“There Is No Other God That Can Deliver”

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Twenty-six hundred years ago, Babylon was the world’s great superpower. One ancient historian described the walls of Babylon that surrounded the city as more than 300 feet (90 m) high and 80 feet (25 m) thick. “In magnificence,” he wrote, “there is no other city that approaches … it.”

In its day, Babylon was the world’s center of learning, law, and philosophy. Its military might was unparalleled. It shattered the power of Egypt. It invaded, torched, and looted the Assyrian capital, Nineveh. It easily conquered Jerusalem and carried away the best and brightest of the children of Israel back to Babylon to serve King Nebuchadnezzar.

One of these captives was a young man by the name of Daniel. Many scholars believe that Daniel was between 12 and 17 years old at the time. Think of it, my beloved young Aaronic Priesthood holders: Daniel was very likely your age when he was taken into the king’s court to be educated in the language, laws, religion, and science of the worldly Babylon.

Can you imagine what it would have felt like to be forced from your home, marched 500 miles (800 km) to a foreign city, and indoctrinated in the religion of your enemies?

Daniel had been raised as a follower of Jehovah. He believed in and worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had studied the words of the prophets, and he knew of God’s interaction with man.

But now, at a very young age, he was a prisoner-student in Babylon. The pressure on him must have been immense to abandon his old beliefs and adopt those of Babylon. But he stayed true to his faith—in word and in deed.

Many of you know how it feels to defend an unpopular truth. In the Internet slang of today, we talk about getting “flamed” by those who disagree with us. But Daniel wasn’t just risking public ridicule. In Babylon, those who challenged the religious authorities understood what it means—figuratively and literally—to be “flamed.” Just ask Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

I don’t know if it was easy for Daniel to be a believer in such an environment. Some people are blessed with a believing heart—for them, faith seems to come as a gift from heaven. But I imagine that Daniel was like many of us who have to work for our testimonies. I’m confident that Daniel spent many hours on his knees praying, laying his questions and fears on the altar of faith, and waiting upon the Lord for understanding and wisdom.

And the Lord did bless Daniel. Though his faith was challenged and ridiculed, he stayed true to what he knew by his own experience to be right.

Daniel believed. Daniel did not doubt.

And then one night, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled his mind. He assembled his team of scholars and counselors and demanded that they describe the dream to him and also reveal the meaning of it.

Of course, they could not. “No one can do what you ask,” they pleaded. But this only made Nebuchadnezzar more furious, and he commanded that all the wise men, magicians, astrologers, and counselors be cut in pieces—including Daniel and the other young students from Israel.

You who are familiar with the book of Daniel know what happened next. Daniel asked Nebuchadnezzar for a little extra time, and he and his faithful companions went to the source of their faith and moral strength. They prayed to God and asked for divine help at this crucial moment in their lives. And “then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a … vision.”

Daniel, the young boy from a conquered nation—who had been bullied and persecuted for believing in his strange religion—went before the king and revealed to him the dream and its interpretation.

From that day on, as a direct result of his faithfulness to God, Daniel became a trusted counselor to the king, renowned for his wisdom in all of Babylon.

The boy who believed and lived his faith had become a man of God. A prophet. A prince of righteousness.

To all of us who bear the holy priesthood of God, I ask, are we like Daniel?

Do we stand loyal to God?

Do we practice what we preach, or are we Sunday Christians only?

Do our daily actions reflect clearly what we claim to believe?

Do we help “the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted”?

Do we just talk the talk, or do we enthusiastically walk the walk?

Brethren, we have been given much. We have been taught the divine truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been entrusted with priesthood authority to help our fellowmen and build up God’s kingdom on earth. We live in a time of great outpouring of spiritual power. We have the fulness of truth. We have priesthood keys to seal on earth and in heaven. Sacred scriptures and teachings of living prophets and apostles are available as never before.

My dear friends, let us not take these things lightly. With these blessings and privileges come great responsibilities and obligations. Let us rise up to them.

The ancient city of Babylon is in ruins. Its splendor is long gone. But Babylon’s worldliness and wickedness live on. Now it falls to us to live as believers in a world of disbelief. The challenge is ours to daily practice the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and to live true to God’s commandments. We will have to stay calm under peer pressure, not be impressed by popular trends or false prophets, disregard the ridicule of the ungodly, resist the temptations of the evil one, and overcome our own laziness.

