WEBVTT 00:00:02.360 --> 00:00:04.639 Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.719 where two friends who love Jesus share our own 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:08.539 approach to studying the most recent General 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:11.480 Conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:31.750 jump into it. Today we get to talk about the 00:00:31.750 --> 00:00:34.170 power of ministering to the One. This was done 00:00:34.170 --> 00:00:37.070 by Elder Peter M. Johnson of the Seventy. Elder 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:39.250 Johnson started out his conference address with 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:41.609 gentleness and love. He said, sisters and brothers, 00:00:41.670 --> 00:00:43.789 thank you for your faithful devotion in coming 00:00:43.789 --> 00:00:46.670 unto Jesus Christ during these challenging times. 00:00:47.009 --> 00:00:50.229 He then reminded us who we are and whose we are. 00:00:50.450 --> 00:00:53.469 You are wonderful. You are beautiful. You are 00:00:53.469 --> 00:00:56.109 each a child of God. And then invited us each 00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:58.210 to seek the Holy Ghost as we come unto Christ 00:00:58.210 --> 00:01:00.759 together. It's my prayer that we will recognize 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:02.920 the influence of the Holy Ghost as we become 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:06.079 and help one another become truly devoted disciples 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.799 of Jesus Christ and fill His joy as we worship 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.739 in the house of the Lord. I think it's a beautiful 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:13.659 beginning and sets the stage for each of us to 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:16.480 learn together and to be taught. Thanks, Abby. 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:19.480 I feel like a main point of his talk is based 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.560 on an invitation from President Nelson. He goes 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:23.840 right into it. Now is the time for you and me 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:25.980 to prepare for the second coming of our Lord 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:28.379 and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now is the time for 00:01:28.379 --> 00:01:31.340 us to make our discipleship our highest priority. 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.780 And then he poses this question, President Nelson 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:37.959 does, in a world filled with dizzying distractions, 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:42.769 how can we do this? Well, lucky for us, he also 00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:44.849 gives us the answer, and he told us that what 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:46.950 would help us the most was regular worship in 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:50.349 the temple, and goes on to explain a little deeper 00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:52.349 the blessings the temple will bring each of us 00:01:52.349 --> 00:01:54.590 into our lives. In the house of the Lord, we 00:01:54.590 --> 00:01:57.469 focus on Jesus Christ. We come to know him. Every 00:01:57.469 --> 00:01:59.769 sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find him 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:03.090 in his temples. I love that quote. I feel like 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:05.590 every time I hear that, it pricks my ears. And 00:02:05.590 --> 00:02:07.730 when I remember this promise, I want to be at 00:02:07.730 --> 00:02:10.830 the temple more often. Like on my list of things 00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:13.069 that bring me closer to Christ. When I replace 00:02:13.069 --> 00:02:15.830 the phrase, just as simple as temple attendance, 00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:23.930 with finding Jesus Christ at the temple, it makes 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:25.949 it more personal and it causes me to pause and 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:28.409 ponder, if I found Christ at the temple when 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:32.449 I go today, what would I bring to him? So, how 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:34.490 do we become and help one another become devoted 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:39.759 disciples of Jesus Christ? You can't force anything 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:41.979 upon others, but I know that our ministering 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:45.379 efforts are a big part of that in the process. 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:48.240 Does it feel like we've already covered this 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:50.560 topic? I think it does, because these talks, 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.180 they're so beautifully ordered and they've built 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:55.939 on each other in such a way to get us to this 00:02:55.939 --> 00:03:00.599 point. Elder Johnson's teaching us ministering. 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:02.879 in this way. Ministering in the Savior's way 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.139 involves compassion and kindness, patience, and 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.919 love without judgment. And as we minister to 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:09.939 the One, we invite the One to come unto Christ 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:11.960 and to worship in the house of the Lord, and 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.340 we invite the One to receive His redeeming power. