See Doctrine and Covenants 109:21–22. The phrase “when thy people transgress, any of them” uses the word “when,” not “if.” This suggests that the Savior realizes that we will all transgress, make mistakes, and sin. But the plan is that we “speedily repent” to be “restored to the blessings” we have been promised.
Dale G. Renlund, General Conference October 2025, Footnote 24
President Nelson also taught: “Don’t pollute [your testimony] with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women” (“Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 97). “Take your questions to the Lord and to other faithful sources. … Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters” (“Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains,” Liahona, May 2021, 103). As the Book of Mormon prophet Alma the Elder counseled, “Trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments” (Mosiah 23:14). In this dispensation, the Savior taught us to rely only on those “whose spirit is contrite, … whose language is meek and edifieth, … [who] trembleth under my power … and … bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you” (see Doctrine and Covenants 52:14–19).
Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior Dale G. Renlund, April 2025 General Conference
The Book of Mormon teaches us how we can differentiate deceivers from disciples. Disciples always promote believing in God, serving Him, and doing good. We will not be deceived when we seek and take counsel from trusted individuals who are themselves faithful disciples of the Savior.
Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior Dale G. Renlund, April 2025 General Conference
A Melchizedek Priesthood holder covenants to fulfill the responsibilities associated with the Aaronic Priesthood and to magnify his calling in the Melchizedek Priesthood. He does so by keeping the commandments associated with the covenant. These commandments include giving “diligent heed to the words of eternal life” by living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, bearing testimony of Jesus Christ and His latter-day work, not boasting of himself, and becoming the Savior’s friend, trusting Him as a friend would.
In return, God promises that a Melchizedek Priesthood holder will receive keys to understand the mysteries of God. He will become perfect so that he can stand in the presence of God. He will be able to fulfill his role in the work of salvation. Jesus Christ will prepare the way before the priesthood holder and will be with him. The Holy Ghost will be in the priesthood holder’s heart, and angels will bear him up. His body will be strengthened and renewed. He will become heir to the blessings of Abraham and, along with his wife, joint-heir with Jesus Christ to Heavenly Father’s kingdom. These are “exceeding great and precious promises.” No greater promises can be imagined.
F or Heavenly Father’s purposes to be accomplished, Christ’s atoning power needs to be made available to God’s children. The priesthood delivers these opportunities.
The Savior refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “my church” because He commissioned it to accomplish His purposes—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, 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.”...If you receive what the Lord’s Church offers, you can be perfected in Christ before His Church is perfected, if it ever is. His goal is to perfect you, not His Church. His goal has never been to, metaphorically, turn kieselguhr into diamond; His goal has been to refine you into pure gold, to save and exalt you as a co-inheritor with Him in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. But that needs to become your goal, too. It is your choice.
October 2023
. We are promised that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion if we approach the sacrament the way a new convert approaches baptism and confirmation, with a broken heart and contrite spirit and a determination to live up to that baptismal covenant. The Holy Ghost blesses us with His sanctifying power so that we can always retain a remission of our sins, week in and week out.
As you walk the covenant path, from baptism to the temple and throughout life, I promise you power to go against the natural worldly flow—power to learn, power to repent and be sanctified, and power to find hope, comfort, and even joy as you face life’s challenges. I promise you and your family protection against the influence of the adversary, especially when you make the temple a major focus in your life.
As you come to Christ and are connected to Him and our Heavenly Father by covenant, something seemingly unnatural happens. You are transformed and become perfected in Jesus Christ. You become a covenant child of God and an inheritor in His kingdom. I can imagine Him saying to you, “Thou art my dear child in whom I delight. Welcome home.”
We become covenant children of God and inheritors of His kingdom, especially when we identify ourselves completely with the covenant.
The term covenant path refers to a series of covenants whereby we come to Christ and connect to Him. Through this covenant bond, we have access to His eternal power. The path begins with faith in Jesus Christ and repentance, followed by baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ showed us how to enter the path when He was baptized. According to the New Testament Gospel accounts in Mark and Luke, Heavenly Father spoke directly to Jesus at His baptism, saying, “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” When we embark on the covenant path through baptism, I can imagine Heavenly Father saying a similar thing to each of us: “Thou art my dear child in whom I delight. Keep going.”
Dale G. Renlund, April 2022 General Conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/36renlund?lang=eng
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
God’s laws are not negotiable. He allows us to disregard them, but we are not free to create our own rules for the eternities any more than a person is free to create his or her personalized laws for physics. God wants us to be a qualified heir in His kingdom. To expect His heavenly inheritance while following a different course than He has outlined is naïve.
Before being called to full-time Church service, I (Elder Renlund) cared for patients with severe heart failure. In heart failure and transplant cardiology, there are defined, established courses to follow to obtain the best outcome: longer and better quality of life. Treating a patient in another way does not result in the best outcomes. It was astonishing that some patients tried to negotiate the treatment course. Some patients said, “I prefer not to take any medications,” or “I don’t want to have any heart biopsies after transplantation.” Of course, patients are free to follow their own course, but they cannot pursue an inferior course of action and expect the best outcome.
The same is true for us. We are free to choose our own course in life, but we are not free to choose the outcome that comes from following our own rules, no matter how many times someone says we can. Heavenly Father is not to blame when we do not receive blessings connected to the law of chastity because of disobedience.
In this dispensation, the Savior taught that eternal laws are not flexible and open for discussion. He said, “And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.
“That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, … cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:34–35; emphasis added). We cannot substitute our own rules for eternal laws any more than a man who touches hot coals can decide not to get burned.
To begin to make some sense of it, let us explore various types of unfairness. Consider a family in which each child received a weekly monetary allowance for doing common household chores. One son, John, purchased candy; one daughter, Anna, saved her money. Eventually, Anna bought herself a bicycle. John thought it was totally unfair that Anna got a bike when he did not. But John’s choices created the inequality, not parental actions. Anna’s decision to forgo the immediate gratification of eating candy did not impose any unfairness on John, because he had the same opportunity as his sister.
Our decisions can likewise yield long-term advantages or disadvantages. As the Lord revealed, “If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” When others receive benefits because of their diligent choices, we cannot rightly conclude that we have been treated unfairly when we have had the same opportunity.
We can try to hold our questions about how and when for later and focus on developing faith in Jesus Christ, that He has both the power to make everything right and yearns to do so. For us to insist on knowing how or when is unproductive and, after all, myopic.
