General conference: President Oaks calls on Latter-day Saints to be peacemakers in opening session
Saturday morning session
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- President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency waves to the congregation prior to the morning session of general conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- Conference attendees gather prior to the morning session of general conference at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman speaks at the morning session of general conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- The sun rises on the Conference Center at the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City during the morning session of general conference on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- Sister missionaries gather prior to the morning session of general conference at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles provides words of inspiration during the morning session of general conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
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- The Conference Center at the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City is seen during the morning session of general conference on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
In a time of toxic communication, followers of Christ should seek to be peacemakers.
This was the message from President Dallin H. Oaks as he capped off the first session of the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday morning.
“This is a time of many harsh and hurtful words in public communications and sometimes even in our families,” said Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency and president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Sharp differences on issues of public policy often result in actions of hostility — even hatred — in public and personal relationships. This atmosphere of enmity sometimes even paralyzes capacities for law-making on matters of importance where most citizens see an urgent need for some action in the public interest.”
He noted the teachings of Jesus call upon followers to be peacemakers while not sacrificing principles.
“In discussions, potential adversaries should begin by identifying common ground on which all agree,” he said. “To follow our perfect role model and his prophet, we need to practice what is popularly known as the Golden Rule: ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ We need to love and do good to all. We need to avoid contention and be peacemakers in all our communications.
“This does not mean to compromise our principles and priorities, but to cease harshly attacking others for theirs. That is what our perfect role model did in his ministry. That is the example he set for us, as he invited us to follow him.”
Oaks was joined by several other speakers during the opening session Saturday.
Among them was Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who professed the importance of hope.
“Hope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ,” Andersen said. “‘Faith is the evidence of things hoped for.’ We build the evidence blocks of our faith through prayer, temple covenants, keeping the commandments, continually feasting on the scriptures and the words of modern-day prophets, taking the sacrament and worshipping weekly with our fellow saints.”
President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women general president, spoke of a trip to Harmony, Pennsylvania, and her reflections on standing in the former home of Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma.
“Last month, I had an unexpected opportunity to visit Harmony,” Freeman said. “There, under the maple trees, the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey. Close to those trees is the front door of Joseph and Emma’s home. Across from the fireplace in that home, there is a window. I stood at that window and wondered what Emma might have thought as she looked out across the trees.
“In July of 1830, Emma was 26 years old; she was so young. She was three and a half years into her marriage. She had lost a baby boy — her first. His little grave is just down the lane from her home. Standing at that window, it was not hard for me to imagine what might have filled her thoughts. Surely, she worried about their finances, about the increasing persecution that threatened their safety, about their future. And yet, the work of God was everywhere around her. Did she also wonder about her place in the plan, her purpose in his kingdom, and her potential in the eyes of God? I think she may have.”
Elder Karl Hirst of the Seventy said that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love.
“You might know something secret about yourself that makes you feel unloveable,” Hirst said. “However right you might be about what you know about yourself, you are wrong to think that you have put yourself beyond the reach of God’s love. We are sometimes cruel and impatient towards ourselves in ways that we could never imagine being towards anyone else. There is much for us to do in this life but self-loathing and shameful self-condemnation are not on the list. However misshapen we might feel we are, his arms are not shortened. No. They are always long enough to ‘reach our reaching’ and embrace each one of us.”
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke on stabilizing forces, using an explosive example.
“In 1860, a Swedish scientist named Alfred Nobel began trying to stabilize nitroglycerin,” Renlund said. “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.”
He said this isn’t totally unlike the church in our society.
“Without the stabilizing effect of kieselguhr, nitroglycerin had limited value as an explosive,” Renlund said. “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. 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.”
Elder David P. Homer of the Seventy credited Jesus with giving his followers the best example to follow when it comes to submitting to his will.
“With a heavy heart, and knowing the painful work he had to do, he submitted to his Father’s will, fulfilling his messianic mission and opening the promise of eternity to you and me,” Homer said. “The choice to submit our will to God’s is an act of faith that lies at the heart of our discipleship. In making that choice, we discover that our agency is not diminished; rather, it is magnified and rewarded by the presence of the Holy Ghost, who brings purpose, joy, peace and hope we can find nowhere else.”
Elder Gregorio E. Casillas of the Seventy said God sent his children to earth to realize their full potential.
“Preach My Gospel teaches us that as disciples of Christ, we should avoid comparing ourselves to one another,” Casillas said. “Your spiritual abilities are unique, personal and innate, and your Heavenly Father wants to help you develop them. There will always be someone you can help feel the love of your Heavenly Father. Your potential is divine. While it’s certainly important to prepare yourself to succeed in this very competitive world, one of your crucial missions throughout your life is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and to follow the impressions of the Spirit. As you do this, God will bless your life, he will bless your current or future family and he will bless the lives of his children that you encounter.”
