“Words Matter”

Posted on by Mitch Peterson

Last updated on June 30th, 2024 at 04:07 pm

General Conference Applied

S3 E10 – Sunday, June 23, 2024 | “Words Matter” by Elder Ronald A. Rasband; April 2024 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Doctrine: Prophets and Revelation: “A prophet is a person who has been called by God to speak for Him (see Amos 3:7). Prophets testify of Jesus Christ and teach His gospel. They make known God’s will and true character. At times, they prophesy of future events. God has called prophets to speak for Him in our day (see D&C 1:38).

“Revelation is communication from God to His children. When the Lord reveals His will to the Church, He speaks through His prophet. The scriptures—the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price—contain revelations given through ancient and latter-day prophets. The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s prophet on earth today.”

Principle: Prophets of God: “Many people find it easy to believe in the prophets of the past. But it is much greater to believe in and follow the living prophet. We raise our hands to sustain the President of the Church as prophet, seer, and revelator.

“How can we sustain the prophet? We should pray for him. His burdens are heavy, and he needs to be strengthened by the prayers of the Saints.

“We should study his words. We can listen to his conference addresses. We can also subscribe to the Ensign or Liahona so we can read his conference addresses and other messages he gives.

“We should follow his inspired teachings completely. We should not choose to follow part of his inspired counsel and discard that which is unpleasant or difficult. The Lord commanded us to follow the inspired teachings of His prophet.”

Christlike Attribute: Charity and Love: “As you pray to have charity fill your heart, you will taste of God’s love. Your love for people will increase, and you will come to feel a sincere concern for their eternal happiness. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like Him, and you will labor in their behalf.

“As you pray for the gift of charity, you will be less inclined to dwell on negative feelings such as anger or envy. You will become less likely to judge or criticize others. You will have more desire to try to understand them and their points of view. You will become more patient and try to help people when they are struggling or discouraged. (See Moroni 7:45.)

“Charity, like faith, leads to action. You strengthen it as you serve others and give of yourself.”

50th Episode Milestone

Statistics:

Words Matter

“Words matter a lot. Let me say that again. Words matter!

“They are the bedrock of how we connect; they represent our beliefs, morals, and perspectives. Sometimes we speak words; other times we listen. Words set a tone. They voice our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, for good or bad.

“Unfortunately, words can be thoughtless, hasty, and hurtful. Once said, we cannot take them back. They can wound, punish, cut down, and even lead to destructive actions. They can weigh heavily on us.

“On the other hand, words can celebrate victory, be hopeful and encouraging. They can prompt us to rethink, reboot, and redirect our course. Words can open our minds to truth.” -Elder Rasband

  • Our friend, upon learning that my 6-year-old ate some of my protein shake (eight spoonfuls) each day, said that he will be ‘the strongest guy on the football team.’ When my almost 9-year-old heard that, he decided it was time for him to start eating some of my protein shake each day as well (he has worked his way up to nine spoonfuls).
  • One of my mission companions told me not to sing because I didn’t sound good, and that criticism continues to impact my willingness to sing in a ward choir 15 years later.
  • The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success by Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson
    • “In fact, the very word plateau is comfortable – at least, far more comfortable than problem. We’ve found that it’s infinitely easier for couples, employees, and students to talk about plateaus than problems. Try this easy experiment: Ask one group of employees to talk about their problems at the company; then ask another to talk about plateaus they encounter at work. One conversation is negative, and usually descends into cattiness and name-calling. The other often leads to discussion of untapped potential and solutions. Guess which is which! …

      “A real plateau means you have stopped growing. It means your mind and senses are being dulled by sameness, by a routine that sucks the life and soul out of you, by getting less and less out of life while doing more and more. Plateaus ultimately force you to make bad decisions and feel desperate. Understanding this force, and tapping into it, will let you get more from less effort and feel more in tune with the reasons you were put on this planet. It will help you be a better coach, a better parent, a better provider for your family. Frustrated men and women who are unhappy with their lot in life make poor parents; the best gift any dad or mom can give a child is to be happy, and to teach their kids to be happy. Understanding your plateaus – feeling and dealing with the places in your life where you experience vague dissatisfaction, and doing it in the most efficient, successful way – is the quickest route to the equilibrium you seek, whether you have six children, sixteen grandchildren, or you enjoy the single life…

      “You don’t have problems in your life. You have plateaus.

      “Plateaus rob you of early successes. They make hard work worthless. They turn beginner’s luck into sophomore slumps. They can even make you look lazy, dumb, careless, or unloving. You aren’t any of these things. You’ve just been fighting an invisible enemy. Now, you can see it.”
  • “Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply, ‘If I were any better, I would be twins!’