Just think about it. How much easier would it have been for Daniel to simply go along with the ways of Babylon? He could have set aside the restrictive code of conduct God had given the children of Israel. He could have feasted on the rich foods provided by the king and indulged in the worldly pleasures of the natural man. He would have avoided ridicule.

He would have been popular.

He would have fit in.

His path might have been much less complicated.

That is, of course, until the day when the king demanded an interpretation of his dream. Then Daniel would have found that he, like the rest of Babylon’s “wise men,” had lost his connection to the true source of light and wisdom.

Daniel passed his test. Ours still continues.

Satan, our adversary, wants us to fail. He spreads lies as part of his effort to destroy our belief. He slyly suggests that the doubter, the skeptic, the cynic is sophisticated and intelligent, while those who have faith in God and His miracles are naive, blind, or brainwashed. Satan will advocate that it is cool to doubt spiritual gifts and the teachings of true prophets.

I wish I could help everyone to understand this one simple fact: we believe in God because of things we know with our heart and mind, not because of things we do not know. Our spiritual experiences are sometimes too sacred to explain in worldly terms, but that doesn’t mean they are not real.

Heavenly Father has prepared for His children a spiritual feast, offering every kind of exquisite food imaginable—and yet, instead of enjoying these spiritual gifts, the cynics content themselves with observing from a distance, sipping from their cups of skepticism, doubt, and disrespect.

Why would anyone walk through life satisfied with the light from the candle of their own understanding when, by reaching out to our Heavenly Father, they could experience the bright sun of spiritual knowledge that would expand their minds with wisdom and fill their souls with joy?

When you and I talk to people about faith and belief, don’t we often hear, “I wish I could believe the way you do”?

Implied in such a statement is another of Satan’s deceptions: that belief is available to some people but not to others. There is no magic to belief. But wanting to believe is the necessary first step! God is no respecter of persons. He is your Father. He wants to speak to you. However, it requires a little scientific curiosity—it requires an experiment upon the word of God—and the exercise of a “particle of faith.” It also takes a little humility. And it requires an open heart and an open mind. It requires seeking, in the full meaning of the word. And, perhaps hardest of all, it requires being patient and waiting upon the Lord.

If we make no effort to believe, we are like the man who unplugs a spotlight and then blames the spotlight for not giving any light.

Recently I was surprised and saddened to hear of an Aaronic Priesthood bearer who seemed to take pride in the fact that he had distanced himself from God. He said, “If God reveals Himself to me, then I will believe. Until then, I will find the truth relying on my own understanding and intellect to light the way before me.”

I don’t know this young man’s heart, but I couldn’t help but feel terribly sorry for him. How easily he rejected the gifts the Lord was offering him. This young man had unplugged the spotlight and then seemed self-satisfied in his clever observation that there was no light.

Unfortunately, this seems to be quite a popular attitude today. If we can put the burden of proof on God, we think we can excuse ourselves from taking God’s commandments seriously and from taking responsibility for our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Brethren, let me be clear: there is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy—anyone can do it. It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication, and courage. Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise.

But it should not surprise us that faith is not valued by society. The world has a long history of rejecting that which it does not understand. And it has particular trouble understanding things it cannot see. But just because we cannot see something with our physical eyes does not mean it doesn’t exist. Indeed, “there are more things in heaven and earth … than are dreamt of” in our textbooks, scientific journals, and worldly philosophies. The universe is filled with wonders profound and astonishing—things that can be comprehended only through spiritual eyes.

When we choose to believe, exercise faith unto repentance, and follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, we open our spiritual eyes to splendors we can scarcely imagine. Thus our belief and faith will grow stronger, and we will see even more.

Brethren, I testify that even in the toughest of times, the Savior will say to you as He said to an anxious father on a crowded street in Galilee, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

We can choose to believe.

For in belief, we discover the dawn of light.

We will discover truth.

We will find peace.

Because of our belief, we will never hunger, never thirst. The gifts of God’s grace will enable us to be true to our faith and will fill our soul like “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” We will experience true and lasting joy.

Therefore, my dear friends, my beloved brethren in the priesthood of God:

Have courage to believe.

Be not afraid, only believe.

Stand with Daniel.

I pray that each one of us—young and old—will find renewed strength, courage, and desire to believe. In the name of our Master, Jesus Christ, amen.

Herodotus, The History of Herodotus, trans. George Rawlinson, 4 vols. (1875), 1:244.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were cast into a flaming furnace (see Daniel 3).

Daniel 2:19.

See Daniel 2.

Doctrine and Covenants 52:40.

See Acts 10:34–35.

