President Gordon B. Hinckley
I offer a plea that each of us will seek to live closer to the Lord and to
commune with Him more frequently and with increased faith.
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Well, my beloved brethren and sisters, it's all over but the work. How grateful
we all ought to feel for this wonderful conference. We have met together in
peace without disturbance of any kind. We have reflected much on the wonderful
blessings of the Lord. Our appreciation for the tremendous blessings which
we have in the gospel has been greatly strengthened. As we have heard the
testimonies of the speakers, our own witness of the truth has been rekindled
into a bright and burning flame. I hope that everyone who has participated
in this great conference has been touched for good, that each of us is a better
man or woman for our experience together these past two days. I speak for
myself when I say that I feel closer to the Lord. I hope this has been your
experience. I have a strengthened desire to obey His commandments, to live
His teachings, and to commune with Him in prayer, thereby preserving a relationship
with Him who is my Father and my God.
And so, as we conclude this great gathering of Latter-day
Saints, I offer a plea that each of us will seek to live closer to the Lord
and to commune with Him more frequently and with increased faith.
Fathers and mothers, pray over your children. Pray that they
may be shielded from the evils of the world. Pray that they may grow in faith
and knowledge. Pray that they may be directed toward lives that will be profitable
and good. Husbands, pray for your wives. Express unto the Lord your gratitude
for them and plead with Him in their behalf. Wives, pray for your husbands.
Many of them walk a very difficult road with countless problems and great
perplexities. Plead with the Almighty that they may be guided, blessed, protected,
inspired in their righteous endeavors.
Pray for peace in the earth, that the Almighty who governs
the universe will stretch forth His hand and let His Spirit brood upon the
people, that the nations may not rage one against another. Pray for the weather.
We have floods in one area and drought in another. I am satisfied that if
enough prayers ascend to heaven for moisture upon the land, the Lord will
answer those prayers for the sake of the righteous.
Way back in 1969, I was in South America. I flew from Argentina
to Santiago, Chile. The Andes mountains were dry. There was no snow. The grass
was burned. Chile was in the midst of a devastating drought.
The people pleaded for help in bringing moisture.
We dedicated two new buildings on that visit. In each of those
dedicatory services we pleaded with the Lord for rain upon the land. I have
the testimony of many who were in those meetings that the heavens were opened
and the rains fell with such abundance that the people asked the Lord to shut
them off.
Pray for wisdom and understanding as you walk the difficult
paths of your lives. If you are determined to do foolish and imprudent things,
I think the Lord will not prevent you. But if you seek His wisdom and follow
the counsel of the impressions that come to you, I am confident that you will
be blessed.
Let us be a prayerful people. Let us bring up
our children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Enos
1:1). May the
blessings of heaven deservedly rest upon you. In the words of Deuteronomy,
"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to
fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve
the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deuteronomy
10:12).
Be assured, my dear brothers and sisters, that "He, watching
over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps" (Felix Mendelssohn, Elijah).
For the blessings of heaven to rest upon you I humbly pray
as I express to you my love for each of you. Thank you for your great kindness
to me and your great faithfulness and energy in moving forward the work of
the Almighty, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
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