    “Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant. Why? Because Jerry was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

    “Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him: ‘I don’t get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?’

    “Jerry replied, ‘Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life.’

    “‘But it’s not always that easy,’ I protested.

    “‘Yes it is,’ Jerry said. ‘Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. It’s your choice how you live your life.’

    “Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business. He left the back door of his restaurant open, and he was robbed by three armed men.

    “While Jerry was trying to open the safe box, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.

    “After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

    “I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, ‘If I were any better, I’d be twins. Want to see my scars?’

    “I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. ‘The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,’ Jerry replied. ‘Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or could choose to die. I chose to live.’

    “‘Weren’t you scared?’ I asked.

    “Jerry continued, ‘The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.’

    “‘What did you do?’ I asked.

    “‘Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,’ said Jerry. ‘She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

    “Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.

    “I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it. The only thing that is truly yours – that no one can control or take from you – is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.”

What is the speaker inviting me to do, and how might I consider taking action?

Invitations

1: “We ‘hear Him’ in the words of scripture, but do we let them just sit on the page, or do we recognize He is speaking to us? Do we change?”

  • Study our Savior’s words enough to be changed by them.
  • “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives“, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2017 General Conference: “Earlier this year, I asked the young adults of the Church to consecrate a portion of their time each week to study everything Jesus said and did as recorded in the standard works. I invited them to let the scriptural citations about Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide become their personal core curriculum.

    “I gave that challenge because I had already accepted it myself. I read and underlined every verse cited about Jesus Christ, as listed under the main heading and the 57 subtitles in the Topical Guide. When I finished that exciting exercise, my wife asked me what impact it had on me. I told her, ‘I am a different man!'”
  • Church News Podcast Episode 67: Sister Nelson on being an eyewitness to President Nelson’s four years as Prophet: “[Sister Wendy Nelson]: I think of this young friend — I first met her with her family when she was a teenager. This was in California, and now she’s married, having her third son. But she wrote to me in November and just said, ‘Oh, life is hard, and what can I do? I’m overwhelmed.’ And let’s see if I can find this from November. She said, ‘I’m so tired physically, emotionally, mentally, I don’t know how you and President Nelson have made it so far in life.’ (That means she’s saying, ‘Whoa, you guys are old.’) ‘And still have the kind of energy you both do.’ So, she was feeling really, really overwhelmed. She said she was in her third, very high risk pregnancy. And Sundays, which had been such a break for her, now were just stressful as she wrestled two little children. So I thought, ‘How could I possibly help her?’ So in November, I, first of all, just said, ‘You’re right, life is hard. And you’re in the throes of a lot of problems and to have high risk pregnancies so close together and jeopardizing your own health, it’s just a lot.’ So I gave her a suggestion that she actually followed through with: I invited her to take a question that she most needed to have answered, on whatever day. So, for 30 days, to take the question that was on her heart for that day, to the scriptures, and thank her Heavenly Father for the scriptures, tell him the one question that she needed to have answered that day, ask for the Holy Ghost to be with her as she read, open the scriptures and read until she finds the answer, and then to record what she found. Well, that was in November, and she just wrote on January 19, and said — she apologized, first of all for taking so long, but we can imagine, here’s a young mother with her third high risk pregnancy — and the title of this email that she sent was, ‘Life is hard, but it’s happy.’ Now, don’t you love that? Yes. So she said, ‘I’ve learned a lot over the past couple of months. I’m not even sure where to start. In regards to your challenge, I feel so much more peace in my life right now. By focusing on one question a day, and really listening to what Heavenly Father was trying to share with me and writing it down, made me love the scriptures even more. I found I had more direction and purpose in my daily study. I have also been able to focus on what matters and not stress over the little things. As such, my stress and anxiety have improved immensely. One thing my OB-GYN is very grateful for seeing, as it has helped to lower my blood pressure.’ Well, she goes on and on, but that’s the difference that can come to us when we really do seek the answers that are in the scriptures, seek to hear the word of the Lord, talk to our Heavenly Father, tell Him what is the one big question on our heart that day. Then go to the scriptures, which, of course, modern-day prophets that we have right now speak the word of Lord, go to their voices as well.”
  • “Safety for the Soul“, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, October 2009 General Conference: “May I refer to a modern ‘last days’ testimony? When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother:

    “‘Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

    “‘And now I, Moroni, bid farewell … until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ.’

    “A few short verses from the 12th chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die. I hold in my hand that book, the very copy from which Hyrum read, the same corner of the page turned down, still visible. Later, when actually incarcerated in the jail, Joseph the Prophet turned to the guards who held him captive and bore a powerful testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Shortly thereafter pistol and ball would take the lives of these two testators.

