“To focus the congregation on what really mattered, Mr. Stevenson spoke to them about [of] the woman accused of adultery who was brought to Jesus. The accusers wanted to stone her to death, but Jesus said, “He that is without sin … , let him first cast a stone at her.” The woman’s accusers withdrew. Jesus did not condemn the woman but charged her to sin no more. After recounting this episode, Mr. Stevenson observed that self-righteousness, fear, and anger have caused even Christians to hurl stones at people who stumble. He then said, “We can’t simply watch that happen,” and he encouraged the congregants to become “stonecatchers.” Brothers and sisters, not throwing stones is the first step in treating others with compassion. The second step is to try to…
“I thought for many years that love was an attribute. But it is more. It is a commandment. In His dialogue with the lawyer, a Pharisee, Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37–40; see also Gal. 5:14). President Hinckley has said that “love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is the very essence of the gospel."
“...we as Church members, more than ever before, must take the obligation upon us to learn foreign languages.”
“But some members like to think that civic participation by Latter-day Saints in democratic countries is seldom appropriate. On what grounds do they arrive at such a conclusion? Some argue that since the world is presently engaged in the last tragic scenes of a drama which (as the Lord has revealed) must inevitably end in the destruction of all the kingdoms of men, it is hopeless to try to maintain (or restore) honesty, accountability, or effectiveness to one’s political system. Others maintain that the demands of active Church membership leave little time or energy for engaging in “active citizenship.” With the constant pressures of making a living, caring for a family, and almost daily Church responsibilities, how can one sandwich in participation in political activity such as delivering a petition…
“Given the monumental challenge of addressing inequity in the world, what can one man or woman do? The Master Himself offered an answer. When, prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion, Mary anointed Jesus’s head with an expensive burial ointment, Judas Iscariot protested this extravagance and “murmured against her.” Jesus said: “Why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work. …“She hath done what she could.” (Mark 14:6, 8) “She hath done what she could”! What a succinct formula! “Brothers and sisters, such a sermon demands that I openly acknowledge the unearned, undeserved, unending blessings in my life, both temporal and spiritual. Like you, I have had to worry about finances on occasion, but I have never been poor, nor do I even know how the poor feel. Furthermore, I…
“As the long-prophesied latter-day gathering of the Lord’s covenant people gains momentum, the Church will truly be composed of members from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This is not a calculated or forced diversity but a naturally occurring phenomenon that we would expect, recognizing that the gospel net gathers from every nation and every people. How blessed we are to see the day that Zion is being established simultaneously on every continent and in our own neighborhoods. …Having been given this privilege, we cannot permit any racism, tribal prejudice, or other divisions to exist in the latter-day Church of Christ. The Lord commands us, “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” We should be diligent in rooting prejudice and discrimination out of the Church,…
“Day and night is one example of patterns that God has given to everyone who has ever lived on the earth, of things as they really are. It is an absolute truth of our human existence that we cannot negotiate around according to our own desires and get away with it. …Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Spirit of the Lord affirms, “And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations.” We do not need to be deceived. …Yes, God our Heavenly Father lives, and He manifests Himself to us all the time in multiple ways. But to acknowledge, believe, and continue in God, our hearts need…
“Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice. You may recognize the source of that statement. It comes from the Old Testament prophet Samuel’s counsel to Saul: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Sam. 15:22.)...It is a pillar of eternal wisdom. It is better to obey than to rationalize and sacrifice....“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (D&C 82:10.) The Lord honors His covenants.”
Savior Complex: An erroneous belief that minority communities need outsiders to be central in rescuing them. Assisting minorities based on perceived needs vs. what they express they need, or looking for emotional validation for oneself instead of being solely motivated by justice, mercy, and healing as the good Samaritan was when he bound up wounds and paid for lodging without centering those good deeds on himself.
"We are becoming a great global society. But our interest and concern must always be with the individual. Every member of this church is an individual man or woman, boy or girl. Our great responsibility is to see that each is “remembered and nourished by the good word of God” (Moro. 6:4), that each has opportunity for growth and expression and training in the work and ways of the Lord, that none lacks the necessities of life, that the needs of the poor are met, that each member shall have encouragement, training, and opportunity to move forward on the road of immortality and eternal life. This, I submit, is the inspired genius of this the Lord’s work... This gospel must be carried to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. There…
