Sheri Dew Quotes

If you're serious about sanctification, you can expect to experience heart-wrenching moments that try your faith, your endurance, and your patience.

We're not alone--at least, we're alone only if we choose to be alone. We're alone only if we choose to go through life relying solely on our own strength rather than learning to draw upon the power of God.

We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ.

There is one thing the power of God and the power of Satan have in common: Neither can influence us unless we allow them to.

True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.

Noble and great. Courageous and determined. Faithful and fearless. That is who you are and who you have always been. And understanding it can change your life, because this knowledge carries a confidence that cannot be duplicated any other way.

None of us come to this earth to gain our worth; we brought it with us.

Why can't we resist the urge to second-guess and evaluate each other?...Sometimes I wonder if the final judgment will be a breeze compared with what we've put each other through here on earth. p 225

It is not possible to sin enough to be happy. It isn't possible to buy enough to be happy, or to entertain or indulge or pamper ourselves enough to be happy. It is not possible to hide enough or run far enough away from trials and troubles to be happy. Happiness and joy come only when we are living up to who we are... I have never met anyone who was happier because he was immoral, or because he was addicted to something, or because he was dishonest and compromised his integrity.

Thus, when we plead for the gift of charity, we aren't asking for lovely feelings toward someone who bugs us or someone who has injured or wounded us. We are actually pleading for our very natures to be changed, for our character and disposition to become more and more like the Savior's, so that we literally feel as He would feel and thus do what He would do.

The last days are not for the faint of heart or the spiritually out of shape.

Life, like classical music, is full of difficult passages that are conquered as much through endurance and determination as through any particular skill.

We don't really know what we believe in or care about until what we believe in or care about is threatened, challenged, or measured.

Am I the woman I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?

It is possible to be clean in a dirty world.

Life is a test. It is only a test--meaning that's all it is. Nothing more, but nothing less. It is a test of our convictions and priorities, our faith and faithfulness, our patience and resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires. It is a test to determine if we want to be part of the kingdom of God more than we want anything else.

Everything that's important - you can take with you.

No woman is a more vibrant instrument in the hands of the Lord than a woman of God who is thrilled to be who she is.

The healing power of charity, bestowed by our Father and made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ, can make it virtually impossible for us even to feel emotions common to the natural man.

I can't imagine pain greater than stepping across the veil and realizing I had not done what I came here to do - or realizing that I had given up my life to little or nothing, only then to find that it was gone. p 3

Its not living the gospel thats hard. Its life thats hard...How often do we make the mistake of talking to our youth about how hard it is...Shouldn't we instead be focusing on the doctrine of joy...? p 106

The most effective way to share the gospel is to live it. When we live like disciples of Christ should live, when we aren't just good but happy to be good, others will be drawn to us.

In the things that really matter--our covenants, the commandments, and following the prophet--we need to be completely united. In the non-essentials, we have our agency to handle things as we see fit. But, in all things, regardless of whether we make the same choices or not, we are to treat each other with dignity and respect, both of which are evidences of charity in our hearts and lives.

Happily, though we must each walk through life on our own, we don't have to do it alone.

On those days when we're not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we're actually saying is, "Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today." Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest, the times it becomes clear that a change in behavior is not enough--that we must have a change in nature.

While life is meant to test, challenge, and strengthen us, if we are attempting to negotiate the twists and turns and ups and downs of mortality alone, we're doing it all wrong. Mortality is a test, but it is an open book test. We have access not only to the divine text but to Him who authored it.

I invite you to consider anew what you know and what you have; what you are here for and where you are going; and how you are going to do what you have come here to do. p 13

It is simply not for us to judge each other. The Lord has reserved that right for Himself, because only He knows our hearts and understands the varying circumstances and complexities of our lives.

Faith is a principle of action. It is our willingness to believe in the Savior that unleashes His power in our lives. Faith is not a bulwark against tribulation, but an assurance that the Lord is overseeing all.

The more we sense...our ultimate potential, the more determined we become to achieve it. It's the difference between your mother hounding you to practice the piano and reaching the point where you want to do it yourself. You simply will not be denied the ultimate reward and the joy of the Big Finish. p 90

These are the days in which a true leader wants to live. These are days when opportunities to change lives and even destinies are nearly endless. You are running the anchor leg of the relay because you were born to lead. You were born for glory.

