D&C 19:15-20 Suffer as Christ suffered or overcome as He overcame.

 Elder Maxwell.  “We will end up either choosing Christ’s manner of living or His manner of suffering! It is either ‘suffer even as I’, or overcome even as He overcame.” (Overcome Even As I Also Overcame. Ensign May 1987, 72)

D&C 18:10 We are of great worth to our Heavenly Father

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf “We know from modern revelation that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen. One woman who had been through years of trial & sorrow said through her tears, “I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, & scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered & used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You are My Hands,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 69)

Elder Holland “His glory isn’t a mountain, as stunning as mountains are. It isn’t in sea or sky or snow or sunrise, as beautiful as they all are. It isn’t in art or technology, be that a concerto or computer. No, his glory-and his grief- is in his children. You and I, we are his prized possessions, and we are the earthly evidence, however inadequate, of what he truly is.” (“Of Souls, Symbols & Sacraments” BYU Devotional; Jan. 12, 1988)

D&C 17:3-5 They must testify to the world after receiving a witness

“When they returned to the house it was between three and four o’clock p. m. Mrs. Whitmer, Mr. Smith and myself, were sitting in a bedroom at the time. On coming in, Joseph threw himself down beside me, and exclaimed, ‘Father, mother, you do not know how happy I am: The Lord has now caused the plates to be shown to three more besides myself. They have seen an angel, who has testified to them, and they will have to bear witness to the truth of what I have said, for now they know for themselves, that I do not go about to deceive the people, and I feel as if I was relieved of a burden which was almost too heavy for me to bear, and it rejoices my soul, that I am not any longer to be entirely alone in the world.’ Upon this, Martin Harris came in: he seemed almost overcome with joy and testified boldly to what he had both seen and heard. And so, did David and Oliver, adding that no tongue could express the joy of their hearts, and the greatness of the things which they had both seen and heard” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, 152).

D&C 17:1-2 The 3 witnesses are chosen

In June 1829 the translation of the Book of Mormon neared completion. Joseph gathered one morning with his family and friends for singing and prayer. Martin Harris was there, having come from Palmyra to see how the translation progressed. While Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, he learned that three witnesses would be permitted to see the plates (see 2 Nephi 27:12-14 Ether 5:2-4 D&C 5:11-15, 18). David Witmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris volunteered, hoping they could be chosen. “They tease me so much”, Joseph said, “almost without intermission for some time”, that he finally asked the Lord for approval and received the exciting answer recorded in D&C 17. Joseph rose from his knees and said to Martin, “…you got to humble yourself before God this day and obtain, if possible, a forgiveness of your sins. If you would do this, it is God’s will that you and Oliver Cowdery and David Witmer should look upon the plates.” 

D&C 1:30. The only true and living church

 Elder Oaks taught:

“Because of this declaration of the Lord, we refer to this, His Church – our Church – as the “only true Church.”  Sometimes we do this in a way that gives great offense to people who belong to other churches or who subscribe to other philosophies.  But God has not taught us anything that should cause us to feel superior to other people.  Certainly all churches and philosophies have elements of truth in them, some more than others.  Certainly God loves all His children.  And certainly His gospel plan is for all His children, all according to His own timetable.

So what does it mean that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church?’

“Three features – (1) fulness of doctrine, (2) power of the priesthood, and (3) testimony of Jesus Christ – explain why God has declared and why we as His servants maintain that this is the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth…This Church is “living” because we have prophets who continue to give us the word of the Lord that is needed for our time.”  (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Only True and Living Church,” New Era, Aug. 2011, 3, 5)

D&C 13:1 President Oaks comments on the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood

 Pres. Dallin H. Oaks – “What does it mean that the Aaronic Priesthood holds [the key of] the ‘gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins’? The meaning is found in the ordinance of baptism and in the sacrament. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and the sacrament is a renewal of the covenants and blessings of baptism. Both should be preceded by repentance. …

“Not one of [us] has lived without sin since [our] baptism. Without some provision for further cleansing after our baptism, each of us is lost to things spiritual. …

“We are commanded to repent of our sins and to come to the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and partake of the sacrament in compliance with its covenants. When we renew our baptismal covenants in this way, the Lord renews the cleansing effect of our baptism. …

“We cannot overstate the importance of the Aaronic Priesthood in this. All of these vital steps pertaining to the remission of sins are performed through the saving ordinance of baptism and the renewing ordinance of the sacrament. Both of these ordinances are officiated by holders of the Aaronic Priesthood under the direction of the bishopric, who exercise the keys of the gospel of repentance and of baptism and the remission of sins” (“The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,”Ensign,Nov. 1998, 37–38).

“As a young holder of the Aaronic Priesthood, I did not think I would see an angel, and I wondered what such appearances had to do with the Aaronic Priesthood.

“But the ministering of angels can also be unseen. Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind” (“The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,” 39).

D&C 9:7-9 Ensign Blair receives revelation that saves the entire ship

 

Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide. By Elder Larry Y. Wilson. General Conference April 2018

During the Korean War, Ensign Frank Blair served on a troop transport ship stationed in Japan.6 The ship wasn’t large enough to have a formal chaplain, so the captain asked Brother Blair to be the ship’s informal chaplain, having observed that the young man was a person of faith and principle, highly respected by the whole crew.

Ensign Blair wrote: “Our ship was caught in a huge typhoon. The waves were about 45 feet [14 m] high. I was on watch … during which time one of our three engines stopped working and a crack in the centerline of the ship was reported. We had two remaining engines, one of which was only functioning at half power. We were in serious trouble.”

Ensign Blair finished his watch and was getting into bed when the captain knocked on his door. He asked, “Would you please pray for this ship?” Of course, Ensign Blair agreed to do so.

At that point, Ensign Blair could have simply prayed, “Heavenly Father, please bless our ship and keep us safe,” and then gone to bed. Instead, he prayed to know if there was something he could do to help ensure the safety of the ship. In response to Brother Blair’s prayer, the Holy Ghost prompted him to go to the bridge, speak with the captain, and learn more. He found that the captain was trying to determine how fast to run the ship’s remaining engines. Ensign Blair returned to his cabin to pray again.

He prayed, “What can I do to help address the problem with the engines?”

In response, the Holy Ghost whispered that he needed to walk around the ship and observe to gather more information. He again returned to the captain and asked for permission to walk around the deck. Then, with a lifeline tied around his waist, he went out into the storm.

Standing on the stern, he observed the giant propellers as they came out of the water when the ship crested a wave. Only one was working fully, and it was spinning very fast. After these observations, Ensign Blair once again prayed. The clear answer he received was that the remaining good engine was under too much strain and needed to be slowed down. So he returned to the captain and made that recommendation. The captain was surprised, telling him that the ship’s engineer had just suggested the opposite—that they increase the speed of the good engine in order to outrun the storm. Nevertheless, the captain chose to follow Ensign Blair’s suggestion and slowed the engine down. By dawn the ship was safely in calm waters.

Only two hours later, the good engine stopped working altogether. With half power in the remaining engine, the ship was able to limp into port.

The captain said to Ensign Blair, “If we had not slowed that engine when we did, we would have lost it in the middle of the storm.”

Without that engine, there would have been no way to steer. The ship would have overturned and been sunk. The captain thanked the young LDS officer and said he believed that following Ensign Blair’s spiritual impressions had saved the ship and its crew.