Some talks I run into, as I continue my study of past General Conferences, are so good it’s a wonder they could ever be forgotten. The talks given by our prophets are timeless, true, and it would be wise on our part to heed them no matter how long ago they were given. Pres. Benson’s talk, “Cleansing the Inner Vessel,” is one of the great talks. A simple highlighting of his prophetic words is all I need to do.
This is Pres. Benson’s first talk as the prophet of our Church. And like other prophets before him, he says,
“I have had reaffirmed in my mind and heart the declaration of the Lord to say nothing but repentance unto this generation. This has been a theme of every latter-day prophet, along with their testimony that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.”
He said, “Not all is well in Zion,” then he quoted 2 Nephi 28:21.
Already evidenced, he could see that the plaguing sin of our generation would be sexual immorality. Quoting Pres. Joseph F. Smith, he said sexual impurity would be one of three dangers that will threaten the Church from within. (He didn’t say what the other two dangers were, but we can probably guess.) Sometimes, we see sin as something the world does, but the prophecies mostly concern members of the church. That brings his message to the forefront. The need to cleanse our inner vessel. The vessel that has already, at one time, accepted the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This talk mentions pride, although he will go into greater detail in another unforgettable talk. In this talk he states,
“Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life. … Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention.”
We are seeing this more and more from members of the church. Every one of us is at risk. The curse of pride hovers over all of us. But Pres. Benson gives us the antidote.
“The proud do not change to improve but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change.”
Our struggle continues as we wade through the world. We each need to invest ourselves more in the gospel of Jesus Christ. General Conference is full of timeless talks given by our prophets. All the basics that we keep hearing in General Conference can’t be ignored because it is in living the basics that will keep our testimonies strong.
This very blunt talk on cleansing the inner vessel is timeless. It reminds me of Pres. Nelson’s talk on truth. Those of us who are willing to accept this chastisement, re-humble ourselves, and commit ourselves once again to Jesus Christ will be able to withstand the final days.