President Thomas S. Monson shared the experience of Jay Hess, an airman who was shot down over North Vietnam in the 1960s: “For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words.” President Monson asks: “What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote [the following words]: ‘These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.’”7

What words would you write to your children if you had 25 words or less?
                                                                           General Conference April 2013  • Rosemary M. Wixom

My 25 Words

Love, learn of, and follow God. 
Love yourself and others. 
Repent. Forgive. 
Have a family and serve them. 
Have vision, see eternally. 
I love you. 

Have you taken the challenge?
What would you write to your children 
if you had 25 words?

Write to your children.
25 words.
Go.

"Brother's and sisters, none of us would knowingly construct our homes, places of work, or sacred houses of worship on sand or rubble without appropriate plans and materials. Let us accept the Savior’s invitation to come unto Him. Let us build our lives upon a safe and a sure foundation." -Dean M. Davies