Quorum and group leaders should provide the leading voice and laboring oar in every ward and branch council regarding retention of converts.

The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of the Lord's redeeming love.

What does God want me to do with the resources, time, and talents He has given me?

Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires.

We do not need to achieve some minimum level or capacity or goodness before God will help - divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience.

As days lengthen into weeks and months and even years of adversity, the hurt grows deeper. The Church cannot hope to save a man on Sunday if during the week it is a complacent witness to the crucifixion of his soul.

We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve in any worthy endeavor or career -- we all benefit from their achievements -- but still recognize that there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage. There is no superior career, and no amount of money, authority or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family.