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:17.500 That's awesome. And like you said, yes, we've 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:21.979 talked about this a few times, right? It's repetition 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:26.099 helps us to remember. We remember the woman at 00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:28.919 the well. She was a Samaritan. She wasn't living 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:30.900 a chaste life at the time that Jesus found her, 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:33.099 and she may have felt like she didn't belong. 00:03:34.860 --> 00:03:37.319 However, the Savior saw her as a daughter of 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:40.080 God. He taught her and invited her to walk with 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:45.300 him, and she was ultimately one of the first 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:48.180 to declare that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus 00:03:48.180 --> 00:04:06.810 Christ taught this woman that through him, It's 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:09.669 like such a nice promise. The part I love about 00:04:09.669 --> 00:04:11.689 that story is that the Savior showed us what 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:14.550 love can do. It transformed this woman's life. 00:04:16.009 --> 00:04:18.939 Being a woman of Samaria, she was able to fill 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:21.259 the Savior's love. She received a witness through 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:23.759 the Spirit that he was the Messiah. And obviously, 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:26.379 we know it was just them at the well. This is 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:29.779 such a one -on -one personal invitation. And 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:33.879 not to be too judgy, but she'd had multiple husbands, 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:35.879 right? And I think she was living with somebody 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.639 currently. But the fact is, like, she wasn't 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:43.399 filling her best to receive a Savior figure in 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.360 her life. But her encounter, this one -on -one 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.759 encounter with Him, allowed her to be a witness. 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:52.120 She returns to the city and invites others to 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:54.540 come and see. And because of her invitation, 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:56.959 because of her testimony that she had, because 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:00.040 of that one -on -one experience, many were indeed 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.459 able to believe in Jesus Christ, that He was 00:05:02.459 --> 00:05:05.120 the Savior of the world. So, there's an overreaching 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.300 principle to ministering that we learn from Christ. 00:05:07.379 --> 00:05:10.600 As He invites them to come unto Him, He ministers 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:13.339 to the one with love. As a result, others ... 00:05:14.019 --> 00:05:17.180 then became His devoted disciples. I love that. 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:20.399 And yeah, that is true. She was probably feeling 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:23.699 not like she belonged and maybe forgotten and 00:05:23.699 --> 00:05:26.560 just not part of that. And Jesus Christ, you 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.079 know, invited her in and she came. The next principle 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:34.040 that He discusses is compassion. We learn ministering 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:37.109 with compassion from Peter and John. Christ's 00:05:37.109 --> 00:05:40.009 Apostles, a certain man, lame from birth, lay 00:05:40.009 --> 00:05:42.810 daily at the gate of the temple asking for money. 00:05:43.189 --> 00:05:46.629 This man may have felt unimportant, alone, discouraged, 00:05:46.730 --> 00:05:49.290 and unseen, and he may have felt like he didn't 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:51.930 belong. The scriptures say, then Peter said, 00:05:52.050 --> 00:05:54.889 silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:57.170 I give unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ 00:05:57.170 --> 00:06:00.250 of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Peter took the 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:02.750 man by his right hand and he lifted him up, and 00:06:02.750 --> 00:06:05.449 the man was made whole. Immediately the miracle 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:07.810 or immediately following this miracle, the man 00:06:07.810 --> 00:06:10.850 entered into the temple with Peter and John and 00:06:10.850 --> 00:06:13.329 he was walking and leaping and praising God. 00:06:13.529 --> 00:06:15.329 I love that last part too. It's not just the 00:06:15.329 --> 00:06:19.480 part that he was healed. but that he used that 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.560 energy and that healing to. So joyful. Like you're 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:24.139 probably thinking of you're like little lambs 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:26.779 or whatever. I love it. Really like they just 00:06:26.779 --> 00:06:29.860 learn how to walk and they're like, so happy, 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:32.639 jumping for joy about it. Elder Johnson shared 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:35.740 a personal experience at this point and speaks 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:38.100 to anyone who ever felt similar feelings of not 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:40.920 belonging in some ways. He says, my friends, 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.180 there have been moments in my life when