Transcript
From the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah,
this is the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
with speakers selected from leaders of the Church.
Music for this session is provided by a combined choir of students from Brigham Young University.
This broadcast is furnished as a public service by Bonneville Distribution.
Any reproduction, recording,
transcription, or other use of this program without written consent is prohibited.
President Dallin H. Oaks,
First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church,
will conduct this session.
Brothers and sisters,
we welcome you to the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Russell M. Nelson, who presides at the conference,
has asked me to conduct this session.
We extend our greetings to all who are in attendance
or who are participating by means of television, radio, or the internet.
The music for this session will be provided by a combined choir of students from Brigham Young University, under the direction of Brent Wells,
Andrew Crane, and Sonja Poulter, with Joseph Peeples at the organ.
As noted in earlier sessions, we have reduced the number of choir members in order to allow for appropriate social distancing.
Be assured that all participating this evening have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19
and were recently tested to ensure they are not infected with the virus. The choir will open this meeting by singing “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”
The invocation will then be offered by Brother Steven J. Lund, who serves as Young Men General President, after which the choir will sing “God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son.”
[MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.”]
Our Father in Heaven, we come before Thee this day gathered as we are throughout this world,
one in a family and two in a city, throughout the world and here and there, and great strength is here in this room. We pray that Thy Spirit will be with us this day as we seek Thy guidance.
We are grateful to live at a time such as this,
grateful to live at a time when we have prophets and seers and revelators on the earth.
We ask Thy blessing to be upon them,
President Russell M. Nelson and the special witnesses, deployed as they are throughout the earth.
Bless them as they strive to reflect Thy will perfectly, and bless us to understand Thy will, to have the faith and the courage to follow Thy direction.
How we love Thee and love them and love each other.
We ask a special blessing upon the youth of this Church and of this world, as they live at a time of particular confusion,
that they might not be distracted from finding Thy love for them.
Help them to be drawn to Thee, and bless us
and all of our strivings to help them towards that end,
we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Amen.
[MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”]
[MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “God Loved Us So He Sent His Son”]
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We will now be pleased to hear from President M. Russell Ballard,
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
He will be followed by Sister Sharon Eubank,
who serves as First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency.
We will then be pleased to hear from Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy
and Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the Seventy.
In November 2019, my friend and I visited the Holy Land.
While there, we reviewed and studied scriptures about Jesus Christ and His life. One morning we stood on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee at a place that may have been where Jesus met His disciples following His Resurrection. After Jesus’s Resurrection,
as we read in John chapter 21,
Peter and the other disciples fished all night without success.
In the morning, they saw a man standing on the shore who told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. To their astonishment, the net was filled miraculously.
They immediately recognized that the man was the Lord,
and they rushed to greet Him.
As they dragged the net to shore full of fish, Jesus said,
“Come and dine.” John reports that “when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?”
While I was standing on that same seashore,
I realized that the Savior’s question was one of the most important questions that He might someday ask me.
I could almost hear His voice asking, “Russell,
lovest thou me more than these?”
Do you wonder what Jesus was referring to when He asked Peter, “Lovest thou me more than these?”
Relating this question to ourselves in our day,
the Lord may be asking us about how busy we are and about the many positive and negative influences competing for our attention and our time.
He may be asking each of us
if we love Him more than the things of this world.
This may be a question about what we really value in life,
who we follow, and how we view our relationships with family members and neighbors. Or maybe He is asking what really brings us joy and happiness. Do the things of this world bring us the joy, happiness, and peace that the Savior offered to His disciples, that He offers to us?
Only He can bring us true joy, happiness, and peace through our loving Him
and following His teachings. How would we answer the question
“Lovest thou me more than these?”
When we discover a fuller meaning of this question,
we can become better family members, neighbors, citizens,
members of the Church, and sons and daughters of God.
At my age, I have attended many funerals.
I'm sure many of you have noticed what I have noticed when celebrating the life of
a deceased family member or a friend.
It’s rare for the speaker to talk about the size of the person’s home, the number of cars, or the bank account balances.
They usually don’t speak about social media posts.
Most of the funerals that I’ve attended, they focus on their loved one’s relationships, service to others,
life lessons and experiences, and their love for Jesus Christ.
Don't misunderstand me.
I'm not saying that having a nice home or a nice car is wrong or that using social media is bad.
What I am saying is that in the end,
those things matter very little compared to loving the Savior.
When we love and follow Him, we have faith in Him. We repent.
We follow His example and are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. We endure to the end and stay on the covenant path.
We forgive family members and neighbors by letting go of grudges we may be holding.
We earnestly strive to keep God’s commandments.
We strive to be obedient. We make and keep covenants.
We honor our fathers and mothers.
We set aside negative worldly influences.
We prepare ourselves for His Second Coming.
In “The Living Christ:
The Testimony of the Apostles,” we read:
“[Jesus] will someday return to earth. …
He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords,
and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before him.
Each of us will stand to be judged of Him
according to our works and … desires of our hearts.”
As one of the Apostles who signed the “Living Christ” document,
I can say that knowing that Jesus is the light,
the life, and the hope of the world gives me greater desire to love Him more every day.
I testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live.
I testify that They love us.
The scriptures teach that “God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that [whoso] believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The scriptures also teach
that Jesus “so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons
[and daughters] of God.”
Heavenly Father so loved us that He prepared His plan of salvation,
with a Savior as the central figure.
And Jesus so loved us that in the Great Council in Heaven,
when Heavenly Father asked, “Whom shall I send?”
Jesus, who was the firstborn of all of Father’s spirit children, answered, “Here am I, send me.”
He said unto the Father, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”
Jesus volunteered to be our Savior and Redeemer
so that we could become like Them and return to Their presence.
These two scriptures also teach that to return to Their presence, we need to believe. We need to believe in Jesus
and in God’s plan of happiness.
To believe is to love and follow our Savior and keep the commandments even in the midst of trials and strife.
Today's world is unsettled.
There are disappointments, disagreements,
distress and distractions.
President Dallin H. Oaks, speaking in 2017, noted the following: “These are challenging times filled with big worries: wars and rumors of wars,
possible epidemics of infectious diseases, droughts, floods, and global warming.” (Close quote.)
We cannot lose our love for and hope in Jesus, even if we face seemingly overwhelming challenges. Heavenly Father and Jesus will never forget us.
They love us. Last October, President Russell M. Nelson taught us
the importance of putting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ first in our lives. President Nelson taught us that one meaning of the word “Israel” is “Let God prevail.”
He asked each of us these questions (quote),
“Are you willing to let God prevail in your life?
