Pray Always

Pray always, lest you enter into temptation and lose your reward. Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. Doctrine & Covenants 31:12-13

Loved and respected by the early Saints, Thomas B. Marsh served as the first president of the Quorum of the Twelve in this dispensation, went on missions, and faithfully defended the Prophet Joseph Smith against dissidents. But pride and the spirit of apostasy pushed the Spirit of the Lord from his heart. He became estranged from the Church because of leaders’ decisions regarding his wife’s dishonest domestic dealings. For nineteen years he remained away. At last he begged for forgiveness and asked to be rebaptized. Aged beyond his fifty-seven years from the afflictions of apostasy, Brother Marsh was a broken man when he stood before a congregation in Salt Lake City and pleaded with the Saints to avoid the mistakes he had made. We can learn from his example. We can pray that we will be obedient and faithful to the end. We can seek for the strength to avoid temptation, to be humble and to stand by the Brethren who lead the Lord’s Church today. (Robert L. Millet and Lloyd D. Newell. Draw Near Unto Me: Daily Reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. 87)