Easter Remembrance

182nd Annual General Conference

So....for those of you who don't know it is time for the 182nd Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Messages will be given by the First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other General Authorities and General Officers of the Church.

General sessions will be held on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., followed by the priesthood session at 7:00 p.m. Central time. Two more general sessions will be held on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Central time; the morning session includes the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word.

Anyone can watch conference in local church meetinghouses, or in their homes.

For viewing conference at a local meetinghouse, check with local church leaders on availability of the broadcast by Satellite or Internet feed.

Live broadcasts will be available at the following locations:

• Conference.lds.org: video and audio in multiple languages
• Mormonchannel.org and Mormon Channel mobile apps: video and audio in English only
• BYU.tv: video and audio in multiple languages
• Facebook.com/LDS: video in English only (Choose “General Conference” from the left menu.)

In addition, many cable and radio stations will have the conference available.
Visit http://www.bonneville.info/ for broadcast information or check local listings.

The opportunity to listen to a Prophet of God doesn't happen very often. 

Everyone is invited to listen as Apostles of the Lord speak and teach.

General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

General Authorities are those individuals who God has put in place to govern the affairs of His kingdom here on Earth.  This is done by Revelation. (Matthew 16:17-19)

The true Church of Jesus Christ must have Prophets and Apostles.  Christ set up the Church this way when He was on the Earth, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8,Mormon 9:9)

Once upon a time the Children of Israel were met on the battle field by Amalek.  During the battle we see how the First Presidency of the Church works in unison.

"And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

-- Exodus 17:11-12

So we see that Moses was the Prophet at the time, and he had two others by his side to help him.

This is the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.  Left to right, President Henry B. Eyring, President Thomas S. Monson, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  President Monson is the Lord's Chosen Prophet on the Earth today.

The First Presidency presides over the entire Church, and is directly over the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are, President Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry, Elder Russell M. Nelson, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Elder M Russell Ballard, Elder Richard G. Scott, Elder Robert D. Hales, Elder Jeffery R. Holland, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and Elder Neil L. Anderson.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the second-highest governing body in the Church (the First Presidency being the highest).  Apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ, called to teach and testify of Him throughout the world.  They travel frequently, addressing and encouraging large congregations of members and interested nonmembers, as well as meeting with local leaders.  When they are not traveling, members of the Quorum of the Twelve counsel together and with other general Church leaders on matters affecting the worldwide Church, such as missionary work, temple building, spiritual and temporal welfare, and much more.

There are also Seventies, who are assigned to manage things in specific areas around the world, and to help the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  The Presidency of the Seventy is over all other Seventies.  There are Seven Presidents, and no counselors, in the Presidency of the Seventy.

The Presiding Bishopric is the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood throughout the Church. The Presiding Bishop and his two counselors also serve under the direction of the First Presidency to administer the temporal affairs of the Church.

You can view a picture of each of the General Authorities at: http://lds.org/church/leaders?lang=eng

Why Mormons Build Temples

So Temples have been around for a long time, but most people still don't know what they are for.  Basically Temples are built for sacred ordinances.  Many people are confused because we don't talk much about the temple, this is because is sacred, not secret.

This video is about why we have temples.  Please watch it and see what is said about the things that take place at the Temple.



Throughout History God has commanded His people to build temples.  The first actual stucture for this was the Tabernacle of Moses.  Later Solomon built a temple for the same purposes.  In the Book of Mormon we read that they also built Temples on the American continent.

"And I, Nephi, did build a temple;

and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon

save it were not built of so many precious things;

for they were not to be found upon the land,

wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple.

But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon;

and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine."

-- 2 Nephi 5:16

The work done in the temple allows us to feel closer to God, and receive strength against temptation.  The Temple is also a place to receive direction from the Lord.

Ancient Temple in the Americas

Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints builds many Temples to make the blessing that come from going to the Temple more available.  They look different from each other, but they are all used for the same purpose.

Below are pictures of some of the modern Temples I have been to.....

Salt Lake City Utah

Salt Lake City Utah



San Diego California



Boise Idaho



Brigham City Utah



Idaho Falls Idaho



Logan Utah



Nauvoo Illinois




Manti Utah

 

Orlando Florida



Ogden Utah

 

Provo Utah



Seattle Washington

 

St. George Utah

  

Winter Quarters Nebraska



Twin Falls Idaho

Gila Valley Arizona

Hamilton New Zealand

Brisbane Australia

Nashville Tennessee



Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven

We all have things we need, and things we want.  Sometimes we need to go without the things we want so that we can help others who need our help.

It is in the hard times of life that we grow the most, and sometimes we don't know how much our actions will influence someone else's life.  I hope that we can all do something to help those we know find happiness, and peace as they journey through life.

"Behold I say unto you,

that by small and simple things

are great things brought to pass."

-- Alma 37:6

"The journey of 1000 miles,

begins with a single step."

-- Author Unknown