in this worldwide conference under the direction

and leadership of our dear prophet and President,

Thomas S. Monson.

President, we love you, and we sustain you with all our heart.

During my professional life as a pilot,

I relied greatly on the precision and reliability

of computer systems but rarely had

to work my own personal computer.

In my office work as an executive,

I had assistants and secretaries who kindly helped me

with the tasks.

All this changed in 1994, when I was

called as a General Authority.

My calling consisted of many wonderful opportunities

to minister, but it also included a great deal of Church

office work--more than I ever thought possible.

To my shock, the main tool to stay on top of my work

was a personal computer.

For the first time in my life, I had

to delve into this strange, mystifying, incomprehensible

world.

From the start, the computer and I

were not on the friendliest of terms.

Able tech people tried to teach me how to use the computer.

They literally stood behind me, reaching

over my shoulder, their fingers moving quickly

and tapping a percussive symphony against the keyboard.

"See?" they would say proudly.

"That's how you do it."

I did not see.

It was a rocky transition.

My learning curve was more like a brick wall.

It took a great deal of time, repetition, patience,

no small amount of hope and faith,

lots of reassurance from my wife,

and many liters of a diet soda that shall remain nameless.

00:02:06,230 --> 00:02:12,060 Now, 22 years later, I am surrounded

by computer technology.

I have an email address, a Twitter account,

and a Facebook page.

I own a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, and a digital camera.

And while my tech skills may not quite

measure up to those of a typical seven-year-old,

for a septuagenarian, I do all right.

But I have noticed something interesting.

The more adept I get at technology,

the more I take it for granted.

00:02:52,370 --> 00:02:54,440 For a large part of human history,

communication happened at the speed of a horse.

Sending a message and getting a reply

could take days or even months.

Today our messages travel thousands of miles

into the sky or thousands of meters beneath the oceans

to reach someone on the other side of the world,

and if there is a delay of even a few seconds,

we get frustrated and impatient.

It seems to be human nature: as we become more familiar

with something, even something miraculous and awe-inspiring,

we lose our sense of awe and treat it as commonplace.

Taking for granted our modern technologies and conveniences

may be a relatively small matter.

But sadly, we sometimes take a similar attitude

toward the eternal and soul-expanding doctrine

of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the Church of Jesus Christ, we have been given so much.

We are surrounded by such an astonishing wealth

of light and truth that I wonder if we truly

appreciate what we have.

Think of those early disciples who

walked and talked with the Savior

during His earthly ministry.

Imagine the thanksgiving and reverence

that must have flooded their hearts

and filled their minds when they saw

Him risen from the tomb, when they

felt the wounds in His hands.

Their lives would never be the same!

Think of the early Saints of this dispensation who

knew the Prophet Joseph and heard

him preach the restored gospel.

Imagine how they must have felt to know

that the veil between heaven and earth

had parted again, shedding light and knowledge upon the world

from our celestial home above.

But most of all, think of yourself.

Think of how you felt when for the first time

you believed and understood that you are truly a child of God;

that Jesus Christ willingly suffered for your sins

so that you may be clean again; that priesthood power is

real and can bind you to your loved ones for time

and for all eternity; that there is a living

prophet on the earth today.

Isn't that wonderful and amazing?

Considering all of this, how could it ever

be possible that we of all people

would not be excited about attending our Church worship

services?

Or get tired of reading the holy scriptures?

I suppose this could only be possible

if our hearts were past feeling to experience gratitude

and awe for the sacred and sublime gifts

God has granted us.

Life-changing truths are before our eyes and our fingertips,

but sometimes we sleepwalk on the path of discipleship.

Too often we let ourselves be distracted

by the imperfections of our fellow members

instead of following the example of our Master.

We tread a path covered with diamonds,

but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles.

When I was a young man, my friends

would ask me about my religion.

Often I would start to explain the differences,

like the Word of Wisdom.

Other times I would emphasize the similarities

with other Christian religions.

None of this would impress them very much.

But when I talked about the great plan of happiness

our Father in Heaven has for us as His children,

I had their attention.

I remember trying to draw the plan of salvation

on a blackboard in a classroom of our chapel

in Frankfurt, Germany.

I made circles that represented premortal life, mortality,

and the return to our Heavenly Parents after this life.

As a teenager, how I loved to share this exciting message.

