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Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference, where two friends who love Jesus
share our own approach to studying the most recent General Conference talks.
This is Abbey and Amy.
Let's jump into it.
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Today we're talking about Simple is the Doctrine of Jesus Christ by President Henry V. Eyring,
second counselor in the first presidency.
Can you believe this puts us at the end of the Sunday morning session?
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So with that, Amy, now let's jump right in.
All right, Abbey, he opened so well.
We have to just echo his words here.
He says, 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.
That's heartfelt, isn't it?
It was very heartfelt.
You can feel the gentleness, the tenderness of this man in his voice as you listen to
this, as you listen back to it.
And I love from him that he's saying, you're watching loved ones turn away.
You're watching Satan constantly bear down on everybody.
But sometimes it affects some family members more than others, and it's caused deep pain
and sleepless nights.
He's really feeling that.
But we see it doesn't stop him from doing the things that he's able to do, the things
that are within his control.
And what he said, what I pulled out of there, he said prayers they still love and still
are setting an example.
And I like that too often.
I think sometimes we think it's our job that we need a lecture and we can cast shame.
I don't know that anybody's ever been successful in turning somebody back to the Savior doing
it in that way.
I love his suggestions because they're actionable and something that we're able to perform and
complete even in a one sided relationship until possibly that person chooses to take
actions into their own lives and make some changes.
Yes.
As we face the challenges of loved ones turning from the truth, it does something to know
that we are in the company of Elder Eyring.
But he also pointed us to the scriptures for an example.
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.
Right.
It's constantly being brought to battle.
But the answer to their dilemma isn't battle strategies and ways to eliminate their enemy.
The answer was often coming as he was pleading out in prayer.
The answer to his pleadings were to encourage those who followed him to repent.
Don't you think it's beautiful to think that this message over so many others would come
to this prophet?
Alma, a man who we used to refer to as Alma the Younger, when in his past life he along
with his friends went about making poor decisions, turning people away from teachings of his
own father.
And we know he knows something about the process of repentance.
Absolutely.
I love that this hard one lesson is what the Lord impressed upon his mind as he was considering
what he could do to help his people.
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.
I've always loved that wording, Abby.
In fact, it kind of makes me giggle a little bit because he's saying, you know what, this
is really the best way to do it.
Let's move forward.
Yeah, let's talk about that for a minute on what the word of God is.
The word of God is the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ and his prophets.
And Alma knew that the words of doctrine would have greater power for the people at this
time and that advice is timeless.
It's the same message that applies to us in our day.
If we're, I mean, maybe not up to battle necessarily, but if we're fighting some sort of battle,
an internal battle or have external forces at us, it's the same thing that we need to
benefit the challenges and trials of our day.
Agreed, agreed.
In the 18th section of the DNC, the Lord reveals the foundation of his doctrine.
This podcast should air really close when you're getting ready to dive into the chapter
with Come Follow Me.
So rather than read the section as Elder Eyring did, let's provide the context.
Abby?
Okay, the context, this revelation was given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
It was 1829.
And in it, they focused on the importance of missionary work and the role of the priesthood
in spreading the gospel.
In this section, the Lord instructed Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer about the mission
that they were going to endeavor on to gather souls and build up the church.
In this section, there's an emphasis on the worth of souls and the need for diligent efforts
in missionary work.
It includes a specific instruction on how to conduct oneself in the work of the Lord,
outlining the importance of repentance, baptism, faith in Jesus Christ.
Additionally, it speaks about the role of the priesthood in establishing the church
and the need for those who hold it to be called of God.
The Lord also calls upon individuals to seek the truth and support the work of the restoration
through faith and commitment, encouraging the saints to share the gospel with others
and to build a strong foundation for the church.
So in short, we could say Section 8 is a call to both personal righteousness and an urgent
need for missionary work in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
And you heard from that summary, very simple, straightforward, basic gospel principles.
We're not delving into the side tangents things can get to.
So to be effective in his work, that's as simple as it needs to be.
Danielle Pletka Agreed, Abby.
I love this because this is the Savior himself giving us the perfect example of how we should
teach his doctrine.
Like you said, as simply as it can be said, the doctrine is that faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the
end really blesses all of God's children.