    “As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

    “Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be ‘houseless, friendless and homeless’ and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

    “For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands. Failed theories about its origins have been born and parroted and have died—from Ethan Smith to Solomon Spaulding to deranged paranoid to cunning genius. None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young unlearned translator. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, ‘No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.’

    “I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies. If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages—especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers—if that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: ‘a stone of stumbling, … a rock of offence,’ a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work. Witnesses, even witnesses who were for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates. ‘They have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man,’ they declared. ‘Wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.’

    “Now, I did not sail with the brother of Jared in crossing an ocean, settling in a new world. I did not hear King Benjamin speak his angelically delivered sermon. I did not proselyte with Alma and Amulek nor witness the fiery death of innocent believers. I was not among the Nephite crowd who touched the wounds of the resurrected Lord, nor did I weep with Mormon and Moroni over the destruction of an entire civilization. But my testimony of this record and the peace it brings to the human heart is as binding and unequivocal as was theirs. Like them, ‘[I] give [my name] unto the world, to witness unto the world that which [I] have seen.’ And like them, ‘[I] lie not, God bearing witness of it.’

    “I ask that my testimony of the Book of Mormon and all that it implies, given today under my own oath and office, be recorded by men on earth and angels in heaven. I hope I have a few years left in my ‘last days,’ but whether I do or do not, I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I could summon, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it came forth the way Joseph said it came forth and was given to bring happiness and hope to the faithful in the travail of the latter days.

    “My witness echoes that of Nephi, who wrote part of the book in his ‘last days’:

    “‘Hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, … and they teach all men that they should do good.

    “‘And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day.'”

2: “Elder George Albert Smith, long before becoming President of the Church, spoke of sustaining the prophet and heeding his words. He said: ‘The obligation that we make when we raise our hands … is a most sacred one. … It means … that we will stand behind him; we will pray for him; … and we will strive to carry out his instructions as the Lord shall direct.’ In other words, we will diligently act upon our prophet’s words.”

  • Act diligently upon the prophet’s words.
  • “As one of 15 prophets, seers, and revelators sustained yesterday by our worldwide Church, I want to share with you one of my experiences sustaining the prophet and embracing his words. It was for me much like the prophet Jacob, who recounted, ‘I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word.’

    “Last October my wife, Melanie, and I were in Bangkok, Thailand, as I was preparing to dedicate what would be the Church’s 185th temple. For me, the assignment was both surreal and humbling. This was the first temple on the Southeast Asia peninsula. It was masterfully designed—a six-story, nine-spired structure, ‘fitly framed’ to be a house of the Lord. For months I had contemplated the dedication. What had settled in my soul and mind was that the country and the temple had been cradled in the arms of prophets and apostles. President Thomas S. Monson had announced the temple and President Nelson the dedication.

    “I had prepared the dedicatory prayer months earlier. Those sacred words had been translated into 12 languages. We were ready. Or so I thought.

    “The night before the dedication, I was awakened from my sleep with an unsettled, urgent feeling about the dedicatory prayer. I tried to set aside the prompting, thinking the prayer was in place. But the Spirit would not leave me alone. I sensed certain words were missing, and by divine design they came to me in revelation, and I inserted these words in the prayer near the end: ‘May we think celestial, letting Thy Spirit prevail in our lives, and strive to be peacemakers always.’ The Lord was reminding me to heed the words of our living prophet: ‘Think celestial,’ ‘let the Spirit prevail,’ ‘strive to be peacemakers.’ Words of the prophet matter to the Lord and to us.” -Elder Rasband
  • Principle: Prophets of God: “Many people find it easy to believe in the prophets of the past. But it is much greater to believe in and follow the living prophet. We raise our hands to sustain the President of the Church as prophet, seer, and revelator.

    “How can we sustain the prophet? We should pray for him. His burdens are heavy, and he needs to be strengthened by the prayers of the Saints.

    “We should study his words. We can listen to his conference addresses. We can also subscribe to the Ensign or Liahona so we can read his conference addresses and other messages he gives.

