*Elder Ballard started with a story about the influence women have in keeping husbands humble. He then proceeded to tell the story of the wife of a successful CEO who was visiting her small home town with her husband. They entered the general store in the town where her old high school boyfriend was the manager. They visited a little with him and when they left, the CEO husband asked his wife, “Aren’t you glad that you married me, the CEO of a big firm, rather than this store manager?” She answered, “Let us get one thing straight. If I had married him, he would have been the CEO and you would have been the store manager.”
Then he reminded us that what it means to sustain our leaders and went straight into the topic of his message.
*We sustain our leaders who have taught us about provident living. Be prepared for the season in which we live.
Next Elder Ballard reminded us of President Hinckley’s talk in 1998, (He made a mistake in the date; it was October Conference 2001) where
*President Hinckley spoke about Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and the lean kine (cows) and the full and withered stalks of corn which Joseph interpreted as being seven fat years and seven lean years.
(Following is an excerpt of that talk that was given 7 years before our present crisis started in 2008)
…Members of the Church in this and other nations are now involved with many others in a great international undertaking. On television we see those of the military leaving their loved ones, knowing not whether they will return. It is affecting the homes of our people. Unitedly, as a Church, we must get on our knees and invoke the powers of the Almighty in behalf of those who will carry the burdens of this campaign.
No one knows how long it will last. No one knows precisely where it will be fought. No one knows what it may entail before it is over. We have launched an undertaking the size and nature of which we cannot see at this time.
Occasions of this kind pull us up sharply to a realization that life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary. When I was a young man, my father counseled me to build a modest home, sufficient for the needs of my family, and make it beautiful and attractive and pleasant and secure. He counseled me to pay off the mortgage as quickly as I could so that, come what may, there would be a roof over the heads of my wife and children. I was reared on that kind of doctrine. I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day.
We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do.
As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son.
Great are the promises concerning this land of America. We are told unequivocally that it "is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ" (Ether 2:12). This is the crux of the entire matter—obedience to the commandments of God.
The Constitution under which we live, and which has not only blessed us but has become a model for other constitutions, is our God-inspired national safeguard ensuring freedom and liberty, justice and equality before the law.
I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us.
I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh's dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn.
I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew.
I am familiar, as are you, with the declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning and lamentation (see D&C 112:24).
Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord's work yet to be done. We, and our children after us, must do it.
I can assure you that we who are responsible for the management of the affairs of the Church will be prudent and careful as we have tried to be in the past. The tithes of the Church are sacred. They are appropriated in the manner set forth by the Lord Himself. We have become a very large and complex organization. We carry on many extensive and costly programs. But I can assure you that we will not exceed our income. We will not place the Church in debt. We will tailor what we do to the resources that are available.
How grateful I am for the law of tithing. It is the Lord's law of finance. It is set forth in a few words in the 119th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It comes of His wisdom. To every man and woman, to every boy and girl, to every child in this Church who pays an honest tithing, be it large or small, I express gratitude for the faith that is in your hearts. I remind you, and those who do not pay tithing but who should, that the Lord has promised marvelous blessings (see Mal. 3:10–12). He has also promised that "he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming" (D&C 64:23).
I express appreciation to those who pay a fast offering. This costs the giver nothing other than going without two meals a month. It becomes the backbone of our welfare program, designed to assist those in distress.
Elder Ballard:
One year later: in Priesthood he reminded us that Pres Hinckley repeated the message.
Are there any here today that wished they had paid more attention?
Be prepared for the season in which we live.
Gather your children together and talk about the current circumstances and help them work thru this. We do not know what lies ahead. Don’t be asleep or unaware. Now is the time to practice the principles that have been taught by our welfare system.
The government is borrowing money we do not have. The time has come to get our lives and our houses in order. We are confronted by a fearsome e conomy which portends stormy weather ahead. We have a fragile economy, we must stay out of debt.
I hope we will not slip into a depression, like the depression in the 30’s, where more han 33% of the work force was unemployed. I am concerned aboaut debt; that we are spending for things we do not need and spending money we do not have.
