Conference Counsel: The power of the simple doctrine of Christ
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- President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency was the concluding speaker during the morning session of general conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
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- Ryan Comer
One of the obvious challenges of serving a Latter-day Saint mission in a foreign country is not having the ability to say things exactly how you would want to say them. Early on in my mission to Taiwan, this was the cause of much frustration for me because I desperately wanted to be able to speak exactly what I wanted and be understood.
But I can remember moments where it didn’t matter that I couldn’t say a whole lot because I could at least share my testimony, which included the simple doctrine of Christ. The words of these testimonies may not have been extravagant, and my sentences may not have been eloquent, but I knew that the words I was speaking were true, and I could feel the power of the Holy Ghost behind them.
Honestly, all the knowledge of the Chinese language couldn’t have helped me accomplish better.
Sharing the simple doctrine of Christ was the subject discussed by President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the October general conference of the church.
In his address, titled “Simple is the doctrine of Jesus Christ,” President Eyring highlighted some struggles some members may face in being effective teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ and provided counsel using passages from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as well as a story from the life of a relative.
“I bear witness of the sacred work of teaching Heavenly Father’s children the simple doctrine of Jesus Christ,” President Eyring said in the subhead of his talk as transcribed on the church’s website.
His words serve as a reminder of the lessons I learned on my mission and at other times in my life.
He started:
“All of us have family members we love who are being tempted and tried by the seemingly constant forces of Satan, the destroyer, who would make all God’s children miserable. For many of us, there have been sleepless nights. We have tried to surround the people who are at risk with every force for good. We have pled in prayer for them. We have loved them. We have set the best example we could.
“Alma, a wise prophet from ancient times, faced similar trials. The people he led and loved were frequently under attack by a ferocious enemy, yet they were still trying to rear righteous children in a world of wickedness. Alma felt his only hope of victory was a force which at times we underestimate and often use too little. He pled for God’s help.
“Alma knew that for God to help, repentance was required by those he led, as well as his adversaries. Thus, he opted for a different approach to battle.
“The Book of Mormon describes it this way: ‘And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just–yea, it had … more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them–therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.’ (Alma 31:5)
“The word of God is the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ and by his prophets. Alma knew that the words of doctrine had great power.”
What is the doctrine of Christ? President Eyring continued:
“In the 18th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord revealed the foundation of his doctrine:
“‘For, behold, I command all men everywhere to repent. …
“‘For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.
“‘And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:9, 11-12)
“‘And you shall fall down and worship the Father in my name. …
“‘You must repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:40-41)
“‘Ask the Father in my name in faith, believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:18)
“‘And now, after … you have received this, you must keep my commandments in all things.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:43)
“‘Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.
“‘And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:21-22)
“In those few passages, the savior gives us the perfect example of how we should teach his doctrine. This doctrine is that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end blesses all of God’s children.
“As we teach these principles to those we love, the Holy Ghost will help us to know the truth.”
Sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. It doesn’t feel like enough to bear testimony of the simple doctrine of Christ. We want to do more to be more convincing. But going beyond the simple doctrine of Christ presents pitfalls. Addressing this concern, President Eyring said:
“Because we need the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we must avoid speculation or personal interpretation that goes beyond teaching true doctrine.
“That can be hard to do when you love the person you are trying to influence. He or she may have ignored the doctrine that has been taught. It is tempting to try something new or sensational. But the Holy Ghost will reveal the spirit of truth only as we are cautious and careful not to go beyond teaching true doctrine. One of the surest ways to avoid even getting near false doctrine is to choose to be simple in our teaching. Safety is gained by that simplicity, and little is lost.”
He went on to say:
“Teaching simply allows us to share the saving doctrine early on, while children remain untouched by the deceiver’s temptations that will later confront them, long before the truths they need to learn are drowned out by the noise of social media, peers and their own personal struggles. We should seize every opportunity to share the teachings of Jesus Christ with children. These teaching moments are precious and far fewer compared to the relentless efforts of opposing forces. For every hour spent instilling doctrine into a child’s life, there are countless hours of opposition filled with messages and images that challenge or ignore those saving truths.
“Some of you may wonder whether it might be better to draw your children closer to you through having fun, or you may ask whether the child may start to feel overwhelmed by your teachings. Instead, we should consider, ‘With so little time and so few opportunities, what words of doctrine can I share that will strengthen them against the inevitable challenges to their faith?’ The words you share today could be the ones they carry with them, and today will soon pass.”
Speaking of the necessity of teaching children, I’m reminded of words used by President Jeffrey R. Holland, current acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, during a talk given at the April 2003 general conference titled “A prayer for the children.” He said:
“I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect. We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the restoration and the divine guidance of the church from the First Vision to this very hour, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it.”
