Designed to bless everyone
Easy to understand- Learned by honest study
"The gospel applies universally to all people - the learned and the unlearned, the rich and the poor, the old and the young, no matter where they are found on the earth," declared Elder J. Kent Jolley.
"Since the beginning it was designed to bless the lives of everyone, without exception," Elder Jolly said Sunday afternoon during his first conference address since being called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy last April.
"I am grateful that the gospel applies to all people no matter where they live or what station in life they come from."
Elder Jolley recounted his experiences as a missionary in South America 40 years ago, "when the work was slow, even discouraging at times.
"Now as I return to that great continent for my present assignment, I marvel at how the Lord has blessed it, and how He is making the gospel readily available to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. South America is rapidly becoming dotted with stakes and temples.
"Related to the gospel's universal application is its simplicity," he explained. "With the help of the Holy Ghost, any earnest person can easily understand the gospel and receive its great personal blessings."
To illustrate the power of the gospel's simplicity, Elder Jolley related how he asked his bishop, shortly after he returned home to Idaho after presiding over a mission in south Texas, for the privilege of home teaching families "who were not enjoying the blessings of full activity in the Church."
The bishop "quickly obliged by assigning me to six of these special families," he said.
"After several visits to one of these families," Elder Jolley continued, "I challenged the father, who had been inactive for almost 40 years, to become fully active in the Church and to participate in the temple preparation classes.
The fatherT responded, `These kinds of things are more than I can understand; they are way over my head.'
"I was troubled by his response and felt bad that he did not think he could embrace the gospel because it was too difficult to understand. But I knew that the truths of the gospel are for everyone and that everyone can understand them through earnest prayer and scripture study. So our next few home teaching visits were spent talking about the simple and beautiful things of the gospel.
"With patience and persistence our visits became more enjoyable and more spiritual. We developed a genuine friendship. As time went on, it became apparent that he could, and did, understand the principles of the gospel. This made his wife happy. They grew closer in their marriage. They are now attending Church regularly, becoming good friends with all members and preparing to go to the temple.
"The Lord blesses us, as well as these wonderful families, when we put forth the extra effort to share these simple truths with them.
"Our own honest study of the gospel will show us how simple, pure and universal its precepts are."