1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference, 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over where two friends who love Jesus Christ share our own approach 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to studying the most recent General Conference talks. 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:19,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over This is Abby. 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over And Amy. 8 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:21,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Let's jump into it. 9 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Today we're talking about 10 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Bonded to Jesus Christ, 11 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Becoming the Salt of the Earth, 12 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over by Elder Jose A. Taxiera of the Seventy. 13 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over When Jesus Christ taught by the Sea of Galilee, 14 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over he often used everyday elements familiar to his audience 15 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to convey profound spiritual truths. 16 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over One such element was salt. 17 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Jesus declared, 18 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over You are the salt of the earth, 19 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over a statement rich in meaning and significance, 20 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over especially for the people of his time 21 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over who understood the multifaceted value of salt. 22 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Did you have fun saying multifaceted? 23 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Absolutely, Abby. 24 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over You did such a good job. 25 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over If you have listened for a while, 26 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I'm sure that you've heard me mention 27 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over that two of my five children have cystic fibrosis, 28 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over which is a disease that 29 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over disrupts this fundamental balance within the body. 30 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Just as salt is the essence of the earth, 31 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over bringing stability and life to ecosystems, 32 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over it's also critical in our own physiology. 33 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So healthy bodies have the sodium chloride channels 34 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over that help maintain that delicate balance of salt and water 35 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and the cells are allowed to function properly. 36 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over However, in individuals with cystic fibrosis, 37 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over those channels don't work like they should and it causes 38 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over a cascading number of challenges from thickened mucus 39 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and the lungs to digestive complications. 40 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So just as the earth relies on that balance to sustain life, 41 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over people with cystic fibrosis rely on breakthroughs in medicine 42 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to restore balance in their own bodies. 43 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over And in my own lifetime, I've got to witness the power 44 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over where gene modulation helps fix that 45 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over sodium chloride channel and allow their bodies 46 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to basically do the things that you and I come to naturally, 47 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over which has changed their trajectory. 48 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over It allows me to visualize my children in adulthood 49 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and well into adulthood, a chance at a much longer life. 50 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So it's important to the earth's balance. 51 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over It's important to the function of our own bodies 52 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over down to the very cellular level. 53 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over And in today's talk, I thought it was super fun. 54 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over We got to take a deep dive into the lessons 55 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over that we can learn as we consider this essential element. 56 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:14,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Awesome, Abby. 57 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So getting to the basics, 58 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over salt is made of two elements bonded together. 59 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over We can't be salt on our own. 60 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over If we are to be salt of the earth, 61 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over we must be bonded to the Lord. 62 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I love that he's speaking from something 63 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over he's definitely experienced. 64 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over He's from Portugal. 65 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over They are very well known for their luxury salt. 66 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over And he laid out the process of harvesting salt 67 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and points that it's simple tools that are used in the process. 68 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Just as we like to reiterate time and time again 69 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over as we're considering how do we become bonded to the Lord. 70 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over with simple tools that we can do to make that process happen. 71 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over If we jump to the end of the talk, 72 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over it'll tie those thoughts together on some of the examples 73 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over of these simple tools that we might be using in our own lives. 74 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over He suggested making the house of the Lord central in our lives. 75 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Intentionally strengthening others by living the gospel. 76 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Accepting callings to serve 77 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and using digital tools with purpose in an effort to 78 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over nurture of our spiritual vitality. 79 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and 80 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to do each of those things. 81 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Alright, sounds good. 82 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Why don't you do the, 83 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over what we're saying about the temples. 