“With God, nothing is impossible.” Jesus is the Resurrected Living Christ, the Holy Messiah, the Prince of Peace, who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of war and sin and usher in His great Millennium of peace and prosperity. So you may want to repent so your life is in order. You may want to get ready to meet Him.

“With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible”

Russell M. Nelson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I echo the testimony of our beloved associate, Elder Dallin H. Oaks. With him and the other Brethren, I applaud the efforts of Latter-day Saints throughout the world who willingly serve in building the kingdom of God. Likewise, I respect those who quietly do their duty though deepening trials come their way. And I admire those who strive to be more worthy by overcoming a personal fault or who work to achieve a difficult goal.

I feel impressed to counsel those engaged in personal challenges to do right. In particular, my heart reaches out to those who feel discouraged by the magnitude of their struggle. Many shoulder heavy burdens of righteous responsibility which, on occasion, seem so difficult to bear. I have heard those challenges termed impossible.

As a medical doctor, I have known the face of adversity. I have seen much of death and dying, suffering and sorrow. I also remember the plight of students overwhelmed by their studies and of those striving to learn a foreign language. And I recall the fatigue and frustration felt by young parents with children in need. Amidst circumstances seemingly impossible, I have also experienced the joyous relief that comes when one’s understanding is deepened by scriptural insight.

The Lord has often chosen to instruct His people in their times of trial. Scriptures show that some of His lasting lessons have been taught with examples terrible as war, commonplace as childbearing, or obvious as hazards of deep water. His teachings are frequently based on common understanding, but with uncommon results. Indeed, one might say that to teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

Warfare, for example, has been known since time began. Even in that ugly circumstance, the Lord has helped those obedient to His counsel. Going into battle, all would assume the obvious advantage of outnumbering an enemy. But when God’s disciple Gideon was leading an army against the Midianites, “the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many …, lest Israel vaunt themselves …, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judg. 7:2).

So the Lord directed Gideon to reduce his numbers. He first decreased the troops from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand.

Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are yet too many” (Judg. 7:4). So another reduction was made. Finally, only three hundred remained. Then the Lord delivered the victory to the outnumbered few (see Judg. 7:5–25).

Even more widely known than war is an understanding of childbearing. Everyone “knows” that old women do not bear children. So upon whom did the Lord call to bear Abraham’s birthright son? Sarah, at age ninety! When told this was to be, she asked a logical question: “Shall I [which am old] of a surety bear a child?” (Gen. 18:13). From heaven came this reply: “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14).

So decreed, she gave birth to Isaac, to carry the crucial Abrahamic covenant into the second generation (see Gen. 26:1–4, 24).

Later, for one of the most important events ever to occur, the other extreme was chosen. As all knew that an elderly woman could not bear children, it was just as obvious that a virgin could not have children. But Isaiah had made this prophetic utterance:

“The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).

When Mary was notified of her sacred responsibility, the announcing angel reassured, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

The expression deep water means danger! That very hazard challenged the Israelites led by Moses at the Red Sea (see Ex. 14). Later, they were led by Joshua to the river Jordan at flood time (see Josh. 3). In each instance, deep water was divinely divided to allow the faithful to reach their destination safely. To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

Turning to our day, have you ever wondered why the Master waited so long to inaugurate the promised “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21)? Any competitor knows the disadvantage of allowing an opponent to get too far ahead. Wouldn’t the work of the restoration of the Church have been easier if begun earlier?

Suppose for a moment you are a member of a team. The coach beckons you from the bench and says: “You are to enter this contest. I not only want you to win; you shall win. But the going will be tough. The score at this moment is 1,143,000,000 to six, and you are to play on the team with the six points!”

That large number was the approximate population of the earth in the year 1830 when the restored church of Jesus Christ was officially organized with six members (see James Avery Joyce, sel., World Population Basic Documents, 4 vols., Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1976, 4:2214). The setting was remote and rural. By standards of the world, its leaders were deemed to be unlearned. Their followers seemed so ordinary. But with them, the work was begun. Assignments had been revealed:

  • The gospel was to be preached to every kindred, nation, tongue, and people.
  • Ordinary folk were to become Saints.
  • Redemptive work was to be done for all who had ever lived.

The great dispensation of the latter days had commenced, and they were the ones to usher it forth!

Furthermore, the Prophet Joseph Smith was unjustly held in the unspeakable isolation of a distant prison. In such obscurity, then and there, he was told by the Lord that “the ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name” (D&C 122:1).

If any tasks ever deserved the label impossible, those would seem to qualify. But, in fact, our Lord had spoken: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26; see also Mark 10:27Luke 18:27). To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

A century and a half later, the burdening baton of that opportunity has now been passed to us. We are children of the noble birthright, who must carry on in spite of our foredetermined status to be broadly outnumbered and widely opposed. Challenges lie ahead for the Church and for each member divinely charged toward self-improvement and service.

How is it possible to achieve the “impossible”? Learn and obey the teachings of God. From the holy scriptures, heaven-sent lift will be found for heaven-sent duties. To so achieve, at least three basic scriptural themes loom repeatedly as requirements.

Faith

The foremost requisite is faith. It is the first principle of the gospel (see A of F 1:4). In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul so taught. He concluded that by faith the great deeds of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and others were accomplished (see Heb. 11:4–34).

Prophets on the American hemisphere similarly taught the fundamental importance of faith. Moroni said it included things “hoped for and not seen” and then warned his skeptics, “Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). Then he spoke of leaders whose faith preceded their miraculous deeds, including Alma, Amulek, Nephi, Lehi, Ammon, the brother of Jared, and the three who were promised that they should not taste of death (see Ether 12:13–20).

The Lord personally taught this truth to his disciples: “If ye have faith,” he said, “nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt. 17:20).