I too 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:45.420 have felt unimportant, alone, discouraged and 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:47.839 unseen. I have felt as if I did not belong. I 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:50.100 was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:51.899 of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints when I 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:54.620 was 19. One year later, accepted a call to serve 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:56.959 a full -time mission, but there was much I had 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:59.939 not learned about Church history." Then he tells 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:04.720 us, um, early in my missionary service, he says, 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:06.839 I learned that there was a period when those 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:10.480 of Black African descent were not allowed to 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:12.379 enjoy all the blessings of worshiping in the 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:14.639 house of the Lord. Learning this for the first 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:17.300 time brought feelings of anger, confusion, doubt, 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.740 and fear. These feelings were so intense that 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:22.459 my ability to recognize the Holy Ghost was lost 00:07:22.459 --> 00:07:26.470 for a season. on the mission while we need every 00:07:26.470 --> 00:07:29.170 ounce of that to get through day to day. My heart 00:07:29.170 --> 00:07:32.069 went out to him when I heard this, and also just 00:07:32.069 --> 00:07:34.470 sharing such a very personal and raw experience. 00:07:34.850 --> 00:07:38.089 I also thought how courageous he is to address 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:40.329 this, as so many of our brothers and sisters 00:07:40.329 --> 00:07:42.529 have felt, I would guess, very similar feelings 00:07:42.529 --> 00:07:45.170 when they learn this. I have a few questions 00:07:45.170 --> 00:07:47.490 for Jesus when I see him again, and this is among 00:07:47.490 --> 00:07:51.209 them. And one thing I did love about this, entire 00:07:51.209 --> 00:07:53.410 talk was that Elder Johnson led us through his 00:07:53.410 --> 00:07:56.930 own challenge with hard questions, and then he 00:07:56.930 --> 00:07:59.269 modeled or showed us how he turned to the Lord 00:07:59.269 --> 00:08:02.750 and how his mission companion also ministered 00:08:02.750 --> 00:08:06.709 to him in this time. Yes, that was great. He 00:08:06.709 --> 00:08:08.610 said, fortunately, had a wonderful companion. 00:08:08.750 --> 00:08:10.829 His name was Kevin Vick, who ministered to me 00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:12.610 with love, patience, and kindness each night. 00:08:12.750 --> 00:08:15.170 As he witnessed my feelings of doubt and uncertainty, 00:08:15.209 --> 00:08:17.129 he would simply say to the younger Elder Johnson, 00:08:17.269 --> 00:08:20.029 I love you. After about two weeks, I allowed 00:08:20.029 --> 00:08:23.250 myself to feel Kevin's love. I gained the courage 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:25.009 to pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus 00:08:25.009 --> 00:08:27.410 Christ, and as I prayed, I was drawn to a section 00:08:27.410 --> 00:08:29.709 six of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 21 00:08:29.709 --> 00:08:47.700 to 23. Let's read those for the audience. What 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:50.480 greater witness can you have than from God? Oh, 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:53.220 isn't that so touching? Like you said, when they 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:56.740 bring in personal experience to educate us on 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:58.559 a gospel truth that they know for themselves, 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.620 this is a big one, this is a deep one. Each of 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:03.440 us gets to choose the way that we go about our 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:05.200 own struggles, because He was serving a mission 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.080 and He had a companion to show brotherly love 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:10.500 to Him. And, you know, the Scriptures were ... 00:09:10.549 --> 00:09:12.970 Right there at his fingertips, he'd had experiences 00:09:12.970 --> 00:09:15.409 with the Holy Ghost to witness to him truth and 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:17.809 remembrance of the roots of his testimony that 00:09:17.809 --> 00:09:20.549 he had just received, you know, a year previous. 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:25.460 He says that he did turn to the scriptures and 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:28.080 as he read he remembered the day that I fasted 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:29.840 and prayed to know that the Book of Mormon is 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.200 the Word of God and that Joseph Smith is the 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:34.360 prophet of the restoration. I remembered covenants 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.179 made in the house of the Lord that connect me 00:09:36.179 --> 00:09:38.779 to Jesus Christ in such a personal and intimate 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:41.600 way. I felt the Savior's love, his mercy, his 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:43.320 assurance that the Church of Jesus Christ of 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:45.580 Latter -day Saints is his kingdom upon the earth 00:09:45.580 --> 00:09:47.840 and is necessary to prepare us for his second 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:50.539 coming because I remembered I again was able 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:52.679 to recognize the Holy Ghost and to understand 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.159 more fully that Jesus is the Christ and I am 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:58.879 his disciple." So again, does he have all of 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:00.899 the understanding that it takes to understand 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:05.179 that piece of church history? No. Instead, he's 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:10.320 centered himself on the foundations of the restored 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.539 gospel of Jesus Christ. And in there, I heard 00:10:12.539 --> 00:10:15.519 such a huge one is the covenants. Yeah, right? 