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 Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today's talk is adorned with the
virtue of temperance by Elder Ulysses Suarez,
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Thanks for being
here with us today. Hi, Amy. Hey, Abby. Elder
Swartz begins by taking us back to May of 2021
when President Nelson visited the renovation
work of the Salt Lake Temple. He marveled at
the efforts of the pioneers with limited resources
and unwavering faith to build that sacred edifice
that had withstood the test of time. However,
he also observed the effects of erosion, which
over time had caused gaps in the temple's original
foundation, stones, instability in the masonry,
clear signs of the need for structural reinforcement.
And he made a couple of observations that, like
the Salt Lake Temple itself, we could stand to
be reconstructed and take extraordinary measures
that we maybe hadn't before to strengthen our
own foundation in Jesus Christ. What I really
liked about that talk was just the effort to
assess where we were, assess our foundation,
assess what anchor points and pins we would need.
He asked each of us two very important questions.
How firm is your foundation and what reinforcements
to your testimony and understanding of the gospel
are needed? So the answer is going to be different
for each of us, but what a neat opportunity to
sit and self -reflect and see where we're at
and pair that with this huge remodel, renovation,
reconstruction that the Salt Lake Temple was
undergoing. Totally. It was such a great visual.
These are wonderful opportunities for personal
reflection, these questions that he poses. I
love how he showed us to look at our own foundation
and testimony to see what could be reinforced
and rebuilt if necessary. It's a powerful lesson
and one that sticks with me. That was five years
ago. Like, I can't believe that it's been that
long already. In different seasons, I have focused
on different aspects of my testimony to strengthen,
to rebuild. Temple attendance, dedicated scripture
study, looking at a specific principle maybe
that I was struggling with, forgiveness, repentance,
grace. Admittedly, one thing I never tied with
this foundation which the scriptures teach is
firm as the pillars of heaven, and that's temperance.
It makes perfect sense that would be included
in D &C section 12, the Lord says this, behold,
I speak unto you and also to all those who have
desired to bring forth and establish this work.
And no one can assist in this work except he
shall be humble and full of love, having faith,
hope and charity, being temperate in all things
whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care. So
Temperance is one of the greatest Christ -like
attributes that we can use to reinforce our foundation.
So it makes perfect sense that it is used here.
I think of tempered glass and how it's constructed
and reinforced in such a way that a rock that's
maybe flung up by a truck in front of you on
the road doesn't shatter the whole windshield,
but it retains its structure and integrity and
the crack can be repaired or replaced. A difficult
situation for us, like in church or with a and
maybe a new procedure. It doesn't need to shatter
our foundation when we have applied temperance
to our testimony in Jesus Christ. When He's the
foundation instead of people, we can withstand
any offense or slight. So temperance, these are
just a few things about it, harmonizes and strengthens.
other Christlike attributes that he mentioned
like humility, faith, hope, charity, and the
pure love that flows from Christ. And then cultivating
temperance is a meaningful way to protect our
souls against the subtle yet constant spiritual
erosion caused by worldly influences that can
weaken our foundation in Christ. Among the qualities
that adorn true disciples of Christ, temperance
stands out as a reflection of the Savior Himself,
a precious fruit of the Spirit available to all
who open themselves to divine influence. It is
the virtue that brings harmony to the heart,
shaping desires and emotions with wisdom and
calmness. In the scriptures, temperance is presented
as an essential part of the progress in our spiritual
journey, leading us towards patience, godliness,
compassion, while refining our feelings, our
words, and our actions. And the more I read about
temperance, the more I think it reflects the
word that I chose to focus on this year, which
is balance. Bringing a Christ -like balance to
my approach is my way of being, my state of being,
or my way of being as I tackle daily tasks and
move on my way in serving my family and others.
Disciples of Christ who strive to cultivate this
Christ -like attribute become increasingly humble
and full of love. Serene strength arises in them,
and they become better capable of restraining
anger, nurturing patience, and treating others
with tolerance, respect, and dignity, even when
the winds of adversity blow fiercely. They strive
not to act impulsively, but chose to act with
spiritual wisdom, guided by meekness and the
gentle influence of the Holy Spirit. In this
way, they become less vulnerable to spiritual
erosion because, as the apostle Paul taught,
they know that they can do all things through
Christ who strengthens them, even in the face
of trials that could shake their testimony of
him. Love it. Again, I'd never thought of temperance
as being part of this foundation. And as he's
explaining more about temperance and how it fits
in this, it makes perfect sense. Like the erosion
doesn't happen when it's tempered, right? I just,
I really, I'm seeing it. Yeah. And I wish, I
wish I knew more about the glass making process
because I'm like, right, amazed by, by the process.
