my dear brothers and sisters I am grateful to speak to you today in this important general conference my eyes continue to get older thank you for your understanding as I deliver my message we live in a day of great momentum in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints i am filled with joy as I see progress in so many areas i am especially inspired by our youth they are giving service in large numbers they're seeking their ancestors and performing ordinances in the temple our young men and women are submitting applications for missionary service in record numbers the rising generation is rising up as stalwart followers of Jesus Christ recently I met a new great granddaughter when I contemplate the challenges she will experience in her life I feel a great desire to help her build faith in Jesus Christ living his gospel is essential for her future happiness she like each of us will face challenges we all will experience illness disappointment temptation and loss these challenges can knock our self-confidence however disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence when we make and keep covenants with God we can have confidence that is born of the spirit the Lord told the prophet Joseph Smith that our confidence can wax strong in the presence of God imagine the comfort of having confidence in the presence of God when I speak of having confidence before God I'm referring to having confidence in approaching God right now i'm referring to praying with confidence that Heavenly Father hears us that he understands our needs better than we do i'm referring to having confidence that he loves us more than we can comprehend that he sends angels to be with us and with those we love i'm referring to having confidence that he yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential now how do we gain such confidence the Lord answers this question with these words quote "Let thy bowels be full of charity towards all men and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." End quote there's the key in the Lord's own words charity and virtue open the way to having confidence before God brothers and sisters we can do this our confidence can truly wax strong in the presence of God right now let's consider both charity and virtue first charity two years ago I called upon us as covenant followers of Jesus Christ to be peacemakers i repeat what I said then anger never persuades hostility builds no one contention never leads to inspired solutions true charity towards all men is the hallmark of peacemakers it is imperative that we have charity in our discourse both public and private i thank those of you who took my previous council to heart but we can still do better the present hostility in public dialogue and on social media is alarming hateful words are deadly weapons contention prevents the Holy Ghost from being our constant companion as followers of Jesus Christ we should lead the way as peacemakers as charity becomes part of our nature we will lose the impulse to demean others we will stop judging others we'll have charity for those from all walks of life charity towards all men is essential to our progress charity is the foundation of a godly character let us plead with our heavenly father to fill our hearts with greater charity especially for those who are difficult to love for charity is a gift from our heavenly father for true followers of Jesus Christ the savior is the prince of peace we are to be his instruments for peace now let us speak of virtue the Lord tells us to garnish our thoughts unceasingly with virtue imagine the boost you will receive to any positive thought when you enhance it with virtue virtue makes everything better and happier on the other hand imagine what will happen when you add virtue to an impure thought a cruel thought or a depressing thought virtue will drive away those thoughts virtually will free you from anxious troublesome thoughts brothers and sisters as the world grows more wicked we need to grow increasingly pure our thoughts words and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ towards all men the great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be regular worship in the house of the Lord increases our capacity for both virtue and charity thus time in the temple increases our confidence before the Lord increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the second coming of our savior Jesus Christ we do not know the day or the hour of his coming but I do know that the Lord is prompting me to urge us to get ready for that great and dreadful day as we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives our confidence in approaching God will increase i invite you to take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord then as we go to our heavenly father with increasing confidence we will be filled with more joy and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase we will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes we are grateful to the Lord for the acceleration of temple building in recent years under his direction today we announce plans to construct a temple in each of these 15 locations reosa Mexico Charilio Peru ria Uruguay Companji Brazil Porto Portugal u Nigeria San Jose Del Monte Philippines numea New Calonia liverpool Australia caldwell Idaho flagstaff Arizona rapid City South Dakota greenville South Carolina Norfolk Virginia Spanish Fork Utah i testify that Jesus Christ the redeemer of Israel leads this his church he is preparing to come again may we likewise prepare to receive him for this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ amen