Notable quotes:
“I grieve with each of you who has lost a loved one during this time. And I pray for all who are currently suffering.”
“Unusual times can bring unusual rewards.”
“Our spirits long to progress. And we do that best by staying firmly on the covenant path.”
Summary points:
- A global pandemic and other difficulties can not block the progress of the Lord’s work and His Church.
- The challenges and adjustments of the past six months have taught key lessons that will serve Latter-day Saints well moving forward.
- The Church has provided pandemic humanitarian aid to almost 150 nations, providing relief through hundreds of projects.
Talk summary:
The world has been overturned in recent months by a global pandemic, raging wildfires and other natural disasters.
“I grieve with each of you who has lost a loved one during this time. And I pray for all who are currently suffering.”
Yet the work of the Lord moves steadily forward.
“Amid social distancing, face masks and Zoom meetings, we have learned to do some things differently, and some even more effectively. Unusual times can bring unusual rewards.”
Missionaries have been “resourceful, resilient and truly remarkable.” Temples were closed for a time and construction projects briefly delayed. But they too are moving forward. By year’s end, ground will have been broken for 20 new temples.
Family history has increased and new wards and stakes have been created. “And we are gratified to report that the Church has provided pandemic humanitarian aid for 895 projects in 150 countries.”
Meanwhile, increased gospel study in many homes is resulting in stronger testimonies and family relationships.
“I pray that we as a people are using this unique time to grow spiritually. We are here on earth to be tested, to see if we will choose to follow Jesus Christ, to repent regularly, to learn, and to progress. Our spirits long to progress. And we do that best by staying firmly on the covenant path.”
Through it all, one can know that he or she is loved by Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. “They care for us! They and Their holy angels are watching over us. I know that this is true.”
Choose to lay hold upon the word of God as it is declared during this general conference. All who do so will have their testimonies strengthened as they continue to move forward together.
“I bless you to feel the Lord’s love for you.”
In the news:
- In a Church News article on counsel during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency reaffirmed that the one answer to conflict is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- President Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, recently celebrated his 96th birthday via a videoconference on Sept. 6 with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — three days before his birthday.
- During a 2020 Mission Leadership Seminar address on June 26, President Nelson detailed how Joseph Smith, a 14-year-old boy, was taught to be a prophet.
- In a Church News video released on June 25, President Nelson and Sister Nelson shared how the COVID-19 pandemic has become the largest-ever humanitarian project of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- In a joint op-ed column published on June 8 by the online platform Medium, President Nelson and senior leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called for racial reform, asking “people everywhere to join us in a journey of understanding and overcoming.”
About the speaker:
- President Russell M. Nelson became the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 2018.
- He was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 34 years.
- A renowned surgeon, President Nelson assisted on the first-ever human open-heart surgery. In June 2018, the University of Utah honored President Nelson with an endowed chair in surgery.
- He and his late wife, Sister Dantzel White Nelson, who died in 2005, have 10 children, 57 grandchildren, and 140 great-grandchildren.
- He married Sister Wendy Watson in 2006.
- President Nelson turned 96 years old on Sept. 9, 2020.
Recently on social:
In a Sept. 20 Instagram post, President Nelson taught that not even a pandemic can keep the Lord from embracing His children.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFXGVF3HJ0Y/
- President Nelson thanked all those who have turned the COVID-19 pandemic into the Church’s largest humanitarian project to date, in an Aug. 16 Facebook post.
https://www.facebook.com/russell.m.nelson/posts/3209158322484915
- In response to riots and protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, President Nelson condemned racism and plead for peace in a June 1 Facebook post.
https://www.facebook.com/russell.m.nelson/posts/3015443371856412
- President Nelson wrote about the sacred and sanctifying privilege that taking the sacrament is, in a May 28 Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAu4C37njDm/