Alma 32:27.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, scene 5, lines 167–68.

See Doctrine and Covenants 50:24.

Mark 5:36.

See Moroni 10:3–5.

See Isaiah 26:3.

See John 6:35.

John 4:14.

See 2 Nephi 2:25.

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Throughout my life, general conferences of the Church have been exhilarating spiritual events, and the Church itself has been a place to come to know the Lord. I realize that there are those who consider themselves religious or spiritual and yet reject participation in a church or even the need for such an institution. Religious practice is for them purely personal. Yet the Church is the creation of Him in whom our spirituality is centered—Jesus Christ. It is worth pausing to consider why He chooses to use a church, His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to carry out His and His Father’s work “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

Beginning with Adam, the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached, and the essential ordinances of salvation, such as baptism, were administered through a family-based priesthood order. As societies grew more complex than simply extended families, God also called other prophets, messengers, and teachers. In Moses’s time, we read of a more formal structure, including elders, priests, and judges. In Book of Mormon history, Alma established a church with priests and teachers.

Then, in the meridian of time, Jesus organized His work in such a way that the gospel could be established simultaneously in multiple nations and among diverse peoples. That organization, the Church of Jesus Christ, was founded on “apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” It included additional officers, such as seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. Jesus similarly established the Church in the Western Hemisphere after His Resurrection.

Following the apostasy and disintegration of the Church He had organized while on the earth, the Lord reestablished the Church of Jesus Christ once again through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The ancient purpose remains: that is, to preach the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and administer the ordinances of salvation—in other words, to bring people to Christ. And now, through the instrumentality of this restored Church, the promise of redemption is placed within reach even of the spirits of the dead who in their mortal lifetime knew little or nothing of the Savior’s grace.

How does His Church accomplish the Lord’s purposes? It is important to recognize that God’s ultimate purpose is our progress. His desire is that we continue “from grace to grace, until [we receive] a fulness” of all He can give. That requires more than simply being nice or feeling spiritual. It requires faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism of water and of the Spirit, and enduring in faith to the end. One cannot fully achieve this in isolation, so a major reason the Lord has a church is to create a community of Saints that will sustain one another in the “strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life.”

“And [Christ] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

“… For the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Jesus Christ is “the author and the finisher of [our] faith.” Uniting ourselves to the body of Christ—the Church—is an important part of taking His name upon us. We are told that the ancient Church “did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls” “and to hear the word of the Lord.” So it is in the Church today. Joined in faith, we teach and edify one another and strive to approach the full measure of discipleship, “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” We strive to help one another come to “the knowledge of the Son of God,” until that day when “they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, … saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.”

In the Church we not only learn divine doctrine; we also experience its application. As the body of Christ, the members of the Church minister to one another in the reality of day-to-day life. All of us are imperfect; we may offend and be offended. We often test one another with our personal idiosyncrasies. In the body of Christ, we have to go beyond concepts and exalted words and have a real “hands-on” experience as we learn to “live together in love.”

This religion is not concerned only with self; rather, we are all called to serve. We are the eyes, hands, head, feet, and other members of the body of Christ, and even “those members … which seem to be more feeble, are necessary.” We need these callings, and we need to serve.

One of the men in my ward grew up not only without parental support but with parental opposition to his activity in the Church. He made this observation in a sacrament meeting: “My father cannot understand why anyone would go to church when they could go skiing, but I really like going to church. In the Church, we are all on the same journey, and I am inspired in that journey by strong youth, pure children, and what I see and learn from other adults. I am strengthened by the association and excited with the joy of living the gospel.”

The wards and branches of the Church offer a weekly gathering of respite and renewal, a time and place to leave the world behind—the Sabbath. It is a day to “delight thyself in the Lord,” to experience the spiritual healing that comes with the sacrament, and to receive the renewed promise of His Spirit to be with us.

One of the greatest blessings of being part of the body of Christ, though it may not seem like a blessing in the moment, is being reproved of sin and error. We are prone to excuse and rationalize our faults, and sometimes we simply do not know where we should improve or how to do it. Without those who can reprove us “betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost,” we might lack the courage to change and more perfectly follow the Master. Repentance is individual, but fellowship on that sometimes painful path is in the Church.