84 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So keeping the house of the Lord 85 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over at the center of our devotion would be the first one. 86 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Now the temples are closer than ever before. 87 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Prioritizing regular worship in the house of the Lord 88 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over will help us focus on what matters most 89 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to define the heart of our faith in Jesus Christ 90 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and the soul of our devotion to him. 91 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Yeah, making time for the temple is a sign 92 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and then the lessons and the tools that we gather 93 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over as we attend the temple. 94 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over They're just going to naturally be part of our daily actions 95 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and the thoughts and actions that we do. 96 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Yes. 97 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over It helps us be more deliberate, which is the second point. 98 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over We need to strengthen our families 99 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over through consistent and intentional efforts 100 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to bring gospel principles into our lives and to our homes. 101 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I'm low-key obsessed with the word intentional. 102 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Like if I'm going to bring something, 103 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over if I'm going to make something part of our process 104 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and I want to be intentional about it. 105 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Like maybe I, like what's my end goal? 106 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I'm kind of thinking of that 107 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I love the Abbey. 108 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Accepting callings in the church. 109 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over You think that's as simple of a tool as there could be? 110 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Sure. 111 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Being willing to accept a calling and then serving in the church. 112 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Service in our local congregations allows us 113 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over to support one another and grow together. 114 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over While serving is not always convenient, 115 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over it's always rewarding. 116 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Going forward, I could definitely say I'm not sure 117 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I'm equal to this task or whatever, but yeah. 118 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over It's always worth it. 119 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over It's always way more fun to look back on the experience 120 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over that we've gained from the service that we've done. 121 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Lastly, he talked about digital communication 122 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over using those tools with a purpose. 123 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over He said today digital communication tools 124 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over allow us to connect as never before. 125 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over How we have access to these digital communication tools 126 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and how we use them. 127 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Like most of you, I use these tools to connect with brothers and sisters 128 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over in the church and with my family and friends. 129 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over As I connect with them, I feel closer to them. 130 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over We can minister to each other in times of need 131 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over when we cannot be physically present. 132 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over These tools are undoubtedly a blessing, 133 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over yet these very same tools can drag us away from the depth 134 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over of our purposeful activities. 135 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Striving to be the salt of the earth 136 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over includes so much more than endless scrolling of reels on a 6 inch screen. 137 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Why I call down on that one, because I was, 138 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I can push play in the background for a conference talk 139 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over and then I go to whatever mindless thing I'm doing 140 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over flipping through reels and I was like, oh, he knows me too well. 141 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I was like, I'm multitasking, but really I could have been doing 142 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over something better with my time. 143 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So just like the, or I'm going to say, 144 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Marnoto's put forth great effort to ensure they harvested 145 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over the highest quality of salt, so should we as the Lord's covenant people 146 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over always do our very best so that our love and example 147 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over are as much as possible a pure reflection 148 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over of our Savior Jesus Christ. 149 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I thought there was a lot in there. 150 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over So there it is. 151 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over I spent some time. 152 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:49,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Broke it down. 153 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Yes. 154 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 [♪ Music & Voice Over Went on a side stream study on highest quality of salt. 155 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:10,000 testing research on salt in the United States. 