As followers of Jesus Christ, Latter-day Saints believe in the “sanctity of human life,” no matter whose it is and what they believe, said a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as he spoke Sunday in a building just minutes from where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
“Life and death are sacred,” he said, “and it must be left to God to give or to take away.”
Acknowledging the “heaviness of the moment,” General Authority Seventy Elder Steven D. Shumway and his wife, Sister Heidi Shumway, took turns addressing the large group of young adults gathered Sunday for a previously scheduled devotional at the Utah Valley Institute of Religion. Together, they sought to teach listeners how they may find hope and peace in times of turmoil.
“We know that many of you are struggling with the heaviness of this dark experience,” said Elder Shumway, “and we hope that you will seek the essential care that you need for you to have healing.”
Elder Shumway added his witness that lasting healing comes as individuals choose to “walk away from the darkness” and “towards the light of Jesus Christ.”
“It is simple,” he said, quoting church President Russell M. Nelson. “You focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will know how to resolve every challenge you have.”
In his remarks, Elder Shumway also shared with listeners a message from President Nelson, which he obtained in a recent meeting with him.
‘Love your enemies’
With the recent killing of Charlie Kirk on the adjacent Utah Valley University campus, Elder Shumway said he and his wife have prayed for the Kirk family and “their peace.”
Yet, he said they have also included the “Robinson family” — the family of Kirk’s suspected killer — in their prayers, that they, too, may “receive the comfort that they need.”
Why? Elder Shumway explained this is because the act is consistent with Christ’s teachings to love others, including one’s enemies.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy,” said Elder Shumway, reading Christ’s words in the New Testament. “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Few teachings, Elder Shumway added, are “more difficult than this for us to live, and few are more defining to our discipleship than this holy mandate.”
Yet, he taught that when individuals “choose to respond to darkness in a Christlike way,” light enters their lives and their “endeavors.”
“The light (of Jesus Christ) is so powerful and so persuasive that it cannot be overcome by any amount of evil,” he continued. “It cannot be consumed by any death or darkness.”
With this thought, Elder Shumway charged listeners to seek Christ’s light, be peacemakers and surround themselves with goodness, after which he shared President Nelson’s hope in them as young adults.
“Our brightest days lie ahead of us, but the work will become more difficult,” Elder Shumway said President Nelson told him in a recent meeting. “(Still), the Lord will send brighter souls, so that he can accomplish this more difficult work.”
Elder Shumway then stated: “You are the brighter souls. … And the work will get more difficult.
“(But) you need to be able to see the good in the world, and you need to be able to convey it. … That is your role and responsibility, and it will require you great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
‘The best is yet to come’
Joining Elder Shumway in speaking at the devotional, Sister Shumway noted the strength she could feel from the young adults present, and the distinct reverence she felt while walking through the UVU campus.
“There’s a reverence here that I haven’t felt,” she said, “but there’s strength and there’s power, and we feel that from you.”
Sister Shumway then focused her remarks on President Nelson’s teaching that “the best is yet to come,” and said: “The best is yet to come, but it’s conditional on where we turn.
“This world is crazy and chaotic and seems impossible, but with Christ, all things are possible.”
Sister Shumway then shared the experience of a missionary she and her husband served with while leading the church’s Illinois Chicago Mission from 2019 to 2022. She said this missionary had been transferred to a “struggling area,” but that through his faith and hard work, he was able to witness miracles and help four people be baptized during his time there.
“I witness that as we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and optimism in his abilities, we will see miracles,” Sister Shumway said. “As we increase our faith in Jesus Christ, what seems to be impossible becomes possible.”
The Shumways’ four tools for hope
Near the close of the devotional, Elder and Sister Shumway stood at the pulpit together to share four tools that have helped them “be optimistic and not be fearful during challenging times.”
These were:
- Learning that “revelation comes as you act.”
- Prayerfully studying the Book of Mormon everyday.
- Letting the Sabbath day “belong to God.”
- Worshipping in the temple to offer thanks and seek instruction.
Of the fourth tool, Sister Shumway said the temple is a place of God where she has felt both the Lord and her ancestors give her strength and power to carry on.
She then shared her testimony of Jesus Christ and said he is pleased with them because they are “choosing him.”
“None of us are perfect. None of us stand without blame,” she said. “But perfection isn’t our aim in this life. Our aim is to choose Christ.”
Following Sister Shumway’s testimony, Elder Shumway shared his own, saying: “I am a witness to you tonight, that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a power to do things that we otherwise cannot do. (And) it is the conduit by which we can receive godly power through keeping covenants with him.”
