Underscoring a theme from his April 2025 general conference message, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints highlighted six ways one can have confidence in God in a simple, six-frame post on his social media platforms Sunday, Aug. 10.
“We all will experience illness, disappointment, temptation and loss,” President Nelson wrote in his posts on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). “These challenges can knock self-confidence.
“However, disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence. When we make and keep covenants with God, we can have confidence that is born of the Spirit.”
The six frames each featured a photo — the first of President Nelson, the rest with illustrations from everyday life — along with a pointed invitation to “be confident,” stemming from his April 2025 general conference address, "Confidence in the Presence of God."
The six statements are:
- “Be confident that you can approach God right now.
- “Be confident Heavenly Father hears you.
- “Be confident that He understands your needs better than you do.
- “Be confident that He loves you more than you can comprehend.
- “Be confident that He sends angels to be with you and with those you love.
- “Be confident that He yearns to help you reach your highest potential.”
While the six statements are drawn from a single, four-sentence paragraph from his conference message, the frames in the social media posts draw singular emphasis and attention to each point.
In his general conference message, President Nelson asked how one can gain such confidence. Citing Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 as the key, he answered: “In the Lord’s own words, charity and virtue open the way to having confidence before God! Brothers and sisters, we can do this! Our confidence can truly wax strong in the presence of God, right now!”
His message included invitations to Latter-day Saints to increase in charity, virtue and temple attendance, all benefiting in one having confidence in the presence of God.
Of charity, the Prophet said: “Let us plead with our Heavenly Father to fill our hearts with greater charity — especially for those who are difficult to love — for charity is a gift from our Heavenly Father for true followers of Jesus Christ. The Savior is the Prince of Peace. We are to be His instruments for peace.”
And of virtue, he said: “Brothers and sisters, as the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure. Our thoughts, words and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ towards all men. The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be.”
And he tied charity and virtue back to increased confidence in God. “As we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives, our confidence in approaching God will increase,” he said.
“I invite you to take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord. Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”