Are you willing let God be the most important influence in your life?
Will you allow His words,
His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority
over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to
do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing
to have your will swallowed up in His?” (Close quote.)
We must always remember that our true happiness depends upon our relationship with God, with Jesus Christ, and with each other.
One way to demonstrate our love is by joining family,
friends, and neighbors in doing some small things to better serve each other.
Do things that make this world a better place.
What things can you do within your own life to show that you love the Lord first? As we focus on loving our neighbors as He loves them, we start to truly love those around us.
I ask again, how would you respond to the Savior’s question,
“Lovest thou me more than these?”
As you consider this question, as I have done,
I pray that you may answer, as Peter did so long ago,
“Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee,” and then
show it by loving and serving God and all those around you.
I testify that we are blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide us in the way we live and treat each other. In Him,
we discover that every daughter
and son of God is precious to Him.
I testify that Jesus Christ is our beloved Savior.
He’s the Only Begotten Son of God.
And I bear this testimony humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
This cookie is made of phyllo dough and pistachio nuts, and it's a thank you.
It was made by the Kadado family, who for decades owned three bakeries in Damascus, Syria.
When war came and blockades stopped the supplies from reaching their part of the city,
they began to starve.
At the height of this desperate situation, Latter-day Saint Charities and some very courageous staff at Rahma Worldwide began serving a hot meal every day,
along with milk for the little children.
After a difficult time, this family left and began their life— as well as their bakery once again—in a new country.
Recently, a box of cookies arrived at the Church Office Building with the following message:
“For more than two months, we managed to get food from … Rahma–Latter-day Saint [Charities]’ kitchen.
Without it, we would [have] starve[d] to death.
Please accept this … sample from my shop as a small token of thanks. I ask God the Almighty to bless you … in everything you do.”
A cookie of gratitude and remembrance,
and it’s meant for you. To all who prayed after watching a story on the news, to all who volunteered when it wasn't convenient or who kindly donated money to the Humanitarian Fund, trusting it would do some good: Thank you.
The Church of Jesus Christ is under divine mandate to care for the poor. It's one of the pillars of the work of salvation and exaltation.
So what was true during Alma’s day is certainly true for us:
“And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick,
or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches;
therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young,
both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church,
having no respect as to persons who stood in need.”
The Church responds to this charge in a wide variety of ways,
including the ministering we do through Relief Society, priesthood quorums, and classes;
fasting and the use of fast offerings;
welfare farms and canneries; welcome centers for immigrants;
outreach for people in prison; Church humanitarian efforts;
and the JustServe app, where it’s available, that matches volunteers
with service opportunities.
These are all ways, organized through the priesthood,
where small efforts collectively make a big impact and magnify the many individual things that we do
as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Prophets have charge for the whole earth, not just for members of the Church,
and I can report from my own experience how devotedly and personally the First Presidency takes that charge.
As needs grow, the First Presidency has charged us to increase our humanitarian outreach in a significant way.
They are interested in the largest trends and the smallest details.
Recently, we brought to them one of the protective medical gowns that Beehive Clothing had sewed
for hospitals to use during the pandemic.
As a medical doctor, President Nelson was highly interested.
He didn’t just want to see it. He wanted to try it on—
check the cuffs and the length and the way it tied in the back.
He told us later, with emotion in his voice, “When you meet with the people on your assignments,
thank them for their fasting,
for their offerings, and for their ministering in the name of the Lord.”
At President Nelson's direction, I'm reporting back to you about how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is responding
to hurricanes, earthquakes, refugee displacement, and a pandemic,
thanks to the kindness of the Latter-Day Saints and many friends.
While the more than 1500 COVID-19 projects are certainly the largest focus of the Church’s relief over the last 18 months, the Church also responded to 933 natural disasters and refugee crises in 108 countries.
But statistics don't tell the whole story.
Let me share four brief examples to just illustrate the smallest taste of what's being done.
Sixteen-year-old Dieke Mphuti of Welkom, South Africa, lost her parents years ago, leaving her to care for three younger siblings on her own. It was always daunting for her to find enough food, but COVID shortages and quarantine made it practically impossible.
They were often hungry and scraping by only with the generosity of their neighbors.
On a sunny day in August 2020, Dieke was surprised by a knock at her door.
She opened it to find two strangers,
one a Church representative from the area office in Johannesburg,
and the other an official from South Africa's Department of Social Development. These two organizations had teamed up to bring food to at-risk households, and relief washed over Dieke
as she glimpsed the pile of cornmeal and the other food staples that had been purchased with Church humanitarian funds. These would help her sustain her family for several weeks until a government aid package could take effect for her.
Dieke’s story is one of thousands of experiences taking place across the world during the COVID pandemic
thanks to your consecrated contributions.
We’ve all seen recent images in the news— thousands of evacuees being flown from Afghanistan.
Many arrived at Air Force bases or other temporary locations in Qatar, the United States, Germany, and Spain before continuing on to their final destinations.
Their needs were immediate,
and the Church responded with supplies and volunteers. At Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany,
the Church provided large donations of diapers,
baby formula, food, and shoes.
Some of the Relief Society sisters noticed that many of the Afghan women were using their husbands’ shirts to cover their heads because their traditional head coverings had been ripped off in the frenzy at the Kabul airport.
In an act of friendship that crossed any religious or cultural boundaries,
the sisters of the Ramstein First Ward gathered together and sewed traditional Muslim clothing for these Afghan women.
Sister Bethani Halls said, “We heard [the] women were in need of prayer garments, and we’re sewing
so that they can be [comfortable] for prayer.”
This next example shows you don't have to be wealthy or older to be an instrument for good.
Eighteen-year-old Marie “Djadjou” Jacque is from the Cavaillon
Branch in Haiti. When the devastating earthquake struck near her town in August,
her family’s house was one of tens of thousands that collapsed.
It's almost impossible to imagine the despair of losing your home.
But rather than giving in to that despair, Djadjou, incredibly, turned outward.
She saw an elderly neighbor struggling, and she began to take care of her.
She helped others clear away debris. Despite her exhaustion,
she joined other Church members to distribute food and hygiene kits. Djadjou’s story is just one of many powerful examples of service carried out by youth and young adults as they strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
Only a few weeks before the earthquake, another group of young adults was giving similar service across the Atlantic. The floods that swept through Western Europe in July were the most severe in decades. When waters finally receded, one shopkeeper in the riverside town of Ahrweiler, Germany, surveyed the damage and was just overwhelmed.
