When we get assigned a talk in Church the subject we are assigned is usually horrifyingly broad and vague.
One way to clear our thinking and focus our efforts would be to find a fantastic General Conference quote or quotes. A good way to do that is to consult BYU's Lee Library Conference Quotes database in their Digital Collections. You can browse by subject or speaker.
What makes it good is that the very best quotes are included and the less-than-useful quotes, I hate to say "garbage quotes," are eliminated. So, you are already just searching the best of the best.
For example, if I put in "obedience" I get 176 items and that includes quotes that have been tagged as "obedience" as well as quotes that include the word "obedience." Instead of "tagged" I prefer the word "indexed" but tagged is probably more understandable to most people.
Concepts as well as the words are included in this little digital gem. You only get the word if you search this on the Church's site and it produces 4,084 results. That is too many to sift through and it includes more than just Conference. If you limit your results to just General Conference you get 284 results but that is still just the word "obedience" not the concept of obedience whether they happen to use the word or not. You can further limit your search to the particular speaker, their particular office, the Conference and the specific Conference but you still don't address the concept of obedience.
Look at quotes below. They are all wonderful quotes on obedience, but not one mention the word directly.
One way to clear our thinking and focus our efforts would be to find a fantastic General Conference quote or quotes. A good way to do that is to consult BYU's Lee Library Conference Quotes database in their Digital Collections. You can browse by subject or speaker.
What makes it good is that the very best quotes are included and the less-than-useful quotes, I hate to say "garbage quotes," are eliminated. So, you are already just searching the best of the best.
For example, if I put in "obedience" I get 176 items and that includes quotes that have been tagged as "obedience" as well as quotes that include the word "obedience." Instead of "tagged" I prefer the word "indexed" but tagged is probably more understandable to most people.
Concepts as well as the words are included in this little digital gem. You only get the word if you search this on the Church's site and it produces 4,084 results. That is too many to sift through and it includes more than just Conference. If you limit your results to just General Conference you get 284 results but that is still just the word "obedience" not the concept of obedience whether they happen to use the word or not. You can further limit your search to the particular speaker, their particular office, the Conference and the specific Conference but you still don't address the concept of obedience.
Look at quotes below. They are all wonderful quotes on obedience, but not one mention the word directly.
L. Tom Perry:
I promise you that if you will heed the voice of warning of the Holy Ghost and will follow His direction, you will be blessed with the ministering of angels, which will add wisdom, knowledge, power, and glory in your life. Remember, the Lord is bound by solemn covenant to bless our lives according to our faithfulness. Only He can turn us into men in whom the Spirit of God, namely the Holy Ghost, is.M. Russell Ballard:
We do not need more members who question every detail; we need members who have felt with their hearts, who live close to the Spirit, and who follow its promptings joyfully. We need seeking hearts and minds that welcome gospel truths without argument or complaint and without requiring miraculous manifestation. Oh, how we are blessed when members respond joyfully to counsel from their bishops, stake presidents, quorum or auxiliary leaders, some of whom might be younger than they and less experienced. What great blessings we receive when we follow "that which is right" joyfully and not grudgingly.
It is not enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.
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