“He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows”

By President Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This has been an unforgettable evening. My dear sisters, I am honored to be with you. You have been on my mind so often during these past few months. You are more than eight million strong. You have not only the numbers but the spiritual power to change the world. I have watched you doing just that during this pandemic.

Some of you suddenly found yourselves searching for scarce supplies or a new job. Many tutored children and checked on neighbors. Some welcomed missionaries home earlier than expected, while others transformed your homes into missionary training centers. You have used technology to connect with family and friends, to minister to those who have felt isolated, and to study Come, Follow Me with others. You have found new ways to make the Sabbath a delight. And you have made protective masks—millions of them!

With heartfelt compassion and love, my heart goes out to the many women around the world whose loved ones have died. We weep with you. And we pray for you. We praise and pray for all who work tirelessly to safeguard the health of others.

You young women have also been remarkable. Though social media has been flooded with contention, many of you have found ways to encourage others and share our Savior’s light.

Sisters, you have all been absolutely heroic! I marvel at your strength and your faith. You have shown that in difficult circumstances, you bravely carry on. I love you, and I assure you that the Lord loves you and sees the great work you are performing. Thank you! Once again, you have proven that you are literally the hope of Israel!

You embody the hopes that President Gordon B. Hinckley had for you when he introduced “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” 25 years ago in the September 1995 general Relief Society meeting. It is significant that he chose to introduce this important proclamation to the sisters of the Church. By doing so, President Hinckley underscored the irreplaceable influence of women in the Lord’s plan.

Now, I would love to know what you have learned this year. Have you grown closer to the Lord, or do you feel further away from Him? And how have current events made you feel about the future?

Admittedly, the Lord has spoken of our day in sobering terms. He warned that in our day “men’s hearts [would fail] them” and that even the very elect would be at risk of being deceived. He told the Prophet Joseph Smith that “peace [would] be taken from the earth” and calamities would befall mankind.

Yet the Lord has also provided a vision of how remarkable this dispensation is. He inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to declare that “the work of … these last days, is one of vast magnitude. … Its glories are past description, and its grandeur unsurpassable.”

Now, grandeur may not be the word you would choose to describe these past few months! How are we to deal with both the somber prophecies and the glorious pronouncements about our day? The Lord told us how with simple, but stunning, reassurance: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”

What a promise! It is one that can literally change the way we see our future. I recently heard a woman of deep testimony admit that the pandemic, combined with an earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley, had helped her realize she was not as prepared as she thought she was. When I asked whether she was referring to her food storage or her testimony, she smiled and said, “Yes!”

If preparation is our key to embracing this dispensation and our future with faith, how can we best prepare?

For decades, the Lord’s prophets have urged us to store food, water, and financial reserves for a time of need. The current pandemic has reinforced the wisdom of that counsel. I urge you to take steps to be temporally prepared. But I am even more concerned about your spiritual and emotional preparation.

In that regard, we can learn a lot from Captain Moroni. As commander of the Nephite armies, he faced opposing forces that were stronger, greater in number, and meaner. So, Moroni prepared his people in three essential ways.

First, he helped them create areas where they would be safe—“places of security” he called them. Second, he prepared “the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord.” And third, he never stopped preparing his people—physically or spiritually. Let us consider these three principles.

Moroni fortified every Nephite city with embankments, forts, and walls. When the Lamanites came against them, they “were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security.”

Similarly, as turmoil rages around us, we need to create places where we are safe, both physically and spiritually. When your home becomes a personal sanctuary of faith—where the Spirit resides—your home becomes the first line of defense.

Likewise, the stakes of Zion are “a refuge from the storm” because they are led by those who hold priesthood keys and exercise priesthood authority. As you continue to follow the counsel of those whom the Lord has authorized to guide you, you will feel greater safety.

The temple—the house of the Lord—is a place of security unlike any other. There, you sisters are endowed with priesthood power through the sacred priesthood covenants you make. There, your families are sealed for eternity. Even this year, when access to our temples has been seriously limited, your endowment has given you constant access to God’s power as you have honored your covenants with Him.

Simply said, a place of security is anywhere you can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost and be guided by Him. When the Holy Ghost is with you, you can teach truth, even when it runs counter to prevailing opinions. And you can ponder sincere questions about the gospel in an environment of revelation.

I invite you, my dear sisters, to create a home that is a place of security. And I renew my invitation for you to increase your understanding of priesthood power and of temple covenants and blessings. Having places of security to which you can retreat will help you embrace the future with faith.