This humble man, a devout Catholic,
whispered a prayer to God that somebody might come and help him.
The next morning, President Dan Hammon of the Germany Frankfurt Mission arrived on the street with a small band of missionaries wearing yellow Helpings Hands vests. The water had reached up 10 feet on the shopkeeper's walls, and it left behind a deep layer of mud.
These volunteers shoveled out the mud, removed the carpet and the drywall, and piled everything in the street so it could be removed.
The overjoyed shopkeeper worked alongside them for hours, amazed that the Lord had sent a group of His servants to answer his prayer
within 24 hours. Speaking of the Church’s humanitarian efforts, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once remarked: “Prayers are answered … most of the time … by God using other people.
Well, I pray He’ll use us.
I pray that we’ll be the answer to other people’s prayers.”
Brothers and sisters, through your ministry,
donations, time, and love,
you have been the answer to so many prayers.
And yet there's so much more to do.
As baptized members of the Church, we're under covenant to care for those in need.
Our individual efforts don't necessarily require money
or faraway locations, but they do require the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willing heart to say to the Lord,
as Elder Ballard just taught, “Here am I. Send me.”
Luke 4 records that Jesus “came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,” and He stood up in the synagogue to read.
This was near the beginning of His mortal ministry, and He quoted a passage from the book of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
… This day is [the] scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
I testify that this scripture is being fulfilled in our own time as well. I testify Jesus Christ is come to heal the brokenhearted. His gospel is to recover sight to the blind.
His Church is to preach deliverance to the captives,
and His disciples across the world are striving to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Let me conclude by repeating the question that Jesus asked his apostle, Simon Peter—
and we’ve just heard about this: “Do you love me?”
The essence of the gospel is contained in how we answer that question for ourselves. With great reverence and love for Jesus Christ our Master,
I invite each of us to be a part of His magnificent ministry,
and “I pray He’ll use us.” In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
Shortly after my mission, while a student at BYU,
I received a phone call from my dad.
He told me that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
and that although his chances of survival were not good,
he was determined to be healed
and return to his normal life activities.
That phone call was a sobering moment for me.
My dad had been my bishop, my friend, and my advisor. As my mother, my siblings, and I contemplated the future, it appeared bleak.
My younger brother, Dave, was serving a mission in New York and participated long-distance in these difficult family events.
The medical providers of the day suggested surgery to try and curtail the spread of the cancer.
Our family earnestly fasted and prayed for a miracle.
I felt that we had sufficient faith that my father could be healed. Just prior to the surgery, my older brother, Norm, and I gave my dad a blessing. With all the faith we could muster, we prayed that he would be healed.
The surgery was scheduled to last many hours, but after just a short time,
the doctor came to the waiting room to meet with our family.
He told us that as they began the surgery, they could see that the cancer had spread throughout my father's body. Based upon what they observed, my father had just a few months to live. We were devastated.
As my father awakened from the surgery,
he was anxious to learn if the procedure had been successful.
We shared with him the grim news.
We continued to fast and pray for a miracle.
As my father's health quickly declined, we began to pray that he could be free of pain.
Eventually, as his condition worsened,
we asked the Lord to allow him to pass quickly.
Just a few months after the surgery, as predicted by the surgeon, my father did pass away.
Much love and care were poured out upon our family by ward members and family friends.
We had a beautiful funeral that honored the life of my father.
As time passed, however,
and we experienced the pain of my father’s absence, I began to wonder why my father had not been healed.
I wondered if my faith was not strong enough.
Why did some families receive a miracle, but our family did not?
I had learned on my mission to turn to the scriptures
for answers, and I began to search the scriptures.
The Old Testament teaches of an aromatic spice or ointment used for healing wounds that was made from a bush grown in Gilead.
In Old Testament times, the ointment came to be known as the balm of Gilead.
The prophet Jeremiah lamented over the calamities that he observed among his people and hoped
for healing. Jeremiah questioned, “Is there no balm in Gilead;
is there no physician there?”
Through literature, music, and art, the Savior Jesus Christ has often been referred to as the Balm of Gilead because of His remarkable healing power.
Like Jeremiah, I was wondering,
Is there no balm in Gilead for the Nielson family?
In Mark chapter 2 of the New Testament,
we find the Savior in Capernaum. Word of the Savior’s healing power had spread throughout the land,
and many people traveled to Capernaum to be healed by the Savior. There were so many gathered around the house where the Savior was located that there was no room for Him to receive them all.
Four men carried a man sick of the palsy to be healed by the Savior. They were unable to make their way through the crowd, and so they uncovered the roof of the house and lowered the man down to meet the Savior.
As I read this account, I was surprised by what the Savior said as He met this man: “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
I thought that if I had been one of the four men who had carried this man,
I might have said to the Savior,
“We actually brought him here to be healed.”
I think the Savior might have replied, “I did heal him.”
Was it possible that I had not fully understood that the Savior’s healing power was not just His ability to heal our bodies, but perhaps even more important, His ability to heal our hearts and the broken hearts of my family?
The Savior taught an important lesson through this experience
as He eventually physically healed the man.
It became clear to me that His message was He could touch the eyes of those who are blind,
and they could see. He could touch the ears of those who are deaf, and they could hear. He could touch the legs of those who could not walk, and they could walk.
He can heal our eyes and our ears and our legs, but most important of all,
He can heal our hearts as He cleanses us from sin
and lifts us through difficult trials.
When the Savior appears to the people in the Book of Mormon after His Resurrection, He again speaks of His healing power.
The Nephites hear His voice from heaven, saying, “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?”
Later, the Savior teaches, “For ye know not
but what they will return and repent
and come into me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them.”
The Savior was not referring to a physical healing,
but rather a spiritual healing of their souls.
Moroni brings additional understanding as he shares the words of his father, Mormon.
After speaking of miracles, Mormon explains,
“And Christ hath said, If ye will have faith in me ye
shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.”
I learned that the object of my faith must be Jesus Christ,
and that I needed to accept what was expedient to Him as I exercised faith in Him.
I understand now that my father's passing was expedient to God's plan. Now, as I lay my hands upon the head of another to bless him or her, my faith is in Jesus Christ,
and I understand that a person can
and will be physically healed if it is expedient in Christ.
The Savior’s Atonement, which makes available both His redeeming and His enabling power,
is the ultimate blessing that Jesus Christ offers to all.
As we repent with full purpose of heart, the Savior cleanses us from sin.
As we cheerfully submit our will to the Father, even in the most difficult of circumstances,
the Savior will lift our burdens and make them light.
But here is the greater lesson I learned.
