Sunday, October 4, 2020

Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday morning session

Sunday morning! The conceptual big leagues.

Russell M. Nelson, president of the high priesthood
  • One of the meanings of Israel is ‘let God prevail’—so the gathering of Israel is, in one sense, a gathering of those who are willing to let God prevail with us.
  • This church has been tasked with facilitating the gathering of Israel (on both sides of the veil)—and anytime we do something to help someone progress spiritually, we are assisting with this work.
  • We pray that the missionaries will be led to those who are ready to hear the gospel—but to whom will we be led when we pray to be led to those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives?
  • Please listen carefully [yes, that was what he prefaced this with]: God does not love or favor one race or people from one race any more than another.
  • Our members need to lead out and reject racism and prejudice.
  • The question for all of us is always the same: Are you willing to let your will be swallowed up in what God wants for you? [There were a lot of other questions, but that seemed the crux of the list to me.]
  • When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, decisions and desires become much easier.
Neil L. Andersen, of the quorum of apostles
  • We believe in Jesus Christ and his greatness and glory, but there are places where very little is known about Christ, and other places where faith in Christ is receding. So in such a context, what are we to do?
  • We must keep our minds and hearts focused on Jesus.
  • We, along with other devoted Christians, need to speak of Jesus.
  • Everything in our worship, and also in our daily lives, should point to Jesus Christ.
  • Remember Jesus’s promise: Whoever confesses Jesus before others, Jesus will confess them before the Father.
Carlos A. Godoy, of the presidency of the seventy
  • A discussion of how support is needed for those who join the church, with his own history as a case study.
  • [He had really amazing long hair when he joined the church in his mid-teens!]
  • He was in a tenuous place when he first joined the church, and so it required support from other people (“angels” in the form of other people) as he developed his own testimony.
  • The Lord is aware of the challenges those who are new to or struggling in the church, and will send “angels” to help you.
  • In parallel, the Lord is looking for volunteers to be “angels” sent from God to help those who need you—be willing to be a part of this work.
Ulisses Soares, of the quorum of apostles
  • We need to remain focused on the word of God, but yielding to temptation keeps us from being able to do so.
  • We have to stay on guard against entertaining inappropriate thoughts, because if we give place to them they can eventually lead to sin.
  • Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence, but Christ is always there to help us in our efforts.
  • When we resist the (often unexpected) little temptations, we increase our resistance to larger temptations.
Lisa L. Harkness, of the general presidency of the primary organization
  • There is a mortal tendency to cry out “Save me!” when faced with difficulty.
  • Jesus’s teachings provide us with a path to peace even in the midst of such difficulties.
  • Faith provides us with patience and the strength to accept God’s will.
  • As we truly hearken to the words of Jesus, fear will decrease and faith will follow.
M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the quorum of apostles
  • It was prophesied that there would be upheaval, and we certainly do live in a time of upheaval right now.
  • All people in every country in the world should pray, no matter how they pray or to whom they pray, for their nation and the leaders of their nation.
  • The Lord’s Prayer makes it clear that it is appropriate to petition God directly.
  • Jesus taught that we should not limit who we pray for—and sincerely praying for those we believe to be our enemies demonstrates our faith that God can change our hearts and the hearts of others.
  • After we pray we need to get up off our knees and take action to improve our lives and the lives of others.
  • The circumstances around us may be chaotic, but through prayer we can know how to improve ourselves, our families, our neighborhoods, our nations, our…

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