WEBVTT 00:00:02.340 --> 00:00:04.660 Welcome to closer to Christ through general conference 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:06.700 where two friends who love Jesus share our own 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:08.539 approach to studying the most recent general 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:11.500 conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:31.679 jump into it. Today we're talking about Simplicity 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.859 in Christ by Elder Michael Ciesla of the 70s. 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:36.799 Yes, Utah is full of green jello and funeral 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:39.679 potatoes, but in the time that Elder Ciesla spent 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.759 there as a missionary, he was also acutely aware 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.240 and also deeply impressed by the devotion and 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:47.719 the discipleship of many of the saints. He talked 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:49.520 about the sheer number of people attending church 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.259 meetings and also the scale of fully functioning 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:56.320 church programs. He gained a deep love for the 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.460 people of Utah and wanted to take that joy and 00:00:58.460 --> 00:00:59.939 spiritual strength and maturity back with him 00:00:59.939 --> 00:01:02.079 to Germany, but he absolutely planned to come 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.900 back to Utah to raise his own future family so 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:07.180 he could have similar experiences for them. That's 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:10.500 awesome. Not long after returning home, he was 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:12.459 called to serve as a young man president. So 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:14.400 it's no surprise to us that he learned that the 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:17.450 same joy of the gospel he felt in Utah was He 00:01:17.450 --> 00:01:19.689 was blessed to feel also in Germany. The joy 00:01:19.689 --> 00:01:21.650 that comes from being a disciple of Jesus of 00:01:21.650 --> 00:01:24.189 Christ has very little to do with the size of 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:26.709 church and the needings of the scales. sorry, 00:01:26.969 --> 00:01:29.530 church meetings and the scale of programs. President 00:01:29.530 --> 00:01:31.870 Russell M. Nelson taught us many years ago, the 00:01:31.870 --> 00:01:34.349 joy we feel has nothing to do or little to do 00:01:34.349 --> 00:01:36.609 with the circumstances of our lives and everything 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:38.969 to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:41.150 of our life is on Christ and His gospel message, 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:43.629 we can experience the full blessings of discipleship 00:01:43.629 --> 00:01:46.269 wherever we live. I really loved it today as 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:49.450 I was pondering this talk, how the entire sacrament 00:01:49.450 --> 00:01:53.040 meeting was focused on The youth theme, Doctrine 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:55.040 and Covenants 636, which is look unto Christ, 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:57.640 doubt not, fear not, which was shared by, you 00:01:57.640 --> 00:01:59.980 know, the youth took over. They did testimonies, 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:03.840 thoughts, and song, and each kind just got a 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.819 bare testimony of how they've been blessed through 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:09.979 difficult times with a focus on this theme, a 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.240 focus on Jesus Christ. One of the youth I really 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:14.740 liked shared how, yeah, it's written as a youth 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:16.599 theme and it's the focus of the youth, but because 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.400 they're focusing on it, that it that he's seen 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:21.740 that it affects their family or is positive as 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:25.240 the family works more to focus on Jesus Christ, 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:27.740 so it's not just a youth blessing. And we're 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:29.960 experiencing that, too. For sure. It was so good, 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:32.120 Abby. And it seems like an easy enough challenge 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:34.340 to focus on Christ, but really the challenge 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:36.759 is that we live in an increasingly secular... 00:02:37.069 --> 00:02:40.590 complex and also confusing world. You could say 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:43.310 that the world tries to blind our eyes and harden 00:02:43.310 --> 00:02:46.090 our hearts to the point that the plain and precious 00:02:46.090 --> 00:02:48.110 things of the gospel of Jesus Christ are lost 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:51.860 to us or they don't resonate. The apostle Paul's 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.379 advice to the saints of Corinth is just as important 00:02:54.379 --> 00:02:58.259 to us now when he reminded them to focus on the 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:01.319 simplicity that is in Christ. Such good words. 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:03.740 I think it's because our default setting as adults 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.080 in this mortal experience appears to be to overcomplicate 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:09.379 things. Sure. That's why I love teaching the 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:11.360 little children. They're easy to teach because 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.979 they don't overcomplicate life. When they share 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:16.060 their testimonies, it's often in a simple way 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.939 and it always pierces my heart. They can say 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:21.050 the simplest things and I'm like, They're just 00:03:21.050 --> 00:03:22.909 kind of cut into the chase and it's so good. 