Elder Bednar shares several examples from the scriptures of men that were humble and meek when responding to difficult situations in their lives.  He spoke about Amulek, Pahoran, and the Savior.  He used these examples of showing how meekness is necessary in our lives and how we can understand this Christlike attribute better.

• Meekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer and is distinguished by righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint.
  

He spoke about examples in our day of President Nelson and President Eyring studying the Book of Mormon at President Monson's request.

• President Nelson and President Eyring righteously and rapidly responded to President Monson’s encouragement to read and study the Book of Mormon. Though both men were serving in important and visible Church positions and had studied the scriptures extensively for decades, they demonstrated in their responses no hesitation or sense of self-importance.
  

In our day, meekness is sometimes look at as a weakness.  Elder Bednar defines meekness for us and compares that to the attribute of humility.

• The Christlike quality of meekness often is misunderstood in our contemporary world. Meekness is strong, not weak; active, not passive; courageous, not timid; restrained, not excessive; modest, not self-aggrandizing; and gracious, not brash. A meek person is not easily provoked, pretentious, or overbearing and readily acknowledges the accomplishments of others.
  
• Whereas humility generally denotes dependence upon God and the constant need for His guidance and support, a distinguishing characteristic of meekness is a particular spiritual receptivity to learning both from the Holy Ghost and from people who may seem less capable, experienced, or educated, who may not hold important positions, or who otherwise may not appear to have much to contribute.
  

He reminds us that meekness is a protection from many negative things of the world.

• Meekness is the principal protection from the prideful blindness that often arises from prominence, position, power, wealth, and adulation.

Elder Bednar speaks about how we develop meekness in our lives.  He teaches us that meekness is a spiritual gift and can be sought after in our lives.

• Meekness is an attribute developed through desire, the righteous exercise of moral agency, and striving always to retain a remission of our sins. It also is a spiritual gift for which we appropriately can seek.
  

Meekness is a characteristic of who we are and not just something we exercise at times in our lives.  Elder Bednar reminds us that meekness is a defining characteristic of becoming Christlike.

• As we come unto and follow the Savior, we increasingly and incrementally are enabled to become more like Him. We are empowered by the Spirit with disciplined self-restraint and a settled and calm demeanor. Thus, meek is what we become as disciples of the Master and not just something we do.

During the life of the Savior, he demonstrated this attribute at the most challenging time in His life.  As an example of meekness, Elder Bednar talks about the betrayal of the Savior and the response of Peter.

• The consistency of the Lord’s willing submission and strong self-restraint is both awe-inspiring and instructive for us all. As an armed company of temple guardsmen and Roman soldiers arrived at Gethsemane to seize and arrest Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant. The Savior then touched the servant’s ear and healed him. Please note that He reached out and blessed His potential captor using the same heavenly power that could have prevented Him from being captured and crucified.
  

Elder Bednar concludes by encouraging us to turn to the Savior to develop this important attribute in ourselves.

• Meekness is an essential aspect of the divine nature and can be received and developed in our lives because of and through the Savior’s Atonement.

When I think about meekness, I think about what I can learn from others that might not seem in a position to teach me much.  I look to people that cross my path throughout the day and seek to understand why the Lord puts specific encounters in my life.  From these encounters, I try to learn what is happening spiritually in their lives and how I can become a better person from their examples.  I appreciate Elder Bednar using examples from the scriptures to teach us that meekness is not weakness but a spiritual gift from the Savior.  I learned that meekness is a spiritual gift and one that I can seek to have more of in my life.  I am going to include in my prayers that I learn even more about this characteristic and seek learning from the spirit.  As I do, I am confident that the Lord will bless me to more deeply understand where I am lacking and help me develop spiritually.

Elder Andersen speaks in conference to teach us about what it means to have a prophet of God on the earth today.  He begins by noting that we got to participate in a solemn assembly where we each had a chance to sustain the prophet.  He speaks about the spirit that was in the conference center as this took place.

• To those millions of members who are not here with us in the Conference Center, I want you to know that the Spirit of the Lord in this building during the sustaining of President Nelson was exactly as you would have anticipated it—full of spiritual power.
  

He speaks about the Lord being in charge of the selection of the prophet.

• The selection of a prophet is made by the Lord Himself. There is no campaigning, no debates, no posturing for position, no dissension, distrust, confusion, or commotion. I too confirm that the power of heaven was with us in the upper room of the temple as we prayerfully encircled President Nelson and felt the undeniable approval of the Lord upon him.

Although we love the prophet and sustain his prophetic call, we do not worship him.  We worship God and our Savior Jesus Christ and know that it is through our Savior that we will be saved.

• While we sustain the prophet as the Lord’s anointed, let it be clear that we worship only God, our Heavenly Father, and His divine Son. It is through the merits, the mercy, and the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we can one day enter again into Their presence.