But I do believe if glass is too hot or too cold,
then it has problems, right? Tempering glass,
it's just the right temperature. And so I'm kind
of seeing that visual as I'm, yeah, I'm just
seeing that visual as I'm thinking, you know,
you don't get too hot about something in a situation.
Don't sit around and do nothing. It's just the
right balance. Like Goldilocks. Not too hot,
not too cold. My yoga instructor calls it the
Goldilocks. She's like, you always got to find
the Goldilocks stance. Not one that's too much,
not one that's, you know, too little resistance.
So. Paul warned that they should be not self
-willed, not soon angry, and no striker. Such
characteristics are contrary to the mind of the
Savior and hinder true spiritual growth. So in
the spiritual context is what it means. Not self
-willed is one who refuses to act with arrogance
and pride. Not soon angry is one who avoids the
natural urge to become impatient and irritated.
And then no striker refers to one who rejects.
contentious, aggressive, and harsh behavior,
verbally, physically, and emotionally. That word
when you read it, I was like, what? I mean, you
don't see that a lot. Like, what does that mean?
And so as I was thinking on the word, I pictured
a stick of dynamite with a fuse on it. And it's
like those things that like somebody can say.
you allow somebody to set you off if they destroy
that thing. And how cool is it if we just don't
even have the fuse to the dynamite that's going
to blow? Or you just take it and put it in water.
Sure. Love it. I can think of a hundred things
that happen in a week of family life with neighbors,
community members, maybe, that might bring up
a bit of frustration. It's so helpful to remember
to be a peacemaker and to have kind communication
when something does need to be addressed. Well,
we can look to the Savior's ministry on earth.
It was marked by the virtue of temperance in
all aspects of his character. Through his perfect
example, he taught us quite a few things. He
taught us to be patient in afflictions, you know,
don't revile against those who revile us. And
that's becoming increasingly more important as
it seems like we are the target of heavy reviling
right now. I'm not saying other generations haven't
experienced it the same, but maybe because ours
is more public, like it's social media hits and
hits to our... you know, are very places of worship.
There's just reviling as a thing. Yeah, it's
heavy. The other day, one of my, it was during
the holidays, and one of my nephews said, Oh,
are you rage baiting me? It's just, that's just
like a phrase that is just part of the vernacular
now, right? They just knew it, you know, and
it truly is the one we would say getting my goat
or whatever it was, but someone trying to, you
know, stir you up. Yeah. Okay. Let me give another
example from the Savior's ministry. We should
not give into anger because of disputes and contentions.
Like, yeah, sometimes you want to get into the
middle of something. You see somebody getting
ragefated. You want to step in. It's like, so
much of the time, it's like, that is not even
worth your time and effort. What is it going
to serve? Or, you know, what's going to be the
outcome? Right. You must repent and become as
a little child. I'll tell you, when I said that,
like the Spirit's kind of correcting me in the
speech. there is a time and a place to stand
corrected. You know, there's so many arguments.
You have to use that gauge, that temperance is
the right word for it. Sometimes comments, they're
just meant to be inflammatory and they're just
trying to stir you up. There's no value in responding
to that. But sometimes, if the Spirit pricks
you and you're in a state where you know that
that's not a striker phrase, it's like they're
maybe demeaning your very testimony of Jesus
Christ. and you feel so impressed by the Spirit,
ask for the right words to say, and absolutely
feel good about saying something about it, if
done with the Spirit. Exactly. And I think that
that's going to be more important as we keep
going on. We are asked for opportunities if you've
testified, testify more, you know, President
Holland's words. We just had that a couple weeks
ago. That comes to mind a lot. Some of these
opportunities when people are trying to be inflammatory
and trying to get us like, rage bait us, let
some of them go, but let the Spirit direct you
when the time's right to bear testimony of Him
in a certain moment. They've opened that door
for us. Do it with temperance and I don't think
you can go wrong. He says, you must repent and
become a little child. And all who desire to
come unto Him with purpose, full purpose of heart
must reconcile with those with whom they are
angry or with those who have something against
them. It's not like love the people that are
easy to get along with and inherit the kingdom
of God. It's like, love your enemy. Love your
neighbor as yourself. Sometimes you have crappy
neighbors, I have great neighbors. But the idea
of neighbors, that's a big worldview situation.