I had mistakenly believe that the Savior’s healing power had not worked for my family.
As I now look back with more mature eyes and experience,
I see that the Savior’s healing power was evident in the lives of each of my family members.
I was so focused on a physical healing that I failed to see the miracles that had occurred.
The Lord strengthened and lifted my mother beyond her capacity through this difficult trial, and she led a long and productive life.
She had a remarkable positive influence on her children
and grandchildren. The Lord blessed me and my siblings with love, unity, faith, and resilience that became an important part of our lives
and continues today. But what about my dad?
As with all who will repent, he was spiritually healed.
As he sought and received the blessings available because of the Savior’s Atonement,
he received a remission of his sins and now awaits
the miracle of the Resurrection.
The Apostle Paul taught, “For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
You see, I was saying to the Savior,
“We brought my dad to You to be healed.”
And it is now clear to me that the Savior did heal him.
The Balm of Gilead worked for the Nielson family not in the way that we had supposed, but in an even more significant way that has blessed
and continues to bless our lives.
In John chapter 6 of the New Testament, the Savior performed a most interesting miracle.
With just a few fish and a few loaves of bread,
the Savior fed five thousand.
I have read this account many times,
but there is a part of that experience
I missed that now has great meaning to me.
After the Savior fed five thousand, He asked His disciples to gather up the remaining fragments,
the leftovers, which filled 12 baskets.
I’ve wondered why the Savior took the time to do that.
It has become clear to me that one lesson
we can learn from that occasion was this:
He could feed five thousand, and there were leftovers.
“My grace is sufficient for all men.”
The Savior’s redeeming and healing power can cover any sin, wound, or trial,
no matter how large or how difficult—
and there are leftovers. His grace is sufficient.
With that knowledge, we can move forward with faith,
knowing that when difficult times come, and they surely will,
or when sin encompasses our lives, the Savior stands with healing in His wings,
inviting us to come unto Him.
I bear my witness to you of the Balm of Gilead, the Savior Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer,
and of His marvelous healing power,
and His desire to heal you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
Thank you so much, Elder Nielson, for your beautiful message. We needed that.
My dear brothers and sisters,
President Russell M. Nelson has taught us recently, and I quote:
“To do anything well requires effort.
Becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ is no exception.
Increasing your faith and trust in Him takes effort.” (Close quote.)
Among the recommendations that he gave us to increase our faith in Jesus Christ is that we become engaged learners,
that we immerse ourselves in the scriptures to understand better Christ’s mission and ministry. We learn in the Book of Mormon that the scriptures were an important part of Lehi’s family,
so much so that Nephi
and his brothers returned to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass. The scriptures reveal God's will for us much like the Liahona did for Nephi
and his father. After he broke his bow, Nephi needed to know where he should go to obtain food.
His father, Lehi, looked at the Liahona and saw the things that were written.
Nephi saw that the spindles functioned according to the faith,
diligence, and attention given to them.
He also saw writing which was easy to read
and which gave them understanding regarding the paths of the Lord.
He became aware that the Lord brings about great things through small means. He was obedient regarding the directions given by the Liahona. He went up the mountain and obtained food for his family, who had suffered so much from the lack thereof.
It seems to me that Nephi was a student dedicated to the scriptures. We read that Nephi delighted in the scriptures, pondered them in his heart, and wrote them for the learning and profit of his children.
President Russell M. Nelson said, and I quote,
“If we ’press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ,
and endure to the end … [we] shall have eternal life.’
To feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor.
We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience.
When we feast upon the words of Christ,
they are embedded ‘in the fleshy tables of the heart.’
They become an integral part of our nature.” (Close quote.)
What are some of the things that we will do if our souls delighteth in the scriptures? Our desire to be part of the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil will increase.
It will be normal and natural for us to invite our family and friends to listen to the missionaries.
We will be worthy and we will have a current temple recommend in order to go to the temple
as often as possible.
We will work to find, prepare, and submit the names of our ancestors to the temple.
We will be faithful in keeping the Sabbath day, attending church every Sunday to renew our covenants with the Lord as we participate worthily in taking the sacrament. We will resolve to remain on the covenant path,
living “by every word that proceed[s] forth from the mouth of God.” What does it mean for you to delight in the things of the Lord?
Delighting in the scriptures is more than hungering and thirsting for knowledge. Nephi experienced great joy during his life.
However, he also faced difficulties and sadness.
“Nevertheless,” he said, “I know in whom I have trusted.”
As we study the scriptures, we will better understand God’s plan of salvation and exaltation,
and we will trust in the promises that He has made to us in the scriptures,
as well as in the promises and blessings of modern prophets.
One afternoon, my wife and I were invited to a home of a friend. Their 7-year-old son, David, had never heard the Bible story of David and Goliath,
and he wanted to hear it.
As I began to tell the story, he was touched by the way David,
with his faith and in the name of the God of Israel,
wounded and killed the Philistine with a sling and a stone, having no sword in his hand.
Looking at me with his enormous dark eyes, he asked me firmly,
“Who is God?” I explained to him that God is our Heavenly Father
and that we learn about Him in the scriptures. Then he asked me,
“What are the scriptures?”
I told him that the scriptures are the word of God and
and that in them he will find beautiful stories that will help him to better know God.
I ask his mother to use the Bible that she had in her home
and that she not let David go to sleep without reading the whole story to him. He was delighted as he listened to it.
The scriptures and our knowledge of God are gifts,
gifts that we too often take for granted.
Let us cherish these blessings.
While serving a mission as a young man,
I observed that by teaching with the scriptures,
the lives of many people were transformed.
I became aware of the power in them
and how they can change our lives.
Each person to whom we taught the restored gospel was a unique individual with different needs.
The holy scriptures, yes,
the prophecies written by the holy prophets, brought them to a faith in the Lord and to repentance
and changed their hearts.
The scriptures filled them with joy
as they received inspiration, direction,
consolation, strength, and answers to their needs.
Many of them decided to make changes in their lives
and began to keep God’s commandments.
Nephi encourages us to delight in the words of Christ
because the words of Christ will tell us all the things we need to do.
I invite you to have a permanent plan to study the scriptures.
Come, Follow Me is a great resource that we have for teaching and learning the gospel,
deepening our conversion to Jesus Christ and helping us to become like Him. When we study the gospel,
we are not simply seeking new information;
rather, we are seeking to become “a new creature.”
The Holy Ghost guides us toward truth and testifies to us of the truth. He illuminates our mind and renews our understanding and touches our hearts through God's revelation,
the source of all truth. The Holy Ghost purifies our heart.
