Foundations of the Restoration

President Monsons invitation

a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through
continued obedience to the commandments of God
and through daily prayer and scripture study.

How is a testimony vital and alive? Benefits?

Oxford dictionary definition of vital:
Absolutely necessary; essential
Indispensable to the continuance of life.
Full of energy; lively
An exterior view of the Peter Whitmer home,
where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830.

Why would it be important for

early Church members to
recognize that Joseph Smiths
calling as prophet differed
significantly from the roles of
leaders of other churches?
 President Harold B. Lee (18991973)
We must learn to give heed to the words and
commandments that the Lord shall give through His
prophet. You may not like what comes from the authority
of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may
contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of
your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from
the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the
promise is that the gates of hell shall not prevail against
you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of
darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake
for your good, and his names glory (D&C 21:6) (Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 84).
Doctrine & Covenants 21:6
Identify the promises given to those who heed the
words of the prophet. Mark what you find

For by doing these things the gates of hell

shall not prevail against you; yea, and the
Lord God will disperse the powers
of darkness from before you, and cause the
heavens to shake for your good, and his
names glory. verse 6
 President Henry B. Eyring of the
First Presidency
Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of
prophets makes sense to those with strong faith.
When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may
think that they hear only a wise man giving good
advice.
But the choice not to take prophetic counsel
changes the very ground upon which we stand. It
becomes more dangerous. The failure to take
prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired
counsel in the future (Finding Safety in
Counsel, Ensign, May 1997, 25).
 President Harold B. Lee (18991973)

It is not alone sufficient for us as Latter-day Saints to

follow our leaders and to accept their counsel, but we
have the greater obligation to gain for ourselves the
unshakable testimony of the divine appointment of
these men and the witness that what they have told us
is the will of our Heavenly Father (Teachings:
Harold B. Lee, 45)
Lesson 10 SEEK TRUTH
Doctrine & Covenants 88:121-126
Margin Principles that teach how to learn by faith

As we read.Look for principles that help us

understand how to learn by faith.
 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the
First Presidency
Never in the history of the world have we had easier
access to more informationsome of it true, some of
it false, and much of it partially true.
Consequently, never in the history of the world has it
been more important to learn how to correctly discern
between truth and error (What Is Truth? [Church
Educational System devotional, Jan. 13,
2013], 3, lds.org/broadcasts).
How can we correctly discern
between truth and error?
 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of
the First Presidency
Its natural to have questionsthe acorn of honest
inquiry has often sprouted and matured into a great
oak of understanding. There are few members of the
Church who, at one time or another, have not wrestled
with serious or sensitive questions. One of the
purposes of the Church is to nurture and cultivate the
seed of faitheven in the sometimes sandy soil of
doubt and uncertainty (Come, Join with
Us, Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 23).