This week on social media, Church leaders shared testimonies of the Book of Mormon, the importance of temples, and the need to put the Savior first in life.
As the first episode of the Book of Mormon Videos was released today, President Russell M. Nelson took the opportunity to share his love for the Book of Mormon.
“I have read the Book of Mormon many times,” he wrote in his Sept. 20 post. “I have also read much that has been written about it. Studying the Book of Mormon is most rewarding when one focuses on its primary purpose — to testify of Jesus Christ.”
He testified that everyone who prayerfully studies the Book of Mormon can receive a testimony of its divinity.
Earlier in the week, President Nelson spoke on the love and laws of God in a BYU devotional on Sept. 17. Afterwards, a video was posted on each of his social media pages featuring the five truths he discussed in his devotional.
Every person on earth has been given exactly 24 hours each day and seven days in a week. And if one doesn’t use that time wisely, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote in a Sept. 16 Facebook post, “it will be gone.”
Time spent with family is what matters most, he continued. One of the sacrifices he and his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, have given is the time spent away from their family. But since they are in Frankfurt for the Frankfurt Germany Temple open house, they are cherishing this time to be with their son and his family, as well as other friends there.
This has also been an opportunity for Elder Uchtdorf to reflect on his experiences 32 years ago when the Frankfurt temple was first dedicated. At the time, he served as the Frankfurt temple committee chair and helped organize the open house. “At that time, I was invited to be interviewed on a German TV show about what a temple is and what our Church believes in,” he wrote in a Sept. 15 post sharing a clip from that interview.
Posts on Elder Neil L. Anderson’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts also focused on the importance of temples. On Sunday, Sept. 15, he dedicated the Lisbon Portugal Temple, and his posts on social media the next day featured pictures of the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with his family.
“In the temple, we learn who Christ really is,” he wrote in his Facebook and Instagram posts.
“As we come to the House of the Lord, we come to understand the holiness of our Lord.”
On Sept. 15, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Craig C. Christensen, General Authority Seventy, spoke to young adults in a Face to Face broadcast.
That night, Elder Soares posted a video of him answering another question: How does one find comfort knowing that what they are doing is enough, and to not feel pressured?
“I would say, when we have our heart connected with the Savior, when He is the center of our lives, we have everything else we need,” he said in the video. “We don’t need to feel pressured by anything else. So we just need to make sure that our life aligns with the Savior Jesus Christ and his teachings.”
Elder Soares and Elder Christensen answered more questions in an Instagram story on Elder Soares’ page.
“In the Church, we rightly talk a lot about the priesthood, or God’s power on the earth,” Sister Sharon Eubank wrote in a Sept. 14 Facebook post. “From conversations I’ve had with women and men over the years, there are some things we get wrong when it comes to understanding God’s power and who has access to it.”
In this post, she linked to a blog post she had written for ChurchofJesusChrist.org on the nature of priesthood power and how both men and women can access that power.
Sister Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society general president, also shared a link to Sister Eubank’s blog post on Sept. 19.
“As we make and keep covenants, we are empowered to act in God’s name, and our power to do good is amplified. I’m grateful for the knowledge, strength, and power God gives us through our covenants,” Sister Bingham wrote.
On Sept. 19, Sister Eubank shared a video of Kadijah Mahdi, originally from Somalia, who talked about her experiences working and gaining an education in Salt Lake City. Mahdi talked about learning English and working in a humanitarian center, including driving forklifts in a warehouse.
“I challenge you not to smile listening to (her),” she wrote. “You can’t help but notice her joy and enthusiasm for life.”
Through a video broadcast from her home in Salt Lake City, she was able to share her experiences as a displaced person pursuing an education, with a United Nations conference in Geneva.
“As president of Latter-day Saint Charities, my goal at the United Nations was to highlight that no one agency can solve these educational hurdles on their own,” Sister Eubank wrote. “It takes patient partnership and common approaches.”
As the new school year begins, Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Young Women general president, encouraged those headed back to school to leave a positive mark on others.
“There are classmates around you who are new or feeling anxious too. Look for positive ways to leave your mark on them,” she wrote.
Life is busy, as Sister Michelle D. Craig of the Young Women general presidency can attest. A Sept. 15 post on Facebook featured her and a group of three other women hastily brushing their teeth in a restroom.
But while life can be busy and complex, “life is good!” she wrote.
She shared part of a verse from 1 Peter 3:10: “... love life, and see good days … .”
“I love that Peter is encouraging us to see good days — not to have good days,” she wrote. “He is teaching us that those who find joy in the difficult journey are those who are intentional about looking for it.”
On Sept. 13, Sister Joy D. Jones, Primary general president, asked readers on Facebook, “How can we, as ordinary citizens, help shape religious expression within our communities?”
She then invited readers to attend a fireside on Sept. 22 hosted by the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Salt Lake chapter where she will be giving a keynote address on the subject.
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