President Nelson, once again, urges us to use the messages from this conference in our daily lives, stresses the importance of temples, and testifies of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
“Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him. We make covenants to follow Him. We come to know Him. As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power.”
“There is no limit to the Savior’s capacity to help you. His incomprehensible suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary was for you! His infinite Atonement is for you!”
How has the temple brought you closer to Jesus Christ?
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Elder Egbo stresses the importance - and gives his own testimony - of focusing on Christ.
“In a similar way, when we ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel, we are guaranteed success beyond what we can fully imagine and can feel great joy. President Russell M. Nelson taught: ‘When the focus of our lives is on … Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.’”
How has focusing on Christ given you peace in your lives?
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Brother Wilcox seeks to answer the question: Why must Latter-day Saints live so differently?
“Does your birthright mean you are better than others? No, but it does mean you are expected to help others be better. Does your birthright mean you are chosen? Yes, but not chosen to rule over others; you are chosen to serve them. Is your birthright evidence of God’s love? Yes, but more important, it is evidence of His trust.”
What can you do to “honor your birthright”?
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Elder Budge speaks powerfully of being still and intentional in our gospel learning and worship.
“Perhaps this is why President Nelson has repeatedly pled with us to make time for the Lord in our lives— ‘each and every day.’ He reminds us that ‘quiet time is sacred time—time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace.’ But to hear the still voice of the Lord, he counseled, ‘you too must be still.’”
“Likewise, God desires that we approach our time with Him with the same kind of heartfelt devotion. When we do so, our worship becomes an expression of our love for Him.
He yearns for us to commune with Him. On one occasion, after I gave the invocation in a meeting with the First Presidency, President Nelson turned to me and said, “While you were praying, I thought how much God must appreciate when we take time from our busy schedules to acknowledge Him.” It was a simple yet powerful reminder of how much it must mean to Heavenly Father when we pause to commune with Him.”
“You may be thinking, ‘I do not have time for that.’ I have often felt the same. But let me suggest that what may be needed is not necessarily more time but more awareness of and focus on God during the times we already set aside for Him.”
What does "being still" mean to you?
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Elder McKay speaks powerfully about Joseph Smith and his mission to testify of Christ.
“Joseph’s life of regular repentance gives me confidence to ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace, that [I] may obtain mercy.’ I have learned that Jesus Christ truly is ‘of a forgiving disposition.’ It is neither His mission nor His nature to condemn. He came to save.”
How is repentance comforting to you?
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Sister Yee uses a personal story to illustrate the joy of repentance.
“Repenting allows us to feel God’s love and to know and love Him in ways we would never otherwise know. Of the woman who anointed the Savior’s feet, He said, ‘Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.’ She loved Jesus much, for He had forgiven her much.”
When have you felt God’s love or felt your relationship with Christ deepen when you repented?
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Elder Kearon’s talk is, of course, all about JOY!
“Because of the loving plan of our Heavenly Father for each of His children, and because of the redeeming life and mission of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we can—and should—be the most joyful people on earth! Even as the storms of life in an often-troubled world pound upon us, we can cultivate a growing and abiding sense of joy and inner peace because of our hope in Christ and our understanding of our own place in the beautiful plan of happiness.”
“We may have been conditioned to suppose that the purpose of the sacrament is to sit in the pew thinking only about all the ways we messed up during the week before. But let’s turn that practice on its head. In the stillness, we can ponder the many ways we have seen the Lord relentlessly pursue us with His wonderful love that week! We can reflect on what it means to “discover the joy of daily repentance.” We can give thanks for the times the Saviour entered into our struggles and our triumphs and the occasions when we felt His grace, forgiveness, and power giving us strength to overcome our hardships and bear our burdens with patience and even good cheer.
Yes, we ponder the sufferings and injustices inflicted upon our Redeemer for our sin, and that does cause sober reflection. But we sometimes get stuck there—in the garden, at the cross, inside the tomb. We fail to move upward to the joy of the tomb bursting open, the defeat of death, and Christ’s victory over all that might prevent us from gaining peace and returning to our heavenly home. Whether we shed tears of sorrow or tears of gratitude during the sacrament, let it be in awesome wonder at the good news of the Father’s gift of His Son!”
What is one thing you can do to enhance your worship and find joy in the gospel?