In this discussion of the Church as the body of Christ, we must always bear in mind two things. One, we do not strive for conversion to the Church but to Christ and His gospel, a conversion that is facilitated by the Church. The Book of Mormon expresses it best when it says that the people “were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ.” Two, we must remember that in the beginning, the Church was the family, and even today as separate institutions, the family and the Church serve and strengthen one another. Neither supplants the other, and certainly the Church, even at its best, cannot substitute for parents. The point of gospel teaching and priesthood ordinances administered by the Church is that families may qualify for eternal life.

There is a second major reason the Savior works through a church, His Church, and that is to achieve needful things that cannot be accomplished by individuals or smaller groups. One clear example is dealing with poverty. It is true that as individuals and families we look after the physical needs of others, “imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.” But together in the Church, the ability to care for the poor and needy is multiplied to meet the broader need, and hoped-for self-reliance is made a reality for very many. Further, the Church, its Relief Societies, and its priesthood quorums have the capacity to provide relief to many people in many places affected by natural disasters, war, and persecution.

Without the capabilities of His Church in place, the Savior’s commission to take the gospel to all the world could not be realized. There would not be the apostolic keys, the structure, the financial means, and the devotion and sacrifice of thousands upon thousands of missionaries needed to carry out the work. Remember, “this Gospel of the Kingdom [must] be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.”

The Church can build and operate temples, houses of the Lord, where vital ordinances and covenants may be administered. Joseph Smith stated that God’s objective in gathering His people in any age is “to build unto the Lord a house whereby He [can] reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose.”

If one believes that all roads lead to heaven or that there are no particular requirements for salvation, he or she will see no need for proclaiming the gospel or for ordinances and covenants in redeeming either the living or the dead. But we speak not just of immortality but also of eternal life, and for that the gospel path and gospel covenants are essential. And the Savior needs a church to make them available to all of God’s children—both the living and the dead.

The final reason I will mention for the Lord to have established His Church is the most unique—the Church is, after all, the kingdom of God on the earth.

As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was being established in the 1830s, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Lift up your hearts and rejoice, for unto you the kingdom, or in other words, the keys of the church have been given.” In the authority of these keys, the Church’s priesthood officers preserve the purity of the Savior’s doctrine and the integrity of His saving ordinances. They help prepare those who wish to receive them, judge the qualification and worthiness of those who apply, and then perform them.

With the keys of the kingdom, the Lord’s servants can identify both truth and falsehood and once again authoritatively state, “Thus saith the Lord.” Regrettably, some resent the Church because they want to define their own truth, but in reality it is a surpassing blessing to receive a “knowledge of things as they [truly] are, and as they were, and as they are to come” insofar as the Lord wills to reveal it. The Church safeguards and publishes God’s revelations—the canon of scripture.

When Daniel interpreted the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, making known to the king “what shall be in the latter days,” he declared that “the God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom, not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands” to fill the earth.

Its destiny is to establish Zion in preparation for the return and millennial rule of Jesus Christ. Before that day, it will not be a kingdom in any political sense—as the Savior said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Rather, it is the repository of His authority in the earth, the administrator of His holy covenants, the custodian of His temples, the protector and proclaimer of His truth, the gathering place for scattered Israel, and “a defense, and … a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.”

I end with the Prophet’s plea and prayer:

“Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.

“Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Moses 1:39.

“The Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

“And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance” (Moses 5:58–59; see also Moses 6:22–23).

Ephesians 2:20.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by God to assist in His work to bring to pass the salvation and exaltation of His children. …

“In fulfilling its purpose to help individuals and families qualify for exaltation, the Church focuses on divinely appointed responsibilities. These include helping members live the gospel of Jesus Christ, gathering Israel through missionary work, caring for the poor and needy, and enabling the salvation of the dead by building temples and performing vicarious ordinances” (Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 2.2).

Doctrine and Covenants 93:13.

See 2 Nephi 31:17–20.

2 Nephi 31:18.

Ephesians 4:11–13.

Moroni 6:4.

See 3 Nephi 27:5–7.

Moroni 6:5.

4 Nephi 1:12.

Ephesians 4:13.

Jeremiah 31:34; see also Hebrews 8:11.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:45.

1 Corinthians 12:22. Paul also declared: “Now [we are] many members, yet but one body. … And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:20, 26; see also Mosiah 18:9).

Isaiah 58:14.

See Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79; 59:9–12.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:43.

See 3 Nephi 18:21–23, 30–32.

See Donald L. Hallstrom, “Converted to His Gospel through His Church,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 13–15.

3 Nephi 28:23; emphasis added.

Mosiah 18:29.