Challenges that tax our faith are usually opportunities to stretch and strengthen our faith by finding out if we really believe the Lord will help us.

The Lord has set no limits on what He is willing to teach us and give us. We are the only ones who set limits--through our neglect our disobedience or ignorance. We are in large measure the ones who determine what we will learn and experience in mortality, and what we will receive eternally.

Satan is a "roaring lion, [who] walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." And he will devour us unless we "put on the whole armour [or power] of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (See 1 Peter 5 and Ephesians 6)

If Life were easy, it would not be hard

There is a direct relationship between our personal experience with the Lord and how we see ourselves. The closer we grow to him, the more clear and complete becomes our vision of who we are, who we have always been, and who we may become.

The compelling truth of the Restoration is that the heavens are open. This Church is a Church of revelation. Our challenge is not one in getting the Lord to speak to us. Our challenge is learning to hear what He has to say.

Do you think there is any chance the Lord would have inspired his prophets to prophesy about us, only to then take a chance on the outcome of the latter days by sending men and women he couldn't count on? There is no chance - zero chance - He would have done that.

Because again, if Lucifer can make an aberration seem normal- or better yet, evil seem normal, he has made striking inroads.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of power. The Holy Ghost inspires and heals, guides and warns, enhances our natural capacities, inspires charity and humility, makes us smarter than we are, strengthens us during trials, testifies of the Father and the Son, and shows us "all things" that we should do. He helps us do more and become more than we could ever do or become on our own.

When we come to understand not only WHO we are, but who we always have been – and therefore, who we may become – the choice between following Christ or embracing the world is really no choice at all.

You were born to lead as mothers and fathers because nowhere is righteous leadership more crucial than in the family. You were born to lead as priesthood and auxiliary leaders, as heads of communities, companies, and even nations. You were born to lead as men and women willing 'to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places' because that's what a true leader does.

The women of the Church are the hope of the world precisely because it is not possible to limit the influence of a woman of God who is filled with the pure love of Christ. For that matter, the same is true of men. It is not possible to limit the influence of a man of God who bears the holy priesthood and who is filled with the pure love of Christ. Satan knows this, and he hates followers of Christ for it. We are among his greatest nightmares because he knows he cannot limit our influence unless he can neutralize our respective natures. So, if he can get us to break the law of chastity, or develop an addiction, or become consumed with or blinded by the world, he laughs. When he seduces a man or a woman of God, he not only neutralizes those individuals but is poised to infiltrate their families.

People wonder what we do for our women. I will tell you what we do: we get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing.

...I fear that some of us understand just enough about the gospel to feel guilty--guilty that we are not measuring up to some undefinable standard--but not enough about the Atonement to feel the peace and strength, the power and mercy it affords us.

We must each walk through life on our own, but we don't have to do it alone. God wants a powerful people. He gives His power to those who are faithful. We have a sacred obligation to seek after the power of God and then to use that power as He directs. And when we have the power of God with us, nothing is impossible.

On those days when we are not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we are actually saying is, 'Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today.' Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest, the times it becomes clear that a change in behavior is not enough--that we must have a change in nature.

After explainging that the Relief Society is one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world, he said: "People wonder what we do for our women. I will tell you what we do; we get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing.

Learning and receiving revelation must necessarily include both the heart and the mind, or thoughts, and feelings. Intellect alone cannot produce a testimony. You cannot think your way to conversion, because you cannot convince your mind of something your heart does not feel.

Looking up, which includes seeking a spiritual witness from God, is the only way to understand who we are. The world is utterly incapable of giving us an accurate view of ourselves.

When we put ourselves in a position to feel the Spirit and receive repeated confirmations from heaven, we also put ourselves in a position to counteract deception, distortion, and untruths.

None of us are entitled to revelation without effort on our part. Answers from God don't just magically appear. If we want to grow spiritually, the Lord expects us to ask questions and seek answers.

Let's face it: Today silly women mired in the sophistries and seductions of the world, and haughty women obsessed with themselves, abound. Regrettably, many women succumb to the temptation to judge, gossip, and undermine one another.