And it's a great reminder. Like, pick the person
that you have the hardest time with and work
on that relationship, then the other ones come
easier. Yeah, they're easy. With a temperate
attitude and a compassionate heart he assures
us that when we are treated with harshness unkindness
disrespect or disregard His kindness will not
depart from us and the covenant of his peace
shall not be removed from our lives There is
a show that keeps coming up on like one of my
streaming platforms. It's like a guy goes into
an homage school and I don't know if he had a
bomb or something, but he murdered some of the
children there at the school. And like the Amish
community rallied around, you know, the wife
and children that he left behind. This is the
story that Elder Perry talked about, like that
actually happened. This is a true story. I don't
know all the details of that, but like close
to home or close to our hearts is the example
of what happened in Michigan. And, you know,
a member quickly opened a GoFundMe. same situation,
wife and children were left behind. I don't know
if they were like actually married or in a strange
relationship. It doesn't really matter. It wasn't
like, you know, let's be out for vengeance. It
was like a great love. That was such a great
example of temperance and Christ -like love.
like, truly giving this horrific situation to
God and the healing balm of the Savior. And opened
the door for healing and for Christ to come into
her heart. Again, our Savior is the perfect example
of this Christ -like attribute. He was treated
unfairly, judged unfairly, ostracized, beaten,
mocked, ultimately killed unjustly. When he was
reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered,
he threatened not, but committed himself to him
that judges rights justly. And the thing is,
he could have blown them out of the water if
he wanted to. That's not what he chose to demonstrate
by action. Even in the midst of his great agony,
the Savior demonstrated perfect and divine temperance.
He declared, nevertheless, glory to be the Father,
and partook and finished my preparations unto
the children of men. One person does not know
the depths of your own suffering. As with all
Christ -like attributes, they are the goal. We
are not perfect at emulating Him, but we can
strive to improve each day, and when we act in
anger or spite, we can return again to Him. We
can ask Heavenly Father to borrow Christ's perfect
temperance. that day or with a specific person
until we can eventually grow into that trait
ourselves, not on our own, but grow into it for
ourselves. Right? Like we're practicing it, kind
of. I ask to borrow Christ attributes when I
don't have the power to do it on my own. Awesome
when you know which attribute to ask for. Right?
You're like, I really need this right now. At
first, it felt like I was cheating when I asked
that because I sort of had like an impression
to ask. But then I reflected on the scripture
that says, I, you know, I can do all things through
Christ, which strengthens me. And why not ask
Heavenly Father to grant me Christ's strengths
and virtues when I need it the most? It felt
like a great way to use the atonement of Christ
in my everyday life. Yeah, and then more of like
a secular quote, they say, imitation is the most
sincere form of flattery. Yeah. Let me let you
know that I know my Savior Jesus Christ. He's
not a different one. He's not some made -up guy.
I don't just call myself a Christian. Like, hopefully
you see that reflected in my actions. Very good.
That's probably all I have left to add. Anything
from you? That's all I have as well. It was interesting
today. I taught the activity day girls and we
actually did go through this part. We were talking
about when you just don't have any more patience
left in you and someone's maybe on your last
nerve. And I just kind of taught them to breathe.
Take a moment. and to ask Heavenly Father to
bless him with some patience. I said, you can
ask for whatever virtue you need from Christ,
and He can help you get through that moment.
So in closing, I'll add Elder Suarez's invitation.
He says, My beloved brothers and sisters, I extend
an earnest invitation to all of us to adorn our
minds and hearts with the Christ -like virtue
of temperance as a sacred response to the prophetic
call of our dear President. Russell M. Nelson.
As we strive with faith and diligence to weave
temperance into our actions and words, I testify
that we will strengthen and anchor our lives
more securely upon the sure foundation of our
Redeemer." Good luck. Yeah, good luck this week
as you think about temperance and how you can
apply that more heavily into your life. So many
opportunities. That's the thing, too. I was like,
wow, this really does need to be weaved within
just all throughout my life, you know? So yeah,
that is our invitation for all of us. We would
agree. It's something that doesn't come naturally.
No. And so it's something we're going to have
to rely on a lot of help. Let me borrow that
sweet gift you have. We'll catch you on the next
one. We'll see you next time.