Abby Right there in this talk, it's really where
he gets into emphasizing the importance of keeping the doctrine of Christ simple.
He said, as we teach these principles to those we love, the Holy Ghost will help us to know
the truth because we need the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
We must avoid speculation on personal interpretation that goes beyond teaching true doctrine.
I like that part.
There's maybe a time for that, like on a walk with a friend, if they're like delving into
the same thing, you can have some chat about that.
But really-
Danielle Pletka Teaching doctrine is different.
Abby It is different because you can let the Spirit
and the Holy Ghost impress upon people by keeping it simple.
You can help them to know what things that they want to learn more about.
You get up there and you just spout your opinion about something that's not backed by either
any real sources.
It's more of a stumbling block and a place to cause confusion because they're maybe not
in quite the same place ready to learn what you have learned.
Danielle Pletka Even if we think that they are, that's why
the Spirit is so necessary.
Abby I've probably mentioned it on this podcast
quite a bit, but a lot of times I'll be studying Come Follow Me for myself.
And what it seems to do more than anything is to give me a chance to have talking points
with my own children as they bring up questions throughout the week.
I'm in my 40s and I find joy in diving into historical context.
And sometimes my mind will have a question and it'll take me down a rabbit hole that
eventually leads me to whatever's been on my mind.
But when it comes to teaching my children the doctrine, do I share all of that knowledge
that I've gained?
Or not?
And the answer is typically no.
I mean, sometimes it comes in handy because I'll be like, man, I just studied that.
I'm glad that I have something to share with you, which I'm not in any way afraid to say,
I don't know the answer to that.
Let me look into it or we can look into it together.
But what I'm saying is a lot of times that's for me and it's specific and the questions
that they're asking have nothing to do with that.
But if I've put the Come Follow Me into me, then when they ask questions, what comes out
of me, I try to make it as simple and plain as possible.
And then if they have a further question, then we'll go deeper.
But I don't just like want to spout everything to them.
An age appropriate answer in an age appropriate conversation.
Yeah.
Part of that, part of knowing what to share and I find useful is to figure out why they're
asking the question they're asking.
That is good, Abby.
Then I can point them in the direction to their answer to help because I'm obviously
hoping that it's going to strengthen their testimony and that's best achieved if I'm
relying on the spirit and the spirit helps me edit the information that I'm going to
share.
So good.
But I'm thinking in terms of starting with simple.
Yeah.
So President Eyring said that can be hard to do when you love the person you are trying
to influence.
And then this sentence really got me as I was listening, Abby, 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.
I love that he's essentially saying, don't reinvent the wheel.
Like it is simple for a reason and just because someone has ignored it doesn't mean that
we need to spice it up.
That's not what is called for.
Like you said, why are they asking the question?
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.
It goes back to what you said again, there's value in knowing things that the Holy Ghost
has prompted you to dive deeper into, but we are promised power in sticking to simple
truths and letting the Holy Ghost do its job of testifying in fact truth.
I think it's amazing to stop and think about like you're in a teaching situation and you're
trying to encourage learning in the people that you're teaching.
And when you aren't comfortable just standing on the plain and precious simple doctrine
of Jesus Christ and we have to sensationalize it, we really aren't inviting the Holy Ghost
into that lesson.
So we might ask ourselves that as we're preparing lessons, what's the motivation?
Is this to draw somebody closer to Jesus Christ or is this to be like, oh man, they are the
smartest teacher in the world because of this knowledge that they have that really went
off the rails?
That's not that helpful.
That's true.
Amy, you're entering a stage, like a new phase of life where your children are mostly adults.
Do you find your ability to teach your children to be different at this stage?
I would say yes and a lot of it has to do with again, their maturity and them having
different questions and they're just at a different level.
So yes, it is different.
I only have one child who will be 14 this year, the rest are adults.
So it's wildly different than 10 years ago.
It's just more of a discussion now and less of, not that it's meant to be lecture, but
that's what I'm thinking.
That's what I'm witnessing.
It's definitely more discussion based.
Absolutely.
I love it.
I really love it.
I'm in the midst of raising children.
I have kids ranging from ages 15 down to three.
So this part of the talk resonated with me.
