Jesus Christ is the perfect role model for Latter-day Saints, leaders say at Saturday morning session

Each person who commits to follow Jesus Christ can be blessed by the hope, strength, joy and transformative power of his gospel and his church, leaders said Saturday morning at the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice. It is a continuous commitment and way of life that should guide us at all times and in all places. His teachings and his example define the path for every disciple of Jesus Christ,” said President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency.

“Our hope is our Savior Jesus Christ,” said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“I invite you to commit yourself more fully to the Savior, his gospel, and his church,” said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Seven speakers addressed the opening session of the conference:

• President Oaks.
• Elders Andersen and Renlund.
• President Emily Belle Freeman of the Young Women General Presidency.
• Three General Authority Seventies — Elders Karl D. Hirst, David A. Homer and Gregorio E. Casillas.

Church President Russell M. Nelson watched the morning session from home. President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, conducted the session.

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President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency

• “What should followers of Christ teach and do in this time of toxic communications? ... It is significant that among the first principles Jesus taught when He appeared to the Nephites was to avoid contention.”
• “We need to love and do good to all. We need to avoid contention and be peacemakers in all our communications. This does not mean to compromise our principles and priorities, but to cease harshly attacking others for theirs. That is what our perfect role model did in his ministry. That is the example he set for us, as he invited us to follow him.”
• “As followers of Christ, we teach and testify of Jesus Christ, our perfect role model. So, let us follow him by foregoing contention. As we pursue our preferred policies in public actions, let us qualify for his blessings by using the language and methods of peacemakers. In our families and other personal relationships let us avoid what is harsh and hateful. Let us seek to be holy, like our Savior.”

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve

Elder Andersen titled his talk, “The Triumph of Hope.” He spoke of the August death of Trey Andersen, the son of his nephew, who had been accepted into the accounting program at BYU beginning this fall and planned to serve a mission next year. Trey died of complications from heart transplant surgery. He said hope in Christ comforted Trey’s family.

• “Like a light whose brilliance grows, hope brightens the darkened world, and we see our glorious future. Since the beginning, our Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son have eagerly blessed the righteous with the precious gift of hope.”
• “To fortify our hope in a time of increasing wickedness, the Lord has directed his prophet to dot the earth with his temples. As we enter the Lord’s house, we feel the Spirit of God, verifying our hope. The temple testifies of the empty tomb and that life beyond the veil continues for all.”
• “There is no pain, no sickness, no injustice, no suffering, nothing that can darken our hope as we believe and hold tightly to our covenants with God in the house of the Lord. It is a house of light, a house of hope.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Twelve

Elder Renlund compared the powerful combination of nitroglycerin and kieselguhr into dynamite to a combination he described as “beyond price,” the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“The covenantal access to his power is through his church. The combination of the Savior’s gospel and his church transforms our lives.”

“You will find that the combination of the Savior’s gospel and his church brings power into your life. This power is far greater than dynamite. It’ll shatter the rocks in your way, transform you into an inheritor in God’s kingdom, and you will be ‘filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.’”

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enables access to God’s power because it is authorized by him both to teach the doctrine of Christ and to offer the gospel’s saving and exalting ordinances.”

President Emily Belle Freeman, general Young Women president

President Freeman noted that her husband Greg recently received a diagnosis requiring intensive surgery and months of chemotherapy and said God’s priesthood unlocks heavenly power desperately needed by his children.

• She noted that at the time Latter-day Saints believe the priesthood was restored to earth, Emma Smith received a revelation. “Through revelation, Emma would learn about the inward sanctification and covenant connection that would increase the ability of those priesthood ordinances to work in her life.”
• “Emma didn’t just have a front row seat to the Restoration; she was an essential participant in the work taking place. She would be set apart ‘to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church.’ Emma was given a sacred role to help prepare the Saints to worship.”
• “Through his divine power, God would heal her heart, enlarge her capacity, and transform her into the version of herself he knew she could become. And through the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood, ‘the power of godliness [would be] manifest’ in her life and the Lord would part the veil so she could receive understanding from him. This is what it looks like for God’s power to work within us.”
• “Learn how priesthood ordinances and covenant promises will allow God’s power to flow into your life with greater efficacy, working in and through you, empowering and equipping you to reach your full purpose and potential.”

What did the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square Sing?

The Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square sang “Glory to God on High,” “Press Forward Saints,” “I Will Follow God’s Plan,” “How Firm a Foundation,” “God’s Gracious Love,” “Teach Me to Walk in the Light.”

The prayers were said by Elders J. Kimo Esplin and Isaac K. Morrison of the Seventy.

Elder New leadership

On Thursday, during the leadership session of general conference, leaders sustained six new Area Seventies to provide leadership in five countries.

Learn about those new leaders here.