Provo MTC Devotional
The Answer is the Doctrine
Elder David A. Bednar
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
November 9, 2010
Elders and sisters, I rejoice in this
opportunity to be with you
tonight. When Sister Bednar said
it was 39 years since I was seated
in the congregation where you
are I’m not sure she needed to
share that. But that brings a
crushing weight of responsibility because I
remember vividly what it was like to sit just a few
rows away from Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft
Benson, and Gordon B. Hinckley. In those days
there was not a Missionary Training Center as we
have here now. I served my mission shortly after
Parley P. Pratt returned from Europe. We entered
the Mission Home in Salt Lake City,
<Sister Bednar interrupts: These young missionaries
didn’t laugh when you said Parley P. Pratt because
they don’t know him and now they’ll think you’re
just as old as he is!>
I am as old as Parley P. Pratt. So, we had a week in
the Mission Home in Salt Lake City. On average I
think the groups coming in to the Mission Home
there were maybe two hundred, two-hundred and
fifty missionaries. We were there for a week and
then the missionaries speaking Norwegian and the
Northern European languages would go to Rexburg,
Idaho, to Ricks College for the language training
1|Provo MTC Devotional
mission there. If you were going to Asia or the
Pacific Islands you would go to BYU-Hawaii for your
language training mission there. And everybody else
came to Provo. The reason that it is so crushingly
overwhelming I still have the notes that I took when
I was seated where you are seated. I still refer to
them and it’s hard for me to imagine that I’m here
while you’re there.
So, I pray for the assistance of the Holy Ghost. I’m
not the teacher tonight. The Holy Ghost is the
teacher. You would really be making a mistake if
you devoted most of your time and attention
tonight to writing down things that I say. You
should pay specific attention to the impressions that
will come to your heart and mind by the power of
the Holy Ghost. That is the spirit of revelation. That
spirit tonight will comfort you. Perhaps, it may
afflict you. Perhaps, it may rebuke you and correct
you. Perhaps, in ways that I never could. I invite you
to pay very close attention to those impressions.
That is what you ought to be writing down.
Now, I’m going to try something tonight that I’ve
never done speaking here at the MTC to
missionaries. Let me set the stage and give you a
couple of ground rules.
I’m here tonight to help you to learn. I’m not here
to give a talk. I’m not here to teach you. I’m here to
invite you to learn and to help you to learn. I’m
really going to be very doctrinally focused. I know
you’ve had a long day. I know it’s after dinner. If
your body is here and your head is someplace else,
please come back. I’m not going to try to entertain
you, but the intensity of what we do will help you to
stay awake. I want to help you to get a very simple
framework for learning the gospel and for helping
those you teach to learn the gospel. It is more
important that your investigators learn than it is for
you to teach. Your role is to help investigators learn
about the Restoration and the principles of the
Restored Gospel. You have not been sent out to
teach lessons. You have been sent to teach people.
If I bump into you in the mission field and you say,
“Oh, Elder Bednar, we taught fourteen lessons this
week.” Do you know what I will say to you? “I
couldn’t care less. I don’t want to know about your
numbers. I don’t want to know about the number
of lessons. You tell me about the fourteen homes
you were in. You tell me about the fourteen people
you taught. What did they learn?” You are not to
go out and just parrot words and think that you’re
teaching. What is required is for your investigators
to learn. But that begins with how you learn. So,
my hope tonight is to put a very simple framework
in place that will help you now and forever in
learning the gospel. And it can likewise help your
investigators.
Now, if you are willing to work tonight and help me
through your work, please indicate by raising your
hand. Oh, this is very good. Are there any
opposed? Alright! I saw one hand opposed; I want
to visit with you.
Element number one: And please don’t just launch
into writing all this stuff down. Put down a couple
of things that will help you, but don’t try to take
such detailed notes that you miss what the Holy
Ghost is trying to communicate to you. Question:
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
What is a doctrine? A gospel doctrine is a truth. It is
a truth revealed by Heavenly Father to His children
here upon the earth. And that revealed truth
pertains to our eternal progression. Sometimes we
think that doctrine is weird stuff like: Where’s Kolob
and how long does it take to get there? That’s not
doctrine. Doctrine is simple, doctrine is
foundational, and doctrine is fundamental. For
example, the nature of the Godhead is a doctrine.
