By Small and Simple Things

"A few years ago, I spoke with a young bishop who was spending hours each week counseling with members of his ward. he made a striking observation. The problems that members of his ward faced, he said, were those faced by Church members everywhere - issues such as how to establish a happy marriage; struggles with balancing work, family, and Church duties; challenges with the Word of Wisdom, with employment, or with pornography; or trouble gaining peace about a Church policy or historical question they didn't understand.

His counsel to ward members very often included getting back to simple practices of faith, such as studying the Book of Mormon... paying tithing, and serving in the Church with devotion. Frequently, however, their response to him was one of skepticism; "I don't agree with you, Bishop. We all know those are good things to do. We talk about those things all the time in the Church. But I'm not sure you're understanding me. What does doing any of those things have to do with the issues I'm facing?"

It's a fair question. Over time, that young bishop and I have observed that those who are deliberate about doing the "small and simple things" (Alma 37:6) - obeying in seemingly little ways - are blessed and, in fact, may seem totally unrelated to them. It may seem hard to draw a connection between the basic daily acts of obedience and solutions to the big, complicated problems we face. But they are related.... Small acts of faith, even then they seem insignificant or entirely disconnected from the specific problems that vex us, bless us in all we do. 

Elder Whitney Clayton October 2016 General Conference

Increased Time in the Temple

 "I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can."

President Nelson, October 2022 General Conference

Bridle Your Passions: Anger and Lust

 

Be True to God and His Work

By Elder Quentin L. Cook

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Bridle is an interesting word. When we ride a horse, we use the bridle to guide it. A good synonym might be to direct, control, or restrain. The Old Testament tells us we shouted for joy when we learned we would have physical bodies.¹³ The body is not evil—it is beautiful and essential—but some passions, if not used properly and appropriately bridled, can separate us from God and His work and adversely impact our testimony.

Let’s talk about two passions in particular—first, anger, and second, lust.¹⁴ It is interesting that both left unbridled or uncontrolled can cause great heartache, diminish the influence of the Spirit, and separate us from God and His work. The adversary takes every opportunity to fill our lives with images of violence and immorality....

President Nelson strongly emphasized this yesterday morning.¹⁷ Please make up your mind that regardless of whether your parents did or did not abuse you, you will not physically or verbally or emotionally abuse your spouse or children.

In our day one of the most significant challenges is contention and verbal abuse related to societal issues. In many cases anger and abusive language have replaced reason, discussion, and civility. Many have abandoned the admonition of the Savior’s senior Apostle, Peter, to seek Christlike qualities such as temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.¹⁸ They have also abandoned the Christlike quality of humility.

Elder Kearon

 

Elder Patrick Kearon: Prepared and Called by the Lord

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

One Saturday several years after having been called as a General Authority Seventy, Elder Patrick Kearon and his wife, Jennifer, were entering a supermarket as Elder W. Rolfe Kerr and his wife, Janeil, were leaving. They visited briefly, and then the Kerrs headed to their car.

Almost immediately, a man approached Elder Kearon and excitedly asked him, “Was that a General Authority you were speaking to?” Elder Kearon responded, “Yes. That was Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy.” The man nodded, looked directly at Elder Kearon without recognizing him, and said, “You can always tell a General Authority, can’t you?” Then the man hurried off.

“I love that story because it so represents how I feel,” says Elder Kearon with a smile. “I could have the same experience today, and that man would still probably not pick me out of a crowd as being a General Authority.”

Bear Your Testimony

“Some testimonies are better gained on the feet bearing them than on the knees praying for them.”

Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 27.

Testimony

April 2008 general conference

Names of Christ

 

That They Might Know Thee

(John 17:3)

By Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt

Of the Seventy

A few years ago, President Russell M. Nelson studied all the scriptures concerning Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide.¹⁰ He then invited young adults to study these same scriptures. Concerning Jesus’s many names, President Nelson said, “Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you.”¹¹

Following President Nelson’s invitation, I began developing my own list of Jesus’s many names. My personal list now has over 300 names, and I’m sure there are many more that I haven’t discovered yet....

I invite you to develop your own list as you come to know Jesus by His many names. In doing so, you will find that there are other names—along with their corresponding Christlike attributes—that you will want to take upon yourself as Jesus’s covenant disciple....

Jesus’s life was a pattern of holiness. As we follow Jesus, we can become a holy one in Israel.³⁵ We increase in holiness as we regularly visit the temple, where “Holiness to the Lord” is etched above every entrance. Every time we worship in the temple, we leave endowed with greater power to make our homes places of holiness...

Time in the temple will increase holiness in our lives.