    “We should follow his inspired teachings completely. We should not choose to follow part of his inspired counsel and discard that which is unpleasant or difficult. The Lord commanded us to follow the inspired teachings of His prophet.”
  • Church News Podcast Episode 178: Relief Society general presidency celebrates the 182nd anniversary of the organization: “Well, I start my mornings on my knees. And while I get ready in the morning, I actually listen to the words of President Russell M. Nelson. It’s the very best way for me to start my day, is to hear His voice and His reassurance of the promises that are available to us if we follow the Prophet — the Lord’s mouthpiece and the watchman on the tower.” (President Camille N. Johnson) (March 10, 2024 What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter)
  • April 7, 2024, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter: “I remember being in a stake conference. President Monson used to be in one of the stakes. I lived in Salt Lake and I remember him one day just saying, ‘No one prays for Gordon like Tommy (i.e., no one prays for Gordon B. Hinckley like Thomas S. Monson). No one.'”
  • Church News Podcast Episode 67: Sister Nelson on being an eyewitness to President Nelson’s four years as Prophet: “[Sister Wendy Nelson]: Well, I was intrigued with a statement made by my husband decades ago. It was several years before he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, and he said that he stopped putting question marks behind what a prophet would say. Instead, he put exclamation points after everything a prophet would say, and that started me to think: Imagine in this time when the media, social and otherwise, is so filled to overflowing with ideas that are offered as truth that are just silly, just like the emperor’s new clothes. Imagine if we used the words of the prophets to help us detect specious notions, as well as their intentions. In this war of words that rages all around us, I really think there’s only one way to keep ourselves safe, and that is to compare anything and everything we read, view or hear with the teachings of the prophets. If it’s not in harmony, we should run away, actually, we should run screaming into the hills. So I think there is a question we can use as a litmus test to discern what is true, what is not, and that question is, ‘What did the Prophet say?’ I started to think, ‘How would our lives improve if we used prophetic words as our standard of truth?’ And I started to think about — imagine if we did follow the prophets with exactness. Imagine if, for example, for 30 days, we put an exclamation mark after every statement from a prophet, and we put a question mark after everything else we read, see, or hear. What could happen in only 30 days? My guess is the amount of stress we experience would actually decrease, because false philosophies of man, false philosophies, partial truths, silliness, produce a kind of tension and anxiety that’s almost immobilizing. I think we’ll be amazed at what we could discover if, for 30 days, we chose to follow the prophets with exactness.”
  • “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys” by President Russell M. Nelson; April 2024 General Conference: Six Invitations
    • “I hope you will repeatedly study the messages of this conference throughout the coming months.”
    • “Jesus Christ then declared that He had accepted the temple as His house and made this stunning promise: ‘I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.’ This significant promise applies to every dedicated temple today. I invite you to ponder what the Lord’s promise means for you personally.”
    • “Consider how your life would be different if priesthood keys had not been restored to the earth.”
    • “I invite you to consider carefully the following three statements: 1) The gathering of Israel is evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere. 2) The gospel of Abraham is further evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere. He invites all to come unto Him—’black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.’ 3) The sealing power is supernal evidence of how much God loves all of His children everywhere and wants each of them to choose to return home to Him.”
    • “Joseph Smith’s dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days. I encourage you to study that prayer, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 109.”
    • “We are also promised that in the temple we may ‘receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost.’ Imagine what that promise means in terms of having the heavens open for each earnest seeker of eternal truth.”
  • 2024 Worldwide Relief Society Devotional: President Russell M. Nelson: “Today, I invite you to make the scriptures your personal Liahona, the temple your place of refuge and recalibration, and your personal prayers the way you learn where the Lord needs you to be that day. Over time, you will be astonished by how He will guide you to be exactly where you can lead, guide, and walk beside someone who needs you.” (March 24, 2024, What? Eye. Read. 💡 Newsletter)
  • June 1, 2024 Social Media Post (President Russell M. Nelson): “I am soon approaching my 100th birthday. One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the 1 who was lost.

    “At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts. But one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.

    “Over the coming months I invite you to consider prayerfully: who do you know who may be discouraged? Who might you need to reconcile with or ask for forgiveness? Has one name been on your mind lately, though you haven’t quite known why? As you bring these questions to the Lord, He will inspire you to know how you can reach out and lift one who needs help.

    “What a beautiful example the Savior has shown us – that through each of us ministering to just one within our reach, we can spread the love of Jesus Christ throughout the world.”

3: “Our words on the internet, texting, social media, or tweets take on a life of their own. So be careful what you say and how you say it. In our families, especially with husbands, wives, and children, our words can bring us together or drive a wedge between us.”

  • “True disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire—no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.” (“Peacemakers Needed“, President Russell M. Nelson, April 2023 General Conference)
  • Church News Podcast Episode 12: Sister Wendy Nelson joins Sister Sheri Dew to talk about President Nelson’s 3 years as Prophet: “[Sister Sheri Dew]: President Nelson gave a talk called ‘Hear Him.’ What have you learned about hearing Him, how to hear Him, from being married to President Nelson?”