Faith is nurtured through knowledge of God. It comes from prayer and feasting upon the words of Christ through diligent study of the scriptures.

Focus

The second requisite I have classified as focus. Imagine, if you will, a pair of powerful binoculars. Two separate optical systems are joined together with a gear to focus two independent images into one three-dimensional view. To apply this analogy, let the scene on the left side of your binoculars represent your perception of your task. Let the picture on the right side represent the Lord’s perspective of your task—the portion of His plan He has entrusted to you. Now, connect your system to His. By mental adjustment, fuse your focus. Something wonderful happens. Your vision and His are now the same. You have developed an “eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 4:5; see also Morm. 8:15). With that perspective, look upward—above and beyond mundane things about you. The Lord said, “Look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6:36). That special vision will also help clarify your wishes when they may be a bit fuzzy and out of focus with God’s hopes for your divine destiny. Indeed, the precise challenge you regard now as “impossible” may be the very refinement you need, in His eye.

Recently I visited the home of a man terminally ill. The stake president introduced me to the man’s family. His wife demonstrated such focus when she asked for a blessing for her dying husband—not for healing, but for peace, not for a miracle, but for ability to abide to the end. She could see from an eternal viewpoint, not merely from the perspective of one weighted with the responsibilities of her husband’s day-to-day care.

Elsewhere, a mother with focus nurtures her son, crippled for the whole of this life. Daily she thanks her Heavenly Father for the privilege of laboring in love with a child for whom mortality’s vale of tears will be mercifully brief. Her focus is fixed on eternity. With celestial sight, trials impossible to change become possible to endure.

Strength and Courage

A third theme in the scriptures requisite for significant accomplishment is difficult to summarize in one word, so I shall link two to describe it—strength and courage. Repeatedly, scriptures yoke these attributes of character together, especially when difficult challenges are to be conquered (see Deut. 31:6, 7, 23Josh. 1:6, 7, 9, 18Josh. 10:251 Chr. 22:131 Chr. 28:202 Chr. 32:7Ps. 27:14Ps. 31:24Alma 43:43Alma 53:20).

Perhaps this is more easily illustrated than defined. Our pioneer forefathers are good examples. They sang, “Gird up your loins; fresh courage take” (“Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, 1985, no. 30). They feared no toil and no labor. Among them were Johan Andreas Jensen and his wife, Petra, who left their native Norway in 1863. Their family included six-week-old tiny twin daughters. As handcarts were pulled in their rugged journey, one of those little girls died along the way. The child who survived grew up to become my Grandmother Nelson!

There are pioneers in the Church today just as strong and courageous. Recently, I interviewed a married couple three days after their release as full-time missionaries in a large metropolis. “We are converts,” they said. “We joined the Church ten years ago. Even though we just completed a mission, we want to go again! But this time, we would like to volunteer for a more difficult assignment. We want to teach and serve children of God who live in remote areas of the world!”

As I countered with the grim realities of their request, they continued their expression of commitment. “Our three children and their spouses will assist with our expenses. Two of those couples have joined the Church already, and the third is equally supportive. Please send us among humble people who love the Lord and desire to know that His Church has again been restored to the earth.” Needless to say, their petition was gratefully heard, and now they have received their second call to missionary service.

Strength and courage also characterize another couple. As faithful members of the Church, they had always upheld its doctrines, including the twelfth article of faith. When their country went to war, military conscription called the dutiful husband away from his wife before either had learned she was to bear their child. He was captured by enemy troops and taken as a prisoner of war. Months elapsed. Their baby came. Still no word to know whether the new father was alive. A year after his capture, he was permitted to write to his wife.

Meanwhile, though countries apart, they each remained faithful to covenants made at baptism. Even though clothed in prisoner’s stripes and able to speak the language of his captors’ country only in a limited way, he became Sunday School superintendent of the branch. He baptized four fellow prisoners during their confinement. Three years after the war ended, he returned home to his wife and a son he had never seen. Later, he served for ten years as the first stake president of his country. Now he is a member of the presidency of one of our temples! His wife stands faithfully beside him in the privilege of that sacred assignment.

You who may be momentarily disheartened, remember, life is not meant to be easy. Trials must be borne and grief endured along the way. As you remember that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37), know that He is your Father. You are a son or daughter created in His image, entitled through your worthiness to receive revelation to help with your righteous endeavors. You may take upon you the holy name of the Lord. You can qualify to speak in the sacred name of God (see D&C 1:20). It matters not that giants of tribulation torment you. Your prayerful access to help is just as real as when David battled his Goliath (see 1 Sam. 17).

Foster your faith. Fuse your focus with an eye single to the glory of God. “Be strong and courageous” (2 Chr. 32:7), and you will be given power and protection from on high. “For I will go before your face,” the Lord declared. “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88).

The great latter-day work of which we are a part shall be accomplished. Prophecies of the ages shall be fulfilled. “For with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27), I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Click on this link to listen to President Nelson’s remarks

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1988/04/with-god-nothing-shall-be-impossible?lang=eng

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Jesus is the Resurrected Living Christ, the Holy Messiah, the Prince of Peace, who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of war and sin and usher in His great Millennium of peace and prosperity. So you may want to repent so your life is in order. You may want to get ready to meet Him.

Do not doubt, Thomas. I AM THE RESURRECTED LIVING CHRIST. oil painting by Richard W. Linford

And you may want to take a look at invitations President Nelson has extended since he became Prophet

By Sydney Walker  Updated13 JAN 202210:02 AM MST

Be baptized, Receive the Holy Ghost, and Stay on the covenant path 

In a press conference in January 2018 following his ordination as President of the Church, President Nelson said: “Now, to each member of the Church I say: Keep on the covenant path. Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women and children everywhere.”