Have your children anchored for what lies ahead.
Bad debts can, in some circumstances, lead to bankruptcy. From 1992 to 1998 bankruptcies are 50% up. In a recent 3 month period 300,000 bankruptcies. We are now in a very serious time. Once debt in incurred “interest” on that debt becomes our constant companion. It never sleeps, it never takes a vacation, it never lets up.
Reuben Clark April 1938--same message today.
Practice the principles taught by our welfare system. Put aside a year’s supply and have cash on hand.
I am as alarmed today as I have ever been about our circumstances. This is a time of urgency.
After this Conference, gather your family together or by conference call and talk about the current situation and if necessary urge them to make a “course correction.” Help them think it through...we don’t know everything that lies ahead, but it behooves us not to fall asleep or be unaware of our circumstances.
Gather together your children and granchildren...help them anchor their lives, their circumstances.
The government is borrowing money it does not have that will cause our children and grandchildren to suffer--it will affect us individually.
Even what happens in Mexico or...it will soon afffect us and our families.
Elder Uchtdorf and I were asked by President Monson to attend the inauguration of President Obama with one and one half million people. We are politically neutral in the church. We cannot preach or endorse parties from the pulpit, but we need to listen with the spirit. BUT we as members do need to pray for this new administration, for President Obama regardless of party or “affliction,” (he meant affiliation, but said it wrong. Everybody laughed.) Get copies of President Obama’s inguaral address and read it. I think think there are portions that are inspired.
“The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. “
I like the call for individual responsibility, responsibility for our own affairs, for our family. We must be responsible for our own acts and be prepared for whatever comes.
Be solid and strong individually and family wise.
We need to be doing all we can to be prepared.
I bless you that you will have testimonies that will keep you safe.
In a Thursday Temple meeting in 1997, the Susquentenial year President Hinckley speaking, with no notes. He taught the general authorities and I asked and have permisson to teach this. It is the key---
“I grieve over the loss of so many people, members of the Church. I believe because people learn with their minds, but don’t experience the conversion of the Holy Ghost They accept things mentally, but don’t have a spiritual experience. They have mental conversions, but not spiritual ones.”
President Hinckley said “this is the most important part, power and a deep conversion of the spirit is needed by the members--to get into their hearts what has come into their minds. I was in Martins Cove and looked at a green spot and felt it must be the burial spot. I sat on a log and saw in my minds eye the scene, there were wolves howling, the wind was blowing, it was cold and people were burying their dead”
“We need fire in our bones, as Brigham Young taught, a witness, a testimony of this work. We must know and teach our children and grandchildlren to get the gospel into our hearts so that our children can bear testimony and remain strong.
the deep conversion of the Spirit only takes place when the heart is touched by what is felt in the mind.”
Solidify.
Pray that Heavenly Father will watch over, inspire, and bless this land. This land is the base of operations for the church. America must remain strong. We need divine leadership to get us thru adversity in the years ahead. I repeat, Amaerica has to remain strong and for this to happen we need divine help.
We need to be stong in the face of adversity. Pray that families and leadership is inspired. Pay tithing, generous fast offering.
I would be derelict in my duties as an apostle if I concluded this meeting without counseling you that if you are doing something that you ought not--repent!
If you are doing anything to dull your spirituality, repent!
If you are involved with pornography repent this very day.
May God grant you homes that are the center of purity. Children stop raising your voices to your parent. Parents stop raising voices to children. Avoid contention. Show love and respect to each other, be gentle and kind. You will need peace in your homes.
Brethren treasure your wives and tell them often that you love them.
We must repent to survivie the days ahead.
Pray often. Pray over your food. Have Family home evening, share the gospel, bear testimony so your homes will have joy and peace that will be necessary to bind us together as we go thru the trials in the days ahead.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that your homes can be center.... Call on Heavenly Father to bless you. LIsten to your stake leaders and your bishop and you will have joy and peace in your lives.
I testify there is a mantle with the apostleship. We know him and we know his will.
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