·Note: This is a continuing study on the importance and necessity of prayer in our daily lives. A much abbreviated form of these notes were used to present a lesson on prayer to a Junior High boys’ Sunday school class on 19 September 1993 while I was still a member of the Baptist church. The original notes were later revised and new material was added on 02 August 2000. On 16 January 2009 the notes were revised once again and are now presented here for all to read.


"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14


"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in my sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." - Psalm 19:14


President Gordon B. Hinckley on the Power of Prayer

"Believe in prayer and the power of prayer. Pray to the Lord with the expectation of answers. I suppose there is not a man or woman in this entire congregation today who doesn't pray. I hope that is so. The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries - we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another. 'Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord' (Isaiah 1:18). That is the invitation. Believe in the power of prayer - it is real, it is wonderful, it is tremendous." (Gordon B. Hinckley, Smithfield/Logan Utah Regional Conference, April 21, 1996; see "Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley" p. 469)


Elder Russell M. Nelson on Keeping Faith in God

"Praying helps us to face trials in life. Prayer centers our attitudes precisely. With that focus, we do not wander to the right or left through land mines with traps of temptation. Disciples do not flirt with danger at the jagged edge of disaster. Experienced mountain climbers do not lean toward the dangerous edge but toward safety, with ropes and other safeguards to secure them in those they trust. So it is with us. When we climb mountainous challenges of life, we should lean toward our Master and be yoked with him, clinging tightly to the iron rod of the gospel, to family, and to trusted friends."

"The Lord said, 'Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not' (D&C 6:36). I have learned that such faith gives emancipating power. Facing God first lets us decide firmly what we shall not do; then we are free to pursue what we ought to do." (Russell M. Nelson, "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods," General Conference April 1996; see Ensign, May 1996, p. 16)

In our lat lesson we briefly discussed three aspects of prayer: (1)What is prayer?, (2)Why pray?, and (3) How to pray. We begin this lesson by stating the condition for receiving forgiveness when we pray.

After the Lord had given His disciples an example of how to pray (see Matthew 6:9-13), He says unto them, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14, 15). We read similar words of our Savior in Mark 11:24-26, "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." The lesson here is simply this - forgiveness of man is the condition for forgiveness by man.

We, like Peter, may often wonder how often we should forgive someone who sins against us. Peter felt that seven times was sufficient, but notice the Lord's reply in Matthew 18:22, "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." In other words, what the Lord was teaching Peter as well as us today is that no matter how many times a brother or sister sins against us we should always find it in our hearts to forgive them.

For the remainder of this lesson I would like to present several different aspects of prayer for your consideration. I will merely list each one with the associated Scripture verses so that you may review them for yourselves at your convenience. I will cover six different areas:
1. Kinds of Prayer
2. Parts of Prayer
3. Personal Requirements of Prayer
4. General Requirements of Prayer
5. Posture Used in Prayer
6. Times for Prayer

Kinds of Prayer

1. Secret - Matthew 6:6
2. Family - Acts 10:2, 30
3. Group - Matthew 18:20
4. Public - 1 Corinthians 14:14-17

Parts of Prayer

1. Adoration - Daniel 4:34, 35
2. Confession - 1 John 1:9
3. Supplication - 1 Timothy 2:1-3
4. Intercession - James 5:15
5. Thanksgiving - Philippians 4:6

Personal Requirements of Prayer

1. Purity of Heart - Psalm 66:18-19
2. Believing - Matthew 21:22
3. In Christ's Name - John 14:13,14
4. According to God's Will - 1 John 5:14,15

General Requirements of Prayer

1. Forgiving Spirit - Matthew 6:14
2. Simplicity - Matthew 6:5,6
3. Humility and Repentance - Luke 18:10-14
4. Unity of Believers - Matthew 18:19,20
5. Tenacity - Luke 18:1-8
6. Importunity - Luke 11:5-8
7. Intensity - Matthew 7:7-11
8. Confident Expectation - Mark 11:24
9. Without Many Words - Matthew 6:7
10. Unceasingly - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Posture Used in Prayer

1. Standing - Nehemiah 9:5
2. Kneeling - Ezra 9:5
3. Sitting - 1 Chronicles 17:16-27
4. Bowing - Exodus 34:8
5. Hands Uplifted - 1 Timothy 2:8

Times of Prayer

1. Daily, In the Morning - Psalm 5:3; 88:13; 143:8; Isaiah 33:2
2. Twice Daily - Psalm 88:1
3. Thrice daily - Psalm 55:17; Daniel 6:10
4. All Night - Luke 6:12
5. Without Ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
6. In Secret - Matthew 5:6
7. Silently - Psalm 5:1

May we be found "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints," casting all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us. This is my humble, heartfelt prayer in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.