We have undertaken a major project to extend the life and capacity of the Salt Lake Temple.

Some questioned the need for taking such extraordinary measures. However, when the Salt Lake Valley suffered a 5.7-magnitude earthquake earlier this year, this venerable temple shook hard enough that the trumpet on the statue of the angel Moroni fell!

Just as the physical foundation of the Salt Lake Temple must be strong enough to withstand natural disasters, our spiritual foundations must be solid. Then, when metaphorical earthquakes rock our lives, we can stand “steadfast and immovable” because of our faith.

The Lord taught us how to increase our faith by seeking “learning, even by study and also by faith.” We strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ as we strive to keep His commandments and “always remember him.” Further, our faith increases every time we exercise our faith in Him. That is what learning by faith means.

For example, each time we have the faith to be obedient to God’s laws—even when popular opinions belittle us—or each time we resist entertainment or ideologies that celebrate covenant-breaking, we are exercising our faith, which in turn increases our faith.

Further, few things build faith more than does regular immersion in the Book of Mormon. No other book testifies of Jesus Christ with such power and clarity. Its prophets, as inspired by the Lord, saw our day and selected the doctrine and truths that would help us most. The Book of Mormon is our latter-day survival guide.

Of course, our ultimate security comes as we yoke ourselves to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! Life without God is a life filled with fear. Life with God is a life filled with peace. This is because spiritual blessings come to the faithful. Receiving personal revelation is one of the greatest of those blessings.

The Lord has promised that if we will ask, we may receive “revelation upon revelation.” I promise that as you increase your capacity to receive revelation, the Lord will bless you with increased direction for your life and with boundless gifts of the Spirit.

Even when things went well, Captain Moroni continued to prepare his people. He never stopped. He never became complacent.

The adversary never stops attacking. So, we can never stop preparing! The more self-reliant we are—temporally, emotionally, and spiritually—the more prepared we are to thwart Satan’s relentless assaults.

Dear sisters, you are adept at creating places of security for yourselves and those you love. Further, you have a divine endowment that enables you to build faith in others in compelling ways. And you never stop. You have demonstrated that once again this year.

Please, keep going! Your vigilance in safeguarding your homes and instilling faith in the hearts of your loved ones will reap rewards for generations to come.

My dear sisters, we have so much to look forward to! The Lord placed you here now because He knew you had the capacity to negotiate the complexities of the latter part of these latter days. He knew you would grasp the grandeur of His work and be eager to help bring it to pass.

I am not saying that the days ahead will be easy, but I promise you that the future will be glorious for those who are prepared and who continue to prepare to be instruments in the Lord’s hands.

My dear sisters, let us not just endure this current season. Let us embrace the future with faith! Turbulent times are opportunities for us to thrive spiritually. They are times when our influence can be much more penetrating than in calmer times.

I promise that as we create places of security, prepare our minds to be faithful to God, and never stop preparing, God will bless us. He will “deliver us; yea, insomuch that he [will] speak peace to our souls, and [will] grant unto us great faith, and … cause us that we [can] hope for our deliverance in him.”

As you prepare to embrace the future with faith, these promises will be yours! I so testify, with my expression of love for you and my confidence in you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org. In the address that accompanied this proclamation, President Gordon B. Hinckley said to the sisters: “I am grateful for the strength that you have and for your loyalty, your faith, your love. I am thankful for the resolution which you carry in your hearts to walk in faith, to keep the commandments, to do what is right at all times and in all circumstances” (“Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 98–99).

Luke 21:26; see also Doctrine and Covenants 45:26.

See Matthew 24:24; Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:35.

See Doctrine and Covenants 1:17. The Apostle Paul prophesied that “in the last days perilous times [would] come.” That would make our day spiritually treacherous. (See 2 Timothy 3:1–5.)

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 512.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:30.

See Alma 49:5; 50:4.

Alma 48:7.

See Alma 49–50.

See Alma 48:8.

Alma 49:5; emphasis added.

Doctrine and Covenants 115:6.

See Russell M. Nelson, “Spiritual Treasures,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 76–79.

Eliza R. Snow taught that the Holy Ghost “satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart. … When I am filled with that Spirit, my soul is satisfied, and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. … Is it not our privilege to so live that we can have this constantly flowing into our souls?” (in Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society [2011], 46).