When we understand that the Father and the Son
and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct
beings, that the Father and the Son have tangible
exalted bodies of flesh and bone, that the three
members of the Godhead are perfectly united but
they are three separate and distinct beings. That is
the doctrine of the Godhead. The doctrine of the
plan of happiness - why we are here, where we
came from and where we’re going - the Father’s
Plan. That is a doctrine.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is a doctrine. A
doctrine always answers the question of “Why”.
The questions of the soul are primarily why
questions. Why am I here on the earth? Answer:
The plan of happiness. Why was it necessary for
Jesus to offer the atoning sacrifice? Answer: The
doctrine of the atonement. Not in every instance,
but in the overwhelming majority of instances,
simple fundamental doctrines of the Restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ will answer the question of
why?
So, element number one is understanding simply
and clearly what is a doctrine? Doctrines are found
in the scriptures. They are found in the teachings of
the living apostles and prophets. You’ll hear it in
General Conference. You find doctrines in the
authorized proclamations and declarations that
come from the First Presidency and the Twelve.
And only the First Presidency and the President of
the Church have the authority to definitively
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determine and declare the doctrines of the gospel specific sequence of doctrine and principle in the
of Jesus Christ. Are you with me so far? Now, the thirteen Articles of Faith.
only thing you have when you go into the world to
A principle is a guideline that comes out of doctrine
proclaim the gospel is the doctrine.
for the righteous exercise of moral agency. Let me
I don’t have a title for this presentation tonight, but say that one again so it sinks in. A principle is a
if it had a title it would be: The Answer Is The guideline based on doctrine for the righteous
Doctrine. The answer is always the doctrine. That exercise of moral agency. Do you remember the
will make a little more sense in a few minutes. teaching given by the Prophet Joseph Smith? He
was asked in Nauvoo, how do you govern this mass
Element number two. What is a principle and how
of people that have come from all over the world?
is a principle related to a doctrine? It’s intriguing.
His answer was, I teach them correct principles -- I
The reason I want to do this with young people like
teach them correct guidelines based on doctrine
you is because adults have to pretend they know
and then they righteously exercise their agency or
the answers to these questions. What is a doctrine?
as the Prophet said -- they govern themselves.
What is a principle? We use this language all the
Teach them correct principles and they govern
time in the Church and everyone nods their head
themselves. A principle almost always answers the
and says, yeah, yeah, but just sits in terror afraid
question what? If the atonement answers the
that someone may call on them and say, stand up
question of why, then what are we to do? We are
and tell us what a doctrine is. Well, if we had to
to have faith in Christ and repent of our sins. Are
articulate it, it would be a little tough. So, in your
you with me so far? Alright.
own mind, if I called you up here right now and said,
tell everyone what a principle is, what would you Third element, applications. A principle is not
say? I’m not going to do that, so don’t freak out. behavior. A principle is not an action. A principle is
But you can’t teach principles if you don’t know a guideline for behavior and for action, so that we
what they are. will behave and act in righteousness. Applications
are what we really do. Applications answer the
A principle is a guideline that comes from a
question of how? Doctrine answers the question of
doctrine. The overarching, encompassing
why? Principles answer the question of what? And
framework of the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in
applications answer the questions of how? This is
the simple doctrine. Consider the first three Articles
the behavior. This is the action. Let me give you an
of Faith. What is the doctrine of the first Article of
illustration. Take the doctrine of the atonement,
Faith? The doctrine of the Godhead, and the
the principle of repentance, and the application of
nature of the Godhead. What is the focus of the
the “R” steps. Do you remember all the “R” steps
second Article of Faith? The Plan, the Atonement
you learned in seminary? Everyone in this room
and the Fall of Adam. What’s the focus of the third
would get a perfect score on a quiz. What are the
Article of Faith? The Plan, the Atonement and my
“R” steps of repentance? Recognize the sin, feel
individual fall. What’s the fourth Article of Faith?
