President Oaks speaks about using profanity and other vulgar references in our daily speech.  He first speaks about how common these filthy expressions are and how we have grown as a society to accept these outbursts as common.

• For many in our day, the profane has become commonplace and the vulgar has become acceptable.
  

He speaks about the sacred names of God and Jesus Christ.  He gives multiple scriptural references that speak about not using the sacred names of deity in vein.

• The names of the Father and the Son are used with authority when we reverently teach and testify of them, when we pray, and when we perform the sacred ordinances of the priesthood.
  
• When the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are used with reverence and authority, they invoke a power beyond what mortal man can comprehend.

President Oaks talks about the need to speak honorably about God and Jesus Christ and that when we don't, we offend the Holy Ghost.  Offending the Holy Ghost will cause the Spirit to withdraw and not allow us the constant companionship of His spirit.

• The Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, testifies of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. When those names are dishonored, that Spirit, which “doth not dwell in unholy temples,” is offended and withdraws. For this reason, those who profane the name of God inevitably relinquish the companionship of his Spirit.
  

He speaks about the need to good language in our everyday lives.  He makes several references about the lack of maturity and growth in a persons speech when they can only speak about sacred things with vulgar and disrespectful language.

• Profane and vulgar expressions are public evidence of a speaker’s ignorance, inadequacy, or immaturity.

Profanity tells others a little about who we are on the inside.  We should demonstrate our discipleship of the Savior through the language that we use.

• Members of the Church, young or old, should never allow profane or vulgar words to pass their lips. The language we use projects the images of our hearts, and our hearts should be pure.

President Oaks concludes with wisdom about how we should express ourselves and what we should teach our children.

• Let us recognize profanity and vulgarity for what they are. They are sins that separate us from God and cripple our spiritual defenses by causing the Holy Ghost to withdraw from us.
  
• We should abstain and we should teach our children to abstain from all such expressions.

We can show our love for God and the Savior through the language that we use.  Others can see our discipleship in the way that we speak and the way that we talk to others.  The lack of respect for deity is found all around us but that doesn't mean we have to participate or that we have to be accepting of this filthy language.  I would encourage all of us to look at the things we talk about and clean up our language.  Try to show your respect and love for God by the way you speak about Him.  When we do, the Spirit will have a place to dwell in our hearts and we will enjoy more of the companionship of the Spirit in our daily lives.

Elder Ballard shares his thoughts about the work of salvation that is taking place in South America.  His grandfather was sent to South America as an apostle to dedicate the land for the preaching of the gospel 60 years before his recent visit.  He talks about the 8 months that his grandfather lived there and only had one person baptized.  Today there are so many members throughout the land and it is hard to reflect on such humble beginnings to the work.  He expresses his thoughts about the apostleship that he has been called to.

• The calling of an Apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, particularly of his divinity and of his bodily resurrection from the dead. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is “a Traveling Presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and secondly unto the Jews.”
  

He talks about the early days of the church in South America and how hard it is for him to express his gratitude for the sacrifice of his grandfather.

• It is difficult to express my feelings as I read of the early beginnings of missionary work in South America. I am deeply touched to realize that for nearly eight months my grandfather walked the streets of Buenos Aires giving out two hundred to five hundred handbills every day but Sunday, inviting the people to learn the message of the Restoration.

The great work that general authorities do is evidenced in the lives of the saints across the world.

• The effective work of the General Authorities of the past and of those of today is evidenced in the faithful lives of the Saints. Thousands of missionaries have served with distinction. Dedicated men and women are leading the Church in their own countries in a magnificent way. It is a joy to see second- and third-generation members living worthy to be leaders in South America.
  
• The gospel of Jesus Christ radiates in the faces of the Saints. They express faith and commitment and love for the Lord. They are seeking to be worthy of the full blessings of the gospel.

Elder Ballard talks about the overwhelming task of taking the gospel to all the world.  But this work is to be handled by Stake Presidents and Bishops at their local levels.  Our ultimate goal is to bring people to the temple to make the covenants that will lead them to salvation.  It takes all of us to help God's children move in this direction.

• I now know as never before that we live in a big world. Nearly five billion of our Heavenly Father’s children live on it. The responsibility of taking the gospel to them rests upon our shoulders. I am impressed, as I now start to see the larger picture, that the stake presidents must take more of the responsibility for preparing their people to receive all the blessings of the gospel. Bishops and branch presidents must do likewise. Our work is not complete until our Father’s children enter the temple to receive all of the necessary ordinances to prepare them for celestial living in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
• Teaching and preparing the members of the Church to be worthy of the temple blessings rests upon the shoulders of the priesthood. There is no substitute, in my opinion, for inspired local leaders. I was most impressed with the conversion stories told by the stake presidencies in Bogota. One stake president, who has served for more than eight years, reported that he was called after only two and one-half years of membership in the Church. The Lord does bless his leaders when they put their trust in him.
  
• The building up of the Church will surely be enhanced if all Church leaders will teach the pure, simple, doctrinal truths that bring the children of God to a spiritual understanding.

He talks about the greatest message we can share to motivate members to make covenants is the plan of salvation.  An understanding of the plan of salvation will motivate members to seek to make eternal covenants in the temple.

• The greatest motivator that we have in the Church is to have Church members understand the plan of salvation. Stake presidents and bishops, you are the key to having your members come to this understanding.

He concludes with expressing his gratitude for the priesthood and the calling of apostle that he has been called to.

