“My grandfather’s primary counsel to me was to avoid any sense of entitlement or privilege because of these faithful ancestors. He told me my focus should be on the Savior and the Savior’s Atonement. He said we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. Regardless of who our earthly ancestors are, each of us will report to the Savior on how well we kept His commandments. …Oneness is what Christ prayed for prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion. Oneness with Christ and our Heavenly Father can be obtained through the Savior’s Atonement. The Lord’s saving mercy is not dependent on lineage, education, economic status, or race. It is based on being one with Christ and His commandments. …It is significant that all the qualifications for baptism are spiritual. No economic…
“Jesus then said, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”This is the second tower of the bridge. Here Jesus bridges our heavenly upward gaze, to love the Lord, with our earthly outward gaze, to love our fellow men and women. One is interdependent on the other. Love of the Lord is not complete if we neglect our neighbors. This outward love includes all of God’s children without regard to gender, social class, race, sexuality, income, age, or ethnicity. We seek out those who are hurt and broken, the marginalized, for “all are alike unto God.” We “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.” …The increasing contention in the world suggests, however, that we at times fail…
“Our focus is on the Savior, and we are careful to avoid actions that may be perceived as serving our own interests, benefiting our family, or favoring someone at the expense of another.”
“One of the focuses of the Utah area plan, and indeed of our individual lives, is to become true disciples of Jesus Christ. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if ye have love one to another.” We are grateful for the many who are deepening their discipleship, and whose efforts help those around us feel welcomed and loved. Unfortunately, love is not always spoken here. We remain deeply concerned about too many lingering instances of racist attitudes and behaviors taking place in our schools and communities and sometimes even in our own neighborhoods and places of worship, such as seminaries, churches and temples. In Christ-like communities of faith, love, unity and covenant belonging this cannot be. Racism is a violation of the first two great commandments…
“Do you recall the experience the prophet Samuel had when the Lord sent him to Jesse’s house to anoint the new king of Israel? Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn. Eliab, it seems, was tall and had the appearance of a leader. Samuel saw that and jumped to a conclusion. It turned out to be the wrong conclusion, and the Lord taught Samuel: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; … for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Do you recall the experience the disciple Ananias had when the Lord sent him to bless Saul? Saul’s reputation had preceded him, and Ananias had heard about Saul and his cruel, relentless persecution of the Saints. Ananias heard and jumped to…
“In the fifth chapter of Alma, an introspective question is posed: “Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?”That question implies that humility is a mandatory requirement for us to be ready to return to the presence of God. We all like to think we are sufficiently humble, but some experiences in life make us realize that the natural, prideful man or woman often is very much alive within us. …when we choose not to be humble, we end up being humiliated. In Proverbs we find, “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” In order to develop humility, we must understand what it really means in the context of the gospel. …There…
“Jesus announced at the outset that He had come “to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind.” (Luke 4:18) Open the Gospels at random; on almost every page we see Him caring for people who suffer—socially, spiritually, and physically. He touches people considered polluted and unclean (Matt. 8:3, 9:25) and feeds the hungry. (Matt 14:13-21) What is your favorite story of Jesus? I suspect it shows the Son of God reaching out to embrace or offer hope to someone on the margins—the leper (Matt.8:1-3), the hated Samaritan (John 4:7-10, the accused and scandalous sinner (Matt. 21:31, Luke 7:27-50, Luke 15:1-10, John 8:2-12), or the national enemy (Matt. 8:5-13). That kind of grace is amazing. Try writing down every time He praises or heals or eats with…
"The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches that we are all begotten spirit sons and daughters of heavenly parents who truly love usand that we lived as a family in God’s presence before we were born on this earth. The gospel also teaches that we were all created in the image and likeness of God. ...President Nelson further emphasized the importance of spreading dignity and respect for our fellow beings when he stated: “The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent! … It behooves each of us to do whatever we can in our spheres of influence to preserve the dignity and respect every son and…
“We likewise call on government, business, and educational leaders at every level to review processes, laws, and organizational attitudes regarding racism and root them out once and for all. It is past time for every one of us to elevate our conversations above divisive and polarizing rhetoric. Treating others with respect matters.”
“As world citizens, we have more in common than we might suppose. That is not only true for us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but also for all children of our Heavenly Father. … If we only would focus on the life experiences and hopes we have in common, it should not be too hard to get along with individuals, communities, and nations—regardless of where we live and regardless of what our backgrounds or life circumstances may be. If world history has taught us anything, we learn that it is a human tendency to think of ourselves as being the ‘good guys’—as the heroes of the story. And those who think and behave differently? Well, they are the ‘bad guys.’ When we see others as…
