“Return with honor” is a call that has become familiar to every Latter-day Saint. For Elder Robert D. Hales, this stirring directive was his unit's motto when he served as a jet fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and he uses it often in his teaching. During his military days, the motto was a constant and powerful reminder to complete each mission honorably — and now it reminds us, the Lord's children, that what we do on earth can make it possible to return with honor to our heavenly home.
A beloved member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Hales writes with keen insight and compassion about the orderly preparations we need to make as we travel through mortality. Our journey of life has four vital stages:
- Decades of Preparation
- Decade of Decision
- Decades of Serving and Pressing Forward
- Decades of Serving and Enduring to the End
Elder Hales considers each of these essential periods using vivid stories from his own life, compelling scriptural insights, and the wisdom he has gained through a tender relationship with the Savior.
Whatever your stage in life, the message Elder Hales offers in Return: Four Phases of Our Moral Journey Home is clear: Keeping sacred covenants, prayerfully making life's important decisions, and embracing the Savior and His Atonement can prepare you for eternal life — the greatest gift of God. This volume is an inspired guide to your journey home.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Our Journey Home
DECADES OF PREPARATION
2. Always Preparing
3. Remember Who You Are
4. Faith unto Salvation
5. Forgetting Those Things That Are Left Behind
6. The Gate of Baptism
7. The Gift of the Holy Ghost
8. Personal Revelation
9. Choosing Friends Wisely
10. The Preparatory Priesthood
11. Daughters of God
12. Lacing Up Your Boots
13. Overcoming the Adversary
DECADE OF DECISION
14. Making Life's Most Important Decisions
15. Becoming Fishers of Men
16. Moving On
17. Avoiding Spiritual Shortcuts
18. Education for Life
19. Choosing an Eternal Companion
20. The House of the Lord
DECADES OF SERVING AND PRESSING FORWARD
21. One Church Fits All
22. Fearless Love
23. Building a Sound Financial Foundation
24. True to Ourselves and Our Mission
25. Strengthening Families
26.Feed My Lambs, Feed My Sheep
27. Feasting upon the Words of Christ
28. Following God's Prophets
29. The Journey of Lifelong Learning
DECADES OF SERVING AND ENDURING TO THE END
30. Learning from Life's Trials
31. Like Simeon and Anna
32. Facing Death
33. The Atonement
Index
