"However Long and Hard The Road"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

Given as a BYU Devotional over 20 years ago!

And as relevant TODAY as it was in January 1983.

"We have before us many, many long months of struggle and suffering. What is our aim? . . . Victory—victory at all costs; victory in spite of all terror; victory, however long and hard the road may be. . . . Conquer we must; as conquer we shall. . . . We shall never surrender." ~ Winston Churchill

Never give up!

 

But how, you ask, do you get this glimpse of the future that helps you to hang on? Well, for me that is one of the great gifts of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not insignificant that early in this life Joseph Smith was taught this lesson three times in the same night and once again the next morning. Moroni said, quoting the Lord verbatim as recorded by the prophet Joel: 

I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids of those days will I pour out my spirit. [Joel 2:28–29]

Dreaming dreams and seeing visions. The Lord's spirit upon all flesh—sons and daughters, old and young, servants and handmaidens.

For me it's so cool to watch these, but you can also 

read or listen (or download the mp3 for your ipod) of this talk at speeches.byu.edu!

Enjoy! 

"Remember Lots Wife"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

This was a BYU Devotional given on January 13, 2009.

Just days before I had returned to BYU - after my 2 year break for a mission, so I was SO excited to attend this devotional on the BYU campus. 

I still feel very blessed that I was able to be in the BYU Marriott Center for this speech... LIVE and there in the presence of Elder Holland and his lovely wife. 

I felt like he was talking to me - seriously! But I'm sure everyone there felt the same way. I'm sure YOU will feel that way after you have listened to this talk.

That is the beauty of a leader and a speaker like Elder Holland. He knows how to reach out and touch individuals with his words!

Watch a video recording of this talk below (35 mins)


It's also available on speeches.byu.edu in several formats - PDF, mp3 and html for you to download for free. 

Highlights:

It's ALL good, but to me the story he tells at the end, about being a student and sometimes wanting to give up and going through so many hard things, I could really relate to that. 

One of my favorite things he said was at the end...

"To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come.”

Please let me know what YOU thought - what your favorite part of this talk was - in the comments below!

Enjoy.

"Lessons from Liberty Jail"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

This was a CES fireside and broadcast on September 7, 2008. 

I had just come home from my mission and this really hit home for me. I remember sitting in the Bellville Chapel in Cape Town, South Africa with other Young Single Adults (YSA). 

It talks about how challenges can really be very sacred experiences!

"You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experience with the Lord in any situation you are in—just as Joseph received beautiful, comforting revelation in the "prison-temple" of Liberty Jail."

Watch it below (53:39 mins)

I love the archives of speeches.byu.edu

There you can download a PDF or mp3 file of this speech, so you can read or listen to it. 

I really love audio files because I can put it on my ipod or computer - on my mission I had several talks on CD - and then listen to it whenever I need inspiration or hope or comfort!

It's so nice to listen to them speak - you get all the passion, emotions & emphasis that he intended and delivered it with!

That being said... there is also something wonderful about reading a talk like this - you can go through it slowly & really think about some of the powerful ideas and highlight, mark and write notes. I love that too!

So, you have your pick here of 3 versions!

It's available to read online at lds.org too.

"Cast Not Away Therefore Thou Confidence"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

I heard this talk on my mission in 2007. 

I was going through a hard time at that stage and this REALLY changed my thought pattern and as cliche as it sounds - it changed my mission and my life!

I've listened to it probably over a dozen times and I've sent it to tons of friends!
"It is the plain and very sobering truth that before great moments, certainly before great spiritual moments, there can come adversity, opposition, and darkness. Life has some of those moments for us, and occasionally they come just as we are approaching an important decision or a significant step in our life." ~ Elder Holland

 

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise... If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. . . We are not of them who draw back unto perdition." [Hebrews 10:35–36, 38–39; emphasis added]

Click here to read this talk and or download the PDF or the mp3. 

"The Fourth Watch"

by S. Michael Wilcox

This talk was a real eye-opener!

How God answers, and how the miracles come  - in the 4th watch (otherwise knows as the final hour!)

It made complete sense and really helped me understand more about myself, how I react in trials and the importance of faith, patience and endurance. This is a must!

BYU Broadcasting has this on their top downloads: When My Prayers Seem Unanswered you can either listen or download it as an mp3 or watch it online! 

Or you can purchase a CD on  Amazon.com or get it on sale for $9 at ldsaudio.com

"Endure it Well"

by Elder Neal A. Maxwell

This talk changed my life...

Given ALL the way back in 1990, when I was only 5 years old!\
However, in 2007, as missionary in Chicago - I discovered this talk in an old Ensign. 

After spending several hours, not only reading but studying this talk and then hungrily looking for more of his talks - I became a really big fan of Elder Maxwell!

I felt a bit sad that he had passed away already - before I realized this. But I'm so glad I stumbled across his work - and his testimony about discipleship and the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Each talk dense and filled with SO much doctrine and truth and encouragement!

"Enduring to the End" is the fifth principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a hard on! I know we all struggle with this and this is one of the best I've read on the matter. 

"Will we have that same perceptive tolerance for those being wrenched by a cruel irony? When, for the moment, we ourselves are not being stretched on a particular cross, we ought to be at the foot of someone else’s—full of empathy and proffering spiritual refreshment. On the straight, narrow path, which leads to our little Calvarys, one does not hear a serious traveler exclaiming, “Look, no hands!” (See 1 Cor. 10:13.)"

You can read & study this talk on lds.org 

PS: Maxwell also has a book called, If Thou Endure it Well and it's on my list of books "to read."

Have you read it?

What's your favorite "Maxwell" talk?

I'd love to leave a comment below to tell me more!

"Theses Are Your Days"

By Elder Neal A. Maxwell

I only began to appreciate the depth and complexity of Elder Maxwells talks after he had passed away, it happen while I was on mission & I began to see a that he had a very clear understanding of discipleship! 

I love what I learn when I read his talks and inspired words! 

Now I try to read whatever I can get my hands on that he's written! This is one of my favorites!

Click here for the talk.

"The Inconvenient Messiah"

by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

This talk changed my life, it was a big eye opener and I was very encouraged by it. 

Elder Holland is very direct and powerful in this epic talk! I highly recommend that people listen to this. It's truly life changing!

This is a MUST read for every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

The scripture in Alma 38:12 comes to mind: 

"Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love..."

Click below to download this talk:
Read: PDF ; HTML
Listen: Audio/Podcast