Whether one is moving along the covenant path, has slipped from the path or can’t see the path from where they are, President Nelson said to the priesthood brethren during the April 2019 general conference: “I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance — of doing and being a little better each day.”

Increase your spiritual capacity and ‘hear Him’ and do what “He” inspires you to do

During his first general conference as the Prophet, President Nelson urged Latter-day Saints to increase their spiritual capacity to receive revelation. “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost,” he said.

In light of the home-centered, Church-supported curriculum emphasized during the October 2018 general conference, President Nelson invited individuals and families to remodel their homes into “a sanctuary of faith” and “center of gospel learning.” He promised, “Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”

To help women increase their spiritual capacity, President Nelson invited them during the October 2019 general conference to prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 25 and “all the truths you can find about priesthood power.” 

“As your understanding increases and as you exercise faith in the Lord and His priesthood power, your ability to draw upon this spiritual treasure that the Lord has made available will increase,” he promised. 

In a February 2020 social media post, President Nelson extended an invitation tied to the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. Heavenly Father personally introduced His Beloved Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, with a specific charge to “hear Him.”

“I invite you to think deeply and often about this key question: How do you hear Him?” President Nelson wrote. 

Watch 15 #HearHim videosfrom the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Heavenly Father knows that when His children are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, “what will help us the very most is to hear His Son,” President Nelson said during April 2020 general conference. “Because when we seek to hear — truly hear — His Son, we will be guided to know what to do in any circumstance.”

Help Gather Israel and let God prevail

The doctrine of the gathering of Israel has captured President Nelson’s attention for the more than 36 years he has served as an Apostle, he said during the October 2020 general conference. “Anytime we do anything that helps anyone — on either side of the veil — to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.”

One of the Hebraic meanings of the word “Israel” is “let God prevail,” President Nelson said. Following an invitation for Latter-day Saints to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice, he asked: “Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life?”

The gathering is “the most important thing taking place on earth today,” President Nelson told youth during a worldwide devotional in June 2018, inviting them to enlist in the Lord’s youth battalion to gather Israel. “This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”

He challenged the youth to read daily from the Book of Mormon to learn more about the gathering. He also extended five invitations he promised “will change you and help change the world”: hold a seven-day fast from social media, make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord, stay on the covenant path, pray daily that all of God’s children might receive gospel blessings, and stand out and be a light. 

During his address in the general women’s session in October 2018, President Nelson extended “a prophetic plea” to the women of the Church to participate in the gathering of Israel. He invited the women to hold a 10-day fast from social media, read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, attend the temple regularly and participate fully in Relief Society. 

#GiveThanks several times daily

To bring hope and healing during a time of global instability and uncertainty in November 2020, President Nelson prescribed a “fast-acting and long-lasting” spiritual remedy to the world. He extended two invitations related to the “healing power of gratitude.” 

“First, I invite you — just for the next seven days — to turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for, who you are grateful for and why you are grateful,” he said in a Nov. 20, 2020, video message, inviting all to use the hashtag #GiveThanks. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i51gcWCs-Ho?feature=oembed

“Second, let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God, and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles.”

Increase your faith in Christ

Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available in this life, said President Nelson during the April 2021 general conference

“My dear brothers and sisters, my call to you this Easter morning is to start today to increase your faith,” he declared. “Through your faith, Jesus Christ will increase your ability to move the mountains in your life, even though your personal challenges may loom as large as Mount Everest.”

President Nelson offered five suggestions to help Latter-day Saints develop that faith and trust:

  • First, study. Become an engaged learner.
  • Second, choose to believe in Jesus Christ.
  • Third, act in faith.
  • Fourth, partake of sacred ordinances worthily.
  • Fifth, ask Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for help.

Strengthen your spiritual foundation

When the major renovation to the Salt Lake Temple is complete, there will be no safer place during an earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley than inside that temple, said President Nelson during October 2021 general conference. He called on Latter-day Saints to implement “extraordinary measures” to strengthen their personal spiritual foundations. 

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tours the Salt Lake Utah Temple in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 22, 2021.
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tours the Salt Lake Utah Temple in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

“My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

“So, I ask each of you: ‘How firm is your foundation? And what reinforcement to your testimony and understanding of the gospel is needed?’ …. Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear.”

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Jehovah Jesus Christ, the holy Messiah, King of kings, Lord of lords, Our Advocate with the Father, Our Exemplar, Our Judge, the kind and merciful one, is the healer of our souls who soon will come, so you may want to repent of your sins today and get ready.

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Be kind to those who do or say unkind things. Jesus of Nazareth is Yeshua the Resurrected Living Christ.

Jesus of Nazaareth is Yeshua the Resurrected Living Christ who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of sin and rule as KING of Kings and LORD of Lords so repent of your sins, pray to the Father in the holy name of Jesus, learn of Him by studying the scriptures, and keep His commandments to Love God with all your heart, might, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

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Have you seen this short amazing video? Thirsty from Covid? Drink the Living Christ’s “Living Water.” Jesus and the Woman at the well video link.

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:10-14.https://youtu.be/sma4o3mCPwA

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Jesus Christ teaches Love Your Enemies. Do good to those who hate you.

