“Watch and Pray Always”

Church Educational System

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency reflected on the importance of the commissions to “always remember him” (D&C 20:77, 79) and to “pray always” (3 Nephi 18:18):

“What does the Master mean when He warns us to ‘pray always’?
“I am not wise enough to know all of His purposes in giving us a covenant to always remember Him and in His warning us to pray always lest we be overcome. But I know one. It is because He knows perfectly the powerful forces that influence us and also what it means to be human. …
“… He knows what it is like to have the cares of life press in upon us. … And He knows how our human powers to cope are not constant. …
“… As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril. …
“Start with remembering Him. You will remember what you know and what you love. …
“The Lord hears the prayers of your heart. The feelings of your heart, of love for our Heavenly Father and for His Beloved Son, can be so constant that your prayers will ascend always” (“Always” [CES fireside for young adults, Jan. 3, 1999], 2–3, 5; see also “Always,” Ensign, Oct. 1999, 8–10, 12).

Book of Mormon Student Manual (2009 Edition)

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