He inspires in us the desire to live according to the truth
and whispers to us ways to do so.
“The Holy Ghost ... shall teach you all things.”
Speaking of the words He revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, our Savior said, “These words are not of men nor of man,
but of me; … for it is my voice, which speaketh them unto you;
for they are given by my Spirit unto you; ...
wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice,
and know my words.” We should seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost. This goal should govern our decisions
and guide our thoughts and actions.
We must seek everything that invites the influence of the Spirit and reject anything that deviates from this influence.
I testify that Jesus Christ is the Beloved Son of our Heavenly Father. I love my Savior.
I am grateful for His scriptures and for His living prophets.
President Nelson is His prophet. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
The congregation will now join the choir in singing “Guide Us,
O Thou Great Jehovah.” After the singing, we will hear from Brother Bradley R. Wilcox,
who serves as Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.
He will be followed by Elders Alfred Kyungu and Marcus B. Nash
of the Seventy.
[MUSIC PLAYING: Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah]
This is the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”] [MUSIC PLAYING: “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”]
I once sent a message to my daughter and son-in-law using the voice-to-text feature on my phone. I said, “Hey, you two.
Sure love you.” They received, “Hate you two. Should love you.”
Isn't it amazing how easily a positive and well-intentioned message can be misunderstood?
This is what sometimes happens with God's messages of repentance and worthiness. Some mistakenly receive the message that repentance and change are unnecessary.
God’s message is that they are essential.
But doesn’t God love us despite our shortcomings?
Of course. He loves us perfectly.
I love my grandchildren, imperfections and all,
but that does not mean I don’t want them to improve
and become all they can become. God loves us as we are,
but He also loves us too much to leave us this way.
Growing up unto the Lord is what mortality is all about.
Change is what Christ’s Atonement is all about.
Not only can Christ resurrect, cleanse, console, and heal us,
but through it all, He can transform us to become more like Him. Some mistakenly receive the message that repentance is a one-time event. God’s message is that,
as President Russell M. Nelson has taught,
“Repentance … is a process.” We read in Preach My Gospel,
“Repentance and recovery may take time,”
so forsaking sin and having “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” are lifetime pursuits.
Life is like a cross-country road trip.
We can't reach our destination on one tank of gas.
We must refill the tank over and over.
Taking the sacrament is like pulling into the gas station.
As we repent and renew our covenants,
we pledge our willingness to keep the commandments,
and God and Christ bless us with the Holy Spirit.
In short, we promise to press forward on our journey, and God and Christ promise to refill the tank.
Some mistakenly receive the message that they are not worthy to participate fully in the gospel because they are not completely free of bad habits.
God’s message is that worthiness is not flawlessness.
Worthiness is being honest and trying.
We must be honest with God,
priesthood leaders, and others who love us,
and we must strive to keep God's commandments and never give up just because we slip up.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen said that developing a Christlike character “requires patience
and persistence more than it requires flawlessness.”
The Lord has said the gifts of the Spirit are “given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments,
and him that seeketh so to do.”
One young man I’ll call Damon wrote:
“Growing up, I struggled with pornography.
I always felt so ashamed that I could not get things right.”
Each time Damon slipped,
the pain of regret became so intense he harshly judged himself to be unworthy of any kind of grace, forgiveness, or additional chances from God.
He said, “I decided I just deserved to feel terrible all the time. I figured God probably hated me because I wasn't willing to work harder and get on top of this once and for all. I would go a week and sometimes even a month,
but then I would relapse and think,
‘I’ll never be good enough. So what’s the use of even trying?’”
At one such low moment, Damon said to his priesthood leader,
“Maybe I should just stop coming to church.
I’m sick of being a hypocrite.”
His leader responded,
“You’re not a hypocrite because you have a bad habit you are trying to break. You are a hypocrite if you hide it, lie about it, or try to convince yourself the Church has the problem
for maintaining such high standards.
Being honest about your actions and taking steps to move forward is not being a hypocrite.
It is being a disciple.”
This leader quoted Elder Richard G. Scott, who taught, “The Lord sees weakness differently than He does rebellion … When the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy.”
That perspective gave Damon hope. He realized God was not up there saying, “Damon blew it again.” Instead, He was probably saying,
“Look how far Damon has come.”
This young man finally stopped looking down in shame or looking sideways for excuses and rationalizations.
He looked up for divine help, and he found it.
Damon said, “The only time I had turned to God in the past was to ask for forgiveness.
But now I also ask for grace— His ‘enabling power.’
I had never done that before.
These days, I spend a lot less time hating myself for what I have done and a lot more time loving Jesus for what He has done.”
Considering how long Damon had struggled,
it was unhelpful and unrealistic for parents and leaders assisting him to say “never again” too quickly
or to arbitrarily set some standard of abstinence to be considered “worthy.” Instead, they started with small,
reachable goals. They got rid of the all-or-nothing expectations
and focused on incremental growth,
which allowed Damon to build on a series of successes instead of failures.
He, liked the enslaved people of Limhi,
learned he could “prosper by degrees.”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson has counseled, “To deal with something very big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. ...
Incorporating new and wholesome habits into our character
or overcoming bad habits or addictions
most often means an effort today
followed by another tomorrow and then another, perhaps for many days, even months and years. ...
But we can do it because we can appeal to God … for the help we need each day.”
Now, brothers and sisters,
the COVID-19 pandemic has not been easy for anyone,
but the isolation associated with quarantine restrictions has made life especially difficult
for those struggling with bad habits.
Remember change is possible,
repentance is a process,
and worthiness is not flawlessness.
Most important, remember that God and Christ are willing to help us right here and now.
Some mistakenly receive the message that God is waiting to help until after we repent.
God’s message is that He will help us as we repent.
His grace is available to us “no matter where we are in the path of obedience.”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said, “God does not need people who are flawless. He seeks those who will offer their heart and a willing mind, and He will make them perfect in Christ.”
So many have been hurt by broken and strained relationships that it is difficult for them to believe in God’s compassion and long-suffering.
They struggle to see God as He is—
a loving Father who meets us in our need
and knows how to “give good things to them that ask him.” His grace is not just a prize for the worthy.
It is the “divine assistance” He gives that helps us become worthy.
It is not just a reward for the righteous.
It is the “endowment of strength” He gives that helps us become
righteous. We are not just walking toward God and Christ.
We are walking with Them.
Across the church, young people recite the Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood quorum themes. From New Zealand to Spain to Ethiopia to Japan, young women say, “I cherish the gift of repentance.”