Later in that talk, President Holland said:
“Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face — and fall at the feet — of his only begotten son? I pray that they know this.”
I have taken those words to heart over the course of my time as a parent. I don’t want my kids to ever have any doubt over what I know. Whenever I have an opportunity to share with them the simple doctrine of Christ, I want to take advantage of it. I don’t worry about overwhelming them by speaking as frequently as I do about the doctrine of Christ because I know Satan is not going to feel any remorse about overwhelming them. It’s sobering to think of just how much time is available for Satan to influence them, and so I don’t think I can ever speak too frequently about the doctrine of Christ.
The story of Helaman’s 2,000 stripling sons in the Book of Mormon seems applicable.
“Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
“And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” (Alma 56:46-47)
Using an example from his family history to help make his point of the power of the simple doctrine of Christ, President Eyring said:
“I have always admired my great-grandmother Mary Bommeli’s devotion to sharing the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Her family was taught by missionaries in Switzerland when she was 24.
“After being baptized, Mary desired to join the saints in America, so she made her way from Switzerland to Berlin and found work with a woman who employed her to weave cloth for the family’s clothing. Mary lived in a servant’s room and set up her loom in the home’s living area.
“At that time, teaching the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was illegal in Berlin. But Mary found she could not keep from sharing the things she had learned. The woman of the house and her friends would gather around the loom to hear Mary teach. She spoke of the appearance of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, the visitation of angels and the Book of Mormon. Remembering the accounts of Alma, she taught about the doctrine of the resurrection. She testified that families can be reunited in the celestial kingdom.
“Mary’s enthusiasm to share the doctrine of the restored gospel soon caused trouble. It was not long before the police took Mary off to jail. On the way, she asked the policeman for the name of the judge she was to appear before the next morning. She also asked about his family and if he was a good father and husband. The policeman described the judge as a man of the world.
“In the jail, Mary requested a pencil and some paper. She spent the night writing a letter to the judge, bearing witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ as described in the Book of Mormon, discussing the spirit world and explaining repentance. She suggested that the judge would need time to reflect on his life before facing final judgment. She wrote that she knew he had much to repent of, much which would deeply sadden his family and bring him great sorrow. In the morning, when she had finished her letter, she gave it to the policeman and asked him to deliver it to the judge, and he agreed to do so.
“Later, the policeman was summoned by the judge to his office. The letter Mary had written was irrefutable evidence that she was teaching the doctrine of the restored gospel and, by so doing, breaking the law. However, it wasn’t long before the policeman returned to Mary’s cell. He told her that all charges were dismissed and that she was free to go. Her teaching the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ had caused her to be cast into jail. And her declaring the doctrine of repentance to the judge got her cast out of jail.
“Mary Bommeli’s teaching did not end with her release. The record of her words passed true doctrine down through generations yet unborn. Her belief that even a new convert could teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ has ensured that her descendants will be strengthened in their own battles.”
President Eyring’s great-grandmother knew she was armed with a testimony of the simple doctrine of Christ, she knew the power it had and that power was proven with her release.
But this is a story with a positive result. What of the many situations where such results don’t happen? What about the efforts that seem to be in vain because teaching the simple doctrine of Christ doesn’t yield the results we desire? Speaking on this point, President Eyring said:
“As we do our best to teach those we love about the doctrine of Jesus Christ, some may still not respond. Doubts may creep into your mind. You might question whether you know the savior’s doctrine well enough to teach it effectively. And if you’ve already made attempts to teach it, you may wonder why the positive effects aren’t more visible. Don’t give in to those doubts. Turn to God for help.
“‘Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; … let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.” (Alma 37:36)
“‘And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.” (Alma 7:23)
“If you pray, if you talk to God and if you plead for his help for your loved one, and if you thank him not only for help but for the patience and gentleness that come from not receiving all you desire right away or perhaps ever, then I promise you that you will draw closer to him. You will become diligent and long-suffering. And then you can know that you have done all that you can to help those you love and those you pray for navigate through Satan’s attempt to derail them.
“‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Isaiah 40:31)
“You can find hope in the scriptural record of families. We read of those who turned away from what they were taught or who were wrestling with God for forgiveness, such as Alma the Younger, the sons of Mosiah and Enos. In their moments of crisis, they remembered the words of their parents, words of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Remembering saved them. Your teaching of that sacred doctrine will be remembered.”
I think one important point related to all this is that although the simple doctrine of Christ is powerful, it’s not so powerful that it overrides people’s agency.
Concluding his remarks with his testimony, President Eyring said:
“I bear witness of the sacred work of teaching Heavenly Father’s children the simple doctrine of Jesus Christ, which allows us to be spiritually cleansed and ultimately be welcomed into God’s presence, to live with him and his son in glory forever in families. 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.
