This week on social media, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, posted a video highlighting the importance of the Easter holiday and suggested new ways to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection.
Additionally, Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, posted various videos from Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Berlin, Germany, as he spoke in interfaith councils, leadership meetings and young single adult conferences.
The Relief Society general presidency also invited sisters around the world to watch the March 16 worldwide devotional and testimony meeting broadcast, extending the invitations in more than five languages.
Read more below.
In a video posted to social media Sunday, Feb. 16, President Oaks encouraged Latter-day Saints to appreciate the blessings offered from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and to find ways to celebrate it this Easter season.
“For Latter-day Saints, the Resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected. And the Resurrection is literal,” President Oaks taught. “When we understand the vital position of the Resurrection that governs our eternal journey, we see why the apostle Paul taught, ‘If there be no resurrection of the dead, ... then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).”
He then invited Saints to celebrate the Resurrection by studying Jesus Christ’s teachings, helping to establish Easter traditions in families and communities, teaching the profound meaning of the universal Resurrection and even greeting others as was done in ancient times by saying, “He is risen.”
“As we enter this new year, let us prepare for an Easter celebration of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, culminating in His Resurrection, the most glorious event in history,” said President Oaks.
The Relief Society general presidency, along with various Relief Society sisters, each individually invited viewers to attend the March 16 worldwide devotional in a reel posted to social media Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor, invited the sisters in English; President Camille N. Johnson in Spanish; and Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor, in Portuguese. In the video, there were other sisters speaking in French, American Sign Language and more.
The worldwide devotional will be broadcast March 16.
“Every act of kindness matters,” taught Elder Bednar representing the Church of Jesus Christ at the Dialogue of Civilizations and Tolerance Conference in Abu Dhabi.
Elder Bednar posted a video recounting his experience at the conference Thursday, Feb. 20. He also posted videos about his attendance at the interfaith conference in Dubai on Tuesday, Feb. 18; a leadership meeting in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, Feb. 17; and a YSA conference in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 16.
“Our Church focuses on helping young people to learn, to act, to serve and to become,” said Elder Bednar, sharing about the Church of Jesus Christ in Abu Dhabi.
“I ask God to bless all those attending this conference that we will be inspired to take meaningful steps towards tolerance and peace in our respective spheres of influence, whether those areas of influence be large or small,” he said.
Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, invited readers in a social media post Tuesday, Feb. 18, to look outward rather than inward.
Speaking of her husband, Sister Runia wrote: “When he walks into a room, it’s never about him. He always looks to lift and bless those around him. I guess you could say his spotlight is always aimed toward others.”
She went on to write about how the Savior always looked outward and looked for ways to serve others.
“So I ask myself, when I walk into a room, ‘Am I looking in, or am I looking out?‘ Because I believe the adversary doesn’t care whether you’re thinking good or bad about yourself, as long as you are thinking about yourself,” she wrote. “As you and I get better at pointing our spotlight out toward others, they will see a light that reflects Christ.”
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited all to participate in Family Discovery Day at RootsTech in a post to social media Thursday, Feb. 21.
The event will be broadcast — including on the Church website — on March 8 at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Elder Andersen expressed his excitement for the event, explaining that he and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, will both share stories of their heritage and childhood that have impacted them throughout their lives.
“See you then,” Elder Andersen beamed in the video.
The youth themes “boldly declare to others that there are compromises we will not make, promises we will not break and divine purposes from which we will not deviate,” taught Young Men General President Steven J. Lund in a social media post Tuesday, Feb. 18.
“We hope you will repeat the themes often,” he invited. “There is power in hearing your own voices speak truth and in feeling it resonate as the Holy Ghost affirms our identity. The themes are affirmations of belief we speak to ourselves.”
Many members of the Church are eager for the open house and rededication of the Salt Lake Temple following President Russell M. Nelson‘s announcement. Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is no exception.
Standing in front of a house of the Lord with his family, Elder Rasband posted to social media, emphasizing how temples are evidences of the ongoing Restoration of the Church in a Saturday, Feb. 15, post.
“I invite all of us to prepare for the dedication of any of the many houses of the Lord to be dedicated in the coming years by making a goal to rededicate our lives to Him,” he wrote in the post.
Large, beautiful stained-glass windows can be seen in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center. Now, the same stained-glass windows can be seen in the Church’s Paris, London and Washington, D.C., visitors’ centers.
Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, first counselor in the Young Men general presidency, posted to social media on Friday, Feb. 14, highlighting the beauty and meaning of these stained-glass windows.
The artists of the original stained-glass windows in the Rome visitors’ center have created additional expanded versions — including stories from the New Testament — to be viewed in visitors’ centers around the world.
“The original window in Rome is called ‘Come Unto Me.’ This expanded window is titled ‘Believe in Him.’ It is my hope that it will help people all over the world do just that — to come unto the Christ and believe in Him,” he wrote.