Joseph Smith's First Prayer
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I do not mean to come across as being callous, cruel, or mean-spirited, but the older I get, the more discouraged and dishearten I become as I watch some of our young people - the future of our world, place themselves in a proverbial box called defeatism. Unquestionably, some of us have grown up in unfavorable conditions and in an unkind society that constantly reminds us, and in some cases has thoroughly convinced us, that our father never amounted to much, and our mother has never amounted to much, and so, as the proverbial apple never seems to fall far from the tree, we ourselves can expect to never amount to much either. The tragedy of it all is that society is not alone in painting this picture of hopelessness and despair, but that same picture hangs on the walls in our homes, as well as, in the classrooms of our schools.


I wish to send a very clear, precise, and concise message to our youth of today: the time has come for you to stop wallowing in the mud of hopelessness and slowly drowning yourselves in the sea called despair. Now is the time to break free from that proverbial box that you have found yourselves in, and from the strangling chords of the voices of naysayers who preach negativism and defeatism. Rise above your current station in life. You can if you believe that you can!

Maybe it is true that your father and mother have never done anything to make an honorable name for themselves, or have ever tried to get out of their current situations and better themselves. Maybe it is true that you were born in unfavorable and adverse conditions. Maybe it is true that all of your young life people have done nothing but knock you down and kick you while you were down. However, it does not have to stay that way. Though the night may seem dark and dreary, nighttime only last for a season and then the morning comes. And with the dawning of the morning comes a light of hope that shines bright as the noon day sun.

Now is the time for you to start realizing that you are not your father and you are not your mother. God Almighty has made each of us uniquely YOU. He has meted to you and me a measure of faith, hope, courage, talents, and abilities. It is time for you to put behind you those things that once were, and press forward to obtain those things that can, and (with faith, hope, patience, determination, and endurance) will be. Stop listening to the perpetual lies of those who do not have your best interest at heart, and start believing in yourself. You can do whatever it is you have a mind to do, and you can become whatever it is that you have a desire to become in life, but YOU have to believe that you can do it. If you cannot believe in yourselves, how can you honestly expect anyone else to?

Do not become discouraged if at first you do not succeed at doing something, but try and try again knowing that the road to success is often filled with potholes called failure. Many a success in life has been wrought through heartache and failure, so don't let that stop you. Even along the road of success will be hurdles and discouragement which you will have to get over, but don't let that stop you either. Continue to run your race with your head held high and a song of hope and gladness in your heart. You may not be the first to cross the finishing line, but then the winner of a race is not always necessarily the swiftest runner in the race, but he who runs his race well by remaining focused, staying his course, and enduring to the end.

There will be times along the way when you may become weary. Stop and rest for a little while if you must, but don't give up, give in, or quit. Remain focused on your goals and objectives. The finishing line is just in sight. You can make it. Yes you can! May God give you the hope, courage, faith, and determination to endure to the end. God bless you all!

President Gordon Bitner Hinckley
President Gordon Bitner Hinckley
President Gordon Bitner Hinckley
In Loving Memory Of A Prophet Of The Lord
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1 Peter 3:13-17

13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
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The Joseph Smith Papers
The Joseph Smith Papers

On February 25th, 2008, the Church announced the establishment of a new imprint for publishing works that relate to the origin and growth of the Church.

The first project by the Church Historian's Press is The Joseph Smith Papers. This comprehensive series of journals, letters, legal documents, and business papers chronicles the life of Joseph Smith. When finished, this project will include more than 30 volumes.

The first three volumes are scheduled for publication later this year and will include Joseph Smith's early journals.

In time, the published volumes are expected to be made available in their entirety through the Web site Joseph Smith Papers.
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