  1. CLICK ON THIS LINK TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO THIS TALK IN VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KSd_ra5e7o
  2. Love Your Enemies
  3. By President Dallin H. Oaks
  4. First Counselor in the First Presidency
  5.  
  6. Knowing that we are all children of God gives us a vision of the worth of others and the ability to rise above prejudice.
  7. The Lord’s teachings are for eternity and for all of God’s children.
  8. In this message I will give some examples from the United States, but the principles I teach are applicable everywhere.
  9. We live in a time of anger and hatred in political relationships and policies.
  10. We felt it this summer when some went beyond peaceful protests and engaged in destructive behavior.
  11. We feel it in some current campaigns for public offices.
  12. Unfortunately, some of this has even spilled over into political statements and unkind references in our Church meetings.
  13. In a democratic government we will always have differences over proposed candidates and policies.
  14. However, as followers of Christ we must forgo the anger and hatred with which political choices are debated or denounced in many settings.
  15. The Sermon on the Mount
  16. Here is one of our Savior’s teachings, probably well known but rarely practiced:
  17. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  18. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43–44).1
  19. For generations, Jews had been taught to hate their enemies, and they were then suffering under the domination and cruelties of Roman occupation.
  20. Yet Jesus taught them, “Love your enemies” and “do good to them that … despitefully use you.”
  21. Bring forth the record
  22. What revolutionary teachings for personal and political relationships!
  23. But that is still what our Savior commands.
  24. In the Book of Mormon we read,
  25. “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).
  26. Loving our enemies and our adversaries is not easy.
  27. “Most of us have not reached that stage of … love and forgiveness,”
  28. President Gordon B. Hinckley observed, adding, “It requires a self-discipline almost greater than we are capable of.”2 
  29. But it must be essential, for it is part of the Savior’s two great commandments to “love the Lord thy God” and to “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39).
  30. And it must be possible, for He also taught, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7).3
  31. How do we keep these divine commandments in a world where we are also subject to the laws of man?
  32. Fortunately, we have the Savior’s own example of how to balance His eternal laws with the practicalities of man-made laws.
  33. When adversaries sought to trap Him with a question about whether Jews should pay taxes to Rome, He pointed to the image of Caesar on their coins and declared, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s” (Luke 20:25).4
  34. Jesus Christ. Tribute to Caesar
  35. So, we are to follow the laws of men (render unto Caesar) to live peacefully under civil authority, and we follow the laws of God toward our eternal destination.
  36. But how do we do this—especially how do we learn to love our adversaries and our enemies?
  37. The Savior’s teaching not to “contend with anger” is a good first step.
  38. The devil is the father of contention, and it is he who tempts men to contend with anger.
  39. He promotes enmity and hateful relationships among individuals and within groups.
  40. President Thomas S. Monson taught that anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan.
  41. No one can make us angry. It is our choice.”5 
  42. Anger is the way to division and enmity.
  43. We move toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree.
  44. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from them.
  45. Among other ways to develop the power to love others is the simple method described in a long-ago musical.
  46. When we are trying to understand and relate to people of a different culture, we should try getting to know them.
  47. In countless circumstances, strangers’ suspicion or even hostility give way to friendship or even love when personal contacts produce understanding and mutual respect.6
  48. An even greater help in learning to love our adversaries and our enemies is to seek to understand the power of love.
  49. Here are three of many prophetic teachings about this.
  50. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “it is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all mankind.”7
  51. President Howard W. Hunter taught: “The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly.
  52. It is without envy or pride. … It seeks nothing in return. … It has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. … It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture.”8
  53. And President Russell M. Nelson has urged us to “expand our circle of love to embrace the whole human family.”9
  54. An essential part of loving our enemies is to render unto Caesar by keeping the laws of our various countries.
  55. Though Jesus’s teachings were revolutionary, He did not teach revolution or lawbreaking. He taught a better way.
  56. Modern revelation teaches the same:
  57. “Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.
  58. “Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:21–22).
  59. And our article of faith, written by the Prophet Joseph Smith after the early Saints had suffered severe persecution from Missouri officials, declares, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12).
  60. This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law.
  61. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it.
  62. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections.
  63. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome.10
  64.  In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.
  65. The Savior’s teaching to love our enemies is based on the reality that all mortals are beloved children of God.
  66. That eternal principle and some basic principles of law were tested in the recent protests in many American cities.
  67. Protests
  68. At one extreme, some seem to have forgotten that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
  69. That is the authorized way to raise public awareness and to focus on injustices in the content or administration of the laws.
  70. And there have been injustices.
  71. In public actions and in our personal attitudes, we have had racism and related grievances.
  72. In a persuasive personal essay, the Reverend Theresa A. Dear of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has reminded us that “racism thrives on hatred, oppression, collusion, passivity, indifference and silence.”11 
  73. As citizens and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we must do better to help root out racism.
  74. Police and Rebels
  75. At the other extreme, a minority of participants and supporters of these protests and the illegal acts that followed them seem to have forgotten that the protests protected by the Constitution are peaceful protests.
  76. Protesters have no right to destroy, deface, or steal property or to undermine the government’s legitimate police powers.
  77. The Constitution and laws contain no invitation to revolution or anarchy.
  78. All of us—police, protesters, supporters, and spectators—should understand the limits of our rights and the importance of our duties to stay within the boundaries of existing law.
  79. Abraham Lincoln was right when he said, “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.”12 
  80. Redress of grievances by mobs is redress by illegal means.
  81. That is anarchy, a condition that has no effective governance and no formal police, which undermines rather than protects individual rights.
  82. One reason the recent protests in the United States were shocking to so many was that the hostilities and illegalities felt among different ethnicities in other nations should not be felt in the United States.
  83. This country should be better in eliminating racism not only against Black Americans, who were most visible in the recent protests, but also against Latinos, Asians, and other groups. This nation’s history of racism is not a happy one, and we must do better.
  84. Ellis Island
  85. Ellis Island
  86. The United States was founded by immigrants of different nationalities and different ethnicities.
  87. Its unifying purpose was not to establish a particular religion or to perpetuate any of the diverse cultures or tribal loyalties of the old countries.
  88. Our founding generation sought to be unified by a new constitution and laws.
  89. That is not to say that our unifying documents or the then-current understanding of their meanings were perfect.
  90. The history of the first two centuries of the United States showed the need for many refinements, such as voting rights for women and, particularly, the abolition of slavery, including laws to ensure that those who had been enslaved would have all the conditions of freedom.
  91. Two Yale University scholars recently reminded us:
  92. “For all its flaws, the United States is uniquely equipped to unite a diverse and divided society. …
  93. “… Its citizens don’t have to choose between a national identity and multiculturalism.
  94. Americans can have both.
  95. But the key is constitutional patriotism.
  96. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements.”13
  97. Many years ago, a British foreign secretary gave this great counsel in a debate in the House of Commons: “We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. 
  98. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and these interests it is our duty to follow.”14
  99. That is a good secular reason for following “eternal and perpetual” interests in political matters.
  100. In addition, the doctrine of the Lord’s Church teaches us another eternal interest to guide us: the teachings of our Savior, who inspired the Constitution of the United States and the basic laws of many of our countries.
  101. Loyalty to established law instead of temporary “allies” is the best way to love our adversaries and our enemies as we seek unity in diversity.
  102. Knowing that we are all children of God gives us a divine vision of the worth of all others and the will and ability to rise above prejudice and racism.
  103. As I have lived for many years in different places in this nation, the Lord has taught me that it is possible to obey and seek to improve our nation’s laws and also to love our adversaries and our enemies.
  104. While not easy, it is possible with the help of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
  105. He gave this command to love, and He promises His help as we seek to obey it. I testify that we are loved and will be helped by our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
  106. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Hits: 166

