A List of our Favorite Websites

	Mormon Haven - A safe place for obtaining news, information and answers to questions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
	MyLDSLinks.com - An excellent LDS directory which lists only the best LDS websites.
	LDSRomances.com - The best place in the world to meet Mormon friends and singles.
	CTR Bikes
	Moroni's Latter-Day Saints page

Faith Is the Teacher

"It is a marvelous and wonderful thing that thousands are touched by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, that they believe and accept and become members. They are baptized. Their lives are forever touched for good. Miracles occur. A seed of faith comes into their hearts. It enlarges as they learn. And they accept principle upon principle, until they have every one of the marvelous blessings that come to those who walk with faith in this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."It is faith that is the converter. It is faith that is the teacher."Thus it has been from the beginning."I marvel at the quality of the men and women who accepted Joseph Smith's testimony and came into the Church. They included such men as Brigham Young, the Pratt brothers, Willard Richards, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, the wives of these men, and a host of others. They were people of substance. Many of them were well educated. They were blessed of the Lord with the faith to accept the story which they heard. When they received the message, when the gift of faith touched their lives, they were baptized. The brethren gladly gave up what they had been doing and, with the support of their families, responded to calls to go across the sea to teach that which they had accepted on faith."

Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Miracle of Faith," Ensign, May 2001, 68

Topics: Conversion

19 Nov 2010 | 1:00 am

Kingston

"No one baptized in Kingston. Just ask any missionary who labored there. Time in Kingston was marked on the calendar like days in prison. A missionary transfer to another place—any place—would be uppermost in thoughts, even in dreams."While I was praying about and pondering this sad dilemma, for my responsibility then as a mission president required that I pray and ponder about such things, my wife called to my attention an excerpt from the book A Child's Story of the Prophet Brigham Young. She read aloud that Brigham Young entered Kingston, Ontario, on a cold and snow-filled day. He labored there about 30 days and baptized 45 souls. Here was the answer. If the missionary Brigham Young could accomplish this harvest, so could the missionaries of today."Without providing an explanation, I withdrew the missionaries from Kingston, that the cycle of defeat might be broken. Then the carefully circulated word: 'Soon a new city will be opened for missionary work, even the city where Brigham Young proselyted and baptized 45 persons in 30 days.' The missionaries speculated as to the location. Their weekly letters pleaded for the assignment to this Shangri-la. More time passed. Then four carefully selected missionaries—two of them new, two of them experienced—were chosen for this high adventure. The members of the small branch pledged their support. The missionaries pledged their lives. The Lord honored both."In the space of three months, Kingston became the most productive city of the Canadian Mission. The grey limestone buildings still stood; the city had not altered its appearance; the population remained constant. The change was one of attitude. The label of doubt yielded to the label of faith."

Thomas S. Monson, "Labels," Ensign, Sept. 2000, 5

Topics: Missionary Work, Faith

22 Sep 2010 | 2:00 am

Heritage of Faith

"Today the Church stands at the summit of a century and a half of progress. The terrain over which we have traveled is a grim reminder that struggle, persecution, and sorrow have been the lot of our forebears. Kirtland, Jackson County, Clay County, Haun's Mill, and Nauvoo seem synonymous with suffering—a part of the tribulation the Lord promised that his people would have to endure (see D&C 58:3). "As we look back in retrospect, we see that it was because of the opposition encountered in our early history that our progress today has been made possible. Out of that caldron of persecution and heartache, the Lord answered the soul-cry of the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words:" 'Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; " 'And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high' (D&C 121:7–8). " 'If thou art called to pass through tribulation, . . . know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good' (D&C 122:5, 7). "By the tribulation well endured by numerous of our progenitors, a desert blossomed as a rose (see Isa. 35:1), a tried and persecuted people provided a heritage of faith, and Zion put on her beautiful garments for all to see (see D&C 82:14)."

Howard W. Hunter, "God Will Have a Tried People," Ensign, May 1980, 25

Topics: Faith, Opposition

4 Oct 2010 | 2:00 am

One Qualification

"Never in this dispensation, and perhaps never before in any single period, has there been such a feeling of urgency among the members of this church as today. Her boundaries are being enlarged, her stakes are being strengthened. In the early years of the Church specific places to which the Saints were to be gathered together were given, and the Lord directed that these gathering places should not be changed, but then he gave one qualification: 'Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion.' (D&C 101:21.) "At the Mexico City Area Conference last August [1972], Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Council of the Twelve, in a thought-provoking address, made some comments pertinent to this subject, and I quote a few sentences from his address: " 'Of this glorious day of restoration and gathering, another Nephite prophet said: "The Lord . . . has covenanted with all the house of Israel," that "the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God"; and that "they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise." (2 Ne. 9:1–2.)" 'Now I call your attention to the facts, set forth in these scriptures, that the gathering of Israel consists of joining the true church; of coming to a knowledge of the true God and of his saving truths; and of worshiping him in the congregations of the Saints in all nations and among all peoples. Please note that these revealed words speak of the folds of the Lord; of Israel being gathered to the lands of their inheritance; of Israel being established in all their lands of promise; and of there being congregations of the covenant people of the Lord in every nation, speaking every tongue, and among every people when the Lord comes again.' "

Harold B. Lee, "Strengthen the Stakes of Zion," Ensign, July 1973, 4

Topics: Zion

6 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am

Word of Wisdom

"The early history of the Church records that during the winter of 1833, the Lord directed that a school of the prophets was to be organized 'for their instruction in all things that are expedient for them' (D&C 88:127). It was to be held on the second floor of the Newel K. Whitney store. The brethren would come to the school to be instructed by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Some had acquired the habit of chewing and smoking tobacco. It became difficult for the Prophet to teach spiritual things in a temporal environment filled with smoke. Joseph Smith was troubled with the physical surroundings and inquired of the Lord if such conditions were proper for the brethren. In answer to his petition, he received a revelation known to us as the Word of Wisdom."The Word of Wisdom contains some very positive aspects. It encourages us to use grains, particularly wheat, and to use fruits and vegetables and the sparing use of meat. It is also noted for its prohibition—absolute prohibition—against the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. Added to this has been the counsel of the Church leaders to abstain from the use of such drugs as marijuana, cocaine, etc., and the abusive use of prescription drugs."

L. Tom Perry, "Run and Not Be Weary," Ensign, Nov. 1996, 36

Topics: , Righteousness

1 Nov 2010 | 3:00 am