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:25.449 From the talk, he says, the doctrine of Christ 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:27.550 and the law of the gospel are so simple that 00:03:27.550 --> 00:03:30.469 even little children can understand them. Yep. 00:03:31.009 --> 00:03:33.650 The gospel can be summarized in one sentence, 00:03:34.030 --> 00:03:36.689 exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, 00:03:36.710 --> 00:03:38.569 being baptized, being sanctified through the 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:40.770 gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:43.490 So if we do these things, we can access the redeeming 00:03:43.490 --> 00:03:46.310 power of Jesus Christ and also receive all the 00:03:46.310 --> 00:03:48.569 spiritual blessings that our Father in heaven 00:03:48.569 --> 00:03:51.360 has prepared for each of us. I love how President 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.439 Nelson described this journey so beautifully 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.419 as the covenant path and the process of becoming 00:03:56.419 --> 00:03:59.360 a devout disciple of Jesus Christ. Amy summarized 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.860 the gospel for us in just one sentence, you know, 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.639 just a minute ago. The principles of the gospel, 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:08.680 they are simple, but I guess the problem is that 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:12.060 we're finding that that doesn't mean that it 00:04:12.060 --> 00:04:15.060 doesn't come with its own challenges. The gospel 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:18.620 is simple. Life is hard. what it takes is constant 00:04:18.620 --> 00:04:22.139 effort and diligence. I think you saying that, 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:24.040 you know, complicating things is the default 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.579 setting of adults, and I totally agree with that. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:29.680 Listen to the line from this talk where he says, 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.199 put off the natural man and become like a little 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:34.639 child. This includes putting our trust in the 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.079 Lord and letting the complexity go, just as little 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.199 children do. Applying the doctrine of Christ 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.120 in a simplified and focused way will help us 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:44.920 to find joy in our daily lives, give guidance 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:47.879 in our callings, answer some of life's most complex 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:51.180 questions, and provide strength to face our greatest 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.180 challenges. I think it's a good reminder to remember 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:56.639 this is a lifelong journey, a lifelong process. 00:04:56.939 --> 00:04:59.480 He asked the question in this talk, how can we 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.740 practically implement this simplicity in our 00:05:01.740 --> 00:05:04.000 lifelong journey as disciples of Christ? That's 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.259 a great question, Abby. President Nelson reminded 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:10.199 us to focus on pure truth, pure doctrine, and 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:12.259 pure revelation as we seek to follow the Savior. 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:14.399 I think that's one of the the most succinct way 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.920 to put it. And another good question, what would 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:19.740 the Lord Jesus Christ have me do? It's a simple, 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:22.379 powerful way to open ourselves up to revelation. 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:25.300 And basically, I think the answer you get most 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:28.879 of the time, it's simple. It's simplicity. Yes. 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:33.279 We overcomplicate things. We are masters at overcomplicating 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:35.980 things. That's true. Following the example that 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:38.560 our savior set for us helps us to choose to do 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.220 what he did and not just know what he did in 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:43.019 this life on earth. There's a big difference 00:05:43.019 --> 00:05:45.920 there, right? His example provides a safe path 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:47.879 through uncertainty and a loving guiding hand 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:50.220 to hold from day to day. I love that one of the 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:53.160 youth said that today, that she knows that. Jesus 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:55.240 can be there to hold her hand through the things, 00:05:55.379 --> 00:05:57.459 you know So many times we feel like he's supposed 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:00.139 to take everything and that's not the case We 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:04.079 are here to have experiences. Yes from the examples 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.060 of his life. He invites us to love God keep Keep 00:06:08.060 --> 00:06:10.560 his commandments and also love our neighbors 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:16.230 I got a great series of titles from this talk. 00:06:16.709 --> 00:06:19.110 Here's what he called them in this talk. He said, 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:21.310 He's the Prince of Peace and the Good Shepherd. 00:06:21.410 --> 00:06:23.490 He is our Comforter and our Deliverer. He is 00:06:23.490 --> 00:06:26.730 our Rock and Refuge. He is a friend. And I love 00:06:26.730 --> 00:06:28.970 that. I love when they mention names of Christ 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:30.990 because it feels like they're deeply personal 00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:33.529 to them. They can kind of come up with any one 00:06:33.529 --> 00:06:35.310 of them. But I think what he's trying to say 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:38.910 is, I'm telling you, life is as simple as keeping 00:06:38.910 --> 00:06:41.029 it simple. But I know that that's a complicated 00:06:41.029 --> 00:06:42.810 thing because life comes with its own challenges. 