He said, teaching simply allows us to share the saving doctrine early on while children
remain untouched by the deceivers temptations that will later confront them.
Long before the truth 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 are far fewer compared to the relentless effort
of the 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.
I seriously, Abby, I read that sentence a couple of times and I was like, it's so true.
I just felt like the depth of that and there was a sadness in my heart just thinking of
all the hours that have passed.
Cause like you said, my kids are adults now.
Am I still working on it?
Yes.
Am I very aware of the adversary in all of his tactics?
Yes.
So it can be overwhelming to think of the obstacles and challenges our children are
facing or going to face.
As parents, we are constantly thinking, what do I need to do to prepare them for the world?
And we might be thinking, I don't even have it totally figured out myself.
Let's hear what Elder Eyring says about this.
I really appreciate his words.
Some of you may wonder whether it might be better to draw your children closer to you
through having fun, or you might ask whether the child may start to feel overwhelmed by
your teachings.
Instead, we could consider with so little time and so few opportunities, what words
of doctrine can I share that will strengthen them against the inevitable challenges of
their faith?
The words you share today could be the ones they carry with them and today will soon pass.
So I love that because yes, today will soon pass.
I mean, pretty soon we're going to be marching onto the future.
And I love the part that he shares because the part where he says with so little time
and so few opportunities, what can we really be asking ourselves?
Again, I feel like that is asking that question is giving us as parents an opportunity to
let the Holy Ghost guide us rather than letting fear guide us because it is a quick and slippery
slope as soon as you start thinking in fear about what have I not taught or whatever.
I mean, that just doesn't go over well.
So I love that he says, reminds us what words of doctrine can I share that will strengthen
them against the inevitable challenges to their faith?
So good.
He knocked it out of the park.
I know.
Okay.
He's got a story, his own personal family history story.
Did I get that right?
Yes, it is.
Yeah.
The name of the ancestor was Mary Vomeli, a Swiss convert to the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
And I'm going to summarize this story because I loved it so much.
So good.
She was a deeply devoted member sharing the gospel after being baptized.
She moved to Berlin and here it was illegal to teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
Despite that risk, she taught the gospel to those around her, sharing stories of Joseph
Smith, the Book of Mormon and the resurrection.
Her teachings led to her arrest, but she used the opportunity to write a powerful letter
to the judge testifying of Jesus Christ and urging repentance.
The charges against her were eventually dropped and she continued to share the gospel, leaving
a lasting legacy of faith and strength for her descendants.
This story is so much more beautiful when you listen back to it from him.
It's so great.
But I summarized it.
I know.
I summarized it for two reasons.
One, to emphasize the point that you can be very young in the gospel.
She was a fresh convert.
I loved that.
Because she was sticking to the principles of the gospel, very basic doctrines, she had
the ability to teach missionary work in a very powerful way.
Not only that, but it was alive and on fire in her heart.
You can barely keep your mouth shut about it.
Even knowing that prison was possible, that threat of prison was there.
We complicated a lot in unnecessary ways.
The second reason I shared it was because you never know what stories and events in
your life can have a lasting impact on your posterity.
The only way to make that happen is by recording it in some way, sharing it, telling it, making
it accessible to them.
So it's quite possible that even if we're willing to testify of Jesus Christ, it could
fall on deaf ears.
But if it's recorded when the time is right, it's there for your ancestors.
So I think we should ask a question here.
What should we do when our best effort to teach those we love the doctrine of Christ
does not resonate with them?
Danielle Pletka So hard, Abby.
When teaching the doctrine of Jesus Christ, doubts may arise, especially if others don't
respond to what you thought would really land well or if the effects of your efforts seem
minimal.
During these times, I think it's important not to give into doubt, like I was talking
to you before, doubt or fear, but turn to God for support.
Teach him with humility, patience, diligence, always keeping the commandments and seeking
his help in both spiritual and temporal matters.
Also while expressing gratitude for the blessings received and for his help along the way.
The gospel of Jesus Christ spoken by his own mouth wasn't even completely accepted by
all who have heard him when he was on the earth.
So it makes me think about the Christlike attributes that follow in the process of trying
to help a loved one or even help them through diligent and consistent effort.
