2011
The Future Begins Now
September 2011


“The Future Begins Now,” New Era, Sept. 2011, AP2–AP3

The Message

The Future Begins Now

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First Presidency

Your Future Beckons

Active service in the Aaronic Priesthood will prepare you young men to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, to serve missions, and to marry in the holy temple.

You will ever remember your Aaronic Priesthood quorum advisers and your fellow quorum members. …

Young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, your future beckons; prepare for it. May Heavenly Father ever guide you as you do so. May He guide all of us as we strive to honor the priesthood which we hold and to magnify our callings.

President Thomas S. Monson, “Do Your Duty—That Is Best,” Ensign, Nov. 2005, 59.

Diligence and Trust

Just a few weeks ago, I saw a new deacon start on [the] path of diligence. His father showed me a diagram his son had created that showed every row in their chapel, a number for each deacon who would be assigned to pass the sacrament, and their route through the chapel to serve the sacrament to the members. The father and I smiled to think that a boy, without being asked to do it, would make a plan to be sure he would succeed in his priesthood service.

I recognized in his diligence the pattern from the new Duty to God booklet. It is to learn what the Lord expects of you, make a plan to do it, act on your plan with diligence, and then share with others how your experience changed you and blessed others. …

You will become more diligent as you feel the magnitude of the trust God has placed in you. There is a message from the First Presidency for you in that Duty to God booklet: “Heavenly Father has great trust and confidence in you and has an important mission for you to fulfill. He will help you as you turn to Him in prayer, listen for the promptings of the Spirit, obey the commandments, and keep the covenants that you have made” [Fulfilling My Duty to God: For Aaronic Priesthood Holders (booklet, 2010), 5].

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Act in All Diligence,” Ensign, May 2010, 60–61.

The End from the Beginning

I will speak today to you wonderful young men who are preparing to make a difference in the world—you who have entered the ranks of the Aaronic Priesthood. … The priesthood you bear is a wonderful force for good. You live in a time of great challenges and opportunities. As spirit sons of heavenly parents, you are free to make the right choices. This requires hard work, self-discipline, and an optimistic outlook, which will bring joy and freedom into your life now and in the future.

The Lord said to Abraham, “My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee” (Abraham 2:8). My young friends, today I say to you that if you trust the Lord and obey Him, His hand shall be over you, He will help you achieve the great potential He sees in you, and He will help you to see the end from the beginning.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, “See the End from the Beginning,” Ensign, May 2006, 42.

Photograph by Craig Dimond