I want to portray to you the love that our Stake Presidency has for
each of you. They are so thankful for all you do to build the
kingdom of God in this area of his vineyard. I enjoyed meeting
my speaking companion for the first time today and hearing her talk
on the 2nd article of Faith. I also want to say thankyou
for that lovely musical number.
[Introduce
myself - "Got back as soon as I could"]
Article of Faith 3:
We believe that through the
Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the
laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
[Nauvoo Experience
- The Pantry Restaurant Owner]
October
Conference 2018
President Russell M. Nelson
The Correct Name
of the Church
Many members immediately corrected the
name of the Church on their blogs and social media pages. Others
wondered why, with all that’s going on in the world, it was
necessary to emphasize something so “inconsequential.” And some said
it couldn’t be done, so why even try? Let me explain why we care so
deeply about this issue. But first let me state what this effort is
not:
It is not a name change.
It is not rebranding.
It is not cosmetic.
It is not a whim.
And it is
not inconsequential.
Instead, it is a correction. It is the
command of the Lord.
April Conference 2017
Russell
M. Nelson
Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives
As Latter-day Saints, we refer to His mission as the
Atonement of Jesus Christ, which made resurrection a reality for all
and made eternal life possible for those who repent of their sins
and receive and keep essential ordinances and covenants.
It
is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice
by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling power
of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened
by the Atonement.” These expressions present a real risk of
misdirecting faith by treating the event as if it had living
existence and capabilities independent of our Heavenly Father and
His Son, Jesus Christ.
Under the Father’s great eternal plan,
it is the Savior who suffered. It is the Savior who broke the bands
of death. It is the Savior who paid the price for our sins and
transgressions and blots them out on condition of our repentance. It
is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death.
There is no amorphous entity called “the Atonement” upon which
we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ
is the source. Sacred terms such as Atonement and Resurrection
describe what the Savior did, according to the Father’s plan, so
that we may live with hope in this life and gain eternal life in the
world to come. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all
human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly
and clearly connect it to Him.
The importance of the Savior’s
mission was emphasized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, who declared
emphatically that “the fundamental principles of our religion are
the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ,
that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended
into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are
only appendages to it.”
Marion D Hanks: April
Conference 1980
Enoch had “built a city that was
called the City of Holiness, even Zion,” which “in process of time,
was taken up into heaven. …
“And … the God of heaven looked
upon the residue of the people [that is, upon those who had not been
taken up], and he wept” (Moses 7:19, 21, 28).
Then Enoch said
to the Lord: “How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their
tears as the rain upon the mountains?
“… How is it that thou
canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all
eternity?” (Moses 7:28–29).
Enoch then reminded God of the
limitlessness and ongoing nature of his creations, and of his holy
perfections and glory and accomplishments, and said: “Naught but
peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy
shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?
“The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are
the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their
knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden,
gave I unto man his agency;
“And unto thy brethren have I
said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another,
and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are
without affection, and they hate their own blood.
“… and the
whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine
hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall
suffer?” (Moses 7:31–33, 37; italics added).
God, from whom
all blessings come, asked of his children only that they should love
each other and choose him, their Father.
But as in our day,
many neither sought the Lord nor had love for each other, and when
God foresaw the suffering that would inevitably follow this
self-willed, rebellious course of sin, he wept. That, he told Enoch,
was what he had to cry about.
Long ago I heard an important
story which has been helpful to me. I have not seen it in writing
and therefore cannot give credit as I would like. The story has
obviously been deliberately fashioned to teach in a provocative way
principles in which I believe.
Over a period of time three
men, as each of us ultimately will, passed from mortal life to
ongoing immortality. Each, as he made the transition, at once found
himself in the presence of a gracious person who made him feel
comfortable and calmed his apprehensions.
Each man in turn
found himself responding to questions which somehow formed in the
mind and heart, vital above all other considerations. “What do you
think of Christ? What is your relationship with him? Do you know
him?”
The first man answered reluctantly, with some chagrin.
He had not been, he said, one who had participated in organized
religious activity. There seemed to be too much formalism, too much
hypocrisy, too little real religion. Neither had he on his own
sought a personal relationship with the Lord. He had been a good
husband and father, an active citizen, a man of integrity, but it
now came to him very clearly that he had missed the central purpose
of his life, that he had been distracted from what he should have
been seeking. With gratitude, he was received into a circumstance
where he could begin to learn what he needed to know.
The
second man had a briefer interview. Quickly perceiving the import of
the questions, he quickly answered. He had, he said, been a soldier
for Christ, a crusader for him in business, a spokesman for him in
industry. He seemed crestfallen to be ushered after a time into a
circumstance where he too could begin to learn what he needed to
know.
The third traveler came into the presence of his host
with an overwhelming sense of warmth and wonder. Understanding the
questions, looking tearfully into the loving eyes of him who stood
at the gate, he fell to his knees at his feet and worshiped him.
“O … my beloved brethren, … the way for man is narrow, but it
lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is
the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there
is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived,
for the Lord God is his name” (2 Ne. 9:41).
Salvation and
exaltation, I believe, are not matters of heavenly bookkeeping, but
of the qualifying of the soul that comes with knowing the Lord.
We have the testimony of scripture that the Lord God weeps when
we do not choose him or truly love each other. The saddest
circumstance any of us can envision, indeed the only evil that
ultimately can really harm us, is in not choosing him and thus to be
separated from him.
Story of Psalms 23
The story is told of a great orator who was performing at a banquet
in his honor. After a wonderful meal, he mesmerized the crowd
with his voice as he recited poetry and famous selections of
speeches.