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Elder Villlar’s talk is a powerful testimony of Christ and His Atonement.
“If we think celestial, we will recognize Jesus Christ as a flawless example of ministry. There is a pattern for us in the scriptures when He or His disciples reach out to someone in need of help, rescue, or a blessing as they reach out with their hands. As in my story, I knew my brother was there, but being there for me was not enough. Claudio knew I was in trouble, and he went to help lift me from the water.”
How can you actively minister to those around you?
“My brother did not give up on me that day but persisted so I could learn how to do it for myself. He persisted, even if that required rescuing me twice. He persisted, even if I could not get it at first. He persisted so I could overcome that challenge and succeed. If we think celestial, we will realize that our Savior will be there as many times as necessary to provide help if we want to learn, change, overcome, cope, or succeed in whatever will bring true and everlasting happiness to our lives.”
When have you felt the Savior persisting in your life?
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President Oaks’ talk is all about, you guessed it, following Jesus Christ.
“Potential adversaries should begin their discussions by identifying common ground on which all agree.
To follow our Perfect Role Model and His prophet, we need to practice what is popularly known as the Golden Rule: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” We need to love and do good to all. We need to avoid contention and be peacemakers in all our communications. This does not mean to compromise our principles and priorities but to cease harshly attacking others for theirs. That is what our Perfect Role Model did in His ministry. That is the example He set for us as He invited us to follow Him.”
Invitation: This! Avoid contention, be a peacemaker, and follow Christ’s example in communicating and loving others.
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Elder Casillas’ talk is all about service and the privilege we have to take care of our fellow human beings.
“We live in a time of great opportunity. Although we face many difficulties, I know they are there in part to allow us to help others feel the love of our Heavenly Father. President Nelson taught, “In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen.” We have the privilege to watch over people who need a helping hand, an embrace, a feeling of comfort, or for us simply to be with them in silence. If we can help lighten their burdens, even if only for a moment, then we will be able to see the great manifestations of the Savior’s power in their lives.”
“One of the crafts of the adversary today is to make us think and believe that there is no way for us to change or that we no longer have hope. This destructive thinking causes many of us to stop trying. And it is at this moment when our love, our words of encouragement and support, our time, and our help can give someone hope enough to try once more.”
Invitation: Reach out and take care of those around you!
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I know it has been so, so long! And we’re getting so close to April Conference already that I won’t have time to get to all the talks. So, I’ve chosen just a few talks to cover between now and April. And we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming in May.
Elder Hirst’s talk is all about love! He speaks powerfully about how personal God’s love is for each of us. And he reminds us of how we can then show that love to others.
“I wonder, if Jesus were to choose a place where you and He could meet, a private place where you would be able to have a singular focus on Him, might He choose your unique place of personal suffering, the place of your deepest need, where no one else can go? Somewhere you feel so lonely that you must truly be all alone but you aren’t quite, a place to which perhaps only He has travelled but actually has already prepared to meet you there when you arrive? If you are waiting for Him to come, might He already be there and within reach?”
Where and how do you feel God's love?
“If you do feel filled with love in this season of your life, please try and hold on to it as effectively as a sieve holds water. Splash it everywhere you go. One of the miracles of the divine economy is that when we try to share Jesus’s love, we find ourselves being filled up in a variation of the principle that ‘whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.’”
How can you show love to others?
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President Nelson runs through the history and significance of priesthood keys - not only for the Church and the world for us individually.
“Priesthood keys restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith make it possible for every covenant-keeping man and woman to enjoy incredible personal spiritual privileges.”
An invitation: Prepare for Conference next week. What questions are you hoping to have answered?
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President Pace speaks about the power and purpose of the scriptures.
“We call it “study,” and that’s good because it implies effort. But we don’t always need to learn some new fact. Sometimes reading the Book of Mormon is just about feeling connected to God today—nourishing the soul, being strengthened spiritually before heading out to face the world, or finding healing after a rough day out in the world.
We study the scriptures so the Holy Ghost, the great teacher, can deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help us become more like Them.”
How do the scriptures make you feel?
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Elder Andersen reminds us of the power of the temple in the world and in our lives.
