Turn to Him

It is fitting that President Nelson’s last talk in general conference was about having confidence in the presence of God. Alma taught, “Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life” (Alma 40:11). Now that President Nelson has been taken home to that God who gave him life, surely he has done so with confidence in the presence of God. He taught us how to do so, “As we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives, our confidence in approaching God will increase. 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.” In encouraging us to seek to fill our lives with both charity and virtue, he reminded us of our need to be peacemakers: “I repeat what I said then: ‘Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions.’ True charity towards all men is the hallmark of peacemakers!” How tragic it is indeed that on the day the Church learned of his passing and mourned the death of a true peacemaker, tragic violence took the lives of at least four Latter-day Saints and the peace of hundreds of others in a horrific attack on a peaceful Sunday assembly. Surely President Nelson welcomed those whose lives were taken with loving arms to the other side of the veil.

                I found out about this unthinkable act of violence in our own sacrament meeting yesterday. The sister who stood to speak explained that that morning her phone had “blown up” with messages as the event took place, and in tears she told us that her former bishop was dead. She and her family had been in that ward in Michigan for many years, having moved to Utah only a couple of years ago. So it was her friends and former ward members who experienced this terrible tragedy. Her topic for the day—which she understandably struggled to get through—was the law of sacrifice. That reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ to whom the law was always meant to point us. Moroni wrote of the motivation behind the Savior’s sacrifice when He said to the Lord, “And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity” (Ether 12:33-34). His sacrifice was made in order to make all things right that this world turns upside down. As Preach My Gospel declares, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." Only through Jesus Christ can sense and meaning and salvation come out of the senseless and heart-wrenching experiences of this life. President Nelson invited us this way: “Not long before that appearance, His voice was heard among the people, including these words of supplication: ‘Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? … Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive.’ Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ extends that same invitation to you today. I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! He will heal you from sin as you repent. He will heal you from sadness and fear. He will heal you from the wounds of this world. Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!”  We cannot understand why such terrible events take place, but we can trust in the Lord to ultimately make things right and grant His followers peace and strength in such times. Through His atonement and love and mercy we can overcome even the terrible hatred of the world. We pray for “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” to be shed upon those of that congregation and their families and loved ones to “keep [their] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).