See Daniel Burke, “Utah Earthquake Damages Mormon Temple and Knocks Trumpet from Iconic Angel Statue,” Mar. 18, 2020, cnn.com.

Mosiah 5:15.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:118; emphasis added.

Moroni 4:3.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:61.

The Apostle Paul signaled this reality when he attributed Timothy’s unfeigned faith to his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother Lois (see 2 Timothy 1:5).

Alma 58:11.

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

One of my haunting childhood memories begins with the howl of distant air-raid sirens that awaken me from sleep. Before long, another sound, the rattle and hum of propellers, gradually increases until it shakes the very air. Trained well by our mother, we children each grab our bag and run up the hill to a bomb shelter. As we hurry through the pitch-dark night, green and white flares drop from the sky to mark the targets for the bombers. Strangely enough, everyone calls these flares Christmas trees.

I am four years old, and I am a witness to a world at war.

Not far from where my family lived was the city of Dresden. Those who lived there witnessed perhaps a thousand times what I had seen. Massive firestorms, caused by thousands of tons of explosives, swept through Dresden, destroying more than 90 percent of the city and leaving little but rubble and ash in their wake.

In a very short time, the city once nicknamed the “Jewel Box” was no more. Erich Kästner, a German author, wrote of the destruction, “In a thousand years was her beauty built, in one night was it utterly destroyed.” During my childhood I could not imagine how the destruction of a war our own people had started could ever be overcome. The world around us appeared totally hopeless and without any future.

Last year I had the opportunity to return to Dresden. Seventy years after the war, it is, once again, a “Jewel Box” of a city. The ruins have been cleared, and the city is restored and even improved.

During my visit I saw the beautiful Lutheran church Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady. Originally built in the 1700s, it had been one of Dresden’s shining jewels, but the war reduced it to a pile of rubble. For many years it remained that way, until finally it was determined that the Frauenkirche would be rebuilt.

Stones from the destroyed church had been stored and cataloged and, when possible, were used in the reconstruction. Today you can see these fire-blackened stones pockmarking the outer walls. These “scars” are not only a reminder of the war history of this building but also a monument to hope—a magnificent symbol of man’s ability to create new life from ashes.

As I pondered the history of Dresden and marveled at the ingenuity and resolve of those who restored what had been so completely destroyed, I felt the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit. Surely, I thought, if man can take the ruins, rubble, and remains of a broken city and rebuild an awe-inspiring structure that rises toward the heavens, how much more capable is our Almighty Father to restore His children who have fallen, struggled, or become lost?

It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away from God can be rebuilt. Save those rare sons of perdition, there is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored.

The joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and restored to purity, but we can also transcend mortal imagination and become heirs of eternal life and partakers of God’s indescribable glory.

During the Savior’s ministry, the religious leaders of His day disapproved of Jesus spending time with people they had labeled “sinners.”

Perhaps to them it looked like He was tolerating or even condoning sinful behavior. Perhaps they believed that the best way to help sinners repent was by condemning, ridiculing, and shaming them.

When the Savior perceived what the Pharisees and scribes were thinking, He told a story:

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

Over the centuries, this parable has traditionally been interpreted as a call to action for us to bring back the lost sheep and to reach out to those who are lost. While this is certainly appropriate and good, I wonder if there is more to it.

Is it possible that Jesus’s purpose, first and foremost, was to teach about the work of the Good Shepherd?

Is it possible that He was testifying of God’s love for His wayward children?

Is it possible that the Savior’s message was that God is fully aware of those who are lost—and that He will find them, that He will reach out to them, and that He will rescue them?

If that is so, what must the sheep do to qualify for this divine help?

Does the sheep need to know how to use a complicated sextant to calculate its coordinates? Does it need to be able to use a GPS to define its position? Does it have to have the expertise to create an app that will call for help? Does the sheep need endorsements by a sponsor before the Good Shepherd will come to the rescue?

No. Certainly not! The sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because it is loved by the Good Shepherd.

To me, the parable of the lost sheep is one of the most hopeful passages in all of scripture.

Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.

He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.

It matters not how you became lost—whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control.

What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. He loves His children.

Because He loves you, He will find you. He will place you upon His shoulders, rejoicing. And when He brings you home, He will say to one and all, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

But, you might be thinking, what is the catch? Surely I have to do more than simply wait to be rescued.

While our loving Father desires that all of His children return to Him, He will force no one to heaven. God will not rescue us against our will.