remorse for the sin, make restitution for the sin,
The principles and ordinances by which the
remember all this? Okay. Those are the application
atonement of Christ and the plan of happiness
steps. That’s how you do repentance. Can you do
become operational in my life. There is a very
all those steps and not repent? Yes. Can I give you

November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah

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an example? When I was the president of BYU-
Idaho I knew of a student who committed an
absolutely horrendous sexual transgression on a
Friday night, went to the Bishop on Sunday and said,
word for word, you are the last thing on my list. I’ve
done all the “R’s” and now I’ve confessed to you
and I feel great. Horrendous sexual sin on Friday
night, went through all the items on the check list
and thinks that he feels great because you, Bishop,
are the last thing on my check list. Knew all of the
application steps and had no clue about the
principle of repentance and the doctrine of the
atonement. To repent means to return. When we
sin we turn away from Christ. When we repent we
re-turn to Christ, turn again to Him. He had done all
the behavior, but had never included Christ; had
never returned to Him. And simply doing the
behavior or stopping the behavior is not
repentance, until one returns to Christ.
So if you take the plan of happiness as an
overarching doctrine, the principle or the guideline
of obedience, what then is paying your tithing? It’s
an application step. Are you with me? Alright.
Some of you are thinking, well, Elder Bednar, will
you give us a list of the doctrines and the principles
and the applications? No, I won’t. You go learn
them on your own. This is not some rigid
spreadsheet with little answers in every box that
only the apostles get in the back of their scriptures.
You use this as a framework for learning. Question,
Elder Bednar, you just gave the example of the plan
and obedience and tithing. Couldn’t tithing be a
principle? Sure. If tithing were a principle what
doctrine would it be related to? You figure that out.
Fuss, mess, play as you study the scriptures. Scratch
it out on a piece of paper and just mess around and
explore and play. If tithing were a principle what’s
the application step? Pay on the first of the month.
So the principle is tithing, that’s the guideline;
different application steps. You’ll find this pattern,
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
this framework of doctrine, principle and
application in everything you read in Preach My
Gospel. You may not have seen it, but you will now.
Go and look for the relationship between doctrines
and principles and applications. Now, I want you, in
your mind, to answer this question. Honestly.
Don’t give the answer that you think sounds good or
that you think you’re supposed to give. In your life
in the Church, in your own study, in your living of
the gospel have you focused primarily on doctrines
and principles or on applications? For those who
are a little bit older and have served in the Church, if
you’ve been a Relief Society president, a Bishop,
whatever you’ve done, have you focused primarily
on doctrines and principles or on applications?
There are some gray heads in the front of the
auditorium that are kind of going, I’m not going to
say this, but it is applications. Somehow, someway,
we seem to be drawn to applications as the way to
fix things, and to make my life better and to help
the Church to run the way it’s supposed to run.
This is a true, but a goofy illustration. What do we
do to improve home teaching? Well, we come up
with gimmicks like this. Bake your home teachers a
cake. And it’s a fresh cake on the first of the month.
And if they get there on the 25th it’s a moldy cake.
So that’s an incentive for them to come early in the
month. Isn’t this an inspired idea? We’ll have cake
as the enticement to get people to home teach. If
you want to have 100 % home teaching I know the
perfect way to get it done. You get the biggest,
ugliest person in the Ward or in the Branch,
preferably an ex-marine and he just scares the be-
jeebies out of you, but you’re going to have your
home teaching done by the 15th of the month. And
if you don’t have it done, well, I’m coming to get
you. And the numbers go way up. Our home
teaching is terrific. No, it’s lousy. People are doing
it because they’re scared. And what happens when
this guy dies or moves out of the Ward? Home
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teaching is in the tank. So, was there any real
improvement? No. Question? If I invited all the
men in this room right now to take out a 3x5 card
and write down the doctrinal reason for home
teaching, could you do it? Well, we’re supposed to
go once a month. No, that’s an application. Well,
I’ve got to report to the members of the Elders
Quorum. No, that’s an application. What is the
doctrinal reason why we do home teaching? And
you know what, not many men in the Church can
give a doctrinally based answer and refer to a
scripture that explains why. That’s why home
teaching doesn’t work. We home teach to be with,
watch over and strengthen the members. Straight
out of the scriptures. You find where it is (D&C
20:53). I’m not going to tell you. That’s the reason
why. To be with, watch over and strengthen. The
men in the Church who don’t home teach are not
lazy. They simply have not learned the doctrine. It’s
not that somebody hasn’t told them. They haven’t
learned it. It hasn’t gotten inside. We focus on
applications because we like to think we’re in
control. I’m going to manage this; I’m going to make
it happen. No, this is the Lord’s Church and He can
do His work. We like to rely on the arm of the flesh.
