45+ Profound Quotes From My Study of the Oct. 1960 General Conference
I've never watched Braveheart before, but there is a scene known to nearly everyone, where William Wallace delivers a stirring speech against tyranny and in defense of freedom. If you don't know what I am referring to, CLICK HERE for the 2-minute clip of the speech. Now, why am I talking about Braveheart in a post about General Conference? Because the Oct. 1960 General Conference contained half a dozen Braveheart-esque talks. David O. McKay, Ezra Taft Benson, Hugh B. Brown, Marion G. Romney, to name just four. They delivered blistering talks against anti-Christ ideologues who are attacking freedom and agency. Howard W. Hunter also delivered an AMAZING talk on the dangers of secret discipleship, a concept that has radically shifted my paradigm and willingness to stand up and raise my voice both in the public sphere and at Church (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
I hope you enjoy this twenty-first installment of quotes from my studies of the General Conference Archives (If you want to read prior installments, click HERE). For the first installment and an explanation of the Conference Archives, see "55+ Powerful Quotes From My Study of the Oct. 1970 General Conference." To read this conference report PDF from the Church History Catalog (click HERE), for the Archive.org PDF (with speech-to-text, click here). I hope you enjoy these quotes from my studies. But more than enjoying them, I hope they serve as a starting point for your own study of the Oct. 1960 General Conference! Use the page number and the above links to access the full talks. Enjoy!
45+ Profound Quotes From My Study of the Oct. 1960 General Conference
“The testimony of the gospel is an anchor to the soul (Heb. 6:19 & Ether 12:4) in the midst of confusion and strife. Knowledge of God and his laws means stability, means contentment, means peace.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 7
“I suggest that during the next month or so, when our towns and cities and states will be more or less stirred by political contention, that we restrain our tempers, control our tongues, and try to manifest charity and love for one another. Let us not besmear our brother's reputation. I mean that while we are urging our particular political belief, that we avoid dealing in personalities. We cannot afford to hurt our brother's feelings and wound him. Leaders in the Church, in fact all members thereof, are striving to establish the kingdom of God.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 7
“God grant that we may remain true to the Church, that we may ever be found defending the men whom God has called to guide us, and realize that harmony with them means that we are in harmony with God, for he sustains them.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 8
“Constructive criticism can be good and helpful. Destructive criticism can be bad and harmful. Many years ago my mission president gave this sound advice: ‘If criticism is just and given kindly, accept it and give thanks for it. If it is just and given unkindly, accept it. But if it is unjust and given unkindly, pay no heed to it.’”
Henry D. Taylor
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 9
“A critical attitude and faultfinding with the Church, if persisted in, can easily lead to apostasy.”
Henry D. Taylor
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 9
"God has established all things in their order. The house of God is a house of order, and not a house of confusion (D&C 132:8) In this house God himself is the Supreme Head, and he must be obeyed. Christ is in the image and likeness of his Being, his Only Begotten Son, and he stands as our Savior and our God . . . Next unto God and Christ, on the earth is placed one unto whom the keys and authority of the Holy Priesthood are conferred, and to whom the right of Presidency is given. He is God's mouthpiece to his people in all things pertaining to the building up of Zion, and to the spiritual and temporal salvation of the Saints . . . Those who have entered into covenant to keep the commandments of the Lord must hearken unto the voice of him who is placed to preside over them; and secondarily, to those who are called to act with him as his counselors in the Holy Priesthood. It takes this Council of three to constitute the presiding and governing authority of the Priesthood in the earth."
Joseph F. Smith as quoted by Henry D. Taylor
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 9
“It is our duty, responsibility, and privilege to uphold and sustain [The First Presidency of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles] with our words, our actions, and our prayers. How best can we do this? By magnifying them in the eyes of our families, our friends, associates, neighbors, and even strangers, and allowing no evil speaking of the Lord's chosen leaders. We can substitute support for complaint, commendation and praise for adverse criticism. We can pray for them in public and in private and in our family prayers, teaching our children to pray for them.”
Henry D. Taylor
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 9
“It is my sincere desire that each of us will become ‘lifters’ instead of ‘leaners’; that we will share in the responsibility of building up the kingdom of God here upon the earth, and not shift it all to the shoulders of our leaders. We shall then never become ‘armchair generals,’ ‘sidewalk superintendents,’ or ‘backseat drivers,’ but rather ‘doers of the word and not hearers only’ (James 1:22).”
