveal many great ... kingdom of god" - growing church in these complext times needs constant revelation from the throne of heaven to gude it and mvoe it forward - through prayer and constant seeking of the will of the lord we testify that revelaction does come and gudes church ...

on solid foundation of joseph's calling we go forward - much accomplisedh to bring us to present day - much more to be done in taking restored gospel to every nation, tongue, kindred, and people - I rejoice in association with you as we go forward in faith -burden is at times heavy - let us knot complain - let us walk in faith each doing our part

in this year of celebration, through our own performance, let us honor the prophoet through whom so much was revelaed

cold Dec. day in 1805 born, died in 1844 summer in Ill. - brief 38 years of his life revealed/did much



As a boy, President Hinckley loved to hear a rich baritone sing,
"The seer, the seer, Joseph the seer, I love to dwell on the memory of..."

To this I add my solenm witness of the divinity of his calling, the virtue of his life, sealing of test. with his death...

Wow! Presidenty

Appropriately, the choir is closing by singing "Praise to the Man", beginning with a percussive style as the men of the choir begin the song. I think they sang the words of two verses before they sang the chorus. My mother just commented, "That's nice." Now the women are singing (in a new key) in a similar accented emphatic style, changing to a more lyrical style for the first part of the chorus. With another key change, both men and women have joined voices together. Beautiful! Sublime. Ah, music, sweet music! It's as powerful a testimony in song of the Prophet Joseph Smith's divine calling as the very powerful testimony bourne by President Hinckley. The two testimonies complement one another. I can hear my father sniffing. It's brought tears to his eyes too. I'm thankful to Heavenly Father for such beautiful music, for such powerful testimony by President Hinckley. Marvelous.