Elder L. Tom Perry: 'The Past Way of Facing the Future'

During the Sunday morning session of general conference, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke about how the actions of some early Church pioneers provided a blueprint for how Latter-day Saints can effectively participate in member-missionary work.

"Former United States President Ronald Reagan has been quoted as saying: 'I do not want to go back to the past; I want to go back to the past way of facing the future,' " Elder Perry said. "His perceptive counsel still resonates with me. There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us for facing the challenges of the future. What a glorious legacy of faith, courage, and ingenuity those noble early Mormon pioneers left for us to build on. My admiration for them deepens the longer I live."

Elder Perry told about some Norwegian carpenters who settled in Manti in the early days of the Church in Utah. They were given the responsibility of constructing a roof for the Manti temple even though none of them had ever built a roof before. Instead of becoming discouraged, the would-be roofers recurred to carpentry principles they knew would work. They decided to first build a ship and then turn it into a roof by inverting it, placing it on top of the rest of the temple structure.

"Embedded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there are eternal principles and truths that will last far longer than the principles of building ships and roofs," Elder Perry said. "You and I, as members of the Lord's true church, have special access and insight into these eternal principles and truths, especially when we listen to the Spirit for individual and family guidance and hear the prophet's voice when he declares the word of God to all members of the Church. You and I both know how important these eternal principles and truths are in our lives. I'm not sure the early pioneers could have faced their perilous and uncertain futures without them, and neither can we. They are the only true and eternal way to face the future, especially in the increasingly perilous and uncertain times in which we now live."

According to Elder Perry, Church members can buttress the efforts of full-time missionaries by being prepared to testify of the simple gospel truths that they know so well, that they endeavor to live on a daily basis.

"The full-time missionaries will continue to do most of the actual teaching of investigators, but members will have ample opportunities to answer questions and share their testimony," he said. "We heed the prophet's voice more fully by preparing ourselves to teach basic gospel principles. … There are three very basic lessons the full-time missionaries teach — the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How prepared are you to give witness and testimony to the truthfulness of these very basic lessons? Use the inspired missionary manual 'Preach My Gospel' to study and prepare yourself to play that supporting role to the full-time missionaries as they teach these basic gospel discussions."

Watch video of this talk and other conference talks at ksl.com