Henry D. Taylor
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 9
"There is no end to the amount of good we can do in this Church if we are not concerned about who gets the credit for it."
Harold B. Lee
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 17
"The gospel is a complete way of life, and the true plan of life brings joy and peace"
David O. McKay
As quoted in CR, Oct. 1960 p. 19
“Peace can come into the world only through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ."
David O. McKay
As quoted in CR, Oct. 1960 p. 19
"There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike."
Joseph F. Smith
As quoted in CR, Oct. 1960 p. 23
“O Father, in the midst of confusion that is everywhere, and uncertainty, bless us in America, that we may repent of our foolishness, our light-mindedness and our wrongdoing, realizing as we should, that all the blessings that are worthwhile come to us only as a result of honoring thee and keeping thy commandments. The pathway of righteousness is the highway of peace and happiness.’”
George Albert Smith
As quoted in CR, Oct. 1960 p. 23
“Husbands cease criticizing our wives, because if we criticize our wives it weakens our love for them. Also, it tends to kill their love and respect for us. I would give the following admonition to wives: Respect your husbands. Do not criticize your husbands. If you indulge in such practices it results in bringing about disunity, kills your spirituality, and tends to break up your homes. Perhaps the final result may be the loss of your eternal salvation.”
Milton R. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 26
“The Church has spent its millions in Hawaii and New Zealand and other islands to provide schools for the young Lehites.”
Spencer W. Kimball
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 37
“I know of nothing that is more important or necessary at this time than to cry repentance, even among the Latter-day Saints.”
Joseph Fielding Smith
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 51
“We in this Church have a solemn obligation to carry the message of salvation to our Father's other children in the world. To us the Lord has given this command: "Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature" (D&C 68:8) This call to missionary service does not leave us any choice or option as to the course we should pursue. It is not merely a permissive invitation which allows us to spread the gospel message on a voluntary basis, or if we find it convenient to do so. The decree is mandatory. We have no choice about it, if we are to retain the favor of God. The Lord has laid upon our shoulders the obligation to spread the gospel, to raise the warning voice, to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel. If we neglect to do so, we have violated our trust and failed to comply with a divine directive.”
Bruce R. McConkie
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 54
“When we come into the Church, we covenant in the waters of baptism that we will do missionary work. We enter into a solemn contract with Deity that we will bear testimony of the restoration of the gospel on every appropriate occasion.”
Bruce R. McConkie
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 54
“If I had to choose between the two, I would rather have my sons go on missions than have a college education. It will do more for them temporally and educationally to say nothing of the spiritual benefits that are involved.”
Bruce R. McConkie
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 56
“Every deacon, teacher, and priest of the Aaronic Priesthood should prepare to fill a mission.”
Thorpe B. Isaacson
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 65
“There is no blessing given but what there is an obligation. Where much is given, much is expected.”
Eldred G. Smith
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 68
“It now is and has always been the objective of Satan to destroy the Priesthood of God. As long ago as the war in heaven, he sought to usurp the power of the priesthood.”
Marion G. Romney
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 74
“Agency is the principle against which Satan waged his war in heaven. It is still the front on which he makes his most furious, devious, and persistent attacks.”
Marion G. Romney
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 74
“We must be careful that we are not led to accept or support in any way any organization, cause, or measure which, in its remotest effect, would jeopardize free agency, whether it be in politics, government, religion, employment, education, or any other field. It is not enough for us to be sincere in what we support. We must be right!”
Marion G. Romney
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 75
“Are you going to catch the picture of your own identity and know that you are a child of God … that you are actually the descendant of God Almighty on High, and that you are of the race of divinity? Are you willing to accept that doctrine?”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 81
“Now what shall we plan for? We must plan to stay with the Church first, last, and always. We will plan to understand the doctrines of the Church and the proceedings of the Church so that we will understand our true destiny.”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 82
“Now what shall we plan for? … We will plan also to go to school and make the most of our educational opportunities, but we will not allow worldly theories to upset our faith.”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 82
“Now what shall we plan for? … We will plan for a temple marriage. We can never fulfill our destiny without it.”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 82
“You were not born to fail. You were born to succeed. You were born to accomplish a great work here and now. You were not born to be blinded by the sophistries of men. You were born to be bright and intelligent and have your eyes open.”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 83
“It is intelligent to believe in God. It is intelligent to serve him. It is intelligent to declare our allegiance to him. It is intelligent to take the responsibility upon ourselves and move forward in the great assignment that he has given. Be honest with yourselves. Live up to the best that is in you. Do not sell your birthright for a mess of pottage.”
