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The Power of the Priesthood

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:47:00 PDT

The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families.

We need everyone. The tired or worn out or lazy and even those who are bound down with guilt must be restored through repentance and forgiveness. Too many of our priesthood brethren are living below their privileges and the Lord’s expectations.

Read, watch, or listen at lds.org

His Grace Is Sufficient

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:09:00 PDT

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather than sinking inside us and becoming part of us—part of who we are. Put simply, if Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists.

Read or listen at speeches.byu.edu

Be a Light to the World

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:00:12 PST

May I suggest that you set aside time every day to find out for yourself if the Book of Mormon is a true book. For it will change your heart and change your life. If you seek this knowledge with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, I promise you will receive an answer.

Such a personal testimony is essential if we are to safely navigate the sometimes treacherous paths of life, with the adversary attempting to deceive us at every turn.

Read or listen at speeches.byu.edu

How Do You Open Your Heart to Heaven?

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:55:44 PST

How can we be more cheerful and enthusiastic? How can we be more polite, kind, and sincere and show genuine concern for other people and be patient, especially with family and friends? How can we increase our temperance and be more humble and submissive to the Lord? How can we have increased godly love and be more positive and bring more energy into our lives? How can we increase our self-mastery, self-discipline, and self-control? How can we better govern ourselves and be more honest and true to the teachings of Heavenly Father? How can we exercise our God-given moral agency in inspiring ways?

Let me suggest three basic, simple principles you can follow daily to cultivate, increase, and deepen your spirituality.

Listen or read at speeches.byu.edu

Learning by Faith

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:25:29 PST

Learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart. Tonight we will focus upon the individual responsibility each of us has to seek learning by faith. We also will consider the implications of this principle for us as teachers.

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How Lucky Can You Be!

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:52:00 PST

If I have any desire in my heart, it is to build in the lives of young people of this land a spirit of gratitude.

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To Learn and to Teach More Effectively

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:48:11 PST

You can learn vitally important things by what you hear and see and, even more, by what you feel, as prompted by the Holy Ghost. Many individuals limit their learning primarily to what they hear or read. Be wise. Develop the skill of also learning by what you see and particularly by what the Holy Ghost prompts you to feel. Consciously and consistently seek to learn by what you feel. Your capacity to do so will expand through repeated practice. Significant faith and effort are required to learn by what you feel from the Spirit. Ask in faith for such help. Live to be worthy of such guidance.

Write down in a secure place the important things you learn from the Spirit. You will find that as you record a precious impression, often others will come that you would not have otherwise received. Also, the spiritual knowledge you gain will be available throughout your life. Always, day or night, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, seek to recognize and respond to the direction of the Spirit. Have available a piece of paper or a card to record such guidance.

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Come What May, and Love It

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:20:43 PDT

The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

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Principles from Prophets

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:34:36 PDT

President Monson discusses attributes of prophets he has known.

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Eyewitnesses and Ancient Paralles: The Revelations of Joseph Smith

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:31:52 PDT

From BYU Education Week: August 18, 2008. Daniel C Peterson discusses similarities to Joseph Smith's revelations found in antiquity.

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My Father Is a Prophet

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:06:09 PDT

I’d like to tell you a little about my father, the Prophet. He is a great man, and you might be interested in learning about him. Let me share with you several characteristics I admire about him.

Text of Talk

Light, Truth, and Grace: Three Interrelated Necessities for Exaltation

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:41:23 PDT

An essential part of the glory of God is light—or living, life-giving energy. In the scriptural sense, light is a capacitating power through which the righteous are given the faculty to receive truth. Possession of truth is the condition of glorification. A fulness of truth—or the knowledge of the sum of existence—requires the acquisition of the fulness of light. The grace of God plays a direct part in the reception of light and truth. Grace expresses itself through impartation. That which is imparted is light. The agency of man is expressed in accepting or rejecting light. But he is not free to accept or reject grace. Grace comes to all men freely, as it is the unmerited favor that God holds for all His children. Grace allows light to flow unto each person. Thus light, through grace, is freely manifest unto all. When people reject light, they reject God’s favor and cut themselves off from truth. Thus they stand under condemnation. When they accept grace by accepting the light, they are capacitated to receive truth. As they continue from grace to grace by giving grace for grace, they receive more light and truth until they are eventually glorified in truth.

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The Least of These

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:54:46 PDT

Let no one underestimate the power of faith in the ordinary Latter-day Saints.

Text of talk

Your Refined Heavenly Home

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:12:36 PDT

Brigham Young said: “We are trying to be the image of those who live in heaven; we are trying to pattern after them, to look like them, to walk and talk like them.” To prepare us to do this, the 13th article of faith encourages: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” Refinement is a companion to developed spirituality. Refinement and spirituality are two strings drawn by the same bow.

Other formats at the BYU speeches site.

Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:07:18 PDT

I wish to encourage every on of you today regarding opposition that so often comes after enlightened decisions have been made, after moments of revelation and conviction have given us a peace and an assurance we thought we would never lose.

Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

The Instrument of Your Mind and the Foundation of Your Character

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:11:00 PDT

I found that it did not matter, really, what kind of bodies we have, so long as we understand that our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.

Sins and Mistakes

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:06:00 PDT

The subject of this talk is the contrast between sins and mistakes. Both can hurt us and both require attention, but the scriptures direct a different treatment. Chewing on a live electrical cord or diving headfirst into water of uncertain depth are mistakes that should be made known so they can be corrected. Violations of the commandments of God are sins that require chastening and repentance. In the treatment process we should not require repentance for mistakes, but we are commanded to preach the necessity of repentance for sins.

Gathering of Scattered Israel

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:03:00 PDT

The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:02:14 PDT

Principle, purposes, places, and blessings of of gathering.

Listen Together

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:17:55 PDT

I know a few of the reasons why the Lord requires us to listen to mortal servants. One of the reasons is that you and I need a check on our own inspiration occasionally. We can be mistaken. We at times, even with real intent and with faith and with careful prayer, may come to wrong conclusions. Listening to others can provide correction. It can promote more careful consideration. I hope you will always remember that there is safety in counsel.

Keep the Chain Unbroken

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:42:00 PST

Inspirational stories about staying true and faithful to the gospel, and in doing so, we stay true and faithful to our families.

The Quest for Excellence

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:57:01 PST

Be excellent.

The Voice of the Lord

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:00:01 PST

What is the voice of the Lord like? How Can I Distinguish Between True and Counterfeit Revelation? What Can I Do to Enhance My Ability to Hear, Recognize, and Follow the Voice of the Lord?

Be not afraid, only belive

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:41:38 PST

This prophetic talk sounds like it could have been given last week. But it was actually given in 2001, 2 days before the September 11 attacks.

Broken Things to Mend

rydalch@gmail.com (Rydalch) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:16:52 PST

My desire today is for all of us—not just those who are "poor in spirit" but all of us—to have more straightforward personal experience with the Savior's example. Sometimes we seek heaven too obliquely, focusing on programs or history or the experience of others. Those are important but not as important as personal experience, true discipleship, and the strength that comes from experiencing firsthand the majesty of His touch.