The responsibilities, roles, and divinely endowed gifts of men and women differ in nature but not in quality, significance, or degree of importance, impact, or influence. Latter-day Saint doctrine places women equal to, and yet distinct and different from, men.

The Lord loves inspired questions asked in humility and faith because they lead to knowledge, to revelation, and to greater faith.

when you love the Lord more than you love your spouse, your capacity to love will increase and you will increasingly love your spouse even more.

Growing spiritually and receiving answers to our questions depends upon our ability to feel, hear, and understand the whisperings of the Spirit. It is worth engaging in a spiritual wrestle to learn to receive personal revelation, because we can know what is true only when the Spirit bears witness to both our hearts and minds in the way only the Holy Ghost can.

...the Lord is eager to communicate with us through the manifestations and promptings of the Holy Ghost. And the cumulative effect of repeated witnesses of the Spirit becomes something of an inoculation against the ups and downs, the confusion and bewilderment, and the plain old agonies of life.

President Spencer W. Kimball declared, "Why, oh, why do people think they can fathom the most complex spiritual depths without the necessary ... work accompanied by compliance with the laws that govern it? Absurd it is, but you will ... find popular personalities, who seem never to have lived a single law of God, discoursing ... [about] religion. How ridiculous for such persons to attempt to outline for the world a way of life!...One cannot know God nor understand his works or plans unless he follows the laws which govern.

Are you willing to engage in the wrestle? In an ongoing spiritual wrestle? If we want to grow spiritually, the Lord expects us to ask questions and seek answers. We live in a sound-bite world where "tweets," "likes," "posts," and "shares" have become the way we keep informed and share ideas. We are accustomed to expecting instant answers. But the most compelling questions in our lives rarely have quick, easy, Google answers. That is because receiving revelation and gaining knowledge, particularly divine knowledge, takes time. It takes a wrestle.

The Lord needs men and women who know how to get answers. Men and women who aren't easily deceived and whose testimonies aren't shaken by someone with carefully crafted talking points. Men and women whose faith isn't threatened when they don't have all the answers and can't always effectively respond to alternate points of view. Men and women who have had witness after witness that Jesus is the Christ and that the gospel has been restored—so that when circumstances confuse or discourage them, they turn toward the Savior rather than away from Him. And men and women who are secure enough in their own testimonies that they can help others who are struggling to find their way. He needs men and women who are willing to engage in the wrestle.

Brigham Young articulated the nature of [spiritual wrestlers] when he declared that "the men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day.

Enoch understood who he was and that he had a mission to perform. As we come to understand the same thing, we will feel greater purpose and more confidence living as women of God in a world that doesn’t celebrate women of God. We will cheer each other on rather than compete with each other, because we will be looking for validation from the Lord rather than from the world. And we will be willing to stand for truth, even when that means standing alone.

President George Q. Cannon encouraged us to pray for gifts of the Spirit that would countermand and eradicate our weaknesses: “If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the Gospel. They are intended for this purpose.”37 Spiritual gifts are given to those who seek after them, and they are given to those whom the Lord can trust to use them to bless others.

It is in moments of disappointment, heartache, and loneliness that we often make the decisions that forge our faith, mold our character, and fortify our convictions about the only source of strength and solace that satisfies. And that is Jesus Christ.

Asking inspired questions leads to knowledge. It leads to revelation. It leads to greater faith. And it leads to peace. Not asking questions, on the other hand, closes off revelation, growth, learning, progression, and the ministering of the Holy Ghost.

the rest of your life, your most difficult challenge will probably be to follow the prophet. There is going to be an increasing gap between his counsel and what the world insists is acceptable and reasonable. There will likely be moments when you don’t agree with something he says. But I hope you’ll remember what I’m telling you today, that your greatest safety will be in following the prophet. The prophet will always see things you can’t see and help you avoid pitfalls you otherwise might not recognize in time.

Sound bites will never lead to a testimony. As seekers of truth, our safety lies in asking the right questions, in faith, and of the right sources—meaning those who only speak truth; the scriptures; prophets, seers, and revelators; and the Lord through the Holy Ghost.

