Some 900,000 people have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the past three years — driven by the “power of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ,” said President Dallin H. Oaks.
“It’s a gospel of happiness and growth and information about the purpose of life,” said President Oaks, ordained Tuesday as the church’s 18th president and prophet. “People who subscribe to its doctrine find that it makes their life more happy, more significant, more resistant to the difficulties we all experience in mortal life, and more able to serve their fellow men and to raise their children.”
President Oaks and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson, sat down for an interview with award-winning journalist Jane Clayson Johnson on Wednesday.
In the interview, which was held in the Relief Society Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, the former journalist with CBS News and ABC News asked the church leaders about the role of women in the faith, the church’s recent rapid growth, messages for the rising generation, outreach to others and a range of other issues.
A message to those on the margins
For any who feel they do not fit in the church, President Oaks — who succeeded President Russell M. Nelson, who died Sept. 27 — said: “We are all children of God,” he emphasized. “God loves them, and he has a plan for them wherever they are on the pathway toward that divine destiny.”
President Eyring pointed to scriptures that describe Christ’s arms being outstretched in mercy and love.
“When anyone feels that they’re on the margin, they can’t get far enough away from the Savior that he would ever not be reaching to them,” President Eyring said. “My encouragement to them is just pray and you’ll have a feeling of being back from the margin and included.”
President Christofferson urged anyone feeling excluded to turn to Christ and join in service.
“Don’t wait always to be invited off the sideline,” he said. “Come forward and contribute what you can to the body of Christ. Everyone is valuable. Every contribution is valuable.”
The rising generation
Speaking to the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ, President Oaks said, “Trust in the Lord. Come and enjoy his blessings with us.”
President Eyring said he is optimistic for young people who turn to the Savior of the world.
“Congratulations! The Lord has saved you for the most exciting time in the history of this work in this world. I promise them a glorious future, and I think that it’s already emerging,” President Eyring said.
President Christofferson acknowledged the unique challenges of millennials and Gen Z. He urged youth to use technology for good — and to remember “there is no substitute for the Holy Ghost.”
“No technology, no other recourse or source can replace the Spirit,” he said. “Turn to the Lord, as President (Oaks) said. Jesus Christ is always the answer.”
The role of women
President Christofferson spoke of the need throughout the church to bring male and female perspectives into consideration when making decisions.
When “we bring both perspectives together, we get a better perspective. We get closer to the divine perspective,” President Christofferson said.
“Leadership is serving,” added President Eyring, “and women do that in a way that is just remarkable.”
President Oaks acknowledged that the church has “not always been wise in using the great qualification and powers of the daughters of God.”
“We have work left to do,” President Oaks said, “but we are a lot better off than we were even a decade ago.”
‘Jesus Christ is the way’
As he begins his ministry as prophet, President Oaks looked to the Savior.
“Jesus Christ is the way,” he said.
President Eyring added an invitation of his own to do more than just “come and see,” as a verse in the Bible says.
“Come and be and find the peace that you’re finding such difficulty discovering in the world around you,” he said.
President Christofferson pointed to the reality of Christ’s resurrection as the ultimate beacon of hope.
“For me, the fact of his resurrection is the proof of his power to fulfill all of his promises,” President Christofferson said. “It’s the proof of who he is.”
President Oaks concluded with his testimony: “I’m glad for this opportunity to testify that I know the Gospel ofJesus Christ in its fullness is the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Here are found the answers to life’s greatest questions. What is my relationship to God? Why am I here on Earth? What is the purpose of this sometimes troublesome mortal life? Where are we headed? How do we get there? What is my relationship to Jesus Christ?
“And how can that relationship be improved and I can live better and more securely with those I love and look forward to a life with them in the next life which is assured as a resurrected, embodied spirit child of God because of the mission of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I testify of these things, in the name of Jesus Christ.”