156 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,000 Test process FF. 157 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Sp piano hit boil with hope of getting to undelete Social 158 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,000 I like salt golf. 159 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,000 I could never find any. 160 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,920 in several ways. Solar evaporation is the type that he focuses on in this talk. Rock 161 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:29,800 salt mining is where salt deposits form underground from ancient seas and are mined using traditional 162 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:34,440 mining methods or by drilling wells, injecting water to dissolve the salt, pumping it to 163 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:43,000 the surface. You can imagine that being much less pure form. And vacuum evaporation, used 164 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,220 for table salt production. You dissolve underground salt deposits in water and then you evaporate 165 00:07:48,220 --> 00:07:52,880 the brine in a vacuum to crystallize it. And then salt brine is like brine from salt lakes 166 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:57,920 or wells to pump to the surface and evaporate in these open air pans or in controlled evaporators 167 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:02,160 to produce these various types of salt. So each of these methods, you can imagine how 168 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:07,680 they would produce salt with distinct textures or flavors or have distinct mineral compositions. 169 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:12,180 And based on how we're mining or how we're coming about this salt is going to vary the 170 00:08:12,180 --> 00:08:16,840 price that salt is going to be worth. The type, the origin, the processing, the packaging, 171 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:24,120 it's all going to contribute to at the end of the day, how salty that salt is. 172 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:31,800 So, okay. So salt was a vital preservative and a symbol of purity and covenant. The people 173 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:38,960 understood the grave implications of losing salt, having its saltiness or savor by becoming 174 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:44,440 contaminated or diluted. Again, that's not something that we generally talk about. Probably 175 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,640 because we have refrigerators and other ways of processing it seems like there are other 176 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:49,640 ways we get out of problems. 177 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:55,080 But in this day and age, the people he was talking about, they got it. I 100% believe 178 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:00,800 it's kind of like me when I look back now into the scriptures when Jesus was giving 179 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,280 parables, anything about chickens or farming and stuff like that. I understand it now. 180 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,840 I didn't get it before when I lived in the city and I didn't see these things every day, 181 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:14,080 all day, and they were part of my everyday life. So I can very much appreciate why salt 182 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,480 truly they understood it. They understood the importance. 183 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,080 Nicole Sadegw 184 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:24,560 Went off on a side tangent here. Table salt, usually worth 50 cents to a dollar per pound, 185 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:30,720 highly refined, often includes anti-caking agents and you add iodine to the table salt, 186 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,380 most of us buy here in America. Sea salt is typically two to $10 a pound and depending 187 00:09:35,380 --> 00:09:39,800 on the brand and origin, it's minimally processed. It may retain trace minerals from the sea, 188 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:45,480 which can affect the flavor, usually for the good, I'd say. Sea salt is pretty yummy. Kosher 189 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:50,920 salt is generally affordable between one and $3 a pound. Corsair texture, popular for cooking. 190 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:55,640 It's got a clean flavor. It's large. It's easy to pinch grains. There's Himalayan salts, 191 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,080 more expensive, ranging from five to $15 per pound. This salt's mined from deposits in 192 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,520 Pakistan and has a distinct pink color for trace minerals. 193 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:09,260 Now onto the good stuff. The specialty salts, Flor de Sel or black lava salt. These premium 194 00:10:09,260 --> 00:10:13,760 salts range from 10 to $30 a pound. They're usually hand harvested, have a unique mineral 195 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:20,760 content and are valued for their texture and flavor. So he is speaking about the Algarve's 196 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:26,460 sunny climate, the Atlantic location. This is the salt that he's talking about. These 197 00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:32,320 all contribute to this distinct mineral profile and subtle oceanic taste, which enhances its 198 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:38,840 appeal as a premium product. So I spent a long time building the fact that in this talk, 199 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:44,240 he's referencing the most salty, most savory, least contaminated, most undiluted salt of 200 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:50,440 the earth. He's talking about stuff that he has witnessed be manufactured. And he makes 201 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:55,660 this beautiful point. Like salt can lose its essence, we also can lose our spiritual vitality 202 00:10:55,660 --> 00:11:01,160 and our faith in Jesus Christ if it becomes casual. We may look the same on the outside, 203 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:04,760 but without a stronger inner faith, we lose our ability to make a difference in the world 204 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:10,560 and bring out the best in those around us. Probably you could lay out each of those versions 205 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:16,720 of salt. That pink Himalayan salt would probably be hard to camouflage as being the saltiest 206 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,800 of salt. But let's say general shades of white, you could lay yourself out there and like, 207 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:27,100 this is what I'm presenting to you. This is the salt that I have to offer. And at face 208 00:11:27,100 --> 00:11:31,600 value, they might look very different. But if we get to the core of it, I think he's 209 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:36,320 teaching us that we can offer it. We can be the saltiest salt. We can be the most savory 210 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:43,520 salt. We can be the most uncontaminated if we work with Jesus Christ in the process. 211 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:49,440 If we're bonded. We can all look like that most expensive, desirable salt that everybody 212 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:55,640 would want. Absolutely. Okay, Abby question. How can we channel our energy and efforts 213 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,440 to make a difference and be the change the world needs today? 