"This same motto, 'Return with Honor' can be applied to each of us in our eternal plan of progression. Having lived with our Heavenly Father and having come to earth life, we must have determination to return with honor to our heavenly home.
"Just as aircraft pilots must obey certain rules in order to avoid disaster, there are laws, ordinances, and covenants we must understand and obey as we go through this earthly life--this preparatory period--if we are to reach our goal of eternal life.
"In pilot training,
we spent hours in a training device that simulated real flight. There
an instructor would teach us about emergencies which could occur when flying
a jet-fighter at the speed of sound. For each emergency, we were
taught the procedures for avoiding disaster. We would practice each
procedure
over and over so that when a real emergency came, we would have
developed what was called an automatic, or conditioned, response.
We would know exactly what to do if the fire-warning light lit up or the
panel indicated some other technical failure in the airplane. We
would then predetermine the safe altitude at which we would bail out if
the plane were on fire or out of control.
"The training process can be compared to the lessons we learn in our homes and (in our church meetings)...
"As a father, I
put my arms around each of my boys as they left to serve their missions
and whispered in their ears, 'Return with honor.' I can picture our
Father in Heaven putting his arms around each of us as we left his presence
and whispering, 'Return with honor...'"
(Bishop Robert D. Hales, General Conference Address,
April, 1990)