THE ENSIGN OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS • MARCH 2001 Keep Negativism Out of Marriage, p. 22 How to Increase Participation in Lessons, p. 32 Preparing the Publication of the Danish Book of Mormon, by Scott M. Snow Elder Erastus Snow of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Peter O. Hansen put the final proofreading touches on the Book of Mormon in Danish 150 years ago in Copenhagen. Its printing in 1851 was the first publication of the Book of Mormon in a language other than English. THE ENSIGN OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS • MARCH 2001 VOLUME 31 NUMBER 3 2 FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE ON THE COVERS: Front: Photo by Tamra Ratieta. Back: Photo WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? by Craig Dimond. Inside front: Preparing the Publication of the Danish Book of Mormon, by Scott M. Snow, oil on President James E. Faust canvas, 36” x 48”, 2000. Inside back: Land Bountiful, by 8MISSIONARY WORK AND THE ATONEMENT Garth Oborn, oil on canvas, 40” x 60”, 2000. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland THE FIRST PRESIDENCY: Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, James E. Faust 16 THE PRINCIPLE OF PRESIDENCY Elder Joe J. Christensen QUORUM OF THE TWELVE: Boyd K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, David B. ON T ET EGATIVISM UIN OUR ARRIAGE Haight, Neal A. Maxwell, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, 22 D ’ L N R Y M M. Russell Ballard, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Richard G. Scott, Terry Baker Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, Henry B. Eyring 27 THINGS LEARNED AS A MOTHER EDITOR: Dennis B. Neuenschwander ADVISERS: L. Lionel Kendrick, Yoshihiko Kikuchi, 30 CAPSIZED! Michael R. Johnson John M. Madsen 32 INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN LESSONS CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATORS CAPSIZED!, P. 30 MANAGING DIRECTOR: Ronald L. Knighton Jonn D. Claybaugh and Amber Barlow Dahl EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Richard M. Romney 37 “I LOVE YOU, SISTER LIBBY” Katie A. Libby GRAPHICS DIRECTOR: Allan R. Loyborg EDITORIAL STAFF 38 HELPING OTHERS, HELPING OURSELVES MANAGING EDITOR: Jay M. Todd 44 LATTER-DAY SAINT VOICES ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS: Don L. Searle, Jonathan H. Stephenson SAND TRAP Gary M. Johnson ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Judith M. Paller, LaRene Porter Gaunt, N THE ALM OF IS AND Devan Jensen, Garrett H. Garff I P H H Emma Ernestina Sánchez Sánchez ASSISTANT EDITORS: Rebecca M. Taylor, Kerry G. Smith, THEIR SERVICE OPENED OUR HEARTS Judith A. Wilkinson Barbara Jean Jones IVING P Y RAVEN MAGE TEXT PROGRAMMER: Sally J. Odekirk G U M G I Manuel J. Rosario DESIGN STAFF 50 CAREFULLY SCHOOLED IN THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES MAGAZINE GRAPHICS MANAGER: M. M. Kawasaki ART DIRECTOR: J. Scott Knudsen Richard E. Bennett SENIOR DESIGNERS: C. Kimball Bott, Fay P. Andrus, 57 VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE: “THAT I MAY HEAL YOU” Tadd R. Peterson DESIGNER: Thomas S. Child 58 I HAVE A QUESTION: AVOIDING DANGER ON THE INTERNET PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION William C. Porter PRINTING DIRECTOR: Kay W. Briggs DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR (SUBSCRIPTIONS): Kris T. Christensen 60 THE LATTER-DAY SAINT HUMANITARIAN CENTER © 2001 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 64 LATTER-DAY COUNSEL The Ensign (ISSN 0884-1136) is published monthly by ORTRAITS The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 50 East 66 P North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3224, 68 PERSPECTIVES United States of America. Periodicals Postage Paid at Salt Lake City, Utah, and at additional mailing offices. 70 RANDOM SAMPLER All materials may be copied for incidental, noncommercial 73 NEWS OF THE church or home use unless otherwise indicated. Other uses CHURCH HELPING require permission of the copyright owner. OTHERS, The Ensign (preferred pronunciation: N’sign, not N’sun) HELPING will consider unsolicited manuscripts and art, but submis- URSELVES sions must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped O , envelope if return delivery is desired. Unsolicited manu- P. 38 scripts and comments may also be submitted via e-mail at [email protected]. 