“We must try harder to be a holy people. We live in the fulness of times. So much has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. This places upon us a special relationship to the Lord. We are the beneficiaries, guardians, and caretakers of these responsibilities under the delegation, authority, and direction of President Hinckley, who holds all the keys. As children of the Lord we should strive every day to rise to a higher level of personal righteousness in all our actions. We need to guard constantly against all of Satan’s influences.” James E. Faust, “Standing in Holy Places”, Ensign May 2000 p. 68
With a church membership of more than twelve million and rising on a daily basis, Latter-day Saints come from every walk of life, creed, race, culture and nation. Those who have joined the church have prayed about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Jr., even Jesus Christ, to understand the truthfulness of what they’ve been taught and the additional books of scripture laid out before them. Once this testimony is gained, those who have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints need to hold themselves to a higher standard.
President Gordon B. Hinckley has asked us to stand tall and make clear to the world that we hold the promise of eternities, of hope, of eternal family units, of literally all that is righteous and good. He has asked us to behave as if we were emissaries of Christ, and we are. He’s asked us to adhere to the gospel standards and present ourselves to the world, at all times, as people of integrity, honesty, loyalty and a willingness to work hard.
This isn’t so much to ask of the members of the Lord’s church. I know when President Hinckley spoke of this over the pulpit at General Conference, I took stock of my life. I saw areas that were wanting and resolved then and there to improve until those areas met the standard the prophet has set for us. This much I know, if we hope to bring the world the Lord’s truth, then we must act accordingly and proceed in a humble and loving manner.