It seems to be quicker and easier. Well, it’s not.
And there is no lasting spiritual impact from simply
manipulating applications. If you served in an Elders
Quorum Presidency what do you do to improve
home teaching? Let’s reorganize it again. What’s
re-organizing it? It’s an application. If a man
understands the doctrine and principles associated
with the practice, the application of home teaching,
he will never miss. Never. It’s always doctrine. The
answer is always the doctrine. Not in gimmicky
applications, but in the simple pure doctrine and
principles of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. A
statement from President Packer, “true doctrine
understood changes attitudes and behavior.” Let
me repeat that, true doctrine, true doctrine, not my
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
personal opinions, not my gospel hobbies, not what
I’m interested in, the fundamental doctrines, true
doctrine understood changes attitudes and
behavior. Understood? Interestingly the word
understood, in the scriptures, does not refer to
mental comprehension. I have to say this the right
way. Of course you care that your investigators
understand what you say. But, that will never be
enough. Understanding, in the scriptures, is linked
to the heart. For example, in Mosiah 12:27, note
the relationship between heart and understanding.
This is Abinadi teaching, “ye have not applied your
hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not
been wise.” Wouldn’t you think that you would
apply your mind to understanding? Certainly, but
applying your mind to understanding is not enough.
It’s a beginning, but it’s not enough. How does
revelation come? Thoughts to the mind and
feelings to the heart. Apply your heart to
understanding. What is understanding? It’s the
revealed result. When what we know in our head
moves to our heart by the power of revelation,
that’s the beginning of understanding.
Understanding is what comes by the power of the
Holy Ghost not because of the clarity of your
explanation. You have to work to explain as clearly
as you can, but the best explanation you ever give
will never produce understanding in the mind of an
investigator. Only the Holy Ghost can do that, and it
will be in the heart and not in the mind.
In 3rd Nephi 19:33, here Jesus prays. This is the
description of what happened in the multitude,
“And the multitude did hear and do bear record;
and their hearts were open [notice this] and they
did understand in their hearts the words which he
prayed. Now how do you understand in your heart?
Now it is a function of revelation; it’s by the power
of the Holy Ghost, it’s not just mental
comprehension. True doctrine understood changes
attitudes and behavior. Focusing on actions and
5
behaviors will never change action and behavior in
you, in me or in anybody else. The answer is the
doctrine. The answer is always the doctrine.
Now you’re probably asking, Brother Bednar, what
is this going to do to help me? Now in your own life
there are some things you need to overcome, some
capacities you don’t have. The answer is in the
doctrine. It’s not just in better goal setting although
that helps. It’s not just in being more disciplined
although that’s necessary. It’s not just, well, I need
to work harder, although that is important. The
answer is in the doctrine. Some of you feel blown
away and overloaded. You’re not quite sure you
can hack this. Do you know what the Savior said?
My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now, what
is it in the doctrine of Christ, specifically in the
atonement, that can help you shoulder your burden
so that it will feel lighter? The answer is in the
doctrine and only in the doctrine, not in gimmicky
applications. Applications are necessary, but that’s
not where you will find the answers for you or for
anyone else that you are trying to help learn the
principles of the gospel. You will encounter people
with all kinds of behavioral challenges and even
addictions. What are you going to do to help
somebody who’s addicted to pornography or to
tobacco or alcohol or drugs or something else? With
your vast experience in your nineteen years, what
are you going to do to help them? The answer is in
the doctrine! Your love won’t change them
although it will help. It will be the doctrine and the
witness that comes by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Therefore, you have to know and learn the simple
foundational doctrines so that you can help them
learn the doctrines because that’s where they are
going to find the answers.
