President Boyd K. Packer
President
Boyd K. Packer
General
Conference
April
2013 Sunday Morning Session
The beginning of President Packer’s
talk was very powerful. He shared a poem about his life and the things that he
knows from this life. As I read the poem I could really feel the power of the
spirit and his testimony coming through his words. The most powerful statement
from the poem says, “I’ll kneel before His wounded feet; I’ll kneel His Spirit
glow. My whispering, quivering voice will say, ‘My Lord, my God, I know.” The
power behind this statement makes me feel like I need to make this a goal in my
life. I want to be able to say this. I know it takes a lot and I hope I can use
President Packer’s poem as a guide.
After President Packer shares his
poem he told a story of finches in his yard. One day the finches were sounding
an alarm and President Packer saw a snake slithering through the ivy. This
really showed something important. A favorite quote from this talk says, “We
will not always be safe from the adversary’s influence, even within our own
homes. We need to protect our nestlings.” This shows the importance of
President Packer’s story and tells us the importance of protecting our family.
From this point he talks about family. Family is an importance part of this
life as well as eternity. Wherever we are here on earth, the adversary is there
trying to tear us from the truth of our Savior. The family is the most
important part of the Lord’s plan and if Satan destroys that, he will have
succeeded in his plan. Latter-Day Saints, as President Packer says, recognize
the importance of the family and find safety for our family by following the
ordinances and commandments of the Lord.
The priesthood is an important part
of keeping the family safe. The father, who holds the priesthood must teach his
children and bless them. This priesthood holder also honors their mother and
keeps her safe from any harm. This is such an important duty.
One of the best ways to protect the
family is through teaching them the truths of the gospel and applying it in the
home. President Packer says, “You will do no greater work than within the walls
of your own home.”
The last thing President Packer
talks about is agency. Agency is important because we can choose between good
and evil. Along with our agency comes tolerance. If we are not careful,
President Packer warns that tolerance becomes a vice. The world has tried to
legalize immoral things and this has greatly affected agency. Most of the world
is not using their agency properly. We all have the Light of Christ in our life
and we need to open our hearts to it.
This talk is important for all of us
to learn from because the family is so important to our life on earth and in
eternity. Without the family, the plan of the Lord cannot be fulfilled and this
is extremely important to understand. I am so grateful for the family and what
President Packer has taught us in this talk. I know that what he says is true
and I want to apply it into my life. I want my family to be the most important
thing and if I follow the words of President Packer, I will be able to teach my
family what they need to know and we can follow the path that the Lord has set
for us.
“Do Not
Fear”
President
Boyd K. Packer
General
Conference
April
2004
Just as many other parents have
worried about their children growing up in this world, President Packer worried
about his grandson until he realized that he can have a happy life even if the
world is wicked. There is always a way for them to have a good life. Through
prayer and the guidance of the Spirit, our children and grandchildren can have
a good life. What we do not always remember is that we live in troubled times
but yet we still live a good life just as our children can. Every generation
has feared what the future will bring, but the next generation is still capable
of having a good life.
At this point in his talk he told
many different stories of difficulties that he experienced in his life and the
lives around him. One story that really stood out to me was of a mother who
heard that neighbor had the chicken pox. She figured her kids were going to get
it eventually and that she might as well expose them now and all at once. She
soon found out that the neighbor did not have chicken pox but actually had
small pox. After telling this story, he said, “The
best thing to do then and what we must do now is to avoid places where there is
danger of physical or spiritual contagion.” This is such a true statement and
it really helps me to connect what the mother did with the way we can avoid
things in life that can harm us. Although we do not have to worry about some of
these physical diseases, we have to think about the spiritual diseases that
plague the world every day. We need to take precautions and protect ourselves
from these spiritual illnesses instead of simply fearing them.
President
Packer continues by saying, “One thing is very clear: the safest place and the
best protection against the moral and spiritual diseases is a stable home and
family. This has always been true; it will be true forever. We must keep that
foremost in our minds.” Family is a very important part of keeping each of us
safe. We teach them what we know and that is what will help keep them safe.
The coming
generations will be stronger than the current generation so we do not need to
fear how they will do. Today we can live a happy life in this terrible world
and the next generation will do even better. We cannot live in fear. Instead,
we need to live in faith and press forward each day. We cannot get rid of the
spiritual illnesses, but we can immunize our children against them.
As we go through
life we need to keep a sense of humor. President Packer gives us the advice to
take enjoyment in ordinary things. Our humor is what will keep us happy in this
life. Life will not be free from challenges and we will go through hard times. When
we recognize the diseases in life and put forth the effort to avoid these
diseases we can succeed and we will not need to fear anything that will happen
in the future.
It is important
to know not to fear because if we live in fear, we will not be able to accomplish
the things we need to accomplish. We need to keep in mind what President Packer
said because it is important for us to know how not to fear. We need to teach
our children how to get “immunized” from the spiritual illnesses in the world.
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