President Monson’s “Marching Orders”

April 13, 2011 by Huston

After every General Conference, my family tries to study the prophet’s talks to see what he wants us to work on, and we make a list of those priorities. We usually summarize them in our own words, but this list is mostly copied and pasted directly from his text. You might find more or less than these, but we saw 30 things he directly instructs Latter-day Saints to do:

Saturday Morning–Introduction

May we continue to be faithful in performing such ordinances, not only for ourselves but also for our deceased loved ones who are unable to do so for themselves.
Thank you, as well, for your faithfulness in paying your tithes and offerings and for your generosity in contributing to the other funds of the Church.
May I suggest that if you are able, you might consider making a contribution to the General Missionary Fund of the Church.

Priesthood Session

May we be worthy recipients of the divine power of the priesthood we bear.[start of talk] –> Safeguard it, treasure it, live worthy of it. [end of talk]
May it [priesthood] bless our lives and may we use it to bless the lives of others.
Many movies and television shows portray behavior which is in direct opposition to the laws of God. Do not subject yourself to the innuendo and outright filth which are so often found there.
I am sorry that any of us is subjected to profane language, and I plead with you not to use it. I implore you not to say or to do anything of which you cannot be proud.
Stay completely away from pornography. Do not allow yourself to view it, ever.
Avoid alcohol and tobacco or any other drugs, also addictions which you would be hard pressed to conquer.
If you have not read the Book of Mormon, read it.
If you do not already have a testimony of these things, do that which is necessary to obtain one.
Once obtained, a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through obedience to the commandments of God and through regular prayer and scripture study. Attend church. You young men, attend seminary or institute if such is available to you.
Should there be anything amiss in your life, [repent].
[young men, get married]
Choose a companion carefully and prayerfully; and when you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another.
She is not to be demeaned or insulted but should be respected and loved.
If any of you are having difficulty in your marriage, I urge you to do all that you can to make whatever repairs are necessary.
Do not let your marriage get to the point where it is in jeopardy.
discipline ourselves so that we stand above the ways of the world. It is essential that we be honorable and decent men. Our actions must be above reproach.

Sunday Morning–Temples

If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly.
If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple….Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
Now, my young friends who are in your teenage years, always have the temple in your sights. Do nothing which will keep you from entering its doors and partaking of the sacred and eternal blessings there.
may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives].
I plead with you to teach your children of the temple’s importance.
As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation.
may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple and to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes.
May we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, that we might have eternal life and exaltation in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.

Sunday Afternoon-Conclusion

May we long remember the messages we have heard. As we receive the issues of the Ensign and Liahona magazines which will contain these messages in written form, may we read and study them.
May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to those of our own.
May we be examples of honesty and integrity wherever we go and in whatever we do.

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Posted in Religion | Tagged discipleship, follow the prophet, LDS Church, Thomas S. Monson | 22 Comments

22 Responses

on April 15, 2011 at 6:03 am Dennis Agle

Thanks for this list. Excellent practice. It reminds me of that story about an LDS man having a conversation with a stranger in which he tells the stranger that there is a prophet living on the earth today, and the stranger says something like, “Really? What does he say?” And the man is stumped. I think I’m going to re-read the list again now. And feature it on today’s MormonDaddyBlogs.
on April 20, 2011 at 6:15 am Charles Sakai

I was so excited by President Monson’s instructions that I e-mailed it to every LDS Church member on my mailing list!
on April 20, 2011 at 7:09 am Hema

Thank you for doing this as a reminder to follow the counsel of our Prophet
on April 20, 2011 at 9:29 am Gdub

Thanks for listing all of those out! I had missed a couple.

I actually wrote about this same idea in a blog post following conference at youshouldbe.net.
on April 20, 2011 at 9:35 am You Should Be | 30 Requests from Our Prophet

[...] Living Every Day as Missionaries »30 Requests from Our ProphetPresident Monson’s Marching Orders « Gently Hew Stone.This is a great resource for goal-setting. var a2a_config=a2a_config||{};a2a_config.linkname="30 [...]
on April 20, 2011 at 10:40 am Oscar Machuca

These ara the most important things for the next 6 months !!
on April 20, 2011 at 12:44 pm Mormon Soprano

Wonderful list! Thanks for compiling this and sharing. It will be perfect for our next FHE discussion. Congrats on being featured in today – Happy Easter! – MoSop
on April 20, 2011 at 4:31 pm Velska

You made it to the DN/Mormon Times “Bloggernacle” article.
on April 21, 2011 at 5:48 am Tom

I also immediately thought of the same story about the conversation with the stranger. I have copied this list to my phone to always have it with me so that I can review it frequently.
on April 21, 2011 at 8:46 am Hilary Ekpo

Are not so lucky and privileged to continue to receive guidance and inspired words from our Heavenly Father in these turbulence and unpredictable times and days? God is so mindful of us all and that is why His words will never cease to come and prayers answered. Grateful to our beloved Prophet for these `commandments’and reminders.
on April 21, 2011 at 8:48 am Hilary Ekpo

Thank you for the great efforts in bringing these to our attention.
on April 21, 2011 at 10:30 am Janet Raty

It’s a gentle and kind review. Thank you.
on April 21, 2011 at 11:53 am Carol

Thank you! Filed it!
on April 21, 2011 at 2:19 pm Ammon

I’ve often been told by non-Mormons that one thing they admire about us is the practical way we live the gospel. This is plainly evident in President Monson’s counsel.

Thanks for the reminders!
on April 21, 2011 at 2:40 pm JS Turner

This is excellent!
thank you!

(and don’t worry. I will not use your Readers’ Digest list as my only access to these wonderful talks!)
AND, Although President Monson is our Prophet, we know that the other GAs are included in the Lord’s words: “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
on April 21, 2011 at 6:02 pm Charles D. Walton

I plan on studying and incorporating these into my life. CDW
on April 22, 2011 at 3:40 pm tony batanero

Thank you ver much for sharing this list. I really appreciate it
on April 23, 2011 at 6:33 am michelle

I really appreciate the list–it is great to see all of the Prophet’s counsel in one sitting. However, I don’t care for the title of the post-”marching orders” just lends itself to people’s impression that we are a cult. “The Prophet’s Counsel for us today” or something like that would be better IMHO. Thanks for the list though.
on April 25, 2011 at 3:35 am Huston

Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback, everybody! If I’d known that 12,000 people would be reading this, I would have taken a minute to format it better!

Michelle, I understand the concern, but I think if someone’s given to see our priorities in a certain way, then the title of a post won’t change it. As it is, I do see the prophet’s directions for what we should do as “marching orders,” if “counsel” is meant to mean something less serious–optional advice or good ideas to consider, for example. Still, I see your concern about the perceptions of others; thanks for sharing your thoughts!
on April 26, 2011 at 12:44 pm john

Looks like the temples are not getting used as much as they should do by the members.

Are temple recommends on the decline because people drinking coffee (not really adictive or a drug,moderation in everything). and not feeling bad about it?
on April 28, 2011 at 4:28 am Tina L. Seidel Roland

Thank you so much! My Ensign has not arrived yet to study, and when I read this article, I was very anxious to copy and study it. Early this morning I hand copied the article on small sheets to carry with me. “May we long remember the messages we have heard”…..
God bless all…
on May 1, 2011 at 1:47 pm Ivonne Zamudio

Thank you for sharing the prophets wise words. I hope that I can remember to keep everything. Thanks again