As you study, as an individual, as you study with
your companion, let me suggest a question that can
assist you. If it is true, that doctrine understood
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
changes attitudes and behavior, and if you are
dealing with someone who has a pornography
problem, question? What doctrines and principles,
if understood, would change that attitude or
behavior? That, I would suggest to you, is the
question to begin with, almost always. Instead of
thinking, this is how we’re going to fix this, let’s do
this. It is so characteristic for missionaries with their
zeal and their love for their investigator who has a
smoking problem. They take away the cigarettes
and they show up at the house every morning to
pray with this investigator so he can make it through
the day and not smoke. That’s wonderful, but that
will never work alone; because you’re not always
going to be there. What is it in the heart of that
investigator, in addition to your love and support,
that will enable him or her to overcome smoking?
The answer is in the doctrine. And you have to
know the doctrine so that you can help guide them
to the doctrine so they can learn it, not just you tell
them about it, but you help them learn it so that it
can get inside.
Let me give you a very tangible example, from the
scriptures, doctrine that can help someone with an
addiction. Turn with me to Mosiah 24:13. In this
chapter we find that Amulon is persecuting Alma
and his people. Verse 13, “And it came to pass that
the voice of the Lord came to them in their
afflictions, [Is addiction an affliction? Yes, so this
applies perfectly.] saying: Lift up your heads and be
of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which
ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my
people and deliver them out of bondage.”
Please note that in verse 13, deliverance is focused
in covenants. The beginning is covenants. I’m not
going to spend a lot of time talking about covenants.
You go learn--simply, concisely, clearly--what is a
covenant? Because that’s what you’re inviting an
investigator to enter into. And you’ve got to know
6
what that is. You have to be able to explain that to
an eight year-old or a fifty year-old before you can
really effectively invite someone to make and keep
a covenant. Covenants and the associated
ordinances properly performed in the authority of
the priesthood, [please listen], open the door to the
fullest possible range of the blessings of the
atonement of Jesus Christ. In other words, you
can’t have access to all of the blessings of the
atonement of Christ unless we receive the
ordinances of salvation and make the associated
covenants. In the Doctrine and Covenants it says
that in the ordinances of the priesthood, specifically
the Melchizedek Priesthood, the power of godliness
is made manifest. And without the ordinances of
the priesthood the power of Godliness is not made
manifest unto men in the flesh (D&C 84:20-21).
Well, what is the power of godliness? It is the full
range of the blessings that come through the
atonement of Jesus Christ. And without priesthood
ordinances we cannot have access to those
blessings. That’s why we find in verse 13 a focus on
covenants. Verse 14, “And I will also ease the
burdens which are put upon your shoulders.” Elders,
Sisters, does that sound good to you? Do you like
that? All those in favor? Now all those in favor of
how it’s going to happen which you don’t quite
know yet? Now, the hands don’t go up quite so
quick. You’re not going to like the way this
happens, because when we read that first line, Oh,
good, the Lord is going to take it away from me,
make things easy. No. “And I will also ease the
burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that
even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even
while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye
may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that
ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do
visit my people in their afflictions [and in their
addictions.]”
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
Now watch this in verse 15, “And now it came to
pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma
and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did
strengthen them that they could bear up their
burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully
and with patience to all the will of the Lord.” Did
the burden change? No. Did the people change?
Yes. How did the people change? They were
strengthened. And stronger people bearing the
same burden felt the burden to be lighter. “My
yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:30) It
is necessary to pack a load, to bear a burden, in
order to be strengthened. The atonement of Jesus
Christ not only enables us to be cleansed from sin,
but it can strengthen us to do hard things that in our
own capacity we could never do. Some of you who
are wondering if I can learn this difficult language, if
I can deal with the structure of the MTC that I’m not
accustomed to; I don’t know if I can do this. Of
course you can’t - alone. But in the strength of the
Lord, with the help that He will bless you to receive,
you can do anything in His strength. Great
missionaries in the Book of Mormon said, I will not
boast in my own strength, for I know that I am
nothing. But I will boast of my God, for in His
strength I can do all things (Alma 26:11-12). Now,
Elders and Sisters, you are not alone in your own
learning, in your own uncertainty about can I do
this? Yes, you can with the help and in the strength
of the Lord.