No One Can MAKE Us Offended or Angry - we choose to

 Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.”

David A. Bednar, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” 90.

And Nothing Shall Offend Them

October 2006 general conference

Refuse to Take Offense

 After a rude comment or action, we might feel the need to quickly react, perhaps angrily, or hold in our emotions until we break. How can we step back and remember the Savior?

One idea is to become our own detectives. We can try to understand emotions behind offense. Is there miscommunication? Are we thinking with built-up emotion or a clear head? What are we responding to?...

Though becoming our own detectives may take practice, better understanding the situation and our own emotions can possibly help us to remember the Savior, instead of feeling negative emotions that might draw us further away.

After trying this tactic, sometimes what was said or done is still hurtful. If so, Elder Bednar says: “Our first obligation is to refuse to take offense and then communicate privately, honestly, and directly with that individual. Such an approach invites inspiration from the Holy Ghost and permits misperceptions to be clarified and true intent to be understood.”

“The Time to Stop Being Offended Is Now”

By Alyssa Bradford

Church Magazines

Triumph Over Offense

 Elder Bednar teaches that “through the strengthening power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you and I can be blessed to avoid and triumph over offense.”

David A. Bednar, “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” 90.

And Nothing Shall Offend Them

October 2006 general conference

Know Christ Better

 

The Answer Is Jesus

By Elder Ryan K. Olsen

Of the Seventy

While I was serving as a missionary in Argentina, President Howard W. Hunter invited us to do something that had a profound effect on my life. He said, “We must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him.”

We Need Women

 Sisters, we need your voices teaching the doctrine of Christ. We need your ability as women to detect deception and to articulate truth. We need your inspired wisdom in your family, ward, and stake councils, as well as in other places of influence throughout the world. Your family, the Church, and the world need you! Sisters, no one can do everything, nor should you try. However, I know how crucial your part is in building up the kingdom of God.

So, today, I invite you to make the scriptures your personal Liahona,⁵ the temple your place of refuge and recalibration, and your personal prayers the way you learn where the Lord needs you to be that day. Over time, you will be astonished by how He will guide you to be exactly where you can lead, guide, and walk beside someone who needs you.

To that end, I bless you with increased spiritual discernment and the ability to find joy in offering relief to others. I bless you with the wisdom to discern what is needful and not to run faster than you are able. I bless you with the courage to live up to your divine privileges as a covenant daughter of God. I bless you to feel deeply that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, know you and love you. They sent you to earth now because you are vital to the kingdom of God now! I bless you to realize that your divine gifts as a daughter of God give you the power not only to change lives but to change the world!

The Influence of Women

2024 Worldwide Relief Society Devotional

Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sometimes a Willingness to Repent and An Ability to Forgive Come at Different Times

 

Happy and Forever

By Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Sometimes our willingness to forgive someone else enables both them and us to believe we can repent and be forgiven. Sometimes a willingness to repent and an ability to forgive come at different times. Our Savior is our Mediator with God, but He also helps bring us to ourselves and each other as we come to Him. Especially when hurt and pain are deep, repairing our relationships and healing our hearts is hard, perhaps impossible for us on our own. But heaven can give us strength and wisdom beyond our own to know when to hold on and how to let go....

The Lord, who sees and understands perfectly, forgives whom He will; we (being imperfect) are to forgive all. As we come to our Savior, we focus less on ourselves. We judge less and forgive more. Trusting His merits, mercy, and grace¹⁹ can free us from contention, anger, abuse, abandonment, unfairness, and the physical and mental challenges that sometimes come with a physical body in a mortal world. Happy and forever do not mean that every relationship will be happy and forever. But a thousand millennial years when Satan is bound²⁰ may give us needed time and surprising ways to love, understand, and work things out as we prepare for eternity.

Priesthood Keys

 

Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys

By President Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Jesus Christ then declared that He had accepted the temple as His house and made this stunning promise: “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.”

This significant promise applies to every dedicated temple today. I invite you to ponder what the Lord’s promise means for you personally....

Consider how your life would be different if priesthood keys had not been restored to the earth. Without priesthood keys, you could not be endowed with the power of God. Without priesthood keys, the Church could serve only as a significant teaching and humanitarian organization but not much more. Without priesthood keys, none of us would have access to essential ordinances and covenants that bind us to our loved ones eternally and allow us eventually to live with God.

Priesthood keys distinguish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from any other organization on earth. Many other organizations can and do make your life better here in mortality. But no other organization can and will influence your life after death....

Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever. Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.

We are also promised that in the temple we may “receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost.” Imagine what that promise means in terms of having the heavens open for each earnest seeker of eternal truth.

