Elder Ballard speaks about serving God's children and demostrating the love of the Savior through our kindly acts of service.  He speaks about the need to provide service with the right heart and for the purpose of following the example of the Savior in our lives.

• I believe there is one simple but profound—even sublime—principle that encompasses the entirety of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we wholeheartedly embrace this principle and make it the focus of our lives, it will purify and sanctify us so we can live once again in the presence of God.
• It is only when we love God and Christ with all of our hearts, souls, and minds that we are able to share this love with our neighbors through acts of kindness and service—the way that the Savior would love and serve all of us if He were among us today.
• When this pure love of Christ—or charity—envelops us, we think, feel, and act more like Heavenly Father and Jesus would think, feel, and act. Our motivation and heartfelt desire are like unto that of the Savior.

Elder Ballard gives us several examples of ways that we can serve and love others.

• First, charity begins at home. The single most important principle that should govern every home is to practice the Golden Rule—the Lord’s admonition that “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Take a moment and imagine how you would feel if you were on the receiving end of thoughtless words or actions. By our example, let us teach our family members to have love one for another.
• Another place where we have ample opportunity to serve is in the Church. Our wards and branches should be places where the Golden Rule always guides our words and actions toward each other. By treating each other kindly, speaking words of support and encouragement, and being sensitive to each other’s needs, we can create loving unity among ward members. Where charity exists, there is no place for gossip or unkind words.
• A third area where we can serve is in our communities. As a pure expression of our love and concern, we can reach out to those who have need of our help.

Elder Ballard points out that friendships can be built and strengthened when we serve those that need our attention.  He encourages us to build friendships as we serve those in need.

• Through our heartfelt kindness and service, we can make friends with those whom we serve. From these friendships come better understanding of our devotion to the gospel and a desire to learn more about us.

He gives us one more way that we can serve others.

• Another way we can serve Heavenly Father’s children is through missionary service—not only as full-time missionaries but also as friends and neighbors. The future growth of the Church will not happen through just knocking on strangers’ doors. It will happen when the members, along with our missionaries, filled with the love of God and Christ discern needs and respond to those needs in the spirit of charitable service.

Whatever we do in our lives, we need to make sure we are listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost will help us understand what we need to do to help those in need.

• In all of our service, we need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The still, small voice will let us know who needs our help and what we can do to help them.

Elder Ballard speaks about the gift of charity and that our entire goal in providing service to others is to be filled with this love that the Savior has demonstrated.

• Brothers and sisters, may I reemphasize that the most important attribute of Heavenly Father and of His Beloved Son that we should desire and seek to possess within our lives is the gift of charity, “the pure love of Christ.” From this gift springs our capacity to love and to serve others as the Savior did.

Elder Ballard concludes with this statement.

• Our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.

Charity is a principle of the gospel that I gained great insight into while serving a mission.  I witnessed so many kind acts of service that were pure demonstrations of charity.  All around us there are people that are serving others because they love God and Jesus Christ.  Our goal is to become the type of person that helps and serves others because we love the Savior.  If we are to become like our Savior, we need to act the He would act, say things He would say, and serve like He would serve.  We are blessed to know how He lived His life so we can follow in His footsteps.

Elder Ballard speaks about fly fishing and how the fisherman deceives the fish into thinking the lure is a real insect.  Once the deceiving has occurred, the fisherman has the fish in his grasps and wrestles him into giving up.  He encourages us to stay away from anything that will destroy our agency and catch us in satan's grasps.

• Stay away from any kind of substance that may trap you. Even one sniff of something or one pill or one drink of alcohol can lead to addiction. A recovering alcoholic told me that just one drink is the difference between addiction and sobriety. Satan knows this. Do not let him hook you with his artificial lures that can quickly turn into addiction.

Sometimes satan uses good things to catch us in his grasps.  Prescription drug abuse is a real problem and a simple way for satan to start us down a dark path.

• We need to carefully follow the doses prescribed by doctors. And we need to keep such medications in a safe place where youngsters or anyone else cannot gain access to them.

Addictions can be more than drugs.  In our world today, video games and texting are pointed out as problems.

• Any kind of addiction is to surrender to something, thus relinquishing agency and becoming dependent. Thus, video-gaming and texting on cell phones need to be added to the list. Some gamers claim to spend up to 18 hours a day going through level after level of video games, neglecting all other aspects of their lives. Texting on cell phones can become an addiction, causing the important interpersonal human communication to become lost.

Addictions are a problem for us spiritually as well as physically.  But there is always hope found in the Savior.

• Medical research describes addiction as “a disease of the brain.” This is true, but I believe that once Satan has someone in his grasp, it also becomes a disease of the spirit. But no matter what addictive cycle one is caught in, there is always hope.

To start recovering, prayer is the first step to making necessary changes in our lives.