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:18.759 Right. I love that. And I love that it's like, 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.960 After he read this he realized through the spirit 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:24.730 of course that he knew enough He knew enough 00:10:24.730 --> 00:10:27.470 to have peace. He knew enough about Jesus Christ. 00:10:28.210 --> 00:10:30.950 And to have that block for that time, that period 00:10:30.950 --> 00:10:33.110 of time that he was separated from the Holy Ghost 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:35.309 and just doubting and questioning everything, 00:10:35.690 --> 00:10:38.230 now he has that to contrast and say, do I want 00:10:38.230 --> 00:10:40.149 to sit and ruminate on these feelings or do I 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:42.250 want to get back to that peace that I feel because 00:10:42.250 --> 00:10:44.129 of these truths that I do understand and I do 00:10:44.129 --> 00:10:46.990 know for myself? And I would say I haven't had 00:10:46.990 --> 00:10:50.049 to deal with that huge issue. Necessarily for 00:10:50.049 --> 00:10:52.210 myself, but you know, there's other things that 00:10:52.210 --> 00:10:54.750 come up and and I've I've said it on here before 00:10:54.750 --> 00:10:57.710 too When it doesn't set well with me all it it 00:10:57.710 --> 00:10:59.409 doesn't mean hey throw away everything, you know 00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:02.149 to be true It lets me know. Hey, you need to 00:11:02.149 --> 00:11:05.610 you need to address that like why why did it 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:09.610 make you react that way internally and so I don't 00:11:09.610 --> 00:11:11.690 sit and focus on that I focus on all the things 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:13.590 that I do know until I can kind of bring it into 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:16.470 harmony to say You know who spoke that was a 00:11:16.470 --> 00:11:20.259 prophet if I'm unsettled by it I found time and 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:22.340 time again that I'm able to just loop that into 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:24.320 the fact that I know that God sends a prophet 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.039 and the prophet of our day is, right now, it's 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.700 President Oaks, you know? That I might not know 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:33.039 everything, I might not have all the resolve, 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:35.340 but I know enough to know that He's never let 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:39.340 me wrong with His prophets. And so it's a start, 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:43.840 and then it lets me know, hey, a prayer in my 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:47.220 heart as things are shared that will help me. 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.639 understand where that fits into my testimony 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:52.600 of things or to help me feel more resolved about 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.919 it. Let me pick up on those things. But in the 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.179 meantime, it's not just like right in front of 00:11:58.179 --> 00:12:01.279 your face like bugging you and preventing everything 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.799 else from penetrating your heart. Right. I love 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:07.279 that. That's a really good way to put it. I know 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.340 that one day we will understand. I don't know 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:13.269 the whys either. And like you said, I do know 00:12:13.269 --> 00:12:15.190 that I trust God, I know his character, and I 00:12:15.190 --> 00:12:16.730 know that he loves every one of his children. 00:12:18.129 --> 00:12:20.210 And here, again, I respect the way the elder 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:22.190 Johnson went about his quest for understanding 00:12:22.190 --> 00:12:23.750 and personal peace, because there is going to 00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:26.769 be a time, it may not be with this specific point 00:12:26.769 --> 00:12:29.690 of doctrine, or it may be, but each one of us 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:32.429 will have a season where we have something similar 00:12:32.429 --> 00:12:33.950 and we're just, it's hard, you know, we have 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:36.509 to struggle and we got to... stand up on our 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:38.870 own two feet and decide and choose how we are 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:41.750 going to deal with this. Absolutely, that's so 00:12:41.750 --> 00:12:44.250 true. And then after he came to his place of 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:46.450 personal peace and personal conviction, then 00:12:46.450 --> 00:12:48.830 he was even more determined to love the gospel 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:51.929 of Jesus Christ. He quoted Elder Renlund in this 00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:55.429 