So what must we do?

His invitation is simple:

“Turn … to me.”

“Come unto me.”

“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.”

This is how we show Him that we want to be rescued.

It requires a little faith. But do not despair. If you cannot muster faith right now, begin with hope.

If you cannot say you know God is there, you can hope that He is. You can desire to believe. That is enough to start.

Then, acting on that hope, reach out to Heavenly Father. God will extend His love toward you, and His work of rescue and transformation will begin.

Over time, you will recognize His hand in your life. You will feel His love. And the desire to walk in His light and follow His way will grow with every step of faith you take.

We call these steps of faith “obedience.”

That is not a popular word these days. But obedience is a cherished concept in the gospel of Jesus Christ because we know that “through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”

As we increase in faith, we also must increase in faithfulness. Earlier I quoted a German author who lamented the destruction of Dresden. He also penned the phrase “Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser: Man tut es.” For those who do not speak the celestial language, this is translated as “There is nothing good unless you do it.”

You and I may speak most eloquently of spiritual things. We may impress people with our keen intellectual interpretation of religious topics. We may rhapsodize about religion and “dream of [our] mansion above.” But if our faith does not change the way we live—if our beliefs do not influence our daily decisions—our religion is vain, and our faith, if not dead, is certainly not well and is in danger of eventually flatlining.

Obedience is the lifeblood of faith. It is by obedience that we gather light into our souls.

But sometimes I think we misunderstand obedience. We may see obedience as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Or we may pound the metaphorical hammer of obedience against the iron anvil of the commandments in an effort to shape those we love, through constant heating and repeated battering, into holier, heavenly matter.

No doubt about it, there are times when we need a stern call to repentance. Certainly, there are some who may be reached only in this manner.

But perhaps there is a different metaphor that can explain why we obey the commandments of God. Maybe obedience is not so much the process of bending, twisting, and pounding our souls into something we are not. Instead, it is the process by which we discover what we truly are made of.

We are created by the Almighty God. He is our Heavenly Father. We are literally His spirit children. We are made of supernal material most precious and highly refined, and thus we carry within ourselves the substance of divinity.

Here on earth, however, our thoughts and actions become encumbered with that which is corrupt, unholy, and impure. The dust and filth of the world stain our souls, making it difficult to recognize and remember our birthright and purpose.

But all this cannot change who we truly are. The fundamental divinity of our nature remains. And the moment we choose to incline our hearts to our beloved Savior and set foot upon the path of discipleship, something miraculous happens. The love of God fills our hearts, the light of truth fills our minds, we start to lose the desire to sin, and we do not want to walk any longer in darkness.

We come to see obedience not as a punishment but as a liberating path to our divine destiny. And gradually, the corruption, dust, and limitations of this earth begin to fall away. Eventually, the priceless, eternal spirit of the heavenly being within us is revealed, and a radiance of goodness becomes our nature.

My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, I testify that God sees us as we truly are—and He sees us worthy of rescue.

You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you.

He will rescue you.

He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders.

He will carry you home.

If mortal hands can transform rubble and ruins into a beautiful house of worship, then we can have confidence and trust that our loving Heavenly Father can and will rebuild us. His plan is to build us into something far greater than what we were—far greater than what we can ever imagine. With each step of faith on the path of discipleship, we grow into the beings of eternal glory and infinite joy we were designed to become.

This is my testimony, my blessing, and my humble prayer in the sacred name of our Master, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

See Erich Kästner, Als ich ein kleiner Junge war (1996), 51–52.

Luke 15:4–5.

Luke 15:6.

See “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free,” Hymns, no. 240.

Joel 2:12.

Matthew 11:28.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:63.

See Alma 32:27.

Articles of Faith 1:3.

Erich Kästner, Es gibt nichts Gutes, ausser: Man tut es (1950).

“Have I Done Any Good?” Hymns, no. 223.

See James 2:26.

See John 8:12.

By Elder Patrick Kearon

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I would like to express gratitude for your prayers as I have started the process of adjusting to the call, through President Nelson, to serve as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can probably well imagine how humbling this has felt, and it has been a time of extraordinary upheaval and sobering self-examination. It is, however, indeed a great honour to serve the Saviour, in any capacity, and to be engaged with you in sharing the good news of His gospel of hope.

Beyond that, it has been said that behind every new Apostle stands an astonished mother-in-law. I don’t know if that has actually been said, but in this case, it certainly could be. And I suspect that the fact that my mother-in-law is no longer with us does nothing to reduce her astonishment.

