1970

this year I am reading all the talks President Monson gave in General Conference 

here are my thoughts on the talks he gave in 1970

April 1970

Only a Teacher

I think President Monson had a special place in his heart for teachers, whether they be teachers in the home (parents, grandparents,) teachers at school, or teachers at church. He knew the power these people had on the children and youth. He said, "a teacher affects eternity."

He also emphasized the importance of not delaying opportunities to teach our children. He said, "Opportunities for teaching are perishable." We only have so much time with those that we teach before they out making decisions on their own. We can't procrastinate teaching them all the things they need to know. 

I feel very strongly that in order to be an effective teacher, we need to love those we teach I am the activity days leader in my ward, and I can honestly say that I love each and every one of those girls. Each one brings something different, yet needed, to our activity, and I love that. 

No matter how far along we are in the journey of life, we are still learning from teachers. The most important teacher is the master teacher - Jesus Christ. From him we learn to love and serve others. We learn how to teach with love and using gospel principles. I am so grateful for His example. 

October 1970

The Ensign 

In this talk President Monson introduced the new magazine that would be available to members of the church, The Ensign. This magazine would be "a beacon upon the top of a mountain and as an ensign on a hill."

It would "adequately prepare adults to be examples to their children and the world."

I really loved this talk because there has always been an ensign magazine in my home. I remember the conference issue always took a little bit longer to get to our house because all the talks that had to be written out. 

President Monson talks about what you will find in the magazine which hasn't changed much. 

President Monson also talks about teaching within the church. This is where the talk gets really good!

He said,  "Effective teachers are needed desperately to help us understand what is important and genuine in life and help us develop the strength to choose the paths that will keep us safely on the way to eternal life." 

Although teaching styles have changed and evolved over the years, the things President Monson points out are still the same. Like his quote above, "The basic goal of teaching in the church is to help bring about worthwhile changed in the lives of those we teach. The aim is to inspire the individual to think about, feel about, and then do something about living gospel principles." 

I was just called to be an instructor in relief society and this quote is exactly what I want to do. Through discussion, not lecture, I want to inspire others to evaluate their own lives (and I will be doing the same,) and strive to do better. 

The other quote I really loved from this talk was, "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates."

This is why (I believe) we are challenged to do things throughout the week and report back. 

remember

I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I learn

to read the talk from April 1970 click here

to read the talk from October 1970 click here

a quick side note - lds.org does not have general conference talks before 1971, so I had to find them on a different website.