“It will come a piece at a time, in packets, so that you will grow in capacity. As each piece is followed in faith, you will be led to other portions until you have the whole answer. That pattern requires you to exercise faith in our Father’s capacity to respond. While sometimes it’s very hard, it results in significant personal growth” (Richard G. Scott, “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 9).
“This consecrated land has been placed under the everlasting decree of God. That decree is recorded in the sacred Book of Mormon, a new witness for Christ, in these words:
“‘For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. …
“‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ’ (Ether 2:10, 12).
“The eventful destiny of America has also been revealed to God’s prophets. To Joseph Smith the Lord revealed that ‘the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1938, p. 362). Further, the Lord decreed this land to be ‘the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, … the holy sanctuary of the Lord’ (Ether 13:3). To serve God’s eternal purposes and to prepare this land for Zion, God ‘established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom [He] raised up … and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood’ (D&C 101:80). …
“… Too many Americans have lost sight of the truth that God is our source of freedom—the Lawgiver—and that personal righteousness is the most important essential to preserving our freedom” (Ezra Taft Benson, “A Witness and a Warning,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, 31, 33).
“The fate of [the Jaredites and Nephites], as recorded in scripture, is a testimony to all the world: if we don’t have the word of God or don’t cling to and heed the word of God, we will wander off in strange paths and be lost as individuals, as families, and as nations” (Robert D. Hales, “Holy Scriptures: The Power of God unto Our Salvation,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 26).
“It is difficult to imagine what a three-hour rebuke from the Lord might be like, but the brother of Jared endured it. With immediate repentance and prayer, this prophet again sought guidance for the journey they had been assigned and those who were to pursue it. God accepted his repentance and lovingly gave further direction for their crucial mission” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 15).
“Daily fervent prayers seeking forgiveness and special help and direction are essential to our lives and the nourishment of our testimonies. When we become hurried, repetitive, casual, or forgetful in our prayers, we tend to lose the closeness of the Spirit, which is so essential in the continual direction we need to successfully manage the challenges of our everyday lives” (Donald L. Staheli, “Securing Our Testimonies,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 39).
Many people have said that we should pray as if everything depends on the Lord and work as if everything depends on us. President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that he often heard President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) say, “I don’t know how to get anything done except getting on my knees and pleading for help and then getting on my feet and going to work” (Russell M. Nelson, “Spiritual Capacity,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 16).