But we follow the prophet because he is the Lord's representative on the earth.  We can have faith in his calling, his abilities, and his guidance in our lives.

• Anchoring our souls to the Lord Jesus Christ requires listening to those He sends. Following the prophet in a world of commotion is like being wrapped in a soothing, warm blanket on a freezing cold day.

Elder Anderson shares that the prophet has a specific duty to help us prepare for the coming days ahead.  We should not delay our repentance but instead embrace the changes we need to make when he hear his voice.

• The prophet’s voice, while spoken kindly, will often be a voice asking us to change, to repent, and to return to the Lord. When correction is needed, let’s not delay. And don’t be alarmed when the prophet’s warning voice counters popular opinions of the day.

He quotes President Nelson from 1982 when he spoke about following the prophet.  Many people wonder when the prophet speaks as a person or prophet.  We can learn from President Nelson's guidance.

• In 1982, two years before being called as a General Authority, Brother Russell M. Nelson said: “I never ask myself, ‘When does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not?’ My interest has been, ‘How can I be more like him?’” And he added, “My [philosophy is to] stop putting question marks behind the prophet’s statements and put exclamation points instead.”
  

Elder Anderson promises us that if we will listen to the prophet and seek to live by the teachings he shares, we will be blessed with an increase of faith.

• I have found that as I prayerfully study the words of the prophet of God and carefully, with patience, spiritually align my will with his inspired teachings, my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ always increases.

Finally, we are reminded that the prophet points the way to the Savior and helps us find Him in our lives.

• A prophet does not stand between you and the Savior. Rather, he stands beside you and points the way to the Savior.

I am grateful for the thoughts of Elder Andersen.  I have no doubts that President Nelson is called of God and is to be our prophet at this time.  We need to remember that the Lord is in charge and He is leading President Nelson.  Many changes occurred at this last conference and we would be wise to listen to the prophets voice as he shares with us the impressions that the Savior is putting into his mind and heart.

Elder Lynn G. Robbins speaks about repentance and the need for us to never give up in our quest to become more like the Savior.  He speaks about mistakes becoming lessons for us to learn from.

• Hopefully, each mistake we make becomes a lesson in wisdom, turning stumbling blocks into stepping-stones.
  

Second chances to succeed after we have failed are part of the plan that God has for us.  He knew we would not be perfect on our first attempt so he provided a Savior to encourage us to not give up and to keep pressing forward in our quest to become like our Heavenly Father.  The Savior is our biggest cheerleader in our quest to perfection.

• No one is more on our side than the Savior. He allows us to take and keep retaking His exams. To become like Him will require countless second chances in our day-to-day struggles with the natural man, such as controlling appetites, learning patience and forgiveness, overcoming slothfulness, and avoiding sins of omission, just to name a few. If to err is human nature, how many failures will it take us until our nature is no longer human but divine? Thousands? More likely a million.
  

The atonement provides us hope in our quest.  Discouragement and disappointment are natural reactions to failures but the Savior provides hope to us.  He provides us support to continue on in our moments of discouragement.

• Knowing that the strait and narrow path would be strewn with trials and that failures would be a daily occurrence for us, the Savior paid an infinite price to give us as many chances as it would take to successfully pass our mortal probation. The opposition which He allows can often seem insurmountable and almost impossible to bear, yet He doesn’t leave us without hope.
  

Elder Robbins sums up his talk with emphasizing that God's plan was never for us to be perfect.  If we were to be perfect, there would be no need for the Savior.  But God's plan is for us to use the blessing of repentance to help us improve and change our nature.  Repentance isn't God's backup plan, it is His plan.

• Repentance is God’s ever-accessible gift that allows and enables us to go from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm. Repentance isn’t His backup plan in the event we might fail. Repentance is His plan, knowing that we will. This is the gospel of repentance, and as President Russell M. Nelson has observed, it will be “a lifetime curriculum.”
  

Change can be hard to see but we should not be discouraged in our quest to become more like the Savior.  Look back at how far you have come and see the growth that has taken place.  Then look ahead and ask the Lord to change you even more.  He is here to help us change and overcome the discouragements of failure.  The Savior provides us hope that change is a daily achievement we can obtain.

• Only with time-lapse photography or growth charts can we discern our physical growth. Likewise, our spiritual growth is usually imperceptible except through the rearview lens of time. It would be wise to regularly take an introspective look through that lens to recognize our progress and inspire us to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”
  

I love the comment that repentance is His plan.  How grateful I am for a Savior who loves us enough to recognize we will need a renewing of our covenants each week.  I am grateful for the words of the Sacrament prayers what encourage me each week to keep trying to take the Savior's name upon me.  I am not perfect but I am and will continue to change in my quest to become more like my Heavenly Father.  How grateful I am that the Atonement provides me hope when I fail to live up to what the Savior expects.