Do you want comfort despite Covid? Do you know that the Second Coming of Yeshua, Jesus Christ, the Holy Messiah, is near?Your comfort is found in Jesus Christ, your Savior.

Do you appreciate the fact that you could die any time and meet God? So isn’t it wise for you to accept Christ’s gospel and repent of your sins and pray and go to Church and read the scriptures and get ready? (Just a couple of thoughts for your consideration. Richard W. Linford, editor.)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is found in the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 27:

And how be it amy bchurch save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are ahewn down and cast into the bfire, from whence there is no return.

12 For their works do afollow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.

13 Behold I have given unto you my agospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the bwill of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be alifted up upon the bcross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the ccross, that I might ddraw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be ejudged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been alifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their bworks.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso arepenteth and is baptized in my bname shall be filled; and if he cendureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the ajustice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And ano unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his brest save it be those who have cwashed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: aRepent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be bbaptized in my name, that ye may be csanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand dspotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my agospel; and ye know the things that ye must bdo in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Preparation for the Second Coming is found in living according to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/ex/20?lang=eng ) and Beatitudes (Matthew 5: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/5?lang=eng) found in the Old Testament and New Testament respectively.

Hits: 263

Jesus is the Holy Messiah. Be of good cheer. He is the true source of peace in this world and eternal life in worlds to come.

Remarks: Be of Good Cheer

By President Dallin H. Oaks

First Counselor in the First Presidency

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Click here for the Temple Square Tabernacle Choir “Let Us All Press On” music https://www.google.com/search?q=let+us+all+press+on+by+the+tabernacle+choir&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS863US863&oq=Let+us+all&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j46i457j0l5.4028j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

If you want to talk to the missionaries, to get in touch and make an appointment and reach missionaries for a phone call or online face to face call 1-801-240-1000 or check out toll free numbers depending on where you are in the world at this internet link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/help/support/toll-free-numbers-gsc?lang=eng/.

