“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.
“Thank you, choir, for singing “Faith in Every Footstep.” The music and words of that song were written in 1996 by Brother Newell Dayley in preparation for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the early pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Although this song was written in preparation for that celebration, its message applies to the whole world. I have always loved the chorus: With faith in ev’ry footstep, we follow Christ, the Lord; And filled with hope through his pure love, we sing with one accord. Brothers and sisters, I testify that as we follow Jesus Christ with footsteps of faith, there is hope. There is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope for all in this life. …Our Savior, Jesus…
“It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined- not just the statues but you all being here today. It’s beautiful.” …We don’t tell these stories of African enslavement to cause guilt or pain or shame. We tell the stories because they’re true. … Because we all have the opportunity to draw strength from them. Can we not draw strength from them? …This monument tells part of our story… to remember those 10 years of enslavement. It’s a hard part of our history… We have to learn it and never forget it and then what do we do with that knowledge? We teach our children. We allow them to come up in a world where they’re not gonna to be blindsided by history. They’ll be able to be taught it at a young age…
“The building of this intermountain empire was not done in a corner by a select few but by this vast multitude flowing in from many nations, who came and labored and wrought, faithfully following... We stand upon our own feet in our own shoes. There is no aristocracy of birth in this Church; it belongs equally to the highest and the lowliest; for as Peter said to Cornelius, the Roman centurion, seeking him: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34-35).”
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"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…