    “[Sister Wendy Nelson]: What I’ve learned about hearing Him is this: That everything we do in our home is to increase his ability and my ability to hear the voice of the Lord, as brought to us by the Spirit. To increase his ability to receive revelation for the Church; to increase my ability to receive personal revelation for my life. To hear Him, what I’ve learned is we absolutely remove anything that prevents the Spirit from being in our home in full abundance. An example is zero contention. I thought that was an impossible thing. And until I really started to study what the Savior taught the Nephites, and to say ‘contention is not of me.’ And so, literally, if we would be watching a movie, and there would be contention, he needed to turn it off. If there was a sporting game, but it became contentious rather than competitive, he would turn it off. So anything that offends the Spirit —contention. We’re extremely careful about whatever we watch, a movie, etc. Our home is designed by both of us to make sure that the Spirit can be there and full abundance so that hearing Him is always on our mind.”

4: “Let me suggest three simple phrases that we can use to take the sting out of difficulties and differences, lift, and reassure each other:
“‘Thank you.’
“‘I am sorry.’
“And ‘I love you.’
“Do not save these humble phrases for a special event or catastrophe. Use them often and sincerely, for they show regard for others.”

  • There’s no such thing as being too kind.
  • Church News Podcast Episode 67: Sister Nelson on being an eyewitness to President Nelson’s four years as Prophet: “[Sister Wendy Nelson]: The voice of the Prophet in his own home is kind and loving and lifting. I love my husband’s love of words, and I love his respect for words and his respect for the power of words. He’s so mindful of that, and he uses his words, in our home and with others, to love and to lift and to lift me.

    “I’ll give you just a homely little example, but if I’m seeking his opinion on something that might be good for us to do, he uses it as an opportunity to let me know how much he trusts me. I’ll give you an example: I might say, ‘Honey, do you think it would be good if we—’ and then he doesn’t even let me finish the sentence before he enthusiastically responds, ‘Yes.’ And usually, when he did that, I said, ‘Oh, how can you say yes when you haven’t even heard of what I’m proposing?’ His response was, and I love this: ‘Because I know you. I know you’ve thought it through, and if you think it’s a good idea, so do I.’ So, he’s really easy to love. …

    “Also, imagine having a husband who, when we’re working or playing together, he’ll say, right out of the blue: ‘Have I told you adequately today how much I love you?’ Or he’ll say, ‘Thanks for marrying me.’ And I love when I ask my husband, anytime during the day, ‘How are you today, dear?’ He answers, ‘In love.’ OK, that melts my heart every time. …

    “President Nelson never delays, he never puts off anything. I learned this early in our marriage. We would be drifting off to sleep, and I would think of something I needed his help with. I’d softly mention it to him as something that we might do on the weekend. And he would bolt up in bed and say enthusiastically, ‘So what’s wrong with now?’ And suddenly, we would be in the garage looking for a hammer and nail to hang a picture.”

5: “Let me share a personal example. Husbands, take heed. Sisters, this is going to help you too. Before my full-time assignment in the Church, I traveled widely for my company. I was gone a fair amount of time to far reaches of the world. At the end of my day, no matter where I was, I always called home. When my wife, Melanie, picked up the phone and I reported in, our conversation always led us to expressing ‘I love you.’ Every day, those words served as an anchor to my soul and my conduct; they were a protection to me from evil designs. ‘Melanie, I love you’ spoke of the precious trust between us.”

  • Never let a day end without expressing love and affection to your significant other.
  • 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week by Tiffany Shlain
    • “Every morning, when one of us walks down the stairs, no matter what the other one is doing – writing, sipping, scrolling, typing – we stop, get up, and walk toward each other for a long hug… a two-armed, full, smushy heart-to-heart embrace – that simple. It may sound a little corny, but it frames the day in love. We do this when the girls walk down the stairs, too.”
  • 5/23/2024 Journal Entry: Even if we’re not on a business trip, are we making time to put down our electronic devices to express love and affection to our significant other?

6: “We are Heavenly Father’s children and He is our God, and He expects us to speak with ‘the tongue of angels’ by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

  • Qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost so that we can speak with ‘the tongue of angels.’
  • Bluffdale Utah Independence Stake Conference, Saturday, March 6 – Sunday, March 7, 2021, Bishop L. Todd Budge (Presiding Bishopric): “Focus on what people are doing well. As you do, the Holy Ghost will teach them what they can do better. *This is the key to motivating people.”
  • When we speak by the Spirit, and our words are received by those who have the companionship of the Spirit, we can expect miracles.

Take Action

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Tags

Communication | Love | Prophets

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