Elder Ballard speaks about the negative impact of media on our families and society.  He starts by saying that television, music, and media services are made to entice and excite us but often have immoral and negative messages within them.  He says that Church leaders need to speak out against these things as they are distructive to the family unit.

• Church leaders have the responsibility to speak out on moral issues and to counsel individuals and families. The family is the basic unit of society; it is the basic unit of eternity. Thus, when forces threaten the family, Church leaders must respond.

He talks about the importance of family in our lives and in eternity.

• The family is at the heart of Heavenly Father’s plan because we are all part of His family and because mortality is our opportunity to form our own families and to assume the role of parents. It is within our families that we learn unconditional love, which can come to us and draw us very close to God’s love. It is within families that values are taught and character is built. Father and mother are callings from which we will never be released, and there is no more important stewardship than the responsibility we have for God’s spirit children who come into our families.

The media can devastate our families and pull our children away from good choices and moral lives.  We need to be careful what content is being brought into our homes and much of what the media offers is not uplifting and positive.

• If we do not make good choices, the media can devastate our families and pull our children away from the narrow gospel path. In the virtual reality and the perceived reality of large and small screens, family-destructive viewpoints and behavior are regularly portrayed as pleasurable, as stylish, as exciting, and as normal. Often media’s most devastating attacks on family are not direct or frontal or openly immoral. Intelligent evil is too cunning for that, knowing that most people still profess belief in family and in traditional values. Rather the attacks are subtle and amoral—issues of right and wrong don’t even come up. Immorality and sexual innuendo are everywhere, causing some to believe that because everyone is doing it, it must be all right. This pernicious evil is not out in the street somewhere; it is coming right into our homes, right into the heart of our families.

He issues a call to action for all church members.

• The time has come when members of the Church need to speak out and join with the many other concerned people in opposition to the offensive, destructive, and mean-spirited media influence that is sweeping over the earth.

Elder Ballard uses some humor to get his point across.  He says that the adversary doesn't attack us directly as it would be so obvious.  Instead he uses subtle attacks that seem harmless until we don't recognize how far we have strayed from the right places in our lives.

• Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense. As I said once before, when you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense to Satan. When he wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O and casseroles. When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God’s work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception.

Elder Ballard concludes with specific things we can do as parents to help and strengthen our families from the influence of the media.

• Let me conclude with seven things that every parent can do to minimize the negative effect media can have on our families:
  • 1. We need to hold family councils and decide what our media standards are going to be.
    
  • 2. We need to spend enough quality time with our children that we are consistently the main influence in their lives, not the media or any peer group.
    
  • 3. We need to make good media choices ourselves and set good examples for our children.
  • 4. We need to limit the amount of time our children watch TV or play video games or use the Internet each day. Virtual reality must not become their reality.
  • 5. We need to use Internet filters and TV programming locks to prevent our children from “chancing upon” things they should not see.
  • 6. We need to have TVs and computers in a much-used common room in the home, not in a bedroom or a private place.
  • 7. We need to take time to watch appropriate media with our children and discuss with them how to make choices that will uplift and build rather than degrade and destroy.
    

I love it when conference talks give us specific things we can do to be better.  Elder Ballard's 7 steps offer us a checklist of things to consider, things to take action on, and things to reflect on how we are doing in managing our families.  I appreciate the idea that Satan doesn't make big attacks on us as we would probably know these things are not right.  Instead he uses small little steps that are often unrecognizable.  My challenge is to identify those things that are taking me from the truth and remove those from my life.  Elder Ballard gives me some things to consider in my life that will help me reflect where my life and commitments are based.

Elder Hales speaks about gaining a testimony of the restoration of the gospel.  He says that the life of the prophet Joseph Smith is a perfect example of what we might have to go through to gain a testimony for ourselves.  He speaks about what is needed in order for us to learn for ourselves the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Gaining a testimony and becoming converted begins with study and prayer, then living the gospel with patience and persistence and inviting and waiting upon the Spirit. The life of Joseph Smith and the pattern of the Restoration are excellent examples of this process. As you listen to my message today of the events of the Restoration, look for the steps that lead to testimony: desiring to know the truth, pondering in our hearts, then feeling and obediently following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

He speaks about Joseph Smith's experiences questioning the many religions of the world.  Joseph learned through his personal experiences about the restoration and we too can learn the same way he did.

