Elder Patrick Kearon, “Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning”
Topics - Repentance, Jesus went about doing good continually
Acts 10:38
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
“Jesus ‘went about doing good.’ We read that simple report in the book of Acts. What an enormous understatement that is!”
John 21:25
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
“To each leper, blind man, and adulterous woman; to the lame, the deaf, and the dumb; to every grieving mother, desperate father, and mourning widow; to the condemned, the shamed, and the suffering; to the dead in body and the dead in spirit, what He did was offer a new beginning. Yes, another staggering understatement!
“Everything He said and did provided a new beginning for each of those He healed, blessed, taught, and relieved of sin.”
“And our new beginning doesn’t just happen once. We tend to think that our baptism is our one shot at a new beginning. It isn’t. We don’t have just one chance. These new beginnings can happen every day!”
“[Jesus] died for the express purpose of giving us as many new beginnings as we need! Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”
“New beginnings are at the heart of the Father’s plan for His children.”
“So, have you been away too long from your covenants to receive a new beginning? No. Have you done this or that too many times to be given another chance? No. Have you gone too far from Christ for Him to help you write a new story from here on out? No. The adversary is the only one who benefits from the idea that you’re sunk. You are not.”
“Please receive your new beginning, even today, right now.”
Sister J. Anette Dennis, “Cheering Each Other On”
Topics - Don’t judge, have Charity, Unity
“[It] takes great courage for some of our sisters and brothers to step into the arena of life every day, knowing they may be judged unfairly even though they’re doing the best they can against daunting odds to follow the Savior and honor their covenants with Him.”
“We need each other. Divine strength comes from unity, and that is why Satan is intent on dividing us.”
“If a couple in your ward gets divorced, or a young missionary returns home early, or a teenager doubts his testimony, they do not need your judgment. They need to experience the pure love of Jesus Christ reflected in your words and actions.” (President Russell M Nelson, “Peacemakers Needed”, April 2023 General Conference)
“Brothers and sisters, the pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us today. Charity propels us “to bear one another’s burdens” rather than heap burdens upon each other. The pure love of Christ allows us “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things”—especially in tense situations. Charity allows us to demonstrate how men and women of Christ speak and act—especially when under fire.” (President Russell M Nelson, “Peacemakers Needed”, April 2023 General Conference)
John 13:35
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
“Charity is the antidote to contention. Charity is the spiritual gift that helps us to cast off the natural man, who is selfish, defensive, prideful, and jealous. Charity is the principal characteristic of a true follower of Jesus Christ. Charity defines a peacemaker.
“The Savior’s message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire—no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.
“My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully. ‘If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ that we can say about another person—whether to his face or behind her back—that should be our standard of communication.” (President Russell M Nelson, “Peacemakers Needed”, April 2023 General Conference, emphasis added)
“His is not a gospel of checklists; it is a gospel of becoming—becoming as He is and loving as He does. He wants us to become a Zion people.”
“it was hard for me to attend church. I went, but it was partly because I was afraid of being labeled ‘inactive’ or ‘less faithful,’ and I was afraid of becoming someone’s assigned project. What I really needed during that time was to feel genuine love, understanding, and support from those around me, not judgment.
“Some of the assumptions I was afraid people would make about me, I myself had made about others when they didn’t regularly attend church.”
“Are there those among us who suffer in silence, afraid for others to know their hidden struggles because they don’t know what the reaction will be?”
Matthew 22:36–40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 25:40
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Doctrine and Covenants 38:27
27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
“He is the Great Judge of the race of life and the only one who fully understands the level of difficulty with which you are running or walking or shuffling.”
Elder Steven C Barlow, “‘Lovest Thou Me?’”
Topics - Unity, God teaches us at our level, Gratitude, reach out to others
“We also may let opportunities pass us by without letting our loved ones know, through our words and actions, of our sincere love for them.”
2 Nephi 31:3
3 For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.
Matthew 22:36–37
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“Sometimes the way we show our love to those we hold most dear is not necessarily the way they recognize love. This may be frustrating for both the giver and the receiver. It may be helpful to ask those we love how they recognize love expressed.”
John 21:15
15 ¶ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
“The key question in this inquiry by the Lord is ‘Lovest thou me more than these?’ We show our love to the Lord when we put Him above ‘these, and ‘these’ can be anyone, any activity, or anything that displaces Him from being the most important influence in our lives.”
“The question for each of us, regardless of race, is the same. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail, October 2020 General Conference)
“We show our love for Heavenly Father when we serve, listen to, love, lift, or minister to His children. That service may be as simple as truly seeing others without judgment.”
Doctrine and Covenants 76:94
94 They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace;
“We also manifest our love for God by having a grateful heart.”
“Our Heavenly Father’s goal in parenting is not to have His children do what is right; it is to have His children choose to do what is right and ultimately become like Him. If He simply wanted us to be obedient, He would use immediate rewards and punishments to influence our behaviors.” (Elder Dale G. Renlund, “Choose You This Day”, October 2018 General Conference)
Elder William K Jackson, “Remembering the Sheep”
Topics - Unity, reach out to others, be aware of people personally, count people to determine who we need to reach out to
Moroni 6:4–5
4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.
5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
“A young man, for example, has assigned to his well-being a bishopric, ministering brothers, adult youth advisers, seminary teachers, quorum presidencies, and then some—all serving as safety nets, strung up firmly beneath that youth to catch him if he falls.”
In the Church of Jesus Christ, we have been instructed by prophets past and prophets present—and by the pattern set by our Savior—how to minister. We take names, we remember, and we counsel over the welfare of souls. Leaders who do this will never run out of agenda items in their council meetings!
Elder Neil L Andersen, “The Atoning Love of Jesus Christ”
Topics - Repentance, Comfort
“With each passing year, I feel greater love for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for His merciful Atonement. His supreme sacrifice, securing victory over death and sin, is the most consequential contribution of all human history. Understanding His divine gift is for me an open-ended heavenly tutorial that will continue beyond the grave.”
“Healing and forgiveness are each found in their fulness in the atoning love of Jesus Christ.”
“Strengthening your faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, will invigorate the yearning of your soul to know Him, believe in Him, and yield your heart to Him. Enos asked about his own forgiveness, ‘Lord, how is it done?’ The Lord responded, ‘Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen.’”
Moroni 10:32
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
“A desire to truly return to God is accompanied by the determination to be completely honest with your Heavenly Father, with yourself, with those who were harmed, and with your priesthood leader. Your Heavenly Father rejoices in your resolve to come unto Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit.”
“Having a contrite spirit is humbly putting yourself in the hands of God; having a broken heart brings what the Apostle Paul described as ‘godly sorrow,’”
2 Corinthians 7:8-11
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Mosiah 21:14-15
14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.
15 And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.
“Be patient as the Lord gives you His blessing and approval by degrees.”
Alma 42:29
29 And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.
“For you who have been so unfairly injured by the serious sins of another, I long to share the Savior’s love and compassion, His comfort and peace.”
“When will your pain be gone, your grief subdued, the unwanted memories forgotten? I do not know. But this I do know: He has the power to bring beauty from the ashes of your suffering.”
John 16:20, 22
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
“I testify of the love, the mercy, and the grace of our Savior and Redeemer. He lives. We are His; we are children of the covenant. As we believe in Him, follow Him, and trust Him, He will lift us from our sorrows and our sins. Then, beyond this mortal life, in our Father’s house, we will live with Him forever and ever.”