  1. Our unshakable faith in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ guides our steps and gives us joy.
  2. In the final days of His mortal life, Jesus Christ told His Apostles of the persecutions and hardships they would suffer.1 
  3. He concluded with this great assurance: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
  4. That is the Savior’s message to all of our Heavenly Father’s children.
  5. That is the ultimate good news for each of us in our mortal lives.
  6. “Be of good cheer” was also a needed assurance in the world into which the resurrected Christ sent His Apostles.
  7. “We are troubled on every side,” the Apostle Paul later told the Corinthians, “yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).
  8. Two thousand years later we are also “troubled on every side,” and we also need that same message not to despair but to be of good cheer.
  9. The Lord has special love and concern for His precious daughters.
  10. He knows of your wants, your needs, and your fears.
  11. The Lord is all powerful. Trust Him.
  12. The Prophet Joseph Smith was taught that “the works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (Doctrine and Covenants 3:1).
  13. To His struggling children, the Lord gave these great assurances:
  14. “Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.
  15. “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:5–6).
  16. The Lord stands near us, and He has said:
  17. “What I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36).
  18. “For after much tribulation come the blessings” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4).
  19. Sisters, I testify that these promises, given in the midst of persecutions and personal tragedies, apply to each of you in your troubling circumstances today.
  20. They are precious and remind each of us to be of good cheer and to have joy in the fulness of the gospel as we press forward through the challenges of mortality.
  21. Tribulation and challenges are the common experiences of mortality.
  22. Opposition is an essential part of the divine plan for helping us grow,2 and in the midst of that process, we have God’s assurance that, in the long view of eternity, opposition will not be allowed to overcome us.
  23. With His help and our faithfulness and endurance, we will prevail.
  24. Like the mortal life of which they are a part, all tribulations are temporary. In the controversies that preceded a disastrous war, United States president Abraham Lincoln wisely reminded his audience of the ancient wisdom that “this, too, shall pass away.”3
  25. As you know, the mortal adversities of which I speak—which make it difficult to be of good cheer—sometimes come to us in common with many others, like the millions now struggling through some of the many devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  26. Similarly, in the United States millions are suffering through a season of enmity and contention that always seems to accompany presidential elections but this time is the most severe many of the oldest of us can ever remember.
  27. On a personal basis, each of us struggles individually with some of the many adversities of mortality, such as poverty, racism, ill health, job losses or disappointments, wayward children, bad marriages or no marriages, and the effects of sin—our own or others’.
  28. Yet, in the midst of all of this, we have that heavenly counsel to be of good cheer and to find joy in the principles and promises of the gospel and the fruits of our labors.4 
  29. That counsel has always been so, for prophets and for all of us.
  30. We know this from the experiences of our predecessors and what the Lord said to them.
  31. Remember the circumstances of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
  32. Looked at through the lens of adversities, his life was one of poverty, persecution, frustration, family sorrows, and ultimate martyrdom.
  33. As he suffered imprisonment, his wife and children and the other Saints suffered incredible hardships as they were driven out of Missouri.
  34. When Joseph pleaded for relief, the Lord answered:
  35. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
  36. “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
  37. This was the personal, eternal counsel that helped the Prophet Joseph to maintain his native cheery temperament and the love and loyalty of his people.
  38. These same qualities strengthened the leaders and pioneers who followed and can strengthen you as well.
  39. Think of those early members!
  40. Again and again, they were driven from place to place.
  41. Finally they faced the challenges of establishing their homes and the Church in a wilderness.5 
  42. Two years after the initial band of pioneers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the pioneers’ grip on survival in that hostile area was still precarious.
  43. Most members were still on the trail across the plains or struggling to get resources to do so.
  44. Yet leaders and members were still of hope and good cheer.
  45. Even though the Saints were not settled in their new homes, at October 1849 general conference a new wave of missionaries was sent out to Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy, and the South Pacific.6 
  46. At what could have been thought their lowest level, the pioneers rose to new heights.
  47. And just three years later, another 98 were also called to begin to gather scattered Israel.
  48. One of the Church leaders explained that these missions “are generally, not to be very long ones; probably from 3 to 7 years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family.”7
  49. Sisters, the First Presidency is concerned about your challenges.
  50. We love you and pray for you.
  51. At the same time, we often give thanks that our physical challenges—apart from earthquakes, fires, floods, and hurricanes—are usually less than our predecessors faced.
  52. In the midst of hardships, the divine assurance is always “be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.
  53. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
  54. How does this happen?
  55. How did it happen for the pioneers?
  56. How will it happen to women of God today?
  57. By our following prophetic guidance, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us],” the Lord said by revelation in April 1830.
  58. “Yea,” He said, “… the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:6).
  59. “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:34).
  60. With the Lord’s promises, we “lift up [our] heart[s] and rejoice” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:13), and “with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:15), we go forward on the covenant path.
  61. Most of us do not face decisions of giant proportions, like leaving our homes to pioneer an unknown land.
  62. Our decisions are mostly in the daily routines of life,
  63. but as the Lord has told us, “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).
  64. There is boundless power in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
  65. Our unshakable faith in that doctrine guides our steps and gives us joy.
  66. It enlightens our minds and gives strength and confidence to our actions.
  67. This guidance and enlightenment and power are promised gifts we have received from our Heavenly Father.
  68. By understanding and conforming our lives to that doctrine, including the divine gift of repentance, we can be of good cheer as we keep ourselves on the path toward our eternal destiny—reunion and exaltation with our loving heavenly parents.
  69. “You may be facing overwhelming challenges,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught.
  70. “Sometimes they are so concentrated, so unrelenting, that you may feel they are beyond your capacity to control.
  71. Don’t face the world alone.
  72. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding’ [Proverbs 3:5].
  73. … It was intended that life be a challenge, not so that you would fail, but that you might succeed through overcoming.”8
  74. It is all part of the plan of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ,
  75. of which I testify,
  76. as I pray that we will all persist
  77. to our heavenly destination,
  78. in the name of Jesus Christ,
  79. amen.

Hits: 55

Jesus is Jeshua, Jehovah, the Holy Messiah, Alpha and Omega, who soon will come in power and great glory so repent and get ready and be of good cheer.

  1. Remarks: Be of Good Cheer
  2. By President Dallin H. Oaks
  3. First Counselor in the First Presidency
  4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Click here for the Temple Square Tabernacle Choir “Let Us All Press On” music https://www.google.com/search?q=let+us+all+press+on+by+the+tabernacle+choir&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS863US863&oq=Let+us+all&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j46i457j0l5.4028j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

If you want to talk to the missionaries, to get in touch and make an appointment and reach missionaries for a phone call or online face to face call 1-801-240-1000 or check out toll free numbers depending on where you are in the world at this internet link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/help/support/toll-free-numbers-gsc?lang=eng/.

