Notable quotes:
"As Latter-day Saints, we seek a similar firm and sure foundation in our lives — a spiritual foundation needed for our journey through mortality and back to our heavenly home. That foundation is established on the bedrock of our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ."
"Studying the scriptures with ‘Come, Follow Me’ as a guide is strengthening our conversion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. We are not simply trading one hour less in church on Sunday for one hour more of scripture study at home."
"‘Come, Follow Me’ is the Lord’s counterstrategy and proactive plan."
Summary points:
- Latter-day Saints need a firm, sure foundation in our lives, with that foundation established on the bedrock of one’s conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The “Come, Follow Me” resource helps members learn in the home, balancing Church and home experiences to help increase faith and deepen conversion.
- Nine months of the worldwide scripture study effort has resulted in a growth of faith and devotion to the Lord, in improved gospel instruction in Sunday classes and greater family joy and unity.
Talk summary:
The freeze-thaw cycle and expansive soil conditions in Winnipeg, Canada, required specific materials and efforts to create a firm foundation for a new temple there. Latter-day Saints need a similar firm and sure foundation for their mortal journey back to a heavenly home, with that foundation established on the bedrock of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
President Russell M. Nelson opened October 2018 general conference with a warning: “The adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and on our families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counterstrategies and proactive plans.”
And he closed the conference with a promise: “As you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning … the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease.”
How can the attacks of the adversary be increasing exponentially, while at the same time the influence of the adversary is actually decreasing?
“It can happen, and it is happening throughout the Church, because the Lord prepares His people against the attacks of the adversary. ‘Come, Follow Me’ is the Lord’s counterstrategy and proactive plan.”
A nine-month worldwide scripture study effort has resulted in a growth of faith and devotion to the Lord, in improved gospel instruction in Sunday classes and greater family joy and unity.
With the “Come, Follow Me” resource, the Lord is preparing us for the perilous times that we now face.
“He is helping us establish that ‘sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall’ (Helaman 5:12) — the foundation of a testimony anchored firmly in the bedrock of our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“May our daily efforts in studying the scriptures fortify us and prove us worthy of these promised blessings.”
In the news:
- Brother Pace was sustained as the new Sunday School general president in the April 2019 general conference.
- In his bio which ran in the Church News, Brother Pace recalled committing to do hard things and follow the prophet while on his mission, which prepared him to be “all in” to do what God asks of him in his future callings.
About the speaker:
- Brother Mark L. Pace was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1957 while his parents presided over the Argentine mission.
- He met his wife, Anne Marie Langeland, in the second grade, and they were reunited at a combined seminary activity in high school. After dating and writing each other during years of separation, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1978 and have seven children.
- He served as a mission president in the Spain Barcelona Mission from 2012-2015.
- In April 2019 he was called as the Sunday School general president after having served as an Area Seventy in Utah.