Several months ago, when my wife and I were visiting another country for various Church assignments, I woke up early one morning and looked blearily outside our hotel window. Down below on the busy street, I saw that a roadblock had been set up with a policeman stationed nearby to turn cars around as they reached the barrier. At first, only a few cars traveled along the road and were turned back. But as time went by and traffic increased, queues of cars began to build up.

From the window above, I watched as the policeman seemed to take satisfaction in his power to block the flow of traffic and turn people away. In fact, he seemed to develop a spring in his step, as if he might start doing a little jig, as each car approached the barrier. If a driver got frustrated about the roadblock, the policeman did not appear helpful or sympathetic. He just shook his head repeatedly and pointed in the opposite direction.

My friends, my fellow disciples on the road of mortal life, our Father’s beautiful plan, even His “fabulous” plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out. No one has built a roadblock and stationed someone there to turn you around and send you away. In fact, it is the exact opposite. God is in relentless pursuit of you. He “wants all of His children to choose to return to Him,” and He employs every possible measure to bring you back.

Our loving Father oversaw the Creation of this very earth for the express purpose of providing an opportunity for you and for me to have the stretching and refining experiences of mortality, the chance to use our God-given moral agency to choose Him, to learn and grow, to make mistakes, to repent, to love God and our neighbour, and to one day return home to Him.

He sent His precious Beloved Son to this fallen world to live the full range of the human experience, to provide an example for the rest of His children to follow, and to atone and redeem. Christ’s great atoning gift removes every roadblock of physical and spiritual death that would separate us from our eternal home.

Everything about the Father’s plan for His beloved children is designed to bring everyone home.

What do God’s messengers, His prophets, call this plan in Restoration scripture? They call it the plan of redemption, the plan of mercy, the great plan of happiness, and the plan of salvation, which is unto all, “through the blood of mine Only Begotten.”

The intent of the Father’s great plan of happiness is your happiness, right here, right now, and in the eternities. It is not to prevent your happiness and cause you instead worry and fear.

The intent of the Father’s plan of redemption is in fact your redemption, your being rescued through the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, freed from the captivity of sin and death. It is not to leave you as you are.

The intent of the Father’s plan of mercy is to extend mercy as you turn back to Him and honour your covenant of fidelity to Him. It is not to deny mercy and inflict pain and sorrow.

The intent of the Father’s plan of salvation is in fact your salvation in the celestial kingdom of glory as you receive “the testimony of Jesus” and offer your whole soul to Him. It is not to keep you out.

Does this mean anything goes with regard to how we live our lives? That the way we choose to use our agency doesn’t matter? That we can take or leave God’s commandments? No, of course not. Surely one of Jesus’s most consistent invitations and pleas during His mortal ministry was that we change and repent and come unto Him. Fundamentally implicit in all of His teachings to live on a higher plane of moral conduct is a call to personal progression, to transformative faith in Christ, to a mighty change of heart.

God wants for us a radical reorientation of our selfish and prideful impulses, the eviction of the natural man, for us to “go, and sin no more.”

If we believe the intent of the Father’s all-reaching plan is to save us, redeem us, extend mercy to us, and thereby bring us happiness, what is the intent of the Son through whom this great plan is brought about?

The Son tells us Himself: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Jesus’s will is the benevolent Father’s will! He wants to make it possible for every last one of His Father’s children to receive the end goal of the plan—eternal life with Them. None is excluded from this divine potential.

If you are prone to worry that you will never measure up, or that the loving reach of Christ’s infinite Atonement mercifully covers everyone else but not you, then you misunderstand. Infinite means infinite. Infinite covers you and those you love.

Nephi explains this beautiful truth: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”

The Saviour, the Good Shepherd, goes in search of His lost sheep until He finds them. He is “not willing that any should perish.”

“Mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive.”

“Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you.”

He did not cast away the woman with the issue of blood; He did not recoil from the leper; He did not reject the woman taken in adultery; He did not refuse the penitent—no matter their sin. And He will not refuse you or those you love when you bring to Him your broken hearts and contrite spirits. That is not His intent or His design, nor His plan, purpose, wish, or hope.

No, He does not put up roadblocks and barriers; He removes them. He does not keep you out; He welcomes you in. His entire ministry was a living declaration of this intent.

