Overcome the World and Find Rest

General Conference

Oh sweet conference. My love for this weekend seems to grow every six months. The last couple months have felt chaotic and just FULL. And it was so refreshing and filling in the best way to spend a weekend with absolutely nothing on the calendar but time spent as family, watching and listening to our prophet, apostles, and leaders of our church.

Testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, was abundant. But the theme I felt echoing over and over throughout talk after talk was discipleship. I’ve noticed this theme become more and more prevalent in recent conferences, but it rose to the forefront this time. We must decide who we are following. We have to make conscious decisions every day about who is our guiding force – the world or our Savior? We can no longer passively walk through life. Our focus must be on Him, every day.

This alone strengthened my testimony about where Mark and I’s thoughts were for our family this last summer. When we were contemplating our family theme, this is the topic we went to. And it warms my heart every day to hear our family speak the words of discipleship.

The BIG THEMES I saw were:

• Our Savior, Jesus Christ (always)
• Discipleship
• Adversity
• Faith
• Covenants
• Love

President Nelson’s Message

President Russell M. Nelson’s message has hit me powerfully ever since conference. It may not have as many quotable phrases as some of his other talks, but for me, I don’t know if my highlighter has ever worked harder! This message was FILLED with encouragement. But one thing I appreciated, which might sound strange, is it felt just real. Let me explain. Sometimes, the optimism of the leaders of our Church can sometimes feel a little distant. Now, I don’t want to listen to ten hours of doom and gloom (think the preacher in Pollyanna at the beginning) – but sometimes when the world feels so heavy, you just want someone else to say that they feel it too.

And I felt like President Nelson went there more this time. He expressed how hard things are. How negative “the world” can feel. BUT – and this is an important “but” – he didn’t just leave the hard on the table and let us wallow in it. He shared how we OVERCOME the hard. And one thing that really struck me was his powerful word choice – he used urge and plead. These are words of emotion. He needs us to listen to His message and ACT.

He spoke about how in the coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that we have ever seen. That is an incredible thought to think about all on it’s own.

But then President Nelson asked three questions:

• What does it mean to overcome the world?
• How do we overcome the world?
• How does overcoming the world bless our lives?

Just read it. Please. It’s so good. It filled me with hope. It reminded me to give myself an internal spiritual check about my whys. Why do we I want to do this or that? Is it because of “the world” – wanting to please others or earn their praise or attention – or because I want to please Him? Am I embracing the gospel each and every day? It made me ponder on my covenants, and write down what they are and the relationship they give me with my Father in Heaven.

There were NINE invitations that I found in his message:

• Make and keep covenants to have increased access to the power of Jesus Christ
• Take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel
• Find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God
• Let God know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world
• Ask God to enlighten your mind and send the help you need
• Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as your pray; then follow through diligently
• Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world
• Become a righteous people
• Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments

Doesn’t that just make you want to get up and ACT?! The Lord, through His prophet, has given us nine invitations to ACT UPON. I feel so motivated. But now comes the hard part about following through. I’ve picked three things that I feel my focus should be and I am hopeful about where they will take me.

Overall, President Nelson wants to encourage us. He wants us to find peace and hope in this difficult world that we are living in. But I think my favorite, favorite part is when he spoke at the end about us becoming a righteous people. As the Savior’s second coming draws nearer, as His gathering takes place, He needs a righteous people. He said that “a crucial element of the gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again.” I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be a part of a group of people more! I want to be there and I want to be ready. And now is the time.

President Nelson promises that “as you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy and rest.” He spoke a lot about “yoking” ourselves with the Savior. And when we do that, that is where true and lasting peace and rest can be found. It doesn’t make life easy, but it does make life easier to bear.

Finally (I promise I’m almost there!), he ends with a blessing. When I heard this, honestly, I froze up a little. I wanted to hear and be present for every word that he said. Am I the only one that’s ever wondered what it would be like to have a one-on-one with the Prophet? It sounds incredible, and I felt like that was what this was like. Here is a blessing from the Prophet to each of us:

“I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.”

Highlights

“I love you. I assure you that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, love you. They are intimately aware of your circumstances, your goodness, your needs, and your prayers for help. Again and again, I pray for you to feel Their love for you.

Experiencing Their love is vital, as it seems that we are accosted daily by an onslaught of sobering news.

But…so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of our Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings and miracles upon the faithful.

Making and keeping covenants actually makes life easier! Each person who make covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples – and keep them – has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.

The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power – power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Thus, covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God.

Because Jesus Christ overcame this fallen world, and because He atoned for each of us, you too can overcome this sin-saturated, self-centered, and often exhausting world.

Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.

You can overcome the spiritually and emotionally exhausting plagues of the world…Despite the distractions and distortions that swirl around us, you can find true rest – meaning relief and peace – even amid your most vexing problems.

What does it mean to overcome the world? It means overcoming the temptation to care more about the things of this world than the things of God. It means trusting the doctrine of Christ more than the philosophies of men. It means delighting in truth, denouncing deception, and becoming “humble followers of Christ.” It means choosing to refrain from anything that drive the Spirit away. It means being willing to “give away” even our favorite sins.

Overcoming the world does mean that your resistance to sin will increase. Your heart will soften as your faith in Jesus Christ increases. Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else.

How, then, do we overcome the world?…Each time you seek for and follow the promptings of the Spirit, each time you do anything good – things that “the natural man” would not do – you are overcoming the world.

Overcoming the world is not an event that happens in a day or two. It happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ. We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping covenants that endow us with power. We stay on the covenant path and are blessed with spiritual strength, personal revelation, increasing faith, and the ministering of angels. Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.

As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-disciple, peace, and rest.

Here is the grand truth: while the world insists that power, possessions, popularity, and pleasures of the flesh bring happiness, they do not! They cannot! What they do produce is nothing but a hollow substitute for “the blessed and happy state of those [who] keep the commandments of God.”

The truth is that it is much more exhausting to seek happiness where you can never find it! However, when you yoke yourself to Jesus Christ and do the spiritual work required to overcome the world, He, and He alone, does have the power to lift you above the pull of this world.

Now how does overcoming the world bless our lives? The answer is clear: entering into a covenant relationship with God binds us to Him in a way that makes everything about life easier…Expect opposition, because the adversary does not want you to discover the power of Jesus Christ. But yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.

I reaffirm a profound teaching of President Ezra Taft Benson: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives, than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quick their minds,…lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.”

These incomparable privileges follow those who seek the support of heaven to help them overcome this world…I plead with you now – to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth…As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.

My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that are you serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.

The gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today. One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again, a people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world, a people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ.

I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.

I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.”

FULL text and video of President Russell M. Nelson’s talk can be found HERE.

Other messages from the October 2022 General Conference that I have found particularly impactful:

• Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• The Doctrine of Belonging by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• Our Earthly Stewardship by Bishop Gerald Causse
• Are You Still Willing? by Elder Kevin W. Pearson
• That They Might Know Thee by Elder Jonathan S. Schmidt

In addition, if you click on the “FAITH” tab you will find all of the messages I have done throughout the years.