• God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, conversed with Joseph. They answered his question. They taught him that the true Church of Christ had been lost from the earth. Joseph learned that these members of the Godhead were separate and distinct beings, They knew him by name, and They were willing to answer his prayers. The heavens were opened, the night of apostasy was over, and the light of the gospel began to shine forth.
• Like Joseph, many of us find ourselves seeking the light of truth. Just as the world was prepared for the Restoration, each of us is prepared to receive the light of the gospel in our own lives. Sometimes that preparation comes through a change in our circumstances—through meeting a new friend, moving to a new community, a change of employment, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, illness, misfortune, and even tragedy.
• During these times of transition, we seek answers to the important questions of life: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here on earth? And where are we going after we die? Joseph was not born with this knowledge, and neither were we. We must find it.
  
• Like Joseph, we must search the scriptures and pray. For many, this means overcoming feelings of doubt and unworthiness, being humble, and learning to exercise faith.

Elder Hales mentions that many recent converts need special help strengthening them during this time when they learn of the truths of the restoration.  They are learning and growing in their testimonies the same way that Joseph Smith was educated, taught, and had to wait 3 years to get the Gold Plates from the angel Moroni.

• Some newly baptized members become discouraged about their wisdom and stature in the gospel—about what they do not know. They forget the obedient effort, gospel tutoring, and spiritual maturation that were part of Joseph’s early experiences. Those who are longtime members should also remember that regular spiritual instruction and learning are required if we are to wax strong in the Spirit.

Elder Hales speaks about baptism and how Jospeh and Oliver were translating the Book of Mormon, came across passages about baptism, went to the Lord in prayer for guidance, and received answers to their prayers.  This same pattern works in our lives when we have questions about what we are studying.

• Today all who want to know whether they should be baptized are invited to follow Joseph and Oliver’s example and pray. And all who are prepared and worthy for baptism may receive it from one whose authority has been passed unbroken from the hands of John the Baptist in this dispensation.

He asks us if we can see a pattern of the way God communicates to us.

• Brothers and sisters, can we see the pattern? Every major event of the Restoration—the First Vision, the appearance of Moroni and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, and the appearance of Jesus Christ following the dedication of His holy temple—was preceded by prayer.
  
• Once we receive a witness of the Spirit, our testimony is strengthened through study, prayer, and living the gospel. Our growing testimony brings us increased faith in Jesus Christ and His plan of happiness. We are motivated to repent and obey the commandments, which, with a mighty change of heart, leads to our conversion. And our conversion brings divine forgiveness, healing, joy, and the desire to bear our witness to others.
  

Elder Hales teaches us some basic truths about the Holy Ghost, who He is, and how He communicates with us to teach us all things.

• People everywhere may feel the influence of the Holy Ghost from time to time in their lives. But only those who have been baptized and confirmed can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by one in authority, which makes His constant companionship possible.
• Retaining that companionship requires an earnest effort on the part of Church members. If we are not obedient to the laws, principles, and ordinances of the gospel, the Holy Ghost will withdraw. He cannot be with us if we are angry in our hearts, contentious with our companions, or critical of the Lord’s anointed. He departs whenever we are rebellious, are immoral, dress or act immodestly, are unclean or profane in mind or body, are slothful in priesthood callings and duties, or commit other sins, for “the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples.”
  
• Therefore we must continually repent, partake of the sacrament, be worthy of a temple recommend, and serve the Lord with all our “heart, might, mind and strength.”
• With the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, we feel a love for God and all His children. This love casts out fear and fills us with the desire to open our mouths. There is no greater gift we can give others than to bear our testimony to them. There is no greater joy we can have than to bring even one soul unto Christ. And there is no greater way to strengthen our own testimony than to share our witness of Him with the world. As we do, our families will be strengthened. Our wards, stakes, and communities will be filled with peace and love, and, ultimately, the earth will be prepared for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Elder Hales concludes with encouragement to seek answers for ourselves about the restoration of the gospel.  If we do, in time, we will be given the answers we are seeking through the power of the Holy Ghost.

• I exhort you, I pray for you—if you do not know these things for yourself, follow the example of Joseph Smith and the pattern of the Restoration. Turn to the scriptures. Kneel in prayer. Ask in faith. Listen to the Holy Ghost. Learn that your name and needs are known by our Heavenly Father, just as Joseph’s were. Live the gospel with patience and persistence. And in the name of Jesus Christ, I promise, “If ye will … ask [Heavenly Father] in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping [the Lord’s] commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.”

