General Conference
Each six months, I feel like my heart yearns for General Conference more and more. I love this weekend so much. I love feeling encouraged but also motivated to change. I love having a weekend where the outside world is quieted and we just get to immerse ourselves in family and the gospel. My spirit is filled and I can’t wait to spend the next six months in these messages.
As always, our Savior, Jesus Christ was at the heart of every message. We love Him. And THAT was the overarching message of conference for me this year – LOVE. We were being taught how to love – real, true, Christlike, charitable, forgiving, kind love. It was about the second great commandment – to love our fellow man. And to love them as our Savior does. That is the true mark of discipleship.
The BIG THEMES I saw this conference were:
- Jesus Christ (always)
- Love
- Discipleship
- Atonement
- Adversity
- Covenants
- Holy Ghost
- Peace
President Nelson’s Message
Our living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, spoke of being a PEACEMAKER. His talk has given me pause for several reasons. The most immediate one was that this topic has been brought up several times during the last couple conferences by our prophet. This must be a topic that is of great concern for him and for our Savior, who leads our Church. He has spoken out against abuse and asked for us to forgive others. And now, he is again talking about anger and contention and pointing us to a higher and holier way of living – in peace.
I loved the connection between being a peacemaker and being a disciple that President Nelson made. This year, our family is focusing on discipleship, and this is an added layer that needs our attention. I loved when he said, “True disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire – no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.”
Oh isn’t that the kind of person you want to be? I love those adjectives – build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire.
President Nelson spoke of contention and gave us the antidote – charity. If there was only one word to describe a disciple of Christ – it would be charitable. It is “the principle characteristic of a follower of Christ”.
President Nelson gave us several invitations:
- Interact with others in a higher, holier way
- Choose to be a peacemaker, now and always
- Remember Jesus Christ in situations that are highly charged and filled with contention
- Look deeply into your heart to see if there are shards of pride or jealousy that prevent you from becoming a peacemaker
- Examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others
And then he gave us some blessings. And I feel like prophetic blessings should be written down and remembered. He blessed us “to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful, and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ. I bless you to replace belligerence with beseeching, animosity with understanding, and contention with peace.”
I pray that I can take that blessing with me as I strive to become a peacemaker, a true charitable follower of Jesus Christ.
Highlights
“As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others – especially when we have differences of opinion. One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people.
[The Savior’s] true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire – no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.
One of the best ways we can honor the Savior is to become a peacemaker.
The Savior’s Atonement made it possible for us to overcome all evil – including contention. Make no mistake about it: contention is evil!
How we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way.
Contention drives away the Spirit – every time…Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.
Charity is the antidote to contention. Charity is the spiritual gift that helps us to cast off the natural man…Charity is the principle characteristic of a true follower of Jesus Christ. Charity defines a peacemaker.
When we humble ourselves before God and pray with all the energy of our hearts, God will grant us charity.
Those blessed with this supernal gift are long-suffering and kind. They do not envy others and are not caught up in their own importance. They are not easily provoked and do not think evil of others.
The pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us today…Charity allows us to demonstrate how men and women of Christ speak and act – especially when under fire.
You covenant to always remember the Savior. In situations that are highly charged and filled with contention, I invite you to remember Jesus Christ. Pray to have the courage and wisdom to say or do what He would. As we follow the Prince of Peace, we will become His peacemakers.
I also hope that you will look deeply into your heart to see if there are shards of pride or jealousy that prevent you from becoming a peacemaker.
The temple can help us in our quest. There we are endowed with God’s power, giving us the ability to overcome Satan, the instigator of all contention. Cast him out of your relationships! …Peacemakers thwart the adversary.
Let us as a people become a true light on the hill – a light that “cannot be hid.” Let us show that there is a peaceful, respectful way to resolve complex issues and an enlightened way to work out disagreements. As you demonstrate the charity that true followers of Jesus Christ manifest, the Lord will magnify your efforts beyond your loftiest imagination.
The best is yet to come for those who spend their lives building up others. Today I invite you to examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others. I bless you to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful, and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ.
I bless you to replace belligerence with beseeching, animosity with understanding, and contention with peace.
God lives! Jesus is the Christ. He stands at the head of this Church. We are His servants. He will help us to become His peacemakers.”
FULL text and video of President Russell M. Nelson’s talk can be found HERE.
Other messages from the April 2023 General Conference that I have found particularly impactful:
- The Greatest Easter Story Ever Told by Elder Gary E. Stevenson
- “There Can Be Nothing So Exquisite and Sweet as Way My Joy” by Elder Craig C. Christensen
- Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Parents by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Followers of the Prince of Peace by Elder Ulisses Soares
- Accessing God’s Power through Covenants by Elder Dale G. Renlund
If you click on the “FAITH” tab, you will find all of the messages I have done throughout the years.