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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Salt Lake Distribution Center, Church Magazines, P.O. Box 26368, Salt Lake City, Utah 84126-0368, United States of America. CANADA POST INFORMATION: Publication Agreement #1604791 THE ENSIGN/MONTH 2001 1 F IRST P RESIDENCY M ESSAGE WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ? B Y P RESIDENT J AMES E. FAUST alcohol, or immorality, and their lives become shat- Second Counselor in the First Presidency tered. Instead of being happy with who they are, they become dissatisfied and discontent. They measure salute you young people as chosen, their self-worth solely in terms of their talent and ac- special spirits who have been re- complishments instead of who they really are inside. served to come forth in this genera- It is not always true that the more you achieve, the hap- tion. You are Ibeginning the struggle to discover who pier you will be or that you will like yourself more. you are and to find your place in life. You have new, As sons and daughters of God, we are obligated to strong feelings. You have great challenges. I hope you develop as many of our divinely given talents as we are beginning to achieve and excel in some special can. All of us should work to achieve worthwhile ob- way. Perhaps it is your smile, your personality, or jectives. We should learn skills and get an education. your ability to lift others. Perhaps you are discovering You will be happier if you know who you are and feel your talent as an athlete, scholar, computer specialist, good about yourself. musician, builder, artist, or in a hundred different ar- So who do you think you are? Who you think you eas. This might give you some personal recognition. are and who you really are can be two different ver- These accomplishments may cause you to think sions of yourself. From an eternal perspective, these about who you really are. two versions need to come together. God knows you Dr. Fred Riley, a prominent social worker, has and what you can become because He has known treated many athletes who identify themselves as ath- you from the beginning when you were His spirit letes rather than as children of God. He relates: “What sons and daughters. What you become will depend happens when they can’t play basketball? Their iden- in large measure upon how you follow righteous tity is shot.”1 Their self-worth is related to their physi- principles and do good works. cal skills rather than their character. Many who achieve world-class recognition may not like themselves. Some s sons and daughters of God, we are obligated to of the rich and famous, even though they have great develop as many of our divinely given talents as we talent and ability, are insecure and succumb to drugs, can.A All of us should work to achieve worthwhile objectives. 2 STEVE BUNDERSON Y PHOTO B THE ENSIGN/MARCH 2001 3 STEVE BUNDERSON Y n your quest to define yourselves, do not get PHOTO B caughtI up in comparisons with role models or body types that may seem to be macho or chic but in reality are not becoming to you as sons and daughters of our loving Heavenly Father. You may ask, “How do I learn to like myself?” “All my life I had done things for everyone else. I suggest five ideas that may be helpful. The grades, the manners, the awards—everything for them, nothing for me. This eating thing, this losing 1. CHANGE BAD BEHAVIOR. weight had become mine. It represented me and my choices, and now my dad was trying to take that We need to change our bad behavior. We need to away from me, too! repent. As Alma said to his son Corianton, “Wicked- “As I lay in bed that night crying and feeling fat, I ness never was happiness.”2 It’s hard to like ourselves knew I needed help. I knew I was hurting people I if we are doing things that we know to be wrong. loved. Most of you have been taught about good behavior “After staying up all night, I came to the conclu- by your parents and youth leaders. You also have the sion that it wasn’t my dad I hated. I hated ME! I re- scriptures and the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth alized that I wasn’t in control. For the first time in to guide you. my life, I understood that this was my problem. I In your quest to define yourselves, do not get needed to take control of my life—not let the disease caught up in comparisons with role models or body control it.