No investigator that you ever teach who has an
addiction will ever overcome it without
understanding the redeeming power of the
atonement and the strengthening power of the
atonement. The answer is always the doctrine. All
of the wonderful applications that you and your
companion may try to cook up to help them are
great and you ought to do them, but they will never
be enough. The answer is always in the doctrine.
And you have the responsibility to use your study
7
time effectively so that you can treasure up in your
minds and in your hearts continually the words of
eternal life (D&C 84:85). That means the doctrines
and the principles. As you do so, then as you are
helping investigators to learn, it will be given you in
the very moment that portion that is needful. You
will be asked a question you do not know. Things
that you have studied and put into your head and
your heart will be brought back to your mind and to
your memory by the power of the Holy Ghost. And
it will not be, that you are such a great teacher, it
will simply be that the Holy Ghost is operating
through you and you have prepared yourself to be
that vessel through whom He can operate. Because
the Holy Ghost is the teacher. It’s never me and it’s
never you. Doctrine is truth, salvational truth,
revealed from our Heavenly Father about our
eternal progress. A principle is a guideline based on
doctrine. And it is specifically intended so that we
can righteously exercise our moral agency. Doctrine
answers why, principle answers what, applications
are the actions and things that we do. Applications
answer the question of how.
Another example. This one you can write down;
you’ll have to think about it. It won’t make sense to
you now, but it will the longer you serve. Your
investigators will ask you a bazillion application
questions. And do you know what most
missionaries do when they answer an application
question? They give them applications. Guideline:
answer application questions with a principle, not
an application. Someone will say to you, well
Mormons practice polygamy and so many
missionaries launch into the defense of the tactics
of polygamy and plural marriage. Well, there was
only a small percentage of men in the Church that
ever practiced polygamy and they go into all this
stuff that’s nice, but does no good. We believe all
that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,
and we believe that God will yet reveal many great
November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah
and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of
God (Article of Faith 9). Plural marriage was initiated
through a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith
and plural marriage was discontinued because of a
revelation to a prophet. The issue is not plural
marriage. The issue is revelation and does God
speak today as is recorded in the Old and New
Testaments? You address a very specific question
with a principle so that the people can find their
own answers. I was in a particular area of the world
in the Caribbean. We were conducting a question
and answer session in a priesthood leadership
meeting. A gentleman who had just joined the
Church from another faith only a few weeks, stood
up and he said, Elder Bednar I’d like to know if I can
eat pork. The Church from which he had just come
had a very rigid and strict dietary set of restrictions.
And in his previous Church he couldn’t eat pork. So
he said, can I eat pork? And I said, I would
recommend that you read in the Doctrine and
Covenants section 89. Knowing that he was a
convert I explained what the Doctrine and
Covenants was and said, if you will read section 89
you will have your answer. He continued to stand,
and said, but Elder Bednar, I just want to know if I
can eat pork. I said, let me suggest that you read
section 89. We did this three or four times and he
started to get kind of fussy and angry. He said, your
answer is unsatisfactory. It would have been really
easy to just say, of course, eat pork if you want.
That’s fine. It also would have done him no good.
So, in a very polite way I tried to say, look you’ve
asked me this question about eight times and I think
you’re going to keep asking the same question and
I’m going to give you the same answer. So let’s just
call it a draw and you go read section 89 and you’ll
find your answer and he was kind of upset. The
next day he came up to somebody and said, tell
Elder Bednar that I found my answer. Now, it
wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good if I had
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just given him the answer. What I wanted to do was authority by which they could be properly be
guide him so he would learn for himself so he could taught. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph
get his own answers. Guide him to the correct in the Sacred Grove so the ordinances associated
doctrine and principles. Of course you’re going to with eternal covenants could be performed by
have to answer questions, of course you’ll assist, proper authority. Ordinances and covenants that
but do it in a way so that they don’t become open the door to the fullest possible range of the
dependent upon you. Steer them to the Savior to blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Do you
His truths and to His guidelines, to His doctrine and really understand what you’re going out to do? You
His guidelines and His principles so they stand are going out to proclaim the Restoration, the
spiritually independent. availability of those covenants and ordinances
performed by proper priesthood authority so that
I hope some of this has made sense to you. I know
people can be cleansed and strengthened through
this is a lot all at once, but if you will put those basic
the atonement of Jesus Christ. Do you realize that
elements into place—doctrines, principles and
those blessings first and foremost apply to you?