From Chile to Guatemala to Moroni, Utah,
young men say, “As I strive to serve, exercise faith,
repent, and improve each day, I will qualify to receive temple blessings and the enduring joy of the gospel.”
I promise those blessings and that joy are real
and within reach for those who keep all the commandments and “him that seeketh so to do.”
When you feel like you have failed too many times to keep trying, remember Christ’s Atonement and the grace it makes possible are real.
His “arms of mercy [are] extended towards you.” You are loved—today,
in 20 years, and forever. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
In my personal study of the scriptures,
I have been impressed by the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as Paul, as described in the Bible. Paul was an active man in the persecution of the Church and the Christians. But because of the power of heaven
and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he was changed completely,
and he became one of the great servants of God.
His model of life was the Savior Jesus Christ.
In one of Paul’s teachings to the Corinthians, he invited them to be his follower as he himself was a follower of Christ.
This is a sincere and valid invitation from Paul’s time until today: “To be a follower of Christ.”
I began to reflect on what it means to become a follower of Christ, and more important,
I began to ask, In what way should I imitate Him?
To be a follower, of course, is to strive to conform our actions,
conduct, and lives to those of the Savior.
It is to acquire virtues.
It is to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
I have studied some aspects of the Savior’s life, and I have retained, as part of my message today,
four of His qualities that I try to imitate and that I share with you. The first quality of the Savior is humility.
Jesus Christ was very humble from the premortal life.
At the Council in Heaven,
He recognized and allowed the will of God to prevail in the plan of salvation for mankind. He said,
“Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”
We know that Jesus Christ taught humility and humbled Himself to glorify His Father.
Let us live in humility because it brings peace.
Humility precedes glory, and it brings God’s favor upon us:
“Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth
the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” Humility brings gentle answers.
It is the source of righteous character.
Elder Dale G. Renlund taught, “Individuals who walk humbly with God remember what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have done for them. We act honorably with God by walking humbly with Him.”
The second quality of the Savior is courage.
When I think of Jesus Christ at the age of 12,
sitting in the temple of God
among the doctors of the law and teaching them divine things,
I know that He already had, very early in His life,
a good sense of courage, a particular courage.
While most will expect to see the young boy being taught by the doctors of the law,
He was teaching them as “they were hearing him,
and asking him questions.”
We served a full-time mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission from 2016 to 2019.
The way to travel in the zone
through the mission from one zone to another was by road.
A phenomenon has arisen in that area, with bandits armed with bladed weapons
breaking onto the roads and disturbing the movement of travelers.
Five missionaries traveling from one zone to another as part of the transfer were victims of these disturbances. Having been victims of this phenomenon ourselves
sometimes before, we began to fear for the lives and the safety of all of us,
even hesitating to travel on those roads to visit the missionaries and hold zone conferences. We didn’t know how long it was going to last.
I drew up a report, which I sent to the Area Presidency,
and I expressed my feelings of fear about continuing to travel
when the road was the only way to reach our missionaries.
In his reply, Elder Kevin Hamilton,
who was our president of the Africa Southeast Area, wrote to me: “My counsel is to do the best you can. Be wise and be prayerful.
Do not knowingly put yourselves [and] your missionaries in harm’s way,
but at the same time go forward in faith.
’For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’”
This exhortation greatly strengthened us
and allowed us to continue to travel and serve with courage until the end of our mission
because we heard the direction from our Father in Heaven through that scripture. In modern scripture, we read the inspired words of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
reflecting the Lord’s encouragement to us: “Brethren,
shall we not go on in so great a cause?
Go forward and not backward.
Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!”
Let us have the courage to do what is right, even when it is unpopular;
the courage to defend our faith and to act by faith.
Let us have the courage to repent daily;
the courage to accept God's will and obey His commandments. Let us have the courage to live righteously
and to do what is expected of us in our various responsibilities and positions. The third quality of the Savior is forgiveness.
During His mortal ministry,
the Savior prevented a woman who had been taken in adultery from being stoned. He charged her to “go, and sin no more.”
This moved her toward repentance and eventual forgiveness for, as the scriptures record,
“the woman glorified God from that hour and believed
on his name.” During a Christmas devotional in December 2018,
our dear President Russell M. Nelson
spoke about four gifts we have received from the Savior.
He said that one gift the Savior offers is the ability to forgive. Through His infinite Atonement,
you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility of their cruelty to you.
“It is usually easy to forgive one who sincerely and humbly seeks your forgiveness.
But the Savior will grant you the ability to forgive anyone who has mistreated you in any way.”
Let us sincerely forgive each other to obtain the forgiveness of the Father.
Forgiveness sets us free and makes us worthy to partake of the sacrament every Sunday.
Forgiveness is required of us to be truly disciples of Jesus Christ. The fourth quality of the Savior is sacrifice.
It is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Savior gave the supreme sacrifice of His life for us so that we will be redeemed. Feeling the pain of sacrifice, He asked His Father to keep the cup away,
but He went to the end of the eternal sacrifice.
This is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
President M. Russell Ballard taught this: “Sacrifice is the demonstration of pure love.
The degree of our love [to] the Lord,
for the gospel, and for our fellow men can be measured by what we are willing to sacrifice for them.”
We can sacrifice our time to perform ministering, to serve others, to do good,
to do family history work, and to magnify our Church calling.
We can give of our financial means by paying tithing, fast
offerings, and other donations to build the kingdom of God
on earth. We need sacrifice to keep the covenants
we have made with the Savior.
My prayer is that by following Jesus Christ and drawing upon the blessings of His Atonement, we become more and more humble,
we are more courageous,
we forgive more and more, and we sacrifice more for His kingdom.
I testify that Heavenly Father lives
and He knows each of us individually, that Jesus is the Christ, that President Russell M. Nelson is God’s prophet today.
I testify The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on the earth,
and the Book of Mormon is true.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, amen.
Amen.
While on a flight to Peru a few years ago,
I was seated next to a self-proclaimed atheist.
He asked me why I believe in God.
In the delightful conversation that ensued,
I told him that I believe in God because Joseph Smith saw Him.
And then I added that my knowledge of God also came from personal, real spiritual experience.
I shared my belief that “all things denote there is a God”
and asked him how he believed the earth, this oasis of life in the vacuum of space, came into existence.
He replied that, in his words,
“the accident” could have happened over eons of time.
When I explained how highly improbable it would be for an “accident” to produce such beauty and order,
he was quiet for a time
and then good naturedly said, “You got me.”
I asked if he would read the Book of Mormon. He said he would,
so I sent him a copy.
Years later, I made a new friend while in an airport in Lagos, Nigeria. We became acquainted as he checked my passport.