• What a joy it is to know that the power of the holy priesthood is operating throughout the Church to bless the lives of the Saints. It is wonderful to know that the priesthood vested in the latter-day Apostles has, in this dispensation, opened many nations to the preaching of the gospel. Surely in the future we will see other nations opened in the same remarkable way.
  

Elder Ballard shares some great insights into the growth of the church throughout the world.  I think we sometimes forget how humble and simple the first days of preaching the gospel were for the early saints.  It is remarkable to hear about the nearly 8 months of very little progress in South America and to reflect on the many temples that are there today to bless the lives of all the saints.  I appreciated his comments that we need to teach the plan of salvation as this will motivate members of the church to make eternal covenants in the temple.  How sweet that message and motivating that message is to me today.  I am working with men in my quorum to focus a little more on how they can become closer to the Savior in their lives.  I know getting them to the temple is the ultimate goal and will bring them closer to the Savior.

Elder Hales speaks about God's plan for the welfare of the poor and needy.  He shares seven principles and then teaches us some key points about what each one mean.

• The following seven welfare principles are essential to our happiness and spiritual development:
  
  • 1. The welfare plan is an integral part of the plan of salvation.
    
  • 2. The scriptures provide the spiritual framework for the welfare plan.
    
  • 3. The welfare plan builds faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
    
  • 4. By living welfare principles, we can develop self-reliance.
    
  • 5. The welfare plan builds love and compassion for our fellowmen.
    
  • 6. The welfare plan sanctifies both the giver and the receiver.
    
  • 7. The welfare plan builds a Zion people.
    

Let's look into each principle and what Elder Hales teaches about each one.

1. The welfare plan is an integral part of the plan of salvation.

• Some have become confused about what “welfare” really means. Some approaches to welfare in the world foster idleness, give subsidies with no labor required, create a burden of debt, and promote greediness—an appetite for things of this world rather than the riches of eternity.
  
• The Lord rejects such welfare programs. His plan meets the needs of all, however abundant or modest their circumstances. His purpose is to provide for our eternal welfare. “The prime duty of help to the poor [in body and spirit] … is not [solely] to bring temporal relief to their needs, but salvation to their souls.”
  

2. The scriptures provide the spiritual framework for the welfare plan.

• Turn to the Book of Mormon index and glance at the references listed under the word welfare. You will see, and the Spirit will testify, that the Lord’s welfare plan focuses first and foremost on the eternal well-being of His children. Take special note of the repeated reference to the welfare of souls. This implies much more than just food, clothing, and shelter for temporal needs.
  

3. The welfare plan builds faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Temporal challenges humble us and become spiritual opportunities. Temporal challenges bring us to our knees in prayer, seeking heavenly guidance and assistance from the Lord as well as from our brothers and sisters.
  
• As we persist in putting welfare principles to work, adding our strengths and resources to those possessed by others, we can overcome our adversities. Overcoming temporal obstacles demonstrates to us that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Our faith in Christ is confirmed.
  

4. By living welfare principles, we can develop self-reliance.

• Provident living requires us to develop proper attitudes—a willingness to forego luxuries, to avoid excess, and to fully use what we have—learning to live within our means.
  
• The Lord’s real storehouse is indeed in the homes and the hearts of His people. As the members of the Church follow the counsel to become self-reliant, they represent an immense pool of resources, knowledge, skills, and charity available to help one another. This storehouse, the Lord has said, is “for the poor of my people, … to advance the cause, which ye have espoused, to the salvation of man, and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven.”
  

5. The welfare plan builds love and compassion for our fellowmen.

• As we live the principles of welfare, love and compassion will abound in our homes, in our worship, and in our service to others.
  
• It is hypocritical to talk of compassion to others while we are rude or abusive within our own families. Let us put our own homes in order, seeing that the spiritual and emotional needs of our families are met.
  

6. The welfare plan sanctifies both the giver and the receiver.

• We are all both givers and receivers. President Marion G. Romney has said, “There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified.”
  

7. The welfare plan builds a Zion people.

• We need to understand that as much virtue can be gained in progressing toward Zion as in dwelling there. It is a process as well as a destination. We approach or withdraw from Zion through the manner in which we conduct our daily dealings, how we live within our families, whether we pay an honest tithe and generous fast offering, how we seize opportunities to serve and do so diligently. Many are perfected upon the road to Zion who will never see the city in mortality.
  

Elder Hales share his testimony of the ministering of angels that God sends to us to help us in our times of need.  But reminds us that we have an obligation to help others and to do all we can.

• I bear you my testimony that we live in a dispensation of time when there have been ministering angels. The angel Moroni was one such heavenly messenger. His visit was essential to the restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. But, Joseph Fielding Smith taught us that “it is contrary to the law of God for the heavens to be opened and messengers to come to do anything for man that man can do for himself.”

He closes by sharing with us what he prays about for each one of us.

• That you and I might realize that we have the power and responsibility to help those in need, as ministering angels for the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will be loved because we love, be consoled because we are compassionate, be forgiven because we have demonstrated the capacity to forgive, is my prayer.
  

The principles of welfare have been taught for over 100 years in the church.  Elder Hales makes the principles easy to understand.  God's plan is for each of us to be treated with dignity and to be supported in our efforts to get back on our feet after being knocked down.  The key point is that God expects each of us to help but also expects the person in need to help themselves.  We need to remember that we cannot reach the souls of men if they are more concerned with their daily needs instead of their spiritual needs.  I hope we can all try to use these principles to help those in need so they, with our help, can focus on the spiritual needs in their life.