We don't get to experience the challenge of following Jesus Christ coming back into their
lives, but there are still Christlike attributes being developed on our part.
Yes.
That's what we're praying for.
We're praying for patience.
You don't have to have patience if everything just goes right in your life.
Right.
I love it too.
Right now, or last week, I had a thing on my fridge that had it said, what I can control,
what I can't control.
And it always goes back to you can control the way you react, the way you this, the way
you that, that's the only thing we can really control.
Right.
Going back to the very first paragraph of this, you don't get to decide how your loved
ones are going to accept or treat or live the gospel.
And you don't get to choose if they totally decide to not live it, but you can have prayers
on their behalf.
You can control the way that you love them.
What was the third one?
I lost it.
You said we pray for them.
Example.
Yeah, exactly.
The way that we're living our life.
The way that demonstrates to them.
I'm sad that I didn't just come out.
I knew that was the thing.
He said this so perfectly in his talk a little later down.
So let me quote him.
He said, if you pray, if you talk to God, and if you plead for His help for your loved
ones, and if you thank Him not only for help, but for patience and gentleness that come
from not receiving all your desire right away, or perhaps ever, then I promise you that you
will draw closer to Him.
You will become diligent among 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.
Just the thoughts of my friends who have adult children who have turned away from the teachings
that they received in their youth.
I watched that and I'm being totally honest, I'm anticipating that, you know, none of us
are free from that challenge.
But what comes from that, an opportunity to draw close to Him in another way, not because
everything's going perfectly well, because we need Him more than ever.
For sure.
Love this scripture.
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.
This reminds me of blessings I have received through temple covenants.
And to be honest, Abby, that was one of the scriptures that got me through my cancer.
I love the fact that it talked about walking and running.
That was very specific to me.
Most often I consider it a blessing to my own physical body carrying on the work I do.
But in this context, I thought it was beautiful to consider that the same strength can come
to us in our efforts to help those we love.
It may seem exhausting, but with the Lord and the reminder to stick to basic truths
and tell the Holy Ghost, the task doesn't seem to be that overwhelming.
It's nice to be reminded even when we don't see the outcome that we're hoping to on our
own timeline that our efforts aren't being wasted.
We're still developing Christ-like attributes.
We're loving people despite the things that we would change about them if we could just
wave a magic wand.
That's good.
I love that you keep saying that because it's reminding me that that's the truth.
In referencing the scriptures to articulate this point Elder Eyring said, you can find
hope in the scripture record of families.
We read of those who turned away from that, what they were taught or who were wrestling
with God for forgiveness such as Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah and Enos in
their moment of crisis, they remembered the words of their parents, words of doctrine
of Jesus Christ, remembering, save them.
Your teaching of that sacred doctrine will be remembered.
And like we already talked about in the reference about Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah,
once the prayers of Alma's father were heard and answered and Alma the Younger made his
own decision to repent and come back to the Lord, they were able to affect generations
with their own missionary efforts and teachings of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
Love that.
And maybe he wanted to be more immediate, but it came in time that it was meant to come.
I'm sure he wanted it to be more immediate.
So the action item today is work with the Holy Ghost in your efforts to carry out the
sacred work of teaching Heavenly Father's children the simple doctrine of Jesus Christ.
Don't put more pressure on yourself than he has asked and find joy in the fact that you
are regularly demonstrating through action that you know the teachings to be true.
That is great and sound principles.
Any final thoughts?
My final thought is that I feel like later on when I have posterity, more posterity,
that I want to come back and read this because I feel like he has the gift of experience.
I feel like everything is true and sound and it's just a great reminder to let God work
in the life of your family because we can't do it all.
It's definitely one that we're going to want to look back on 10 years from now, 20 years
from now.
My work in the primary and teaching my own children have strengthened my testimony that
small and simple ways of teaching is the Savior's way and teaching of our Savior Jesus Christ
is the thing that will provide safety in the storms of life more than any other thing that
we can do for them.
If they have ears to hear and even if they don't in the moment, it's a lovely thought
to think that as they're grasping for the help that they need that those words might
resurface.
Oh, absolutely.
I love the idea of that.
The Spirit is so good at that.
So I'll end with his testimony.
Elder 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.
Amen.