I asked him about his religious beliefs,
and he expressed strong faith in God.
I shared the joy and vibrancy of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and asked if he would like to learn more from the missionaries.
He said yes, was taught, and was baptized.
A year or two later, as I walked through the airport in Liberia,
I heard a voice call out my name.
I turned, and that same young man approached with a big smile.
We joyfully embraced,
and he let me know that he was active in church and working with the missionaries to teach his girlfriend.
Now, I do not know whether my atheist friend ever read the Book of Mormon or joined the Church. My second friend did.
For both of them, my responsibility, my opportunity, was the same: hold up the gospel light to love,
share, and invite each of them in a normal, natural way.
Brothers and sisters,
I have experienced the blessings of sharing the gospel, and they are remarkable. Here are a few of them.
Sharing the gospel brings joy and hope.
You see, you and I know that we lived as children of our Heavenly Father before coming to this earth and that the earth was created for the purpose of giving each person the opportunity to obtain a body, gain experience, learn, and grow in order to receive eternal life,
which is God's life. Heavenly Father knew we would suffer and sin on earth, so He sent His Son, whose matchless life
and infinite atoning sacrifice make it possible for us to be forgiven,
healed, and made whole. To know these truths is life-changing.
When a person learns the glorious purpose of life,
comes to understand that Christ forgives and succors those who follow Him, and then chooses to follow Christ into the waters of baptism, life changes for the better,
even when the external circumstances of life do not.
A radiantly happy sister I met in Onitsha, Nigeria, told me that from the time she learned the gospel and was baptized, and now I use her words,
“Everything is good for me. I am happy. I am in heaven.”
Sharing the gospel kindles joy and hope in the souls of both giver and receiver. Truly,
“how great shall be your joy”
as you share the gospel. Sharing the gospel is joy upon joy,
hope upon hope. Sharing the gospel brings God's power into our lives.
When we were baptized,
each of us entered into a perpetual covenant with God to “serve him
and keep his commandments,” which includes “to stand as [a witness] of [Him] at all times and in all things, and in all places.”
As we “abide in” Him by keeping this covenant,
the enlivening, sustaining,
sanctifying power of godliness flows into our lives from Christ,
just like a branch receives nourishment from the vine.
Sharing the gospel protects us from temptation.
The Lord commands: “Hold up your light
that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. … I have commanded ... that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment
sufferereth himself to be led into temptation.”
Choosing to not hold up the gospel light moves us to the shadows, where we are susceptible to temptation.
Importantly, the converse is true.
Choosing to hold up the gospel light brings us more fully into that light and the protection it provides against temptation.
What a tremendous blessing in today's world.
Sharing the gospel brings healing. Sister Tiffany Myloan
accepted the invitation to support the missionaries despite very heavy personal struggles,
including questions about her faith.
She recently told me that supporting the missionaries has renewed her faith and sense of well-being.
In her words, “Missionary work is so healing.”
Joy. Hope. Sustaining power from God.
Protection from temptation. Healing. All of these and more, including forgiveness of sins, distill upon us from heaven
as we share the gospel.
Now, turning to our great opportunity.
Brothers and sisters, “there are many … among all parties, sects, and denominations ... who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.”
The need to hold up our light has never been greater in all human history. And the truth has never been more accessible.
Jimmy Ton, who grew up Buddhist,
was impressed by a family who shared their life on YouTube.
When he learned that they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
he studied the gospel online by himself,
read the Book of Mormon using the app,
and was baptized after meeting with the missionaries in college.
Elder Ton is now a full-time missionary himself.
He and his fellow missionaries around the world are “the Lord’s … battalion,” to quote our prophet.
These missionaries buck the trend of the world.
While surveys report that Gen Z is turning away from God, our stripling warrior elders and sisters
are turning people to God.
And increasing numbers of members of the Church are uniting with the missionaries in sharing the gospel,
helping more and more friends to come unto Christ and His Church.
Our Latter-day Saints in Liberia helped 507 friends enter the waters of baptism during the 10 months there were no full-time missionaries serving in their country. When one of our wonderful stake presidents there
heard that the full-time missionaries may be returning,
he remarked, “Oh, good. Now they can help us with our work.”
He is correct. The gathering of Israel, the greatest cause on this earth, is our covenant responsibility, and this is our time.
My invitation today is simple: Share the gospel.
Be you and hold up the light.
Pray for heaven's help and follow spiritual promptings.
Share your life normally and naturally. Invite another person to come and see,
to come and help, and to come and belong. And then rejoice
as you and those you love receive the promised blessings.
I know that in Christ,
these good tidings are preached to the meek. In Christ are the brokenhearted bound up. In Christ is liberty proclaimed to the captives. And in Christ, only in Christ,
are those who mourn given beauty for ashes.
Hence the great need to make these things known.
I testify that Jesus Christ is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. He will finish.
He will complete our exercise of faith,
however imperfect, in holding up the gospel light. He will work miracles in our lives and in the lives of all He gathers,
for He is a God of miracles. In the wondrous name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
Amen.
We are grateful for all who've spoken to us this evening
and for the beautiful music that has been provided.
We remind you that a previously recorded broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word will be aired tomorrow morning from 9:30 to 10 a.m. mountain daylight time.
The Sunday morning session of conference will immediately follow. The concluding speaker for this session will be President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Prior to President Eyring’s remarks, the choir will sing “Lord, I Would Follow Thee.” Following his remarks, the choir will close this meeting by singing “Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands.”
The benediction will then be offered by Bishop Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop of the Church.
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My beloved brothers and sisters,
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with you
in this Saturday evening session of general conference.
In his introduction to the conference this morning,
President Russell M. Nelson said that, (quote) “Pure revelation
for the questions in your heart will make this conference rewarding and unforgettable.
If you have not yet sought for the ministering of the Holy Ghost to help you hear what the Lord would have you hear during these two days,
I invite you to do so now.” (Close quote.)
I have sought for that blessing as I prepared to receive this revelation
for this visit with you.
My earnest prayer is that you may receive revelation from God.
The way to receive revelation from God has not changed from the days of Adam and Eve.
It has been the same for all called servants of the Lord from the beginning to the present day.
It is the same for you and for me.
It is always done by exercising faith.
The teenage Joseph Smith had faith sufficient to ask a question of God, believing that God would answer his heartfelt need. The answer that came changed the world.
He wanted to know what church to join to be cleansed of sin.
The answer he received encouraged him to keep asking even better questions and to act on the continuing flow of revelation that had just begun.