• If anyone who is addicted has a desire to overcome, then there is a way to spiritual freedom—a way to escape from bondage—a way that is proven. It begins with prayer—sincere, fervent, and constant communication with the Creator of our spirits and bodies, our Heavenly Father. It is the same principle in breaking a bad habit or repenting from sin of any kind. The formula for having our heart, our body, our mind, and our spirit transformed is found in the scriptures.

Hope can be found in the Savior.  Bondage can be overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

• There is hope for the addicted, and this hope comes through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ and by humbling oneself before God, pleading to be freed of the bondage of addiction and offering our whole soul to Him in fervent prayer.

Elder Ballard again says that prayer is the first step to overcoming addiction.

• Fervent prayer is key to gaining the spiritual strength to find peace and overcome an addictive craving. Heavenly Father loves all of His children, so thank Him and express sincere faith in Him. Ask Him for the strength to overcome the addiction you are experiencing. Set aside all pride and turn your life and your heart to Him. Ask to be filled with the power of Christ’s pure love. You may have to do this many times, but I testify to you that your body, mind, and spirit can be transformed, cleansed, and made whole, and you will be freed.

Finally, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all can be restored to someone to falls to addiction.

• For those of you who have fallen prey to any kind of addiction, there is hope because God loves all of His children and because the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ makes all things possible.

Addiction is a terrible curse.  It causes us to give up our agency to an artificial substance.  Addiction leaves you empty when it is all over and robs us of hope for a better tomorrow.  Elder Ballard promises peace and hope through the Savior Jesus Christ.  That peace and hope is real but requires effort for it to come.  If you are having a problem, please seek help.  The Addiction Recovery Program is for everyone.  There is hope in the Savior, but we have to find the strengthen within ourselves to come to Him and ask for help.

Elder Ballard spoke in the last General Conference to the fathers and sons and continues his theme by speaking to the mothers and daughters of the church.

• Mothers and daughters play a critical role in helping each other explore their infinite possibilities, despite the undermining influences of a world in which womanhood and motherhood are being corrupted and manipulated.

Righteous women have influences over the world.

• There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman.

In the world today, a righteous woman is made to look like she is out of touch, unimportant, and naive to the things the of the world.  This is not true and a message that comes from Satan.

• Popular culture today often makes women look silly, inconsequential, mindless, and powerless. It objectifies them and disrespects them and then suggests that they are able to leave their mark on mankind only by seduction—easily the most pervasively dangerous message the adversary sends to women about themselves.

He tells the daughters of the church to look to their mothers as their rolemodels.  Actresses and musicians are not always good examples of the type of people that live righteous lives and make righteous decisions.

• I urge you not to look to contemporary culture for your role models and mentors. Please look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them, not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lord’s standards and whose values may not reflect an eternal perspective.
  

Nothing can take the place of the love that a mother feels for her daughter.  A mother's love is eternal and not just part of this life.

• No other person on earth loves you in the same way or is willing to sacrifice as much to encourage you and help you find happiness—in this life and forever.
  

He continues in his talk giving advice to mothers.  The influence of a mother on her daughter brings a powerful support to her daughter to withstand temptation.

• Throughout the history of the world, women have always been teachers of moral values. That instruction begins in the cradle and continues throughout the lives of their children. Today our society is bombarded with messages about womanhood and motherhood that are dangerously and wickedly wrong. Following these messages can put your daughters on the path to sin and self-destruction. Your daughters may not understand that unless you tell them or, better, unless you show them how to make good choices. As mothers in Israel, you are your daughters’ first line of defense against the wiles of the world.

Mothers need to lead by example.  They need to show their daughters how to live righteous, covenant keeping lives.

• God is the source of all moral and spiritual power. We gain access to that power by entering into covenants with Him and keeping those covenants. Mothers, teach your daughters the importance of making covenants, and then show them how to keep those covenants in such a way that they will desire to live worthy to go to the temple.
  

Mothers demonstrate how to have the spirit influence their lives.  The Holy Ghost is their companion and demonstrate their love the Savior in the things they do.

• All youth will be more likely to make and keep covenants if they learn how to recognize the presence and the voice of the Spirit. Teach your daughters about things of the Spirit. Point them to the scriptures. Give them experiences that will help them cherish the blessing of priesthood power in their lives. Through keeping covenants they will learn to hear the voice of the Lord and receive personal revelation. God will truly hear and answer their prayers.

Elder Ballard ends with this comment to contemplate throughout the rest of your day.

• Keeping covenants is the safest road to eternal happiness.

I have been blessed by having mothers, a wife, and daughters that are blessed to have great relationships with each other.  Their influence is powerful and teaches those around them.  I am grateful for the light that shines in their eyes and the example they are to all those around them.   We would be wise to show our appreciation and support to those women in our lives that bring great happiness and love to each of us.