If you aren’t sure what the Savior did for you through His infinite Atonement, look for every passage of scripture you can find where He declares His divinity and explains what He did for us—including that He made it possible for our broken hearts and wounds to be healed, that He will “succor” or run to us in times of need, that He will heal us from sin when we repent, that He will and can help turn our weakness into strength.34 Seek to understand why Nephi prophesied that the Savior would “rise from the dead, with healing in his wings.”35 We need to think about Him more.

The Lord needs men and women who can talk with confidence about what they believe. Men and women who aren't afraid to wrestle with tough questions. Men and women who can talk to children, youth, and each other about everything from the Church's teachings about marriage to other issues that can cause confusion and threaten faith. We of all people should be comfortable discussing any topic, any issue, any doctrine with anyone, because we can draw from a deep reservoir of revealed truth. We have so many places to turn for answers—to the Lord, to the scriptures, to prophets, seers, and revelators, and to a host of other inspired resources.

It is actually easier to motivate someone to do something difficult than something easy. That truth may seem counterintuitive, but it shouldn’t. Our spirits crave to progress, and if we aren’t moving forward, we’re not happy. The plan of happiness is pro-progression; thus the desire to progress is hardwired into our divine DNA. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we crave the feeling of moving forward, learning, growing, and improving—even if our steps forward are small and intermittent. That is why the lack of even modest progress leads to disillusionment and discouragement, whereas steady progress instills peace of mind and optimism. How inspiring would it be if our Father had said, “Be ye therefore mediocre”? Though our knees buckle at times under life’s burdens, and though we tend to flinch when talking or thinking about aspiring to perfection, none of us wants to stay just like we are. Embedded within our spirits is the need to become more and more like our Father and His Son.

Discipleship requires at least three things of us: first, coming to love the Lord more than we love anything in the world; second, experiencing a change of heart so that we have no “disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”57—which doesn’t mean we no longer make mistakes, it just means we don’t want to; and third, behaving like true followers.

If you’re not sure which spiritual gifts you’ve been given, or how to ask and qualify for additional gifts, or why we’re encouraged to “covet earnestly the best gifts,”36 study 1 Corinthians 12–14, Moroni 10, and Doctrine and Covenants 46, and ask the Lord to tutor you as you read and ponder. Our Father and His Son desire to shower gifts upon us, but we must ask.

Winning wrestlers learn to leverage their strength to subdue, overpower, and defeat their opponents. Spiritual wrestling leverages the strength of true doctrine to overpower our weaknesses, our wavering faith, and our lack of knowledge. Spiritual wrestlers are seekers. They are men and women of faith who want to understand more than they presently do and who are series about increasing the light and knowledge in their lives.

If you’re not sure if you’re feeling the presence of the Holy Ghost, or you wonder if you are accurately translating the impressions you’re receiving, ask the Lord to tutor you through the ministering of the Spirit. Ask Him to lead you to scriptures and to teachings of living prophets that will help you grow in the spirit of revelation. Look for every evidence in the scriptures of direct communication between heaven and mortals on earth, because in those accounts lie instructions for learning the language of revelation.

Norman Cousins, an American journalist and author, asserts that “the human potential is the most magical but also most elusive fact of life. Men suffer less from hunger or dread than from living under their moral capacity. The atrophy of spirit that most men [and women] know and all men [and women] fear is tied not so much to deprivation or abuse as it is to their inability to make real the best that lies within them. Defeat begins more with a blur in the vision of what is humanly possible than with the appearance of ogres in the path.”11

Most spiritual growth, most revelation, most answers to difficult questions require us to wrestle spiritually. There have always been and will always be charismatic men and women who can launch what sound like, on the surface, reasoned arguments against the Father and the Son, the Restoration, the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and living prophets. But doubters and pundits never tell the whole story, because they don't know the whole story—and typically don't want to know. They opt for clever sound bites, hoping no one digs deeper than they have.

If you haven’t read the Book of Mormon lately, start now. Experiment upon the word.33 Read the entire book in a short time to remind yourself of major themes. Then start again, looking for patterns and connections and points of doctrine that prophets emphasize again and again. If you’ve never studied the four New Testament Gospels alongside Third Nephi, try that—you’ll enjoy the process. It is a wonderful way to study what the Savior repeatedly taught during His mortal ministry in the Holy Land and His postmortal ministry to those on the American continent. It is difficult to experiment on the word if we don’t know the word.

