Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You

{We love you} but I see a few problems:

I am the only person standing between you and the ice cream that you always have after conference.

Also, we don’t want to lose tomorrow the Spirit we have felt today.

What a list of experiences where Christ had to deal with mortal friction after a spiritual high.

If you find things in yourself or others that don’t measure up to your spiritual expectations, please don’t give up hope.

Only the adversary would try to convince us that people don’t improve – because he can’t improve anymore.

The great thing about the gospel is that we get credit for trying even if we don’t succeed.

The Lord blesses those who want to improve.

Based on some of these talks we must have many people in the church who despair about their ability to repent and/or be faithful.

We can overcome any mistakes or stupidity, our own or someone else’s, through the Atonement.

May a loving Father in Heaven bless us tomorrow to remember how we felt today.

If gospel standards seem high, remember Joshua’s encouragement. “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord God will do wonders.”

Brothers and sisters, do you have any idea—do you have any notion or inkling whatsoever—of how much we love you? For 10 hours you watch, fixed on one face at this pulpit sequentially, but for those same 10 hours, we seated behind this pulpit watch, fixed on you. You thrill us to the center of our soul, whether that be the 21,000 here in the Conference Center …

It is easy to not even consider the conference experience of those behind the pulpit and their perspective on those watching.

We have heard incomparable music. We have been urgently prayed for and pleaded with. Truly the Spirit of the Lord has been here in rich abundance. What an inspirational weekend it has been in every way.

Now, I do see a couple of problems. One is the fact that I am the only person standing between you and the ice cream you always have ready at the close of general conference. The other potential problem is captured in this photo I saw recently on the Internet.

My apologies to all the children who are now hiding under the sofa, but the fact of the matter is none of us want tomorrow, or the day after that, to destroy the wonderful feelings we have had this weekend. We want to hold fast to the spiritual impressions we have had and the inspired teachings we have heard. But it is inevitable that after heavenly moments in our lives, we, of necessity, return to earth, so to speak, where sometimes less-than-ideal circumstances again face us.

He just started an ice cream tradition in our house – luckily we had ice cream in the freezer.

Remember that when Moses came down from his singular experience on Mount Sinai, he found that his people had “corrupted themselves” and had “turned aside quickly.” There they were at the foot of the mountain, busily fashioning a golden calf to worship, in the very hour that Jehovah, at the summit of the mountain, had been telling Moses, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” and “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” Moses was not happy with his flock of wandering Israelites that day!

I had never considered that the golden calf was being made at the same time as “thou shalt make no graven image” was being commanded.

Realizing that we all have to come down from peak experiences to deal with the regular vicissitudes of life, may I offer this encouragement as general conference concludes.

First of all, if in the days ahead you not only see limitations in those around you but also find elements in your own life that don’t yet measure up to the messages you have heard this weekend, please don’t be cast down in spirit and don’t give up. The gospel, the Church, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are not intended to discourage you. Only the adversary, the enemy of us all, would try to convince us that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don’t really improve, that no one really progresses. And why does Lucifer give that speech? Because he knows he can’t improve, he can’t progress, that worlds without end he will never have a bright tomorrow. He is a miserable man bound by eternal limitations, and he wants you to be miserable too. Well, don’t fall for that. With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.

That is truly comforting doctrine.

My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor.

Notice that His love for us is without condition.

If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other day—is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth “that all things work together for good to them that love God.” So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.

This is another truth that always gives me hope.

Brothers and sisters, may a loving Father in Heaven bless us tomorrow to remember how we felt today. May He bless us to strive with patience and persistence toward the ideals we have heard proclaimed this conference weekend, knowing that His divine love and unfailing help will be with us even when we struggle—no, will be with us especially when we struggle.

If gospel standards seem high and the personal improvement needed in the days ahead seems out of reach, remember Joshua’s encouragement to his people when they faced a daunting future. “Sanctify yourselves,” he said, “for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” I declare that same promise. It is the promise of this conference. It is the promise of this Church. It is the promise of Him who performs those wonders, who is Himself “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, … The Prince of Peace.”