The present day is so extraordinary that it was envisioned by the ancient prophet Isaiah, Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, a General Authority Seventy, said in his Sunday afternoon address during the 187th Annual General Conference of the Church.
Isaiah prophesied that the Lord’s church would be an “ensign” for the nations.
It would be a flag and a standard around which people would gather in a unity of purpose.
“Without a doubt, one of the great standards of these latter days is this magnificent general conference where the great work and plan of our Heavenly Father to ‘bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39) is continually proclaimed,” he said.
So what does the Lord want His followers to do to remain a light and a “standard for the nations”?
Elder De Hoyos focused on three key suggestions: Observing the Sabbath Day; hastening the work of salvation on both sides of the veil; and teaching in the Savior’s way.
“The light that we are talking about comes from the devotion that we give to Sabbath day observance, in the Church as well as in the home,” he said.
“It is the light that grows as we keep ourselves unspotted from the world; it is the light that comes from offering up our sacraments on His holy day and from paying our devotions to the Most High, all of which, enables us to always have His Spirit with us.”
One’s light also grows by dedicating his or her time to finding names of ancestors and then taking their names to the temple.
“This sacred temple and family history work that we share with the Saints on both sides of the veil is moving forward more than ever as the Lord’s temples are being built.”
Elder De Hoyos taught that learning to teach as the Savior “is another way we can rise and shine.”
Thousands of faithful teachers in the Church are holding up their lights and teaching as Christ teaches.
“As we all teach and learn in His way and become more like Him, our light shines brighter and cannot be hid, and becomes a standard to those who are looking for the Savior’s light.”
