In many of his messages, he’s able to take a gospel principle and explain it using thoughtful examples.

In the October 2017 general conference of the church, he compared the priesthood to a rocket and the opportunity to benefit from the atoning power of Jesus Christ to the payload delivered by the rocket. In a June 2020 social media post, he compared tuning our ears to hear the Holy Ghost to using a stethoscope to hear the human heart, something he had much experience with as a cardiologist. In September 2021, at a Brigham Young University devotional, he compared cycling through the doctrine of Christ — which includes faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost — to traveling a road that goes up a mountain peak in an ascending spiral. In April 2023, he likened the Amazon River and tidal bores — caused by the alignment of the sun, moon and earth — to our own lives and submitting our wills to God.

Two months ago, at the most recent general conference of the church, Elder Renlund provided another fascinating lesson, this time comparing the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to dynamite. From his address, we learn exactly why the combination of each element — the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ — is necessary to fully realize the power that God is able to bless us with.

Explaining the comparison, Elder Renlund said:

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“For centuries, black powder was the most powerful explosive available. It could launch cannon balls, but it wasn’t effective for most mining and road construction projects. It was just too weak to shatter rock.

“In 1846, an Italian chemist named Ascanio Sobrero synthesized a new explosive, nitroglycerin. This oily fluid was at least a thousand times more powerful than black powder. It could easily shatter rock. Unfortunately, nitroglycerin was unstable. If you dropped it from a small height, it’d blow up. If it got too hot, it’d blow up. If it got too cold, it’d blow up. Even placed in a cool, dark room and left alone, it’d eventually blow up. Most countries banned its transportation, and many banned its manufacture.”

This story made me think of an episode of a show I watched as a kid, “Little House on the Prairie.” In the episode, two of the main characters were compelled to take a dangerous job transporting wagons full of nitroglycerin on a mountain road in order to earn enough money to take care of their families during a recession.

The show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

In the episode, a dramatic scene took place in which the men were told exactly what their responsibilities were.

“There’s 6 ounces of nitro in this bottle,” said the man offering the job. “If it blows, this whole place is kindling.”

“Six ounces?” questioned one of the men.

“That’s right,” the employer said. “You’ll be carrying 5 gallons in each wagon. I suggest you treat it with the utmost respect. You should keep the two wagons widely separated at all times. You’ll take the lead position in turn. There’ll be two men with each wagon. One man will drive; the other will walk ahead of the wagon with a shovel, filling chuck holes, removing rocks and warning the driver of anything that might seriously jar the wagon. Questions?”

“Yeah, this jar, how much would it take?” the same man as before questioned.

“To detonate the oil? I can’t answer that precisely,” the employer said. “Temperature has a great deal to do with it. The greater the change in temperature, the more unstable the oil becomes. You’ll be given thermometers. You’ll be shown how to take the temperature of the oil and how to cool it. And that’s about it.”

Not a job that sounds like a whole lot of fun, huh?

Continued Elder Renlund:

“In 1860, a Swedish scientist named Alfred Nobel began trying to stabilize nitroglycerin. After seven years of experimentation, he achieved his goal by absorbing nitroglycerin into a nearly worthless substance known as diatomaceous earth, or kieselguhr. Kieselguhr is a porous rock that can be crumbled into a fine powder. When mixed with nitroglycerin, kieselguhr absorbs the nitroglycerin, and the resultant paste can be shaped into ‘sticks.’ In this form, nitroglycerin was much more stable. It could be safely stored, transported and used with undiminished explosive power. Nobel named the combination of nitroglycerin and kieselguhr ‘dynamite.’

“Dynamite changed the world. It also made Nobel wealthy. Without a stabilizer, nitroglycerin was just too hazardous to be commercially valuable, as Ascanio Sobrero found out. By itself, as I mentioned, kieselguhr was of little value. But the combination of the two components made dynamite transformative and precious.

“In a similar way, the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides powerful and transformative benefits for us. The gospel is perfect, but a divinely commissioned church is required to preach it, maintain its purity and administer its sacred ordinances with the savior’s power and authority.”