  1. Our unshakable faith in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ guides our steps and gives us joy.
  2. In the final days of His mortal life, Jesus Christ told His Apostles of the persecutions and hardships they would suffer.1 
  3. He concluded with this great assurance: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
  4. That is the Savior’s message to all of our Heavenly Father’s children.
  5. That is the ultimate good news for each of us in our mortal lives.
  6. “Be of good cheer” was also a needed assurance in the world into which the resurrected Christ sent His Apostles.
  7. “We are troubled on every side,” the Apostle Paul later told the Corinthians, “yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).
  8. Two thousand years later we are also “troubled on every side,” and we also need that same message not to despair but to be of good cheer.
  9. The Lord has special love and concern for His precious daughters.
  10. He knows of your wants, your needs, and your fears.
  11. The Lord is all powerful. Trust Him.
  12. The Prophet Joseph Smith was taught that “the works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (Doctrine and Covenants 3:1).
  13. To His struggling children, the Lord gave these great assurances:
  14. “Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.
  15. “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:5–6).
  16. The Lord stands near us, and He has said:
  17. “What I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36).
  18. “For after much tribulation come the blessings” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4).
  19. Sisters, I testify that these promises, given in the midst of persecutions and personal tragedies, apply to each of you in your troubling circumstances today.
  20. They are precious and remind each of us to be of good cheer and to have joy in the fulness of the gospel as we press forward through the challenges of mortality.
  21. Tribulation and challenges are the common experiences of mortality.
  22. Opposition is an essential part of the divine plan for helping us grow,2 and in the midst of that process, we have God’s assurance that, in the long view of eternity, opposition will not be allowed to overcome us.
  23. With His help and our faithfulness and endurance, we will prevail.
  24. Like the mortal life of which they are a part, all tribulations are temporary. In the controversies that preceded a disastrous war, United States president Abraham Lincoln wisely reminded his audience of the ancient wisdom that “this, too, shall pass away.”3
  25. As you know, the mortal adversities of which I speak—which make it difficult to be of good cheer—sometimes come to us in common with many others, like the millions now struggling through some of the many devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  26. Similarly, in the United States millions are suffering through a season of enmity and contention that always seems to accompany presidential elections but this time is the most severe many of the oldest of us can ever remember.
  27. On a personal basis, each of us struggles individually with some of the many adversities of mortality, such as poverty, racism, ill health, job losses or disappointments, wayward children, bad marriages or no marriages, and the effects of sin—our own or others’.
  28. Yet, in the midst of all of this, we have that heavenly counsel to be of good cheer and to find joy in the principles and promises of the gospel and the fruits of our labors.4 
  29. That counsel has always been so, for prophets and for all of us.
  30. We know this from the experiences of our predecessors and what the Lord said to them.
  31. Remember the circumstances of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
  32. Looked at through the lens of adversities, his life was one of poverty, persecution, frustration, family sorrows, and ultimate martyrdom.
  33. As he suffered imprisonment, his wife and children and the other Saints suffered incredible hardships as they were driven out of Missouri.
  34. When Joseph pleaded for relief, the Lord answered:
  35. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
  36. “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
  37. This was the personal, eternal counsel that helped the Prophet Joseph to maintain his native cheery temperament and the love and loyalty of his people.
  38. These same qualities strengthened the leaders and pioneers who followed and can strengthen you as well.
  39. Think of those early members!
  40. Again and again, they were driven from place to place.
  41. Finally they faced the challenges of establishing their homes and the Church in a wilderness.5 
  42. Two years after the initial band of pioneers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the pioneers’ grip on survival in that hostile area was still precarious.
  43. Most members were still on the trail across the plains or struggling to get resources to do so.
  44. Yet leaders and members were still of hope and good cheer.
  45. Even though the Saints were not settled in their new homes, at October 1849 general conference a new wave of missionaries was sent out to Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy, and the South Pacific.6 
  46. At what could have been thought their lowest level, the pioneers rose to new heights.
  47. And just three years later, another 98 were also called to begin to gather scattered Israel.
  48. One of the Church leaders explained that these missions “are generally, not to be very long ones; probably from 3 to 7 years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family.”7
  49. Sisters, the First Presidency is concerned about your challenges.
  50. We love you and pray for you.
  51. At the same time, we often give thanks that our physical challenges—apart from earthquakes, fires, floods, and hurricanes—are usually less than our predecessors faced.
  52. In the midst of hardships, the divine assurance is always “be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.
  53. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
  54. How does this happen?
  55. How did it happen for the pioneers?
  56. How will it happen to women of God today?
  57. By our following prophetic guidance, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us],” the Lord said by revelation in April 1830.
  58. “Yea,” He said, “… the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:6).
  59. “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:34).
  60. With the Lord’s promises, we “lift up [our] heart[s] and rejoice” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:13), and “with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:15), we go forward on the covenant path.
  61. Most of us do not face decisions of giant proportions, like leaving our homes to pioneer an unknown land.
  62. Our decisions are mostly in the daily routines of life,
  63. but as the Lord has told us, “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).
  64. There is boundless power in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
  65. Our unshakable faith in that doctrine guides our steps and gives us joy.
  66. It enlightens our minds and gives strength and confidence to our actions.
  67. This guidance and enlightenment and power are promised gifts we have received from our Heavenly Father.
  68. By understanding and conforming our lives to that doctrine, including the divine gift of repentance, we can be of good cheer as we keep ourselves on the path toward our eternal destiny—reunion and exaltation with our loving heavenly parents.
  69. “You may be facing overwhelming challenges,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught.
  70. “Sometimes they are so concentrated, so unrelenting, that you may feel they are beyond your capacity to control.
  71. Don’t face the world alone.
  72. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding’ [Proverbs 3:5].
  73. … It was intended that life be a challenge, not so that you would fail, but that you might succeed through overcoming.”8
  74. It is all part of the plan of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ,
  75. of which I testify,
  76. as I pray that we will all persist
  77. to our heavenly destination,
  78. in the name of Jesus Christ,
  79. amen.

Hits: 40

Jesus is the Resurrected Christ who soon will come. He is peace and comfort and good cheer during Covid. Repent and prepare for his Second Coming.

  1. Remarks: Be of Good Cheer
  2. By President Dallin H. Oaks
  3. First Counselor in the First Presidency
  4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Click here for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir “Let Us All Press On” music https://www.google.com/search?q=let+us+all+press+on+by+the+tabernacle+choir&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS863US863&oq=Let+us+all&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j46i457j0l5.4028j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

If you want to talk to the missionaries, to get in touch and make an appointment and reach missionaries for a phone call or online face to face call 1-801-240-1000 or check out toll free numbers depending on where you are in the world at this internet link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/help/support/toll-free-numbers-gsc?lang=eng/.