When I explained these principles

in my own simple words, my heart would

overflow with gratitude for a God who loves His children

and a Savior who redeemed all of us from death and hell.

I was so proud of this message of love, joy, and hope.

Some of my friends would say that this message felt familiar

even though such things were never taught

in their religious upbringing.

It was as if they had always known these things to be true,

as if I was simply casting light on something

that was always and deeply rooted in their hearts.

I believe every human being carries in his or her heart

some form of fundamental questions regarding

life itself.

Where did I come from?

Why am I here?

What will happen after I die?

These kinds of questions have been

asked by mortals since the dawn of time.

Philosophers, scholars, and pundits

have spent their lives and fortunes for answers.

I am grateful that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ

has answers to the most complex questions in life.

These answers are taught in The Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints.

They are true, they are plain, they

are straightforward and easy to understand.

They are inspired, and we teach them

to our three-year-olds in the Sunbeams class.

Brothers and sisters, we are eternal beings,

without beginning and without end.

We have always existed.

We are the literal spirit children

of divine, immortal, and omnipotent Heavenly Parents!

We come from the heavenly courts of the Lord our God.

We are of the royal house of Elohim, the Most High God.

00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,240 We walked with Him in our premortal life.

We heard Him speak, witnessed His majesty, learned His ways.

Isn't that amazing?

00:10:49,330 --> 00:10:54,860 You and I participated in a Grand Council where our beloved

Father presented His plan for us--that we would come

to earth, receive mortal bodies, learn to choose between good

and evil, and progress in ways that would not otherwise be

possible.

When we passed through the veil and entered this mortal life,

we knew that we would no longer remember the life before.

There would be opposition and adversity and temptation.

But we also knew that gaining a physical body

was of paramount importance for us.

Oh, how we hoped that we would quickly

learn to make the correct choices,

withstand the temptations of Satan,

and eventually return to our beloved parents in heaven.

We knew we would sin and make mistakes--perhaps even serious

ones.

But we also knew that our Savior, Jesus Christ,

had pledged to come to earth, live a sinless life,

and voluntarily lay down His life in an eternal sacrifice.

We knew that if we gave our heart to Him,

trusted Him, and strived with all the energy of our soul

to walk in the path of discipleship,

we could be washed clean and once again enter

the presence of our beloved Father in Heaven.

So, with faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,

you and I accepted by our free will Heavenly Father's plan.

That is why we are here on this beautiful planet earth--because

God offered us the opportunity, and we chose to accept it.

Our mortal life, however, is only temporary

and will end with the death of our physical body.

But the essence of who you and I are will not be destroyed.

Our spirits will continue living and await the Resurrection--a

free gift to all by our loving Heavenly Father and His Son,

Jesus Christ.

At the Resurrection, our spirits and bodies

will be reunited, free from pain and physical imperfections.

After the Resurrection, there will be a Day of Judgment.

While all will eventually be saved

and inherit a kingdom of glory, those who trust in God

and seek to follow His laws and ordinances

will inherit lives in the eternities

that are unimaginable in glory and overwhelming in majesty.

That Day of Judgment will be a day of mercy and love--a day

when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are

replaced with tears of gratitude,

when all will be made right.

Yes, there will be deep sorrow because of sin.

Yes, there will be regrets and even anguish because

of our mistakes, our foolishness,

and our stubbornness that caused us to miss opportunities

for a much greater future.

But I have confidence that we will not only

be satisfied with the judgment of God; we will be astonished

and overwhelmed by His infinite grace,

mercy, generosity, and love for us, His children.

If our desires and works have been good,

if we have faith in a living God,

then we can look forward to what Moroni called "the pleasing bar

of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge."

My beloved brothers and sisters, my dear friends,

does it not fill our hearts and minds with wonder

and awe to contemplate the great plan of happiness our Heavenly

Father has prepared for us?

Does it not fill us with unspeakable joy

to know of the glorious future that is prepared

for all who wait upon the Lord?

If you have never felt such wonder and joy,

I invite you to seek, study, and ponder

the simple yet profound truths of the restored gospel.

"Let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds."

Let them bear testimony unto you of the divine plan

of salvation.

If you have felt these things before, I ask you today,

"Can [you] feel so now?"

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Belfast, Ireland.

While there, I noticed the Belfast Coat of Arms, which

includes the motto "Pro tanto quid retribuamus,"

or "What shall we give in return for so much?"

I invite each of us to consider this question.