Drawing from the Book of Mormon to continue his message, Elder Renlund said:

“Consider the combination of the savior’s gospel and his church as established by the Book of Mormon prophet Alma. The church was responsible for preaching ‘nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who [would redeem] his people.’ (Mosiah 18:7, 20; 25:15, 22) Using God’s authority, the church was responsible for administering the ordinance of baptism ‘in the name of the Lord, as a witness [of entering] into a covenant with him [to] serve him and keep his commandments.’ (Mosiah 18:10) The people who were baptized took on themselves the name of Jesus Christ, (2 Nephi 31:13) joined his church (Mosiah 18:17; 25:18, 23; Alma 4:4-5; Helaman 3:24-26; 3 Nephi 28:18, 23) and were promised great power through an outpouring of the spirit. (2 Nephi 31:12-14; Mosiah 18:10)

“People flocked to the Waters of Mormon to hear Alma preach the gospel. Though they revered those waters and the surrounding forests, the Lord’s church was not a location or a building, nor is it today. The church is simply ordinary people, disciples of Jesus Christ, gathered and organized into a divinely appointed structure that helps the Lord accomplish his purposes. The church is the instrument through which we learn the central role of Jesus Christ in Heavenly Father’s plan. The church offers the authoritative way for individuals to participate in ordinances and make lasting covenants with God. Keeping those covenants draws us closer to God, gives us access to his power and transforms us into who he intends us to become.” (Mosiah 18:22; Moses 6:68)

According to a missionary manual on the website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the gospel of Jesus Christ is our Heavenly Father’s plan for the happiness and salvation of His children. It is called the gospel of Jesus Christ because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to this plan. According to His plan, our Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to show us how to live meaningful and happy lives and experience eternal joy after this life. Through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, you can become clean from sin and enjoy peace of conscience. You can become worthy to live in our Heavenly Father’s presence after this life.”

The manual continues:

“To receive this peace and strength, you must learn and follow the principles and ordinances of the gospel. A principle is a truth that can be applied in life; an ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood and is often a means of entering into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. The first principles of the gospel are faith in Jesus Christ and repentance. The first ordinances of the gospel are baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. After you learn and follow the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, you seek to follow Christ’s example throughout the remainder of your life. This continued faithfulness is called ‘enduring to the end.'”

Thus, we see the importance of both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ. Without the gospel, there is no plan for us to return to Heavenly Father. There is no chance to overcome sin and death. Without the church, there is no authoritative way to participate in ordinances that are necessary as part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elaborating, Elder Renlund explained:

“Just as dynamite without nitroglycerin is unremarkable, the savior’s church is special only if it is built on his gospel. (3 Nephi 27:13-21) Without the savior’s gospel and the authority to administer the ordinances thereof, (Articles of Faith 1:5) the church isn’t exceptional. (3 Nephi 27:9-11)

“Without the stabilizing effect of kieselguhr, nitroglycerin had limited value as an explosive. As history has shown, without the Lord’s church, humanity’s understanding of his gospel was likewise unstable — prone to doctrinal drift and subject to the influence of different religions, cultures and philosophies. (Ephesians 4:11, 13-14) An amalgamation of those influences has been manifested in every dispensation leading up to this last one. Though the gospel was initially revealed in its purity, the interpretation and application of that gospel gradually took on a form of godliness that lacked power because the divinely authorized framework was absent. (Joseph Smith–History 1:19)

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enables access to God’s power because it is authorized by him both to teach the doctrine of Christ and to offer the gospel’s saving and exalting ordinances. The savior yearns to forgive our sins, help us access his power and transform us. He suffered for our sins and longs to pardon us from the punishment that we otherwise would deserve. He wants us to become holy and be perfected in him. (Moroni 10:32-33)

“Jesus Christ has the power to do this. He didn’t simply sympathize with our imperfections (Hebrews 4:15) and lament our eternal condemnation in consequence of sin. (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15-18) No, he went beyond that, infinitely beyond that, and restored his church to enable access to his power.

“The core of the gospel that the church teaches is that Jesus Christ bore ‘our griefs, and carried our sorrows.’ He had ‘laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Isaiah 53:4-12) He ‘endured the cross,’ (Hebrews 12:2) broke ‘the bands of death,’ (Mosiah 15:23) ‘ascended into heaven, and … sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy.’ The savior did all this because he loves his father and he loves us. He has already paid the infinite price so he can ‘[claim] all those who have faith in him [and advocate]’ (Moroni 7:27-28; Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5) for them — for us. Jesus Christ wants nothing more than for us to repent and come unto him so that he can justify and sanctify us. In this desire, he is relentless and unwavering.”

It’s always made sense to me that if Jesus Christ really wanted all of us to come unto him and be saved, he would want his church to be on the earth. Why would he be satisfied without his church on the earth when he would certainly know the result of that would be, as Elder Renlund said, “doctrinal drift” and “the influence of different religions, cultures and philosophies” on his gospel? How many churches have different viewpoints on baptism? It seems like baptism is much too important of a subject to tolerate varying opinions on, so it seems obvious the Lord would want there to be no confusion on the matter. He would want a clear standard. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is no confusion. The standard in the church is consistent with what we learn in the New Testament.

