Here are a few highlights:
No one of us is to consider himself of more value than the other (see D&C 38:24–25). “God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34–35; see also Romans 2:11; D&C 1:35; 38:16)....
There is the natural tendency to look at those who are sustained to presiding positions, to consider them to be higher and of more value in the Church or to their families than an ordinary member. Somehow we feel they are worth more to the Lord than are we. It just does not work that way!...
As General Authorities of the Church, we are just the same as you are, and you are just the same as we are. You have the same access to the powers of revelation for your families and for your work and for your callings as we do....
No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other. It just does not work that way! Remember, He is a father—our Father. The Lord is “no respecter of persons.”...
And so the Church moves on. It is carried upon the shoulders of worthy members living ordinary lives among ordinary families, guided by the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ, which is in them....
This talk reminds me of what I love about Elder Packer. I just finished reading this message and it brought tears to my eyes. It speaks directly to some of the hurt I and others have felt since Sunday. Read the whole thing with an open heart, from beginning to end, and maybe you too will find that by the time you get to the, "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen" you'll feel much, much better.
I know I did.
4 comments:
Thank you John.
regardless of your words, John. you see things in a better light than i do and for that I thank you.
your words help shore up my own weakened testimony of the Church and its leaders.
Perhaps my own jaded views have come to dominate my interpretation and interactions within the Church sphere. And I should seek to humble my spirit and find contrition for my heart.
Very nice talk. I love that perspective! Thanks for bringing that back to my memory.
As a non-member of the LDS church but a resident of Utah, my life is also influenced from words spoken at General Conference. Just yesterday, a faithful LDS person asked me if I had ever thought about praying to relieve myself of my lifestyle. My response is that I believe in God, God could convert me to straight, but that according to my belief, it would be the same as telling a person in a wheelchair that if they prayed enough and were faithful enough God would help them walk; this too is possible, but it's not by the lack of faith that someone might be in a wheelchair. I still say that yes I am gay, yes I am a Christian, yes I believe in God, but I am exactly who God made me.
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