  1. Our unshakable faith in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ guides our steps and gives us joy.
  2. In the final days of His mortal life, Jesus Christ told His Apostles of the persecutions and hardships they would suffer.1 
  3. He concluded with this great assurance: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
  4. That is the Savior’s message to all of our Heavenly Father’s children.
  5. That is the ultimate good news for each of us in our mortal lives.
  6. “Be of good cheer” was also a needed assurance in the world into which the resurrected Christ sent His Apostles.
  7. “We are troubled on every side,” the Apostle Paul later told the Corinthians, “yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).
  8. Two thousand years later we are also “troubled on every side,” and we also need that same message not to despair but to be of good cheer.
  9. The Lord has special love and concern for His precious daughters.
  10. He knows of your wants, your needs, and your fears.
  11. The Lord is all powerful. Trust Him.
  12. The Prophet Joseph Smith was taught that “the works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (Doctrine and Covenants 3:1).
  13. To His struggling children, the Lord gave these great assurances:
  14. “Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.
  15. “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:5–6).
  16. The Lord stands near us, and He has said:
  17. “What I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36).
  18. “For after much tribulation come the blessings” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4).
  19. Sisters, I testify that these promises, given in the midst of persecutions and personal tragedies, apply to each of you in your troubling circumstances today.
  20. They are precious and remind each of us to be of good cheer and to have joy in the fulness of the gospel as we press forward through the challenges of mortality.
  21. Tribulation and challenges are the common experiences of mortality.
  22. Opposition is an essential part of the divine plan for helping us grow,2 and in the midst of that process, we have God’s assurance that, in the long view of eternity, opposition will not be allowed to overcome us.
  23. With His help and our faithfulness and endurance, we will prevail.
  24. Like the mortal life of which they are a part, all tribulations are temporary. In the controversies that preceded a disastrous war, United States president Abraham Lincoln wisely reminded his audience of the ancient wisdom that “this, too, shall pass away.”3
  25. As you know, the mortal adversities of which I speak—which make it difficult to be of good cheer—sometimes come to us in common with many others, like the millions now struggling through some of the many devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  26. Similarly, in the United States millions are suffering through a season of enmity and contention that always seems to accompany presidential elections but this time is the most severe many of the oldest of us can ever remember.
  27. On a personal basis, each of us struggles individually with some of the many adversities of mortality, such as poverty, racism, ill health, job losses or disappointments, wayward children, bad marriages or no marriages, and the effects of sin—our own or others’.
  28. Yet, in the midst of all of this, we have that heavenly counsel to be of good cheer and to find joy in the principles and promises of the gospel and the fruits of our labors.4 
  29. That counsel has always been so, for prophets and for all of us.
  30. We know this from the experiences of our predecessors and what the Lord said to them.
  31. Remember the circumstances of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
  32. Looked at through the lens of adversities, his life was one of poverty, persecution, frustration, family sorrows, and ultimate martyrdom.
  33. As he suffered imprisonment, his wife and children and the other Saints suffered incredible hardships as they were driven out of Missouri.
  34. When Joseph pleaded for relief, the Lord answered:
  35. “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
  36. “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
  37. This was the personal, eternal counsel that helped the Prophet Joseph to maintain his native cheery temperament and the love and loyalty of his people.
  38. These same qualities strengthened the leaders and pioneers who followed and can strengthen you as well.
  39. Think of those early members!
  40. Again and again, they were driven from place to place.
  41. Finally they faced the challenges of establishing their homes and the Church in a wilderness.5 
  42. Two years after the initial band of pioneers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the pioneers’ grip on survival in that hostile area was still precarious.
  43. Most members were still on the trail across the plains or struggling to get resources to do so.
  44. Yet leaders and members were still of hope and good cheer.
  45. Even though the Saints were not settled in their new homes, at October 1849 general conference a new wave of missionaries was sent out to Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy, and the South Pacific.6 
  46. At what could have been thought their lowest level, the pioneers rose to new heights.
  47. And just three years later, another 98 were also called to begin to gather scattered Israel.
  48. One of the Church leaders explained that these missions “are generally, not to be very long ones; probably from 3 to 7 years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family.”7
  49. Sisters, the First Presidency is concerned about your challenges.
  50. We love you and pray for you.
  51. At the same time, we often give thanks that our physical challenges—apart from earthquakes, fires, floods, and hurricanes—are usually less than our predecessors faced.
  52. In the midst of hardships, the divine assurance is always “be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.
  53. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
  54. How does this happen?
  55. How did it happen for the pioneers?
  56. How will it happen to women of God today?
  57. By our following prophetic guidance, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us],” the Lord said by revelation in April 1830.
  58. “Yea,” He said, “… the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:6).
  59. “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:34).
  60. With the Lord’s promises, we “lift up [our] heart[s] and rejoice” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:13), and “with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:15), we go forward on the covenant path.
  61. Most of us do not face decisions of giant proportions, like leaving our homes to pioneer an unknown land.
  62. Our decisions are mostly in the daily routines of life,
  63. but as the Lord has told us, “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).
  64. There is boundless power in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
  65. Our unshakable faith in that doctrine guides our steps and gives us joy.
  66. It enlightens our minds and gives strength and confidence to our actions.
  67. This guidance and enlightenment and power are promised gifts we have received from our Heavenly Father.
  68. By understanding and conforming our lives to that doctrine, including the divine gift of repentance, we can be of good cheer as we keep ourselves on the path toward our eternal destiny—reunion and exaltation with our loving heavenly parents.
  69. “You may be facing overwhelming challenges,” Elder Richard G. Scott taught.
  70. “Sometimes they are so concentrated, so unrelenting, that you may feel they are beyond your capacity to control.
  71. Don’t face the world alone.
  72. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding’ [Proverbs 3:5].
  73. … It was intended that life be a challenge, not so that you would fail, but that you might succeed through overcoming.”8
  74. It is all part of the plan of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ,
  75. of which I testify,
  76. as I pray that we will all persist
  77. to our heavenly destination,
  78. in the name of Jesus Christ,
  79. amen.

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