Then of course there is His atoning sacrifice itself, which is harder for us to understand, beyond our mortal capacity to comprehend. But, and this is an important “but,” we do understand, can comprehend, the holy, saving intent of His atoning sacrifice.

The veil of the temple was rent in twain when Jesus died upon the cross, symbolising that access back to the presence of the Father had been ripped wide open—to all who will turn to Him, trust Him, cast their burdens on Him, and take His yoke upon them in a covenant bond.

In other words, the Father’s plan is not about roadblocks. It never was; it never will be. Are there things we need to do, commandments to keep, aspects of our natures to change? Yes. But with His grace, those are within our reach, not beyond our grasp.

This is the good news! I am unspeakably grateful for these simple truths. The Father’s design, His plan, His purpose, His intent, His wish, and His hope are all to heal you, all to give you peace, all to bring you, and those you love, home. Of this I am a witness in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, amen.

Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 117, 118.

See 2 Nephi 26:25, 27.

General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1.1, Gospel Library.

See Moses 7:33.

See Jacob 6:8; Alma 12:30.

See Alma 42:15.

See Alma 42:8, 16.

Moses 6:62.

See Doctrine and Covenants 45:4.

See Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–70.

See Omni 1:26.

See Matthew 4:17.

See Matthew 5–7. For example, in Matthew 5:43–44, the Savior taught His disciples that it was not enough to “love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” To follow Him, they also needed to “love [their] enemies.”

See Mosiah 5:2. In order for the mercy of Jesus Christ to be able to come into play in our lives, we must turn back to Him. Alma the Younger teaches that this glorious “plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance … ; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect” (Alma 42:13).

See Mosiah 3:19.

John 8:11.

John 6:38.

See Russell M. Nelson, “The Atonement,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 35: “His Atonement is infinite—without an end. It was also infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope—it was to be done once for all. And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him. It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension.”

2 Nephi 26:24.

See Luke 15:4.

2 Peter 3:9; see also Doctrine and Covenants 18:11–12.

3 Nephi 9:14.

3 Nephi 17:7; see also verse 6.

In Jesus Christ’s teachings indicating that some individuals will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, He makes it clear that this outcome is not His desire for them but is a result of their own choices (see Matthew 7:13–14, 21–25).

See Matthew 27:50–51; Hebrews 9:6–12.

By Brother David J. Wunderli

First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency

Years ago our son came home from Primary with a small picture of Jesus Christ. His Primary teacher had given it to him, and he cherished that picture. He slept with it, protected it, and carried it with him to school.

One Saturday morning we decided to take a family hike up a nearby canyon. Our six-year-old son carefully placed his picture of Jesus Christ into his backpack. That was it—he packed nothing else. When we stopped for lunch along the trail, he got busy finding small, unique rocks, and soon he had a large pile of them.

He asked me if he could take all these rocks home, and I said, “Sure, but you’ll have to carry them out yourself.”

He agreed and began filling his pack. Then he carefully placed his picture of Jesus Christ back on top and zipped it up. I lifted the heavy pack, put it on his back, and watched as he took one step forward and five steps backward until he fell to the ground. Undaunted, he opened his pack and removed three small rocks. One more try, one more fail.

Now, thinking there might be a lesson to be taught, I lightheartedly suggested that maybe he should remove his picture of Jesus. “That should lighten your load,” I said.

I will never forget the hurt look on his face. It seemed to say, “Dad, you really want me to take Jesus out of my pack and leave Him behind?” And then his look changed to “Dad, you’re not as smart as I thought you were.”

The Lord promised Enoch, “Mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”

Like Enoch, many of our youth today are choosing to abide with Jesus Christ. They are choosing to keep Him in their lives. They are walking with Him. They are gathering in record numbers to temples throughout the world. They wake before sunrise to participate in seminary. More are serving missions, resulting in more of God’s children being baptized than ever before. Today’s rising generation has been gifted with talents to gather and attributes of empathy and understanding. More are committed to becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.

In a recent visit to West Africa, Diane and I sat in the home of two young brothers who had recently joined the Church and were being raised by a single mother in humble circumstances. When asked what the gospel of Jesus Christ has done for their family, 16-year-old Joshua simply said, “Relief.”

Dear amazing young men and young women: As you continue your journey from baptism forward, through your teenage years and on to adulthood, committed to becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, know that rocks found along the way will begin to collect in your backpack—some by choice and some by the very nature of your journey in this life. As the weight increases, please remember that taking Jesus Christ out of your life is not the answer. Removing Him will not lighten your load.

