Invitations From President Nelson

As we prepare for the next general conference (where has the time gone?!) I thought I would review the talks that President Nelson gave in April and the invitations that he gave us. Surely one of the best ways to prepare for the next general conference is to work to apply the teachings we received in the last, and perhaps what the prophet himself taught is the best place to start. Here are the major invitations that he gave as I see in his several talks:

    Daily Repentance—This is a renewed invitation from the April 2019 general conference. He invited, “We do this by striving daily to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we do that as we repent daily and receive His cleansing, healing, and strengthening power.”

    Worldwide Fast—President Nelson invited us to fast again, saying, “I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.” In my mind that fast certainly had the intended impact and we should thank the Lord for these blessings. Though certainly the pandemic is not over, the economy has undoubtedly been strengthend (for example, the Nasdaq was at 8,153 points on April 9^th and is at 11,313 today, well higher than before the pandemic). Daily deaths in the United States from COVID-19 were at about 2000 at that time but are now averaging less than half that despite the fact that daily cases are much higher. And life has certainly become more normalized for many parts of the world than it was back at the beginning of April, even if we do still have some restrictions.

    Hear Him—This was surely the most repeated invitation and was the title of one of his talks. He said, “We are to seek, in every way we can, to hear Jesus Christ, who speaks to us through the power and ministering of the Holy Ghost.” He also invited us, “As we seek to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths.” Again he said, “We pray that you will begin anew truly to hear, hearken to, and heed the words of the Savior.” He also gave several specific invitations about how we can hear Him:

o   Study the scriptures—“As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face.”

o   Family history work—“I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.”

o   Personal revelation—“We also hear Him more clearly as we refine our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now…. I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.”

o   Heed the prophets—“And, finally, we hear Him as we heed the words of prophets, seers, and revelators. Ordained Apostles of Jesus Christ always testify of Him.”

·        Study the Proclamation—He gave the new proclamation on the Restoration and invited us in these words: “Study it privately and with your family members and friends. Ponder the truths and think of the impact those truths will have on your life if you will hear them, hearken to them, and heed the commandments and covenants that accompany them.”

·        Come, Follow Me Program—He invited us to continue using this program in our homes. He said, “Thank you for your desire to make your homes true sanctuaries of faith, where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell. Our gospel study curriculum, Come, Follow Me, will continue to bless your lives. Your consistent efforts in this endeavor—even during those moments when you feel that you are not being particularly successful—will change your life, that of your family, and the world.”

·        Temples—Though temples are still closed, he still invited us to focus on the temple saying, “Talk about the temple with your family and friends. Because Jesus Christ is at the center of everything we do in the temple, as you think more about the temple you will be thinking more about Him. Study and pray to learn more about the power and knowledge with which you have been endowed—or with which you will yet be endowed.”

      As I ponder these invitations I realize that I still have work to do to fully follow these invitations from our prophet. The Lord gave us this direction concerning the prophet’s words: “Thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-6). Surely that applies to us today with President Nelson’s words as we seek, with patience and faith, to give heed to his words and follow his counsel.