Menu

This week on social: The most reliable source of direction

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf teaches about the importance of looking to the Savior for guidance and direction in a social media post Feb. 13. Credit: Instagram screenshot

Church leaders used their social media platforms to share inspirational messages about Jesus Christ, caring for others and the upcoming virtual Friend to Friend event for Primary children this week.

In a message dedicated to young people on Feb. 13, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles emphasized the importance of looking to the Savior for guidance and direction in moments of doubt.

The Apostle offered counsel to those who don’t understand or follow all the commandments. Just as the North Star, the Southern Cross and the sun provide guidance and direction to seafarers and aviators, Jesus Christ is the “most reliable source of orientation and pathfinding.”

“We will not understand everything,” he said. “But don’t give up! Take your orientation from Jesus Christ.”

Sister Michelle D. Craig, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, was recently watching a movie with her grandchildren when she was struck by the line: “Have courage and be kind.”

At times, being kind requires courage — “when someone lashes out, when someone expresses a different opinion, when someone says or does something that goes against what I think or feel,” she wrote in an Instagram post Feb. 17. 

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of kindness and seeing others deeply, a topic about which Sister Craig has recently been reflecting.

“Let us be intentional about being kind and extending grace to ourselves and others,” she said.

When Elder Ronald A. Rasband was first called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he began researching the names of Jesus Christ in the scriptures in order to be a “true witness” of Him. 

“As we connect Christlike attributes (like those found in Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel) to the names of our Lord and Redeemer, they give us further understanding of Him,” Elder Rasband taught in a social media post Feb. 14.

He shared several of the connections of Christlike attributes to the names of the Savior — for example, charity is reflected in “the good shepherd,” and humility is found in the “Lamb of God.”

“What you know about Jesus Christ, His attributes, and His many names is cause to rejoice,” Elder Rasband said. 

In preparation for a devotional for French-speaking young adults in France, Africa and Canada on Feb. 21, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, invited the young adults to reflect on what they really believe in.

“Jesus said on many occasions words such as these: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ ‘Fear not, believe only.’ ‘Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.’ ‘Ye believe in God, believe also in me,’” Elder Andersen taught in a social media post on Feb. 18.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created a social media post on Feb. 16 in honor of the birthday of his wife, Sister Patricia Holland. 

Elder and Sister Holland met while they attended high school in southern Utah. Elder Holland describes his wife as someone who was highly influential for him as a young man deciding to serve a mission.

“When we met all those years ago, I couldn’t have imagined how she would change my life,” he wrote in the post.

The Hollands will share their southern Utah hometown with RootsTech Connect participants during Family Discover Day on Feb. 27.

On Feb. 15, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared a message on Twitter about the responsibility of Church members to feed the hungry and the poor. 

“We are to reach out and take care of them,” he wrote.

President Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society general president, described the experience of becoming foster parents with her husband in a Feb. 16 social media post. For 20 years, they cared for children of all ages.

From her time as a foster mother, President Bingham learned of the resilience of children, the impact of giving them love and encouragement, the urgent need to strengthen families and, above all, the divine plan of the Lord.

“The Lord is in charge, and trusting His timing can bring us peace, even if it doesn’t remove the trial we’re experiencing,” she wrote.

In a social media post Feb. 13, President Joy D. Jones, Primary general president, related the experience of listening to Brianna, one of the English-speaking hosts of the upcoming Friend to Friend event, offer a prayer at the beginning of studio filming.

“It was a pure child’s prayer with the power and conviction of a spiritual giant,” President Jones said.

President Jones expressed her love and admiration of the children of the Church, and her excitement for the event Feb. 20.

Original programs for the Friend to Friend event were produced in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It’s the first time the Church has recorded an event of this scale in multiple languages. As someone who has spent much of her professional career in translation, Sister Reyna Isabel Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, recognizes that this is no small task.

In a social media post Feb. 15, she expressed her excitement for the event and her amazement at “how earnest God is for His children all over the world to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language.”

“It is a beautiful testimony to me of the love He has for each of us,” Sister Aburto wrote.

Sister Lisa L. Harkness, first counselor in the Primary general presidency, and Sister Cristina B. Franco, second counselor in the Primary general presidency, both also created social media posts in anticipation of the Friend to Friend event.

Newsletters
Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox
The three things you need to know everyday
Highlights from the last week to keep you informed