“On that sacred occasion in the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet prayed that in the Lord’s holy house, the Saints would be armed with the power of God, that the name of Jesus Christ would be upon them, that His angels would have charge over them, and that they would grow up in the Lord and “receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost.” These powerful supplications are fulfilled in our lives as we faithfully worship in the house of the Lord.”
“Most of our experiences in the house of the Lord bring joyful peace and quiet revelation more than dramatic intervention. But be assured: angels do have charge over us!”
What power do you feel from your temple covenants and temple worship?
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Elder Held reminds of the necessity and beauty of opposition.
“Life is all about making choices. Our Father in Heaven gave us the divine gift of agency precisely so that we could learn from our choices—from the right ones and also from the wrong ones. We correct our wrong choices when we repent. This is where growth happens. Heavenly Father’s plan for all of us is about learning, developing, and progressing toward eternal life.”
“Even though we usually cannot choose between these kinds of situations because they just happen, we are still free to choose how to react to them. We can do so with a positive or with a pessimistic attitude. We can seek to learn from the experience and ask for our Lord’s help and support, or we can think that we are on our own in this trial and that we must suffer it alone. We can “adjust our sails” to the new reality, or we can decide not to change anything. In the darkness of night, we can turn on our lights. In the cold of winter, we should choose to wear warm clothes. In seasons of sickness, we can seek medical and spiritual help. We choose how to react to these circumstances.”
What is something good you can focus on amongst the bad right now?
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Elder Stevenson speaks about the two great commandments and how they are intertwined and depend on each other.
“The increasing contention in the world suggests, however, that we at times fail to see or remember this. Some are so focused on keeping the commandments that they show little tolerance of those they see as less righteous. Some find it difficult to love those who are choosing to live their lives outside of the covenant or even away from any religious participation.
Alternatively, there are those who emphasize the importance of loving others without acknowledgment that we are all accountable to God. Some refuse entirely the notion that there is such a thing as absolute truth or right and wrong and believe that the only thing required of us is complete tolerance and acceptance of the choices of others. Either of these imbalances could cause your spiritual bridge to tip or even fall.”
How can you work on this balance between loving God and loving your neighbor?
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Elder Godoy speaks powerfully about the blessing of prayer.
“Imagine the feelings of Heavenly Father when in each prayer we make a supplication in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. What power and tenderness, I believe, are displayed when we do so!”
“Of course, we need to remember that calling is a matter of faith and action—faith to recognize that we have a Heavenly Father who answers our prayers according to His infinite wisdom, and then action consistent with what we asked for. Praying—calling—can be a sign of our hope. But taking action after praying is a sign that our faith is real—faith that is tested in moments of pain, fear, or disappointment.”
How can you take action in something you are trusting God with?
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Elder Christofferson speaks about how the importance of having a testimony of Jesus and being valiant in it.
“What is the testimony of Jesus?
It is the witness of the Holy Spirit that He is the divine Son of God, the Messiah and Redeemer. It is John’s testimony that Jesus was in the beginning with God, that He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and that ‘in him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men.’ It is ‘the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, … that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven.’ It is the knowledge that “there is no other name given whereby salvation cometh.” It is the ‘testimony, last of all,’ given by the Prophet Joseph Smith, ‘that he lives! … That he is the Only Begotten of the Father—that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.’”
What is your testimony of Jesus?
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President Oaks reminds us of the history, importance, and purpose of covenants.
“A covenant is a commitment to fulfill certain responsibilities.”
“Their purpose is to bless the covenant children of God with temple worship and with the sacred responsibilities and powers and unique blessings of being bound to Christ they receive by covenant.”
How do your covenants help you "come together" with God and with others?
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Elder Taylor speaks about how we can change our perspectives to find joy in our trials.
“Coming to trust in God’s divine purposes breathes hope into weary souls and kindles determination in seasons of anguish and heartache.”
“This phrase ‘swallowed up’ deeply moves me. My interest was heightened when I learned that in Spanish, ‘swallowed up’ is translated as ‘consumed’; in German, as ‘devoured’; and in Chinese, as ‘engulfed.’ Thus, when life’s challenges are most painful and overwhelming, I remember the Lord’s promise—that we ‘should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it [be] swallowed up [consumed, devoured, and engulfed] in the joy of Christ.’”
How have you found peace as you trust in God's divine promises?
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