Mark E. Petersen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 83
“God help us to defend the truth—better than that, to live it. Exemplify it in our homes.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 86
“What we owe to our parents we cannot express. Are you going to have that same influence on your children, parents—fathers and mothers? God give you power so to have that they may be true to the last, to death if necessary, to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 86
“God is guiding this Church. Be true to it, loyal to it. Be true to your families, loyal to them. Protect your children. Guide them, not arbitrarily, but through the kind example of a father, a loving mother, and so contribute to the strength of the Church.”
David O. McKay
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 86
“I pray the blessings of the Lord to be upon him, the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Church and the President thereof. I pray that we will give him the full measure of support that we have covenanted to give him when we sustained him by our uplifted hands. That is a marvelous covenant we make”
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 90
“We worship God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ. It is he, the Savior, who is the Head of the Church, its great High Priest, its Founder, and its Inspiration. All others, whether they be prophets, apostles, elders, members—all others are willingly subservient to him.”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 91
“The war—cold or hot—will be waged by the followers of Christ versus anti-Christ.”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 91
“It is incumbent upon all Christians everywhere, and again I am speaking to you, our friends out there, it behooves us to re-examine our creeds, our fundamental concepts, our basic faith, and ask ourselves again the meaning of the word ‘God’ in our theology, and the place of God in our lives. Our allegiance must be intelligent and well-defined.”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 91
“We testify of and worship not only one who lived and died two thousand years ago—and we hope you, our friends, will note what now we say, for we declare it by authority and by commandment—we testify of one who was also resurrected from the dead and is now living—one who is comprehensible, one who has a material, though an immortal body as he himself declared when he said to his astonished followers: ‘Handle me and see’ (Luke 24:39)”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 92
“We have the testimony of eyewitnesses from two continents that Jesus is the Christ. We add our testimony not only that he did live, but that he still lives. This fact is the greatest hope of this divided and imperiled world, for if the Christ still lives then the anti-Christ will be defeated. There can be no peace in a godless world.”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 94
“Our testimony would not be complete if we did not reaffirm our faith in the second coming of Christ, in the millennium which is to come when he will reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords Rev. 19:16 That this climactic event is not far distant is indicated by the signs of the times, by wars and rumors of wars D&C 45:26 by the satanic schemes of evil men who would enslave not only the bodies but also the minds of all who dare refuse to subscribe to the ideologies invented by the anti-Christ.”
Hugh B. Brown
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 94
“Those who subscribe to this philosophy stop at nothing to achieve their ends… To the true communist, nothing is evil if it is expedient. Being without conscience or honor, he feels completely justified in using whatever means are necessary to achieve his goal: force, trickery, lies, broken promises, mayhem, and individual and mass murder.”
Ezra Taft Benson
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 101
“Secret disciples of Christ are almost in the same category as those who are antagonistic. They are much the same as persons among us today who have only a halfhearted interest in our great democratic way of life and are as dangerous to the future freedom of the world as those who are openly avowed to destroy democracy.”
Howard W. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 108 (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
“We have more respect for one who honestly doubts than for one who fears to declare loyalty.”
Howard W. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 108 (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
“The world needs men who are willing to step forward and declare themselves. The world needs men who will lift the load of responsibility to their shoulders and carry it high under the banner of Jesus Christ—men who are willing to defend the right openly.”
Howard W. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 108 (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
“Among our own people, in our communities, in our nation and throughout the world, there are secret followers of Jesus and half-hearted Christians—onlookers who have a noncommittal attitude. Why is it that so many will not commit themselves? … It is fear that causes men to be noncommittal.”
Howard W. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 108 (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
“Should we not search our own souls and inquire of ourselves if we are loyal? Are we, too, only secret disciples of Christ?... May we be his disciples openly, fearlessly, and with devotion, I humbly pray in his name. Amen.”
Howard W. Hunter
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 109 (To read this full talk, CLICK HERE to listen to it CLICK HERE.)
“There is no prize so great and so valuable as the truth.”
ElRay L. Christiansen
CR, Oct. 1960 p. 113
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