Your experience can possibly be similar in this conference.
If you have questions for which you seek answers,
you have at least enough faith to hope that you will receive answers from the Lord through His servants.
You will not have the opportunity to ask aloud
for answers from the speakers,
but you can ask your loving Father in prayer.
I know from experience that answers will come to fit your needs and your spiritual preparation.
If you need an answer that is important to your eternal welfare
or that of others, the answer is more likely to come.
Yet even then, you may receive, as did Joseph Smith,
the answers to be patient.
If your faith in Jesus Christ has led to a heart softened through the effects of His Atonement,
you will be more able to feel the whisperings of the Spirit
in answer to your prayers. My personal experience
is that the still, small voice, which is real,
is clear and discernible in my mind when I feel an internal quiet and submission to the Lord’s will.
To me, the clearest answers to my questions that have ever come
are when I came to the place of saying,
“I only want what you want. Not what I want.”
That feeling of humility can be best described as “Not my will,
but thine, be done.” The process of revelation
is why you will hear speakers teach,
as you have in this conference,
what is called the doctrine of Christ.
Revelation comes to us in proportion to the degree to which we have sought to take the doctrine of Christ into our hearts
and implement it in our lives.
You remember from the Book of Mormon that Nephi taught us that faith in Jesus Christ is the key to receiving revelations of truth
and the key to having the confidence that we are following the Savior's direction.
Nephi wrote the following words centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ into mortality: (open quote)
“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.
Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ;
for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words,
if ye cannot understand them it will be because you ask not, neither do ye knock;
[therefore] ye are not brought into the light,
but must perish in the dark.
For behold, again I say to you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost,
it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ,
and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh.
And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh,
the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.” (Close quote.)
The Lord will say things through His servants to you and to me
today and in the days ahead.
He will tell us what things we should do.
The Savior will not shout commands to you and me.
As He taught Elijah, (open quote) “And he said,
Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord;
but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.” (Close quote.)
Hearing that voice will come from our faith in Him.
With sufficient faith,
we will ask for direction with the intent to go and do whatever He asks.
We will have developed the faith to know that whatever He asks will bless others
and that we can be purified in the process because of His love for us. As our faith in Jesus Christ will have led us to ask the Father for answers,
that faith will also have brought the Savior’s softening touch enough for us to hear the direction and be determined and excited to obey.
Then we will sing the words of the hymn with joy,
even when the work is hard: “Sweet is the work, my God, my King.”
The more we have the doctrine of Christ in our lives and hearts,
the more we feel greater love and sympathy
for those who have never had the blessings of faith in Jesus Christ or are struggling to maintain it. It is hard to keep the Lord’s commandments without faith and trust in Him.
As some lose their faith in the Savior, they may even attack His counsel,
calling good evil and evil good.
To avoid this tragic error,
it is crucial that any personal revelation we feel we receive
be consonant with the teachings of the Lord
and His prophets. Brothers and sisters,
it takes faith to be obedient to the Lord's commandments.
It takes faith in Jesus Christ to serve others for Him.
It takes faith to go out to teach His gospel
and offer it to people who may not feel the voice of the Spirit
or may even deny the reality of the message. But
as we exercise our faith in Christ and follow His living prophet,
faith will increase across the world. Because of technology,
perhaps more of God’s children will hear and recognize the word of God this weekend than during any other two days in history. With increasing faith that this is the Lord’s Church and kingdom on earth,
more members pay tithing and donate to those in need,
even as those members face trials of their own. With faith
that they are called by Jesus Christ,
missionaries across the world have found ways to rise above the challenges created by a pandemic,
doing so with courage and good cheer. And in their extra effort,
their faith has grown stronger. Opposition and trials
have long been a seedbed for the growth of faith.
That has always been true, especially since the beginning of the Restoration and the founding of the Lord’s Church.
What President George Q. Cannon said long ago is true today
and will be until the Savior comes personally to lead His Church and His people:
(open quote) “Obedience to the gospel brings [people] into very close
and intimate relationship with the Lord.
It establishes a close connection between men on the earth
and our Great Creator in the heavens.
It brings to the human mind
a feeling of perfect confidence in the Almighty
and in His willingness to listen to and answer
the supplications of those who trust in Him.
In times of trial and difficulty this confidence is beyond price.
Trouble may come upon the individual or upon the people, disaster may threaten
and every human hope seem to be overthrown,
yet, where people have availed themselves of the privileges which obedience to the gospel brings,
they have a sure standing place;
their feet are upon a rock that cannot be moved.” (Close quote.)
It is my testimony that the rock
upon which we stand is our witness that Jesus is the Christ,
that this is His Church, which He leads personally,
and that President Russell M. Nelson
is His living prophet today.
President Nelson seeks and receives direction from the Lord. He is for me
an example of seeking that direction with a determination to follow it.
That same determination to be obedient to the Lord's direction is in the heart of all those who have spoken or will speak,
pray, or sing in this general conference of His Church.
I pray that those across the earth who watch
or listen to this conference will have the feeling of the Lord’s love for them.
Heavenly Father has answered my prayer that I might feel at least a tiny part of the Savior’s love for you
and His love for His Heavenly Father,
who is our Heavenly Father.
I testify that Jesus Christ lives.
He is our Savior and our Redeemer. This is His Church.
He is at its head. He, with His Heavenly Father,
appeared in person to Joseph Smith in a grove of trees in New York.
The gospel of Jesus Christ and His priesthood were restored
through heavenly messengers. By the power of the Holy Ghost,
I know that is true. I pray that you may have that same witness.
I pray that you will ask Heavenly Father for the faith in Jesus Christ
you need to make and keep the covenants that will allow the Holy Ghost to be your constant companion.
I leave you with my love and my sure witness in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
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Our dear Father in Heaven, at the end of this beautiful conference day,
we are grateful for the messages that have been shared, for the Spirit that has been felt, for
the beautiful music that has been sung, for
the counsel that we have received.
And now we ask Thee to bless us so we may take these teachings and testimonies back into our homes, into our lives, that
we may be prepared for tomorrow
and ponder about those things that are
so important in our lives.
We pray that we may go in faith and share this message with our families, with our neighbor,
with all the people we love until
Thy message will spread to the end of the world.
We love Thee, and we love Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and we pray in the name of our Lord, even Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.
This has been a broadcast of the Saturday evening session of the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Speakers were selected from leaders of the Church.
Music for this session was provided by a combined choir of students from Brigham Young University.
This broadcast has been furnished as a public service by Bonneville Distribution.
Any reproduction, recording, transcription, or other use of this program without written consent is prohibited.