The enemy of happiness wants to separate you from Jesus Christ. He will tempt you to remove the Savior from your life, enticing you to think that the road would be easier without Him, that the weight of His commandments is too great, that the path back is too long, that repentance is too hard. Know this: Satan is a liar. Jesus Christ is not the weight; He is the relief.

To His disciples, the Lord affirmed, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

He has overcome the world. He has taken “upon him the pains and [sickness] of his people.” He has suffered “afflictions and temptations of every kind; … that he may know … how to succor [us].” His pleading, loving, powerful invitation is to abide with Him. It is to stay with Him.

Each morning as you begin your daily walk, please make sure that Jesus Christ is with you. Then, as you face opposing forces aimed at separating you from Him, your confidence and resolve will be anchored to His truth, to His wisdom, to Him who is all-knowing. Your capacity to understand and forgive will be deeper. Your ability to love others, and even love yourself, will be an extension of His love—His infinite love—and you will have hope, real hope, because it will be in and “through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal⁠.”

Keeping Jesus Christ with you requires intentional, daily worship.

You keep Him with you as you reverently, with real intent, kneel and pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

You keep Him with you as you study the scriptures daily, especially the Book of Mormon, and reflect on the witness of Jesus Christ that it bears. As you do, He will guide you through your mists of darkness.

You keep Jesus Christ with you as you exercise faith in Him, trust Him, and turn to Him in sincere, daily repentance.

You keep Jesus Christ with you as you are willing to live your covenants every day and renew them every week.

My young brothers and sisters, it is that simple.

Abiding with Him eases your burdens. Walking with Him shapes your character and helps you become even as He is. It brings you real and lasting joy.

In his first interview as the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dallin H. Oaks was asked, “If there was one phrase, or one scripture, or one image that you would want members of the Church to carry with them right now as you begin this prophetic ministry, what would it be?”

To which our prophet responded, “Jesus Christ is the way.”

My dear young friends, may we together continue to walk with Jesus Christ, even in our most difficult moments—when we question our worth, doubt our capabilities, or question our faith. When we feel that we are alone, when the weight of life’s challenges sends us backward, may we hold strong to our resolve to keep Him with us.

Let us allow the Savior to ease our burdens—allow Him to help remove the rocks of addiction and the weight of our sorrows. Let Him contend with those who would contend with us. Let Him cleanse us from our sins again and again and, yes, even again. Let Him move the mountains before us and change the course of the powerful rivers in our lives that carry us away from Him.

Jesus Christ is not the weight; He is our relief; He is our strength; He is the way. May we all walk with Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Moses 6:34.

John 16:33.

Alma 7:11–12.

See John 15:4–9; Moses 6:34.

Moroni 7:41.

See Alma 34:26; 37:37; see also Richard G. Scott, “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Liahona, May 2007, 8–11.

See 1 Nephi 8. “My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It?,” Liahona, Nov. 2017, 62–63).

“Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

“Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day” (Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Liahona, May 2019, 67).

See 3 Nephi 18; Moroni 4:3; Doctrine and Covenants 20:77. “When we consciously and sincerely renew our baptismal covenants as we partake of the sacrament, we renew our qualification for the promise ‘that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us]’ (D&C 20:77)” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Always Have His Spirit,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 59).

See Alma 37:6.

See Matthew 11:28–30; Mosiah 24:13–15.

See 3 Nephi 27:27.

Dallin H. Oaks, in “New First Presidency Discusses Key Issues and Shares Hopes for the World” (video), Oct. 16, 2025, newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

See Ether 12:27. “I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It?,” 63).

See 1 Nephi 21:25.

See Mosiah 26:30. “To those who are struggling with the same sin or the same setback over and over again, you keep going. He hasn’t put a roadblock in front of you. He hasn’t set a limit on your second chances. You press on. You keep striving. You seek help from those around you. And you trust in the new beginning that is there for you every time you turn back to your Father in sincerity of heart. Leave deliberate sinning, casual repeats, and prideful rebellion behind you, where they belong. You don’t have to be who you’ve been before. Embrace your fresh start, your second or third or fourth—or hundredth—chance, offered to you through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ” (Patrick Kearon, “Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning,” Liahona, Nov. 2025, 55).

See Moses 6:34.

See Matthew 11:28–30.

See Isaiah 41:10.

See John 14:6.