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:46.139 when he points out these names of Christ, to 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:48.540 me it means his life hasn't been easy and perfect. 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:50.939 And when we see like the back history, the family 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:53.420 history story, and what it took to get his family 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:57.339 where they are, I think he's coming from a place 00:06:57.339 --> 00:07:00.819 of saying, I've dealt with some challenges, my 00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:02.720 family's dealt with some challenges, but these 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:04.680 are the things we were able to count on with 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:08.040 Jesus Christ, and so he made the path easier 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.180 for us because we did rely on him. For sure. 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:14.120 Applying simple gospel principles. will help 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:16.180 us navigate through life's challenges in the 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:20.040 Lord's way. So just some ideas, simple acts like 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:23.459 prayer, fasting, scripture study, daily repentance, 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:25.920 partaking of the sacrament weekly, regular worship 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.519 in the house of the Lord. So just like you said, 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:30.639 Abby, challenges aren't removed and heartache 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:33.959 may still find us. It most certainly will, but 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.560 our capacity to endure these challenges has changed 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.519 and we find strength and confidence before God, 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.879 I 100%. Agree with that. We just talked about 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.680 this just right a talk or two ago and I love 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:47.399 how they build on each other They really do when 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:49.540 you hit that I'm like, there's not people sometimes 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:51.779 they feel embarrassed by saying well, what's 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:56.439 the answer to this challenge read? fast study 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:00.300 pray Go to church like they're the like these 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:04.339 answers are getting overused. They're not. They're 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:08.079 underused. That's what we need to base everything 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.240 around. If you add anything to it that's accessory, 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:16.259 these are the things that will keep us, you know, 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:18.920 paired with Jesus Christ and blocking these difficult 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:22.019 challenges with Him. For sure. And I know I have 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.079 a lot of work to do on this topic, so I did really 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:29.600 love studying it. I love that he suggested that 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.959 as we simplify things, it will really help us 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:34.919 focus on people over processes. We focus on the 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.019 things that matter most in God's work of salvation 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:39.019 and exaltation instead of getting caught up in 00:08:39.019 --> 00:08:42.059 managing our ministering. We make ourselves free 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:44.139 to prioritize the things we can do rather than 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:46.000 being weighed down by the things we cannot do. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:48.539 Out of small and simple things, proceedeth that, 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:52.440 which is great. Absolutely. He shared the sweetest 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.480 story. I loved it. He talked about his grandmother. 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.179 lovingly called Oma Cislev. She joined the church 00:08:58.179 --> 00:09:00.960 along with her mother in her youth. Later, when 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:02.820 she married his grandfather, who's not a member 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.700 of the church, and moved to his farm, she was 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:08.200 too far from a congregation to join regularly. 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:11.179 So attending church was out of her control. But 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:14.379 what she did was have the ability to do was pray, 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:16.740 read the scriptures, and sing songs of Zion. 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.779 Later, she brought children into the world and 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:22.259 though To some, it may have looked like she was 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:24.220 raising them outside of the church because there 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:26.539 was no priesthood in the home and no meetings 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:29.220 to access ordinances nearby. But what did she 00:09:29.220 --> 00:09:32.379 focus on? She taught them to pray and walk up 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:35.120 rightly before the Lord. She read her children's 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.559 scripture. She read scriptures to her children. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:40.840 and she sang them the songs of Zion, and she 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:43.139 also prayed with them. So this would not be a 00:09:43.139 --> 00:09:44.860 home -centered church -supported experience, 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:48.399 but instead of 100 % home -centered experience. 