President Russell M. Nelson died late on a Saturday evening. At one point while working into the early morning hours of Sunday, I had a grateful thought.
It was the Sabbath, a day President Nelson taught us should be a “delight.” Latter-day Saints are fortunate to have dedicated meetinghouses, and this Sunday provided the opportunity to gather in a sacred space and reflect on President Nelson’s words — so many of which have become guideposts for me.
“Let God prevail,” “Faith in Him will move mountains,” “Think celestial” — all phrases and sermons I hold dear.
So on Sunday afternoon, I was in the pews of my own meetinghouse, less than a half mile from my home. Before the service began, our bishop stood to acknowledge the passing of President Nelson.
He encouraged us to take time during our meetings and at home to reflect on President Nelson’s life and teachings.
Then came the invocation, where a member of our congregation gave an emotional plea for the comfort and safety of those who endured the tragic shooting and burning of a meetinghouse in Michigan.
I can’t make sense of this day.
On a Sabbath where Latter-day Saints honor the life of a man who meant so much to us, we also mourn our dead — brothers and sisters ambushed in their house of worship. The horror they faced is incomprehensible.
There’s a phrase in the Book of Mormon that keeps coming into my mind. It’s spoken by Alma to an anti-Christ named Korihor: “Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings?”
Worship services, whatever the setting or congregation, should be about joy. But on Sept. 28, “rejoicings” weren’t just interrupted. They were shattered — and a community of brothers and sisters will never be the same.
A Latter-day Saint meetinghouse became the latest setting for the type of violence and senseless murder that invades our schools, our college campuses and our houses of worship.
I don’t share the opinion that America has become desensitized to shootings. I suspect many of us remember them poignantly. I recall the heaviness I felt while the details of Sandy Hook emerged — realizing one of my own children was the same age as the kids who were killed. I remember the anger I felt as the events of Uvalde unfolded. I remember the 61-year-old Latter-day Saint in Fallon, Nevada, who was shot at point-blank range while sitting in his sacrament meeting.
I can’t make sense of it, and can only think to look to the words of a remarkable man who just left this Earth.
President Nelson’s truths weren’t always easy to hear. He didn’t sugarcoat things. He emphasized the importance of effort and accountability. He himself knew pain and hardship, and he never minimized the harsh realities of mortality — or what it takes to get through them.
But his promises were never empty. They were always filled with hope and purpose.
On a day of deep loss and unimaginable tragedy, we can only believe in the miracle of healing. And that God, as President Nelson has taught, “loves us more than we can comprehend, that he sends angels to be with us and with those we love.”
His timeless counsel to “Let God prevail” seems particularly fitting.
“During these perilous times of which the Apostle Paul prophesied, Satan is no longer even trying to hide his attacks on God’s plan. Emboldened evil abounds. Therefore, the only way to survive spiritually is to be determined to let God prevail in our lives, to learn to hear his voice, and to use our energy to help gather Israel. …
“And what is the Lord willing to do for Israel? The Lord has pledged that he will ‘fight (our) battles, and (our) children’s battles, and our children’s children’s (battles) … to the third and fourth generation.’ … My dear brothers and sisters, as you choose to let God prevail in your lives, you will experience for yourselves that our God is ‘a God of miracles.’”
I can only hope and pray that angels are with those who are carrying such a heavy burden after today’s events, that they can feel God is fighting this difficult battle for them, and that he truly is a God of miracles.