Notable quotes:
The Church’s prime purpose “is to help men, women and children follow the Lord Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and qualify for the greatest of all blessings — that of eternal life with God and their loved ones.” A new, Christ-centered symbol “will remind all that this is the Savior’s Church and that all we do, as members of His Church, centers on Jesus Christ and His gospel.” “I am calling for another worldwide fast. For all whose health may permit, let us fast, pray and unite our faith once again. Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic.” Summary points:
- The First Vision signaled a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ that provides a way to qualify for individuals to return to the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and be with their families forever.
- The Church’s new symbol features an image of the resurrected Jesus Christ and stands as a reminder of the Lord’s centrality in His Church.
- Latter-day Saints around the world are invited to join in an April 10 fast in an unified effort to find relief from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Talk summary:
The prime purpose of the restored Church is to help people follow the Lord Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and qualify for the greatest of all blessings — that of eternal life with God and one’s loved ones.
Over the past year, much has been done to ensure the correct usage of the name of the Church.
“We have gone to these extraordinary efforts because when we remove the Lord’s name from the name of His Church, we inadvertently remove Him as the central focus of our worship and our lives.”
To better remember Him, the Church is introducing a symbol that will signify the central place of Jesus Christ in His Church. Graphically, the new symbol includes the name of the Church contained within a cornerstone because Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone.
At the center of the symbol is a representation of Thorvaldsen’s marble statue, the “Christus.” It portrays the resurrected, living Lord reaching out to embrace all who will come unto Him. Symbolically, Jesus Christ is standing under an arch. The arch is a reminder of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb on the third day following His Crucifixion.
“The symbol will now be used as a visual identifier for official literature, news and events of the Church. It will remind all that this is the Savior’s Church and that all we do, as members of His Church, centers on Jesus Christ and His gospel.”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put the world in commotion. Now is the time to put one’s faith in Jesus Christ into action.
“So tonight … I am calling for another worldwide fast [on Good Friday, April 10]. For all whose health may permit, let us fast, pray, and unite our faith once again. Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic.”
In the news:
- President Nelson invited Church members and others to participate in a worldwide fast on Sunday, March 29, for “physical and spiritual healing” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Latter-day Saints found peace by doing so.
- In a message of hope during the coronavirus outbreak, President Nelson encouraged members to look to the Savior for peace and comfort.
- President Nelson kicked off 2020 with a message on social media on Jan. 1, asking members to act on invitations he extended in the October 2019 general conference to read the First Vision and ponder questions about the importance of the Restoration.
- He extended a second invitation in February to think about this key question: “How do you hear Him?” A video released by the Church on March 15 emphasized listening to the Savior’s voice.
- Due to travel restrictions and security concerns, President Nelson counseled and uplifted Saints in strife-torn Venezuela via pre-recorded broadcast in February. He and Elder D. Todd Christofferson delivered their remarks in Spanish. Here’s what Venezuelan Saints said about the devotional.
- As the coronavirus was beginning to affect China in January, President Nelson responded by sending a large shipment of protective equipment.
- President Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, traveled to Southeast Asia in November 2019 with Elder Christofferson and his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson. They ministered to members in Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia.
- In December, President Nelson and 7-year-old Claire Crosby made a music video performing “Silent Night” as part of the Church’s “Light the World” campaign.
- His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League and president of the International Organization for Muslim Scholars, met with the First Presidency on Nov. 5, 2019.
- The First Presidency met with Cuba’s Ambassador to the U.S., José R. Cabañas, on Oct. 24, 2019. The ambassador reaffirmed the Church is welcome in his Caribbean country.
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 119 great-grandchildren.
- He married Sister Wendy Watson in 2006.
- President Nelson turned 95 years old on Sept. 9, 2019.
Recently on social:
- President Nelson extended a warm welcome to all — “regardless of your faith tradition” — to listen to general conference and “rejoice in the comforting power of revealed truth” amid coronavirus fears.
- President Nelson extended a special invitation to Latter-day Saints in February to “hear Him.”
- While in Southeast Asia, President Nelson shared a rendering of the temple that will be built in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. “I promise that as you are worthy to enter the temple, miracles will come into your life,” he wrote on Twitter.
- On Thanksgiving, President Nelson posted a picture of him and Sister Nelson walking through a grove of aspen trees. He encouraged Church members to be mindful of blessings from the Lord.
