Every member of the Church has the same sacred charge, said President Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, during the Sunday morning session of conference.
"We accepted it and promised to rise to it as we were baptized," he said. "We learn from the words of Alma, the great Book of Mormon prophet, what we promised God that we would become: 'willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places that ye may be in, even unto death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life' (Mosiah 18:9).
"That is a lofty charge and a glorious promise from God," President Eyring said. "My message today is of encouragement. Just as the Book of Mormon makes the charge plain to us, it also directs us upward on the path to eternal life."
President Eyring spoke of three promises — becoming charitable, becoming a witness of God and a promise to endure — that Church members have made with God. The Book of Mormon is a great guide in learning how well an individual is doing and how to do better, he said.
Become charitable
President Eyring spoke of the great service that was given throughout the world over the past six months as members participated in service projects during an official "day of service,"
"The Lord is keeping His promises to you as you keep yours," he said. "As you serve others for Him, He lets you feel His love. And, in time, feelings of charity become part of your very nature. And, ... as you persist in serving others in life, all will be well with you."
Becoming witnesses of God
President Eyring spoke with emotion of an experience when he was invited to speak at a graduation for a great university. The person who invited him to speak became anxious as she learned more about his obligations as an apostle. "She called me on the phone and said that she now understood that my call was to be a witness of Jesus Christ," he related.
Because of that, she told him that the university respected people of all religious beliefs, including those who denied the existence of a God, and that he could not fulfill his duty during his address at the university.
"I hung up the phone with questions in my mind," he said. "Should I tell the university that I would not keep my agreement to speak?"
After praying to know what God would have him do, President Eyring remembered some of the prophets in the Book of Mormon — Nephi, Abinidi, Alma, Amulek and the sons of Mosiah — who acted as bold witnesses of Jesus Christ even in the face of deadly peril.
President Eyring had received an answer to tie in the gospel in his address. He read a news article; the university had been honored for doing what the Church had learned to do in its humanitarian efforts across the world. He said that, in his talk, he described what the university and the Church had done to lift people in need and said that he knew that Jesus Christ was the source of the blessings that come into the lives of those who were served and who had served.
"After the meeting the audience rose to applaud," he said. "I was amazed but still a little anxious. ... Such a miraculous outcome is rare in my experience as a witness of Christ."
The effect of the Book of Mormon on a member's character and that person's power to be a witness for God is certain, he said. "The doctrine and the valiant examples in that book will lift, guide and embolden you."
President Eyring spoke of the power that comes to all people as they daily feast on the words in the Book of Mormon. He spoke of the blessing reading the Book of Mormon is in missionaries' lives as they proclaim the name and gospel of Jesus Christ. He spoke of the guide it is for parents who struggle to get a witness of the Savior into the heart of a child, and of the power that comes into every class, talk or lesson as individuals draw from the book's power.
Enduring to keep the commandments of God
President Eyring shared personal experiences of when he went to visit individuals with terminal diseases prior to their deaths. He spoke of an elderly sister who, until the end of her life, was radiant and filled with love for all, following the Savior's example in tenderly loving children. He told of an elderly brother who had given a life of service. President Eyring said he was surprised to see the man lying on his bed, fully dressed in and wearing new shoes. The man told him, "After you give me a blessing, I want to be ready to respond to the call to take up my bed and go to work."
President Eyring said, "He was an example of the fully converted Latter-day Saints I meet often after they have given a life of dedicated service. They press on. ... It is that fixed determination more and more often in the seasoned disciples of Jesus Christ ... they follow His command to the end. All of you have seen it."
The Book of Mormon can draw an individual closer to God than any other book, and can change a life for the better, President Eyring said.
"Your copy of the Book of Mormon may be hidden from your view by cares and attention to all you have accumulated in your journey," President Eyring said. "I plead with you to drink deeply and often from its pages. It has in it the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the only way home to God."