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:50.799 During World War II, when his grandfather was 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:52.480 away and enemies were approaching their farm, 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:55.960 she took her two children and sought refuge where 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:58.960 they found, and they were found in northern Germany. 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.100 The only thing they had was the clothes on their 00:10:02.100 --> 00:10:04.879 backs, and no one would consider this life easy. 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:07.720 But what did Oma do? She continued with what 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.000 she had, with what was available to her. She 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.460 prayed with her children every day. She sang 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.879 with them the songs of Zion. She had memorized 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:17.799 by heart every day. Providing for the basic essentials 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.419 of life, giving food on the table for her children 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:23.980 was extremely hard. Then at the age of 17, love 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:26.799 this part, when Elder Siasla's father, a then 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:28.919 17 year old boy, was going to trade school in 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.480 the city, he walked by a building and saw a small 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.570 sign on the outside that read, the Church of 00:10:34.570 --> 00:10:36.830 Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints in his German 00:10:36.830 --> 00:10:39.309 tongue. He thought, that's interesting. This 00:10:39.309 --> 00:10:41.690 is Mother's Church. So when he came home, he 00:10:41.690 --> 00:10:44.950 told Oma that he had found her church. You can 00:10:44.950 --> 00:10:47.350 imagine how she must have felt after almost 25 00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:49.429 years of no contact with the church. She was 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:51.669 determined to attend the next Sunday and convinced 00:10:51.669 --> 00:10:55.580 his father to accompany her. This was a 20 mile 00:10:55.580 --> 00:10:57.720 walk one way from the little village where they 00:10:57.720 --> 00:10:59.559 lived, but this did not keep her from attending 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:01.840 church. So the next Sunday, she got on her bicycle 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.220 with father and rode to church. When the sacrament 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:07.059 meeting started, the dad sat down in the last 00:11:07.059 --> 00:11:09.539 row, hoping it would be, or his dad sat in the 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:11.799 last row. So the 17 year old boy at this point 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:13.639 sat in the last row, hoping it would be over 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:15.840 soon. This was almost church and not here. What 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:18.220 he saw was not very encouraging. Only a few older 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:20.299 women in attendance and two young missionaries 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:21.980 who effectively ran everything in the meeting. 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:24.039 But then they started to sing. and they sang 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:26.240 the songs of Zion that my dad had heard since 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:28.700 he was a little boy. Come, come you saints, oh 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:30.940 my father, praise to the man. Hearing this little 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:33.159 flock sing the songs of Zion he'd known since 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.379 childhood pierced his heart and he immediately 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:37.460 knew without a doubt that the church was true. 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.379 The first sacrament my grandmother attended after 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:42.899 25 years was the meeting where my father received 00:11:42.899 --> 00:11:47.110 a personal confirmation of the truthfulness of 00:11:47.110 --> 00:11:49.429 the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He was baptized 00:11:49.429 --> 00:11:52.809 three weeks later on September 25th, 1955 together 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:55.490 with my grandfather and my aunt. I love it so 00:11:55.490 --> 00:11:57.929 much. So thinking of Elder Brown's talk, I thought 00:11:57.929 --> 00:12:00.450 this was his sacred grove experience. Seriously, 00:12:00.950 --> 00:12:05.649 yeah. Oma's dedication to the small and simple 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:07.409 things certainly would have come without lonely 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:09.610 moments over the decades. Could you imagine being 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:13.350 not with the... A body of saints. Yeah. She faithfully 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:15.809 endured, but her determination to keep her covenants 00:12:15.809 --> 00:12:18.210 and also trust in the Lord, notwithstanding her 00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:20.909 struggles, had eternal consequences. There are 00:12:20.909 --> 00:12:23.049 many around the world who focus on the simplicity 00:12:23.049 --> 00:12:25.149 in Christ in their challenging circumstances. 00:12:25.929 --> 00:12:28.889 Perhaps seeing little changes now, but trusting 00:12:28.889 --> 00:12:30.950 that great things will come to pass someday in 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.750 the future. In the words of Elder Jeffrey R. 