I told her, "Bring your scriptures, Preach My Gospel, and every question you have. Questions are good. Let's see what the Lord will teach us together." ...During one of our study sessions together, as she threw a steady stream of questions at me, I asked her if she was asking questions against a backdrop of faith or one of doubt. "In other words, are you saying, 'Here's something I don't understand, so the gospel must not be true.' or are you willing to say, 'Here's something I don't understand, but I wonder what the Lord or His prophets will teach us about this?' Are your questions asked with the assumption that there are answers? Are you will to trust the Lord and give Him the benefit of the doubt?

We can’t will it or gut it out through some kind of clenched-teeth self-discipline. But neither is it possible without our sincere, sustained effort, as Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained: “Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace, our failures to live the celestial law perfectly and consistently in mortality can be erased and we are enabled to develop a Christlike character. Justice demands, however, that none of this happen without our willing agreement and participation. It has ever been so. Our very presence on earth as physical beings is the consequence of a choice each of us made to participate in our Father’s plan. Thus, salvation is certainly not the result of divine whim, but neither does it happen by divine will alone.”55 Thus, if we are willing to yield to “the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” to stay on the covenant path, to hold tightly to the iron rod, and to partake of the fruit again and again, it is possible to put “off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ”56 and be transformed from fallen men and women riddled with faults into true disciples.

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The plan of happiness is pro-progression; thus the desire to progress is hardwired into our divine DNA. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we crave the feeling of moving forward, learning, growing, and improving—even if our steps forward are small and intermittent. That is why the lack of even modest progress leads to disillusionment and discouragement, whereas steady progress instills peace of mind and optimism.

The Lord likes effort. He could have said to Moses, ‘I’ll meet you halfway.’ But Moses had to go all the way to the top of Mount Sinai. He required effort from Moses and Joshua and Joseph Smith and from all of the subsequent Presidents of the Church. He requires effort from bishops and stake Relief Society presidents and elders quorum presidents. There is always a test. Are you willing to do really hard things? Once you’ve shown you’re willing to do your part, He will help you.

As leaders have sought revelation, the guidance received over the past few years is to strengthen the sacrament meeting, honor the Sabbath day, and encourage and assist parents and individuals to make their homes a source of spiritual strength and increased faith—a place of joy and happiness.

Not long ago I heard a mission president ask a group of his elders and sisters what they thought the most difficult commandment to live would be after they were released as full-time missionaries and then throughout their lives. Their answers were varied, with many revolving around the challenge to live the law of chastity. The mission president listened intently, and after the missionaries had each shared his or her response, he said: “You will each have challenges, and, for some of you, temptations with morality will be among them. But I invite you to consider something: Throughout the rest of your life, your most difficult challenge will probably be to follow the prophet. There is going to be an increasing gap between his counsel and what the world insists is acceptable and reasonable. There will likely be moments when you don’t agree with something he says. But I hope you’ll remember what I’m telling you today, that your greatest safety will be in following the prophet. The prophet will always see things you can’t see and help you avoid pitfalls you otherwise might not recognize in time.

There is always a test. Are you willing to do really hard things? Once you’ve shown you’re willing to do your part, He will help you.

And to leave the people we meet and the places we visit better than we found them.

One beautiful winter morning when Utah’s deep powder snow was perfect for experienced skiers, he and Elder W. Craig Zwick headed to a nearby resort for a day on the slopes. As they hopped on the four-person chairlift for their umpteenth ride up the mountain, a young man skied up and got on with them. They remarked how wonderful it was that Monday morning to be out in the fresh Utah snow, and the young man responded, “Yes, but my life is in a shambles.” Elder Zwick remembered, “I felt like saying, ‘This is your lucky day,’ and about then the man realized he was on the chairlift with President Nelson and gasped. “In about four minutes,” Elder Zwick related, “President Nelson taught that young man the importance of the Book of Mormon and promised that if he would read it every day, his problems wouldn’t go away but they would be alleviated. That is how clearly he taught” (Church News/KSL Interview, January 5, 2018).