One example is what we call “the Lord’s storehouse”: “The Lord’s storehouse is not limited to a building used to distribute food and clothing to the poor. It also includes Church members’ offerings of time, talents, compassion, materials, and financial means that are made available to the bishop to help care for the poor and needy. The Lord’s storehouse, then, exists in each ward” (Handbook 2, 6.1.3).

See Matthew 28:19–20; Doctrine and Covenants 112:28–29.

Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:31.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 416.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:69; see also Doctrine and Covenants 90:3.

See Articles of Faith 1:5.

Doctrine and Covenants 93:24.

Daniel 2:28.

Daniel 2:44.

Daniel 2:45; see also verse 35.

John 18:36; emphasis added.

Doctrine and Covenants 115:6.

Doctrine and Covenants 65:5–6.

By President Henry B. Eyring

First Counselor in the First Presidency

My dear brothers and sisters, I am grateful to be with you at this time when we can remember again the Savior’s comfort to His Apostles, as He knew that He would have to leave them alone, without Him to lead, protect, and succor them in their perils.

It was at that Last Supper that He gave those faithful disciples a promise, which continues to comfort and encourage His faithful disciples today in whatever difficulties we face in our own lives. He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The world today seems to be in commotion. There are wars and rumors of wars. The economies of whole continents seem to be faltering. Prophesied wickedness seems to be accelerating as the Savior’s return draws nearer.

Yet despite turmoil and difficulty, faithful Latter-day Saints in hardship across the world have flooded heaven with prayers. In public and in private, they are petitioning the Lord for help, for comfort, for direction, and for personal peace for those they love.

You may have seen in your congregations and in your homes that prayers have not only been more numerous but more heartfelt.

Turning to Heavenly Father in fervent prayer when the world seems chaotic is as old as mankind. In times of fear, tragedy, danger, trouble, or illness, people often turn to God in prayer. His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, lives, knows us, watches over us, and cares for us. You may remember the consoling words of King David from the book of Psalms:

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

In moments of pain, loneliness, or confusion, we know that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are aware of our circumstances and that They yearn to bless us. The Savior’s words are clear:

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Opening the windows of heaven through fervent prayer does not require the use of many words or flowery language. Rather, the diligence in prayer which Heavenly Father requires of us is to “pour out [our] souls” in private places and have our hearts “drawn out in prayer unto him continually.”

During His Sermon on the Mount, the Savior taught:

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

The Lord has also provided us touching evidence of the power of nonverbal prayers offered within our hearts. In the Book of Mormon, we read of the people of Alma the Elder, who would have been destroyed had they prayed openly:

“And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.

“And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for 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 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.”

I testify that the Lord hears and answers the prayers of our hearts, just as He did for Alma and his people. We can follow His commandment to “pray always” by having a continual prayer in our hearts. As prophets have taught many times in the past, you may not feel like praying or you may not know what to say, but God hears the secret prayers of your heart. The feelings of your heart and the love for our Heavenly Father and for His Beloved Son can be so constant that your prayers will ascend always.

As we pray continually, no matter the circumstances of life, the Lord will offer us His peace and abiding support. I am reminded of the example of the sons of Mosiah, who had success in preaching the gospel and were made spiritually strong because they prayed constantly. We read in the book of Alma, “They had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation.”

It is significant that their spiritual strength came from continued prayer rather than waiting to pray until a moment of crisis when they desperately needed divine help. Consistent prayer during joyous times and also during seasons of distress and grief will surely be rewarded according to His will and perfect timing.

I know that God the Father lives. He loves us. He hears our prayers, and many times He will answer with feelings of peace. Again from the Book of Mormon: “And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken.”

Brothers and sisters, I bear my testimony that the Savior’s promise is true and that a humble prayer for peace in your heart will be honored. I felt it at the funeral of my wife of 61 years. I was surprised at the feeling of peace and almost joy. The people at the funeral must have wondered why I was smiling. It was because the Lord had answered my prayer for peace with an assurance from the Holy Ghost, which allowed me to envision the happy reunion ahead with her. The Lord gave me the peace and hope that He had promised His disciples.

He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled.”

I testify that I know that Jesus Christ lives. He loves us and blesses us. He continues to offer us peace in our lives through sincere and fervent prayer. Of these things I humbly testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

John 14:27.

Psalm 9:9–10.

Luke 11:9–10.

Alma 34:26, 27.

Matthew 6:6–8.

Mosiah 24:12–15.

Doctrine and Covenants 19:38.

Alma 17:3.

See “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” Hymns, no. 142.

Alma 7:27.

John 14:27.