Using the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith to teach us how to find answers to our questions in life is the perfect example.  Joseph had questions about religion, his course of actions he should take, and what path he should follow.  I think we all have questions like this in our lives.  Joseph showed us that we need to seriously inquire of the Lord and ask for His guidance when these questions come into our lives.  Not only did he show us how to get those answers, he also showed us how God responds and answers those questions for us.  How grateful I am to know that God knows me, He hears my prayers, and answers my prayers with love and compassion for one who is so unworthy at times of such blessings.  Seek fo answers from the Lord and in time, I promise, they will come.

Elder Holland shares that one of the main purposes of Christ coming to earth was to help us gain a better understanding of our Father in Heaven.  His life is full of examples where He teaches that He came to do the will of His Father and that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father.  Elder Holland points out that we can follow God and have more meaning in His plan for us if we understand who He is and what He wants for us.

• In word and in deed Jesus was trying to reveal and make personal to us the true nature of His Father, our Father in Heaven. All of us need to know God more fully in order to love Him more deeply and obey Him more completely.

He shares that this responsibility was so great that only Christ could handle this responsibility.  Christ literally stood in for Our Heavenly Father on earth and did so constantly reflecting the attention of Himself and onto the Father.

• To come to earth with such a responsibility, to stand in place of Elohim—speaking as He would speak, judging and serving, loving and warning, forbearing and forgiving as He would do—this is a duty of such staggering proportions that you and I cannot comprehend such a thing. But in the loyalty and determination that would be characteristic of a divine child, Jesus could comprehend it and He did it. Then, when the praise and honor began to come, He humbly directed all adulation to the Father.

Elder Holland speaks about the clarity that our modern day scriptures give us.  From the unbreakable timeline that is found between the Old and New Testament times, to the understanding of Deity that the Prophet Joseph Smith give us, we are blessed to have a cleared understanding of God's role in our lives.

• In reflecting on these misconceptions we realize that one of the remarkable contributions of the Book of Mormon is its seamless, perfectly consistent view of divinity throughout that majestic book. Here there is no Malachi-to-Matthew gap, no pause while we shift theological gears, no misreading the God who is urgently, lovingly, faithfully at work on every page of that record from its Old Testament beginning to its New Testament end. Yes, in an effort to give the world back its Bible and a correct view of Deity with it, what we have in the Book of Mormon is a uniform view of God in all His glory and goodness, all His richness and complexity—including and especially as again demonstrated through a personal appearance of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

He concludes by sharing with us what God wants us to understand about Him.  He is loving, kind, and full of mercy towards all of His children.  He wants us to be happy and has provided a Savior so we can find that happiness by coming to Him for mercy and compassion.

• Jesus did not come to improve God’s view of man nearly so much as He came to improve man’s view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He has always and will always love them. The plan of God, the power of God, the holiness of God, yes, even the anger and the judgment of God they had occasion to understand. But the love of God, the profound depth of His devotion to His children, they still did not fully know—until Christ came.
• So feeding the hungry, healing the sick, rebuking hypocrisy, pleading for faith—this was Christ showing us the way of the Father, He who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering and full of goodness.” In His life and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, “This is God’s compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.” In the perfect Son’s manifestation of the perfect Father’s care, in Their mutual suffering and shared sorrow for the sins and heartaches of the rest of us, we see ultimate meaning in the declaration: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

How grateful I am to have a better understanding of God through our modern prophets.  I listened to a podcast a couple weeks ago that was trying to make sense of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all being one person.  I was left with sadness of the basic truths of God's character being misrepresented to the world.  I believe I have a stronger relationship with my Father in Heaven because I understand who He is and what He wants for each of us.  I believe He loves us, guides us, and wants us to be happy.  He is merciful, compassionate, and wants us to succeed in returning to Him.  He isn't some mystical being who has no heart.  That is why of all the names he could go by, he simply asks us to call him Father.  Ever since my kids went to Kindergarten and to this day, I sign all of their school forms and permission slips with my name and in the middle I sign "daddy."  My kids think it's funny but I tell them there is no greater name I go by than being their "daddy."  That is my favorite name and I am sure our Heavenly Father feels the same way.