Near the end of the program, he asked if anyone had
a favorite selection that they would like for him to recite. From
the back of the room, an old man stood up and kindly asked if he
would mind reciting the 23rd Psalm. The speaker performed the Psalm
and was rewarded with a thunderous aplause and standing ovation.
The orator thanked the audience but asked them if they would indulge
him in something. He asked if the old man who requested him to
recite the Psalm would mind coming up to the front. The man
was a withered, humble cowboy who obviously had spent many days
outdoors. His speech was also humble and obviously he had no
training in public speaking. The orator asked if the man would
also recite the same 23rd Psalm. The old cowboy was at first
reluctant, but bravely began. At first the audience was
confused as to what was happening. In a trembling voice that
was cracked by time, the old man began to recite, “The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want…” It is said that when he was finished,
there was no applause, but neither was there a dry eye in the
building.
After a few minutes of silence, the orator
gathered his own emotions and explained in a soft voice to those
present. "Ladies and Gentlemen: I know the 23rd Psalm, but
this man knows the shepherd.”
____________________________
[más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo]
"The devil knows more because he's old than because he's
the devil" or "the older you get the wiser you become."
Prophets, Leadership, and Divine Law
An Evening with President
Russell M. Nelson
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January
8, 2017 • Brigham Young University
"Pray to discern
between God’s laws and the philosophies of men, including those
cunning counterfeits of the adversary. Through eons of time, Lucifer
has honed his craft. He is skilled at distraction, distortion,
deception, and misdirection. I plead with you to avoid his cunning
snares as you would avoid a plague!
Entrapments designed by
Satan can only bring to you misery, spiritual captivity, and death.
This is true every time. The sad consequences of yielding to
Lucifer’s lures are predictable, dependable, repeatable, and
regrettable.
... Conversely, I promise that as you keep God’s
commandments, as you live by His laws, you will become increasingly
free. This freedom will unveil to you your divine nature and allow
you to prosper personally. You will be free from the bondage of sin.
You will be free to be you—an effective, righteous leader. You will
be prepared to lead by precept and by example wherever you are
needed. Happily, the blessings of keeping God’s commandments are
also predictable, dependable, and repeatable.
... God’s truth
is really true! What God says is right is right! And what He says is
wrong is wrong!"
Helaman 3: 27-30
27 Thus we may see
that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of
their hearts, call upon his holy name.
28 Yea, thus we see
that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will
believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.
29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of
God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the
cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man
of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf
of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
30 And land
their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in
the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with
Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.
Worldwide Broadcast after being Ordained Prophet January 14,
2018
President Russell M. Nelson
"The way to
happiness... the way to joy is to keep the commandments of God. Stay
on the covenant path, keep on the covenant path. And if you’ve
stepped off, find your way back.”
[President Nelson
continues to Young Adults ...] Commence tonight to consecrate a portion
of your time each week to studying everything Jesus said and did as
recorded in the Old Testament, for He is the Jehovah of the Old
Testament. Study His laws as recorded in the New Testament, for He
is its Christ. Study His doctrine as recorded in the Book of Mormon,
for there is no book of scripture in which His mission and His
ministry are more clearly revealed. And study His words as recorded
in the Doctrine and Covenants, for He continues to teach His people
in this dispensation.
This may seem like a large assignment,
but I encourage you to accept it. If you proceed to learn all you
can about Jesus Christ, I promise you that your love for Him, and
for God’s laws, will grow beyond what you currently imagine. I
promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will
increase. Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will
find yourself better able to walk away from the entertainment and
entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ..."
Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously
seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names
means personally for you. For example, He really is your Advocate
with the Father. He will take your side. He will stand up for you.
He will speak on your behalf, every time, as you choose to be more
like Him.
Get to know Him by studying all He continues to
teach through His living prophets and apostles. Study “The Family: A
Proclamation to the World.” Study “The Living Christ” document.
These were both received by revelation. Post them online and where
you can see them daily.
Those revealed words are what every
true Latter-day Saint believes. Pray for a witness that those truths
represent divine law. Learn to articulate those truths in your own
words. Practice! Then pray and look for opportunities to speak about
what you believe. Your ability to lead and to have righteous
influence will increase as you do so.
[If there is time...
Story about my witness of Joseph and that Jesus is the Christ]
We will meet the Savior some day:
In a
coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be
overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You
will struggle to find words to thank Him for paying for your sins,
for forgiving you of any unkindness toward others, for healing you
from the injuries and injustices of this life.
You will thank
Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your
weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to
live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement,
and His attributes will become personal and real to you.
But
you don’t have to wait until then. Choose to be one of His true
disciples now. Be one who truly loves Him, who truly wants to serve
and lead as He did.
We are His people! We are under covenant
to carry the message of the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people. As we work intentionally to become righteous leaders, we
may sing with one heart, “Let us all press on in the work of the
Lord.”
In conclusion...
"We believe that
through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by
obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel." All
mankind. Not just an elect few. You can be saved.
I can be saved. Your neighbors and friends can be saved.
We have the wonderful privilege of bringing the message of the
atonement of Jesus Christ to our circle of friends. Pray for
people to be placed in your path. Pray for missionary
experiences. I look forward to the day that I will meet my
Savior. I hope to be worthy to be in his presence. I am
preparing each day to know Christ. To BELIEVE Christ and live
as he has asked me to live. I pray that when we meet him some
day he will say "Welcome, my good and faithful servant. Come
into my presence. I have a place prepared for you." I
imagine that moment where being in his presence will be so
overwhelming that all we can do is bow before him and drench his
feet with our tears of gratitude. May this be our goal and our
future reality is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.