We are instructed that all who worship in the temple will have the power of God and angels having “charge over them.” How much does it increase your confidence to know that, as an endowed woman or man armed with the power of God, you do not have to face life alone? What courage does it give you to know that angels really will help you?

Finally, we are promised that “no combination of wickedness” will prevail over those who worship in the house of the Lord.

Understanding the spiritual privileges made possible in the temple is vital to each of us today.

My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!

The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us, for the temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham. That is why we are doing all within our power, under the direction of the Lord, to make the temple blessings more accessible to members of the Church. Thus,

How Often are We Judging Others?

 

His Yoke Is Easy and His Burden Is Light

By Sister J. Anette Dennis

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

The story is told of a man named Jack who had a beloved bird-hunting dog named Cassie. Jack was so proud of Cassie and often bragged about what a skilled dog she was. To prove this, Jack invited some friends to watch Cassie perform. After arriving at the hunting club, Jack let Cassie out to run around while he went inside to check in.

When it was time to begin, Jack was anxious to show off Cassie’s amazing skills. However, Cassie was acting strangely. She wouldn’t obey any of Jack’s commands as she usually did so willingly. All she wanted to do was remain by his side.

Jack was frustrated and embarrassed and angry with Cassie; soon he suggested they leave. Cassie wouldn’t even jump into the back of the truck, so Jack impatiently picked her up and shoved her in the kennel. He fumed as those with him made fun of his dog’s behavior all the way home. Jack couldn’t understand why Cassie was misbehaving. She had been trained well, and her whole desire in the past had been to please and serve him.

After arriving home, Jack began examining Cassie for injuries, burrs, or ticks, as he usually did. As he put his hand on her chest, he felt something wet and found his hand covered with blood. To his shame and horror, he found that Cassie had a long, wide gash right to her chest bone. He found another on her right front leg, also to the bone.

Jack took Cassie into his arms and began to cry. His shame at how he had misjudged and treated her was overwhelming. Cassie had been acting uncharacteristically earlier in the day because she was hurt. Her behavior had been influenced by her pain, her suffering, and her wounds. It had nothing to do with a lack of desire to obey Jack or a lack of love for him.¹

I heard this story years ago and have never forgotten it. How many wounded individuals do we have among us? How often do we judge others based on their outward appearance and actions, or lack of action, when, if we fully understood, we would instead react with compassion and a desire to help instead of adding to their burdens with our judgment?...

We are commanded to love others,⁶ not to judge them.⁷ Let’s lay down that heavy burden; it isn’t ours to carry.⁸ Instead, we can pick up the Savior’s yoke of love and compassion....

Elder Gary E. Stevenson said: “When we confront life’s wind and rainstorms, sickness and injuries, the Lord—our Shepherd, our Caregiver—will nourish us with love and kindness. He will heal our hearts and restore our souls.”¹¹ As followers of Jesus Christ, shouldn’t we do likewise?

The Savior asks us to learn of Him¹² and do the things we have seen Him do.¹³ He is the embodiment of charity, of pure love. As we incrementally learn to do what He asks of us—not out of duty or even for the blessings we might receive but purely out of love for Him and our Heavenly Father¹⁴—His love will flow through us and make all that He asks not only possible but eventually much easier and lighter¹⁵ and more joyful than we could ever imagine. It will take practice; it could take years, as it has for me, but as we even desire to have love be our motivating force, He can take that desire,¹⁶ that seed, and eventually turn it into a beautiful tree, full of the sweetest fruit.¹⁷

We sing in one of our beloved hymns: “Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see.”¹⁸ Who among us might have hidden sorrows? The seemingly rebellious child or teenager, the children of divorce, the single mother or father, those with physical or mental health challenges, those questioning their faith, those who experience racial or cultural prejudice, those feeling alone, those longing to be married, those with unwanted addictions, and so many others dealing with a wide variety of challenging life experiences—often even those whose lives appear perfect on the surface.

None of us have perfect lives or perfect families; I certainly don’t. When we seek to empathize with others who also experience challenges and imperfections, it can help them feel that they are not alone in their struggles. Everyone needs to feel that they really do belong and are needed in the body of Christ.¹⁹ Satan’s great desire is to divide God’s children, and he has been very successful, but there is such power in unity.²⁰ And how we need to walk arm in arm with each other on this challenging journey of mortality!...

Friends, let us remember that each person on this earth is a child of God²³ and He loves each one.²⁴ Are there people in your path who you have felt inclined to judge? If so, remember that these are valuable opportunities for us to practice loving as the Savior loves.²⁵ As we follow His example, we can be yoked with Him and help foster a feeling of love and belonging in the hearts of all our Father’s children.