214 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:05,240 Yeah, and I'll answer that with a follow up. How can we preserve discipleship and continue 215 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:11,200 to be a positive influence? And I would just note, it is going back to the point that you 216 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:18,320 made it simple, little daily actions. We get to choose kind of what we have time for. But 217 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:24,800 if I go back to thinking on what I'm doing with my church callings, how I'm spending 218 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:32,240 my time with social media. Am I reflecting that the gospel of Jesus Christ is Christ 219 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:37,400 church or making those two separate identities? Do people know that I represent Jesus Christ 220 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,760 by the actions that I'm taking? What's my time in the temple look like? Do I have more 221 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:50,240 time to offer? Am I, you know, I definitely can go into the temple, like not the purest 222 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:57,680 form of myself. And I can shed some of those imperfections and leave a different salty 223 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:02,600 level. Right? It's a great place to go. If you can go into a church calling overwhelmed. 224 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,560 It's like, I didn't want to prepare that less than I didn't want to go to the next activity. 225 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:11,560 I could have that mindset. I feel like he, because he's the one that wants to be bonded 226 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:17,800 with in that if we choose to be bonded to him, he can sort out some of that. Oh, absolutely. 227 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:23,860 Did I answer that enough? Yes. Channeling my energy. I guess I'm saying I don't am 228 00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:27,880 not my natural inclination is to not come at that with the best that I have to offer 229 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:32,620 always. Right? Because you're human. You have bad days, you have days that require more 230 00:13:32,620 --> 00:13:38,960 in other areas. So we have kind of a fluctuating amount of energy and effort. Right. But when 231 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:44,720 I take my negatives and I take Christ's positives, and I have this ionic bond that such assault 232 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:50,320 is, he washes away the like he just he smooths out he neutralizes the things that I'm negatively 233 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:56,400 bringing to something. Absolutely. He does. Oh, from the prophet, God wants us to work 234 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,800 together and help each other. That is why he sends us to earth and families and organizes 235 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:07,320 us into wards and stakes. Isn't that cool? Like some people they, you know, family units 236 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:12,120 was the way that this earth was designed to work out in. But sometimes you get a crappy 237 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:15,760 straw dealt to you and you don't have the best family unit to look on to but you can 238 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:21,000 mimic in a very chosen family, beautiful way. Yeah, your words can become families for your 239 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,560 stakes can become an extension of your families. Absolutely. That is why he asks us to serve 240 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:31,040 and minister to each other. That is why he asks us to live in the world but not be of 241 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:36,600 the world. When our lives are deprived of divine purpose, meaningful service to others 242 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,520 and sacred opportunities for pondering and reflection, we gradually become suffocated 243 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:46,880 by our own activity and self interest, risking losing our own savor. The antidote is to continue 244 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,760 to be involved in service, being anxiously engaged in good works and the betterment of 245 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:55,840 ourselves and society we live in. We have unique opportunities in his church. I'd add 246 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:02,200 my testimony to that. Like the good things that I do most often are as a result of calling 247 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,400 that I've been asked to do. I do get pieces of inspiration on what I can do to minister 248 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:11,480 to others in specific ways as I'm really looking for that but just our general existence in 249 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,540 the church and the way that the structure is. You're taking care of the seven to 11 year 250 00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:18,320 old's activity days right now. I'm taking care of a little primary class. The youth 251 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:24,280 are in your hands and the sisters are under your purview. Like we're all, all of us are 252 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:33,220 doing these important things and working together to make this very healthy system. Seeing how 253 00:15:33,220 --> 00:15:37,600 sometimes we're designed to do things for ourselves but sometimes it's better to work 254 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,280 in these more family organizations, this order that can exist and each take a little share 255 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:47,840 of the burden. Sure. I love that. Also because since we all have an ebb and flow, when we 256 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,160 get more people together, it's more likely that the people that you're working with are 257 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:56,160 going to have higher days when you're on your low and they help to lift you. So that's always 258 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:02,360 a positive. So for action items, this would be like a self reflection. I think, you know, 259 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:07,520 if we're looking at something as our offering, what type of salt are you offering to the 260 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:14,440 Lord? Do you have the savor? Is it pure? Are you bonded with the Lord? I think those are 261 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,880 questions we could ask ourselves just as we read this. And with an understanding of the 262 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:23,860 atonement of Jesus Christ, knowing that if it isn't the best offering, he can make that. 263 00:16:23,860 --> 00:16:29,360 He can help us make that a more pure offering. I love it. Definitely self reflection thing. 264 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,680 Consider those things for yourself. Consider the minor tweaks you would want to make. What 265 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:38,520 simple tools you would implement in your day to improve the saltiness in your life. I'm 266 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:43,440 going to close with his testimony. He said, salt in its purest form has the power to enhance 267 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:48,000 and preserve. So does our faith in Jesus Christ when it is nourished and protected by our 268 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:53,400 dedication to Christ-like service and love. Don't you love how we talked about it being 269 00:16:53,400 --> 00:17:00,400 a preservation for me in that day? And that will enhance and preserve our bond and connection 270 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:05,040 to him. I love that. As we remain bonded to the Lord, our lives will naturally reflect 271 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:09,040 his light. We will become the salt of the earth. May we strive to maintain the bond 272 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:24,040 with the Lord. And I do this in his name, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.