talk, said, who reminded us that the Savior's 00:12:55.429 --> 00:12:57.870 job is to heal and make us whole. Our job is 00:12:57.870 --> 00:12:59.870 to love, to love and to minister in such a way 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:02.129 that others are drawn to Jesus Christ. This is 00:13:02.129 --> 00:13:04.210 one way we live the gospel of Jesus Christ through 00:13:04.210 --> 00:13:06.779 acts of love and service. I'll say, because this 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:09.299 talks about ministering, you know, sometimes 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:10.879 people just open their doors and they want you 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.360 and they want you to minister. And sometimes 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.200 our ministering assignments will have us encountering 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:21.000 people that do have deep -seated anger or grief 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.279 or trauma or whatever that they associate with 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:30.080 the church. And I guess what I would say is that 00:13:30.110 --> 00:13:33.850 it's not our job to try to fix the questions 00:13:33.850 --> 00:13:36.190 that they have. They really have to go on their 00:13:36.190 --> 00:13:39.990 journey of exploration on it, but I do see in 00:13:39.990 --> 00:13:42.330 that quote or in those thoughts, some of who 00:13:42.330 --> 00:13:44.730 we totally do have control over is loving that 00:13:44.730 --> 00:13:48.649 person and ministering in Jesus Christ's way. 00:13:51.180 --> 00:13:53.220 Yeah, not not thinking I'm gonna go and they're 00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:54.620 all they were offended by such -and -such or 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.379 they don't like this point of doctrine That that 00:13:56.379 --> 00:13:59.320 is not my that is not my thing to solve. Mm -hmm 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:01.580 It's never gonna it's never gonna resonate the 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:04.379 same with them if they don't Study that out and 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.440 come to that realization on their own with their 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:09.139 own study But what I can do is point them to 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:11.159 the source of peace and happiness and healing 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:14.659 in healing Yeah, well it helped them get Jesus 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:16.879 Christ more fully embedded in their life and 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:20.769 and try our hardest to Have them have experiences 00:14:20.769 --> 00:14:22.590 with the Holy Ghost and maybe it's been a minute 00:14:22.590 --> 00:14:25.289 since they have and that's where the bigger part 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:28.929 of the block has come from so I like I like knowing 00:14:28.929 --> 00:14:32.110 what I do have control over and That is something 00:14:32.110 --> 00:14:34.669 that I can have control over just absolute love 00:14:34.669 --> 00:14:37.750 for whoever I minister to whatever baggage that 00:14:37.750 --> 00:14:40.529 they come with whatever Things are holding them 00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:45.200 back. I can love So good Our ability to live 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.779 the doctrine of Jesus Christ will be enhanced 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:50.259 by daily study in the Book of Mormon and weekly 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.059 partaking of the sacrament. We come to know Jesus 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:54.860 Christ through our study of the Book of Mormon, 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.419 and then when we prayerfully take the sacrament, 00:14:57.480 --> 00:14:59.259 we also come to know him. And by doing both, 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.039 Elder Johnson says for him, it minimizes feelings 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:05.059 of discouragement, escalates my determination 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:08.279 to minister to the one in the Savior's way, and 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:11.419 helps make discipleship my highest priority. 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:18.019 I love that. Okay. In closing, I'm just going 00:15:18.019 --> 00:15:22.179 to close with some of the things that, with his 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.240 closing testimony, and I absolutely echo it. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.820 He says, my friends, I promise that as we live 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.220 the doctrine of Christ and minister to the one 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:32.659 in ways that lead to the house of the Lord, we 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:34.519 will press forward with faith in Jesus Christ, 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.419 even amid unanswered questions and feelings of 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:42.220 being unimportant, alone, discouraged, and unseen. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:44.980 We will invite the one to come unto Jesus Christ 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:46.820 and to worship in the house of the Lord to receive 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:49.259 of his redeeming power and love. In the house 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:51.159 of the Lord, we will feel the Savior's mercy. 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:54.899 We will find answers to our most vexing questions, 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:58.639 and we will better comprehend the joy of his 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.679 gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.