applications. If you will think about your
You have probably never realized your limitation,
investigators--what doctrines if understood would
your lack of capacity more than you do in the MTC.
address this challenge that they’re having? When
And if you haven’t recognized it, repent of your
you’re a parent--don’t get trunky thinking about
pride. And you kind of go, wow, I’ve never been
that--when you’re a parent instead of just lecturing
pressed this hard. Well, that’s a good thing and you
your children about all the things that they should
don’t have to deal with it alone. The strengthening
or should not do which is necessary and doesn’t
power of the Savior’s atonement will bless you with
work, consider this question for you and your
capacity beyond your own. I can speak with
spouse--what doctrines, if understood, would help
authority on this topic, because I do not have what
our children be chaste in a world where hardly
it takes to be a member of the Quorum of the
anybody is chaste. What doctrines if they got into
Twelve. I’m not smart enough, I’m not experienced
their hearts would protect them from the fiery darts
enough, I just don’t have what it takes. But in the
of the adversary? And then instead of just assuming
strength of the Lord I can do all things. I can go
we’ve got to tell them those doctrines then the
anywhere He wants me to go. I can do anything He
second question is, how can we best help them
needs me to do and I can say whatever He wants
learn those doctrines? Not us just telling them, but
me to say, in His strength. And that is not a blessing
how can they learn them? What doctrines, if
reserved for members of the Quorum of the Twelve;
understood, would change attitudes and behavior?
that is a blessing available to any son or daughter of
And how can we then best help them learn those
God, who with full purpose of heart enters into
doctrines. If you will apply that in your own life as
sacred gospel covenants and receives the
you study then you’ll be in a position to help those
ordinances of salvation performed by proper
whom you love as investigators to do the same
priesthood authority.
thing, but it has to begin with you and the answer
always is in the doctrine and in the principles. Oh, Elders and Sisters, I love you, I commend you, I
thank you for your willingness to serve. I pray that
The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph to
you will take this little beginning and build upon it
restore the doctrines and the principles and the
and use it so that you can learn the doctrine

November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah

9
because the answer is in the doctrine. I declare my
apostolic witness of the living reality and of the
divinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost. I witness that the Father and the Son live. I
witness that God the Eternal Father is our Father.
He is the author of the Plan of Happiness. I witness
that Jesus is the Christ, the only Begotten Son of the
Eternal Father. He is our Redeemer and our Savior.
He lives today. He is resurrected. I witness that He
lives, that He speaks. This is His Restored Church.
He stands at the head, He directs its affairs. I
witness that is true. I witness that there is a
prophet on the earth today, President Thomas
Monson and there are fourteen other prophets,
seers, and revelators. I witness that is true.
Now as we conclude tonight, in the authority of the
apostleship I invoke a blessing upon you. Even this
blessing, that as you are diligent and faithful, in your
study and learning, the doctrines of the Restored
gospel of Jesus Christ will distill upon your minds
and into your hearts as the dews from Heaven, that
those doctrines will bring understanding, direction
and protection in your individual life, and will bless
you and your family through generations. And I
invoke the blessing that as you are diligent in that
pursuit, to understand the simple doctrine, that
through the strengthening power of the Savior’s
atonement you will be magnified, your capacity will
be enlarged to assist others in learning likewise. I
declare my witness and again express my love to
and for you and invoke these promised blessings
upon you, according to your faithfulness, in the
sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

November 9, 2010 – Missionary Training Center – Provo, Utah

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