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:36.519 Holland, some blessings come soon. Some come 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:39.039 late and some don't come until heaven, but for 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.080 those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:45.220 they come. Any final thoughts? Just sweet. I 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:48.620 love how you said that just the themes of the 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:52.200 gospel, the principles of the gospel are layered 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:55.100 and they just continue to be taught in every 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:58.590 one of these. in every one of these talks of 00:12:58.590 --> 00:13:01.029 conference. Sometimes I wake up like at four 00:13:01.029 --> 00:13:02.330 or something in the morning and I'm like, why 00:13:02.330 --> 00:13:04.570 am I awake? And I lay there this morning, I was 00:13:04.570 --> 00:13:06.629 just thinking, man, I'm really grateful for conference, 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:09.029 that we get to study it, that they really are 00:13:09.029 --> 00:13:11.389 the words of the prophets, of the latter day 00:13:11.389 --> 00:13:13.490 prophets. And we get to study those words and 00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:15.950 just have them deep in our hearts for when the 00:13:15.950 --> 00:13:18.210 complexity comes, for when the things come. It's 00:13:18.210 --> 00:13:20.990 kind of like we have a - Reservoir. Yeah. And 00:13:20.990 --> 00:13:22.509 something in our pocket of like, you know what? 00:13:22.789 --> 00:13:25.570 I know what the Lord might do with this. And 00:13:25.570 --> 00:13:27.500 especially if we're just having - have some quiet 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:30.620 time and are listening. I love that. My thoughts 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:35.600 are, that bounces off some of my thoughts, but 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:38.039 I was just thinking that the church is growing 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:41.460 rapidly across the world, across the earth and 00:13:41.460 --> 00:13:44.019 here where it's been established for time and 00:13:44.019 --> 00:13:45.700 we've got these programs and we've got these 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:48.399 accessory things. That's all lovely. It's all 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.629 things that we can do. but the most important 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:53.370 thing is the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus 00:13:53.370 --> 00:13:55.889 Christ and when we're teaching the gospel truths 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:59.389 that we focus on pure and simple doctrine. But 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:01.169 knowing that our brother and sisters that are 00:14:01.169 --> 00:14:04.190 being gathered in around the world, you know, 00:14:04.429 --> 00:14:07.110 even though there's a multitude of programs and 00:14:07.110 --> 00:14:09.909 processes and ministering opportunities that 00:14:09.909 --> 00:14:13.759 they can. tap into, the most important thing 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.360 is a love of our Savior Jesus Christ. And that 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.039 one sentence, the simple laws and principles 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:23.519 of the gospel, we'd heard this story about, I 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:25.919 think it was somebody that's involved with the 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.419 Young Men's Program. Anyway, they were kind of 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:31.519 going around doing stuff for FSY. And whoever 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.159 the leader was in the area, they're like, you're 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:35.899 not allowed to talk about the youth programs. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.120 Because of where they were in the world. Yeah, 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:42.519 exactly. Not because it was going to be, like, 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:45.480 dangerous politically, but because the gospel 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.379 was so new and fresh, we needed to focus on what 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:52.840 we could focus on, like, let's have solid sacrament 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:55.419 meetings and attendance and scripture reading 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:57.720 versus, like, all of the things that could be 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:04.460 happening. Yes. All the programs that are there 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:06.720 and available for us, I love them. We pick them 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:09.019 up and we grasp onto them and to the best of 00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:12.259 our abilities, we execute them. But at the end 00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:14.659 of the day, when you're feeling overwhelmed by 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:17.120 a multitude of things, and you just have that 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.320 conversation with the Lord, I promise He'll say 00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:21.639 like, all of that's good, but the best thing 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:23.539 that you could be doing, talk with me regularly, 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:26.919 read my word, follow the prophet, you know, these 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.720 basic covenants. Make your covenants, keep those 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:33.179 covenants, and it does not require fancy table 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:37.139 settings and handouts and, you know, just so 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:39.559 many things that we choose to add on to our plate 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:41.559 to add more stress to our lives. When it comes 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.960 down to it, it can be as simple as simple. I 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.440 will end with his testimony. Thank you. He said, 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:49.179 I have learned through my own experience that 00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:51.620 the small and simple things of the gospel and 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:53.919 faithfully focusing on Christ leads us to true 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:56.240 joy. bring about mighty miracles and grant us 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.399 confidence that all promised blessings will come 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:01.419 to pass. This is as true for you as it is true 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:04.100 for me. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:06.799 Christ. Amen. Amen. Thanks so much for being 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:08.759 with us today. We'll catch you next time.