Time magazine published an Ideas piece Friday by President Russell M. Nelson, four days before the 101st birthday of the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Nelson shared what he called two divine truths in the 700-word essay, as well as his wish for his birthday on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
The first truth is that each person has inherent worth and dignity.
“I believe we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father,” he wrote. “But no matter your religion or spirituality, recognizing the underlying truth beneath this belief that we all deserve dignity is liberating — it brings emotional, mental and spiritual equilibrium — and the more you embrace it, the more your anxiety and fear about the future will decrease."
The second truth mirrors the Second Great Commandment taught by Jesus Christ.
“Love your neighbor and treat them with compassion and respect,” President Nelson wrote. “A century of experience has taught me this with certainty: anger never persuades, hostility never heals and contention never leads to lasting solutions. Too much of today’s public discourse, especially online, fosters enmity instead of empathy.”
He also encouraged readers to be peacemakers at home and build bridges of understanding everywhere else.
He said that Christ taught the same lessons — to love God and to love one’s neighbor.
“After 101 years, I can say that these are not abstract theological ideas — they are practical wisdom," he wrote. “They are what have sustained me through loss and triumph, uncertainty, peace, war and healing.”
He said it was his birthday wish that all people would embrace those teachings.
“If we embrace these eternal truths — honoring our own worth, treating others with dignity, and nurturing our families — our lives, and our world, will be steadier and more joyful."
On his 100th birthday last year, Newsweek magazine noted that President Nelson was the world’s oldest-living religious leader.
President Nelson has written op-eds before.
- In 2019, he invited readers of the Arizona Republic to look to Jesus Christ “and make him the center of your life.” The piece was posted hours before President Nelson spoke to 65,000 people at State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
- In 2020, he and NAACP leaders jointly published an op-ed in Medium calling for changes to root out racism in America’s homes, schools, businesses and political bodies. The leaders made their plea days after George Floyd’s death.
The Church of Jesus Christ is honoring his four decades as an apostle by sharing his teachings on social media in the days leading up to his birthday. It has invited people to share lessons they learned from President Nelson by using the hashtag #PresidentNelson101 to show how his teachings have impacted their lives and brought them closer to Jesus Christ.