John 3:5 says:

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

In Matthew 3:13-17, we read:

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

“But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

“And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

From these passages, we learn that everyone must be baptized in order to enter the kingdom of God. Even Jesus needed to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness,” and he was subsequently baptized by immersion.

Furthermore, it makes sense that if the act and manner of baptism is of such importance, then the correct authority to participate in the ordinance is also important. This is why the priesthood power and authority, as restored through Joseph Smith, is important. This is why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is important.

Sharing a personal story to emphasize the powerful effect of the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ, Elder Renlund continued:

“The access to God’s covenantal power and his covenantal love is through his church. The combination of the savior’s gospel and his church transforms our lives. It transformed my maternal grandparents. My grandfather Oskar Andersson worked in a shipyard on Högmarsö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago. His wife, Albertina, and their children lived on the Swedish mainland. Once every two weeks, on Saturday, Oskar rowed his boat home for the weekend before returning to Högmarsö on Sunday evening. One day, while on Högmarsö, he heard two American missionaries preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Oskar felt that what he heard was pure truth, and he was filled with unspeakable joy.

“The next time he returned home, Oskar excitedly told Albertina all about the missionaries. He explained that he believed what they taught. He asked her to read the pamphlets they had given him, and he told her that he didn’t think that any of their future children should be baptized as infants. Albertina was furious and threw the pamphlets on the rubbish heap. Not much was said between them before Oskar returned to work on Sunday evening.

“As soon as he was gone, Albertina retrieved those pamphlets. She carefully compared their doctrine with the teachings in her well-worn Bible. She was astonished to feel that what she read was true. The next time Oskar returned home, he received a warm welcome, as did the copy of the Book of Mormon he brought with him. Albertina eagerly read, again comparing the doctrine to that in her Bible. Like Oskar, she recognized pure truth and was filled with unspeakable joy.

“Oskar, Albertina and their children moved to Högmarsö to be close to the few church members there. A week after Oskar and Albertina were baptized in 1916, Oskar was called to be the group leader on Högmarsö. Like many converts, Oskar and Albertina faced criticism because of their new faith. Local farmers refused to sell them milk, so Oskar rowed across the fjord every day to purchase milk from a more tolerant farmer.

“Yet during the ensuing years, church membership on Högmarsö increased, in part because of Albertina’s powerful testimony and burning missionary zeal. When the group became a branch, Oskar was called as the branch president.

“Members of that Högmarsö branch revered that island. This was their Waters of Mormon. (Mosiah 18:30) This was where they came to a knowledge of their redeemer.

“Over the years, as they kept their baptismal covenant, Oskar and Albertina were transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. They longed to make more covenants and receive their temple blessings. To obtain those blessings, they permanently emigrated from their home in Sweden to Salt Lake City in 1949. Oskar had served as the leader of the members on Högmarsö for 33 years.

“The combination of nitroglycerin and kieselguhr made dynamite valuable; the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his church is beyond price. Oskar and Albertina heard about the restored gospel because a prophet of God had called, assigned and sent missionaries to Sweden. By divine commission, missionaries taught the doctrine of Christ and by priesthood authority baptized Oskar and Albertina. As members, Oskar and Albertina continued learning, developing and serving others. They became Latter-day Saints because they kept the covenants they made.”

Oskar and Albertina were both filled with unspeakable joy and had a powerful conversion experience as they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was made possible by the missionaries, who had been called and assigned to Sweden by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For Oskar and Albertina, the combination was dynamite.

Concluding his remarks, Elder Renlund said:

“The savior refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as ‘my church’ because he commissioned it to accomplish his purposes (Doctrine and Covenants 115:4) — preaching his gospel, offering his ordinances and covenants and making it possible for his power to justify and sanctify us. Without his church, there is no authority, no preaching of revealed truths in his name, no ordinances or covenants, no manifestation of the power of godliness, (Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-21) no transformation into who God wants us to become and God’s plan for his children is set at naught. The church in this dispensation is integral to his plan.

“I invite you to commit yourself more fully to the savior, his gospel and his church. As you do so, you will find that the combination of the savior’s gospel and his church brings power into your life. This power is far greater than dynamite. It’ll shatter the rocks in your way, transform you into an inheritor in God’s kingdom. And you will be ‘filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.’ (Helaman 5:44) In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388 and on X at @rbcomer8388.