With every person there comes a new complement of love, and there is no limit to it,” Elder Nelson summarized. “A newborn baby is the most helpless individual in all of life. When a colt is born, it can walk on its feeble legs. When an elephant is born, it can walk. But an infant can’t do anything but cry. That very nature of dependency upon the father and mother allows you to serve them, and that service is what galvanizes the love. If they were self-sufficient, I don’t think you could love them as much. Family is the supreme blessing in life.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained the difference between imperfections in people and the divinity of the Lord’s Church: “Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work.”27

Often help from the Lord came in unexpected ways. The time came in Poland to open a mission there, but how do you open a mission without a mission president who can speak Polish? And where does one find such a person? This was on Elder Nelson’s mind when, on October 27, 1989, he attended the inauguration of BYU President Rex E. Lee in Provo, Utah. At a reception celebrating President Lee’s appointment, Elder Nelson just happened to meet Walter Whipple, a professor of Polish in the department of Germanic and Slavic Languages. Dr. Whipple had just returned to BYU after a teaching stint in Poland. Who became the first mission president in Poland? President Walter Whipple, who was also a professional organist and accomplished cellist. “The Lord doth provide,” Elder Nelson summarized. “I’ve seen this over and over again. When we didn’t know what in the world to do next, the Lord stepped in and handed the answer to us on a silver platter. We would have had to be blind not to see it.

She seemed born to be a mother and chose to love almost everything about it.

Don’t worry about me, Brother Nelson, for I know why I was sent to the earth—to gain experiences and work out my salvation. I can work out my salvation with my mind and not with my legs. I’ll be all right!” Russell recorded afterward that “the faith of that young man has motivated me ever since

On one occasion a medical colleague chastised Dr. Nelson for failing to separate his professional knowledge from his religious convictions. “That startled me,” he admitted, “because I did not feel that truth should be fractionalized. Truth is indivisible” (Hafen, Disciple’s Life, 165).

Russell Nelson learned about the incontrovertibility of divine law in the operating room, and he learned to respect the power and blessings that result from obeying law. “In other words,” he later explained, “whenever a blessing is received, it’s because a law has been obeyed. And that means certain procedures will always work—not just most of the time, not just some of the time, but every single time without exception. That takes the pressure off an individual who is willing to study the laws that govern the physical body and be obedient to them. Otherwise we’d be crazy to take these patients down to death and back every day

My life is ready for inspection,’ Mickey said. ‘Let’s proceed.’” “Those words, ‘My life is ready for inspection,’ have stayed with me ever since,” Russell said years later. “He meant it most sincerely, and I have often contemplated the power of being able to face the next world with that kind of spiritual confidence.

They all looked alike to me, so I checked the I.D. tag and found that the one crying was labeled ‘Baby Girl Nelson, Room 571.’ That was an inspiration to me. Dantzel knew her child’s voice even before she had ever heard it. I couldn’t help but think about the Savior’s statement that ‘my sheep know my voice.’” In this case, the “shepherd” knew the voice of her sheep.

After Laurie was born, Russell and Dantzel were waiting for the nurse to bring their new baby to them. Dantzel had been under anesthetic during delivery and hadn’t yet seen her little girl. Suddenly she said, “I hear our baby crying.” “You’re kidding,” Russell replied. “You haven’t even seen her yet.” But Dantzel insisted, “That’s our baby. I know her voice.” She asked Russell to check, so he walked into the corridor and down to a large cart that carried babies in their bassinets from the nursery to their mothers’ rooms. There was only one baby crying. “They all looked alike to me, so I checked the I.D. tag and found that the one crying was labeled ‘Baby Girl Nelson, Room 571.’ That was an inspiration to me. Dantzel knew her child’s voice even before she had ever heard it. I couldn’t help but think about the Savior’s statement that ‘my sheep know my voice.’” In this case, the “shepherd” knew the voice of her sheep.

When like-minded men who are all dedicated and committed to the same cause have a difference of opinion, that just means we need more information,” President Nelson explained. “We don’t need to debate it longer at that point, we need to go back and study it more and gather more information, because we don’t yet have enough information to agree.