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“Indeed, we need not go to the days of Alma for contrasts between the condition of the people of God then and our present condition, to find causes for thanksgiving and praise to our God this day for His mercies unto us. We have only to refer to our own history, to scenes in which many of you have taken part, to find contrasts which should prompt us to bear present afflictions with patient equanimity.” — Epistle of the First Presidency to the Church, March 1886

 The Improvement Era, November 1954