Transformative Truths Podcast

It should come as no surprise that one of the adversary’s tactics in the latter days is stirring up hatred among the children of men.
He loves to see us criticize each other, make fun or take advantage of our neighbor’s known flaws, and generally pick on each other. The Book of Mormon is clear about where all anger, malice, greed, and hate come from.

None of us need one more person bashing or pointing out where we have failed or fallen short. Most of us are already well aware of the areas in which we are weak.

What each of us does need is family, friends, employers, and brothers and sisters who support us, who have the patience to teach us, who believe in us, and who believe we’re trying to do the best we can, in spite of our weaknesses.

Whatever happened to giving each other the benefit of the doubt? Whatever happened to hoping that another person would succeed or achieve? Whatever happened to rooting for each other?

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet.

Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped.

Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us.

Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton, “The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword,” April 1992 General Conference.
Published in Ensign, May 1992, pp. 18-21.
The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword

The thought that rescued Alma, when he acted upon it, is this: Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the atonement of Christ. When your desire is firm and you are willing to pay the ‘uttermost farthing,’ the law of restitution is suspended. Your obligation is transferred to the Lord. He will settle your accounts.

Boyd K. Packer
“The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness”

When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him — when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life — you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.

President Russell M. Nelson
“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives”

We must believe that there is a purpose running through the stern, forbidding process. What men have needed most of all in suffering is not to know the explanation, but to know that there is an explanation. Religious faith alone gives confidence that human tragedy is not the meaningless sport of physical forces, making our life what Voltaire called “a bad joke.”

How can I believe that my existence and my purpose are not a cruel joke unless I am begotten by a spiritual life that will sustain my strength and crown my effort? To believe that man’s soul is a foundling, laid on the doorstep of a merely physical universe—crying in vain for any father who begot him or any mother who conceived him—is to make our highest life a liar. Underneath everything… let me start again.
Underneath our experience, there must be meaning. Meaning weaves through all of our experience and ties it together—to make it purposeful and ultimately triumphant, rather than random and meaningless.

Harry Emerson Fosdick
The Meaning of Faith (New York: Association Press, 1918), Chapter 4 –
The Venture of Faith.
Available free online at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40482

 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world. For he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

Nephi 26:24

 All of God’s faculties, all of his inclinations are poised and bent on blessing at the slightest provocation. Oh, how God loves to be merciful and bless his children! Perhaps that is his greatest joy. It is the inherent quality that drives him with tireless vigilance to save his children.

  p. 313, Tad R. Callister (2000). Infinite Atonement. Deseret Book
 

 Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of thee. Thou only knowest what I need. Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself.
O Father, give thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations. I simply present myself before thee. I open my heart to thee, Behold my needs, which I know not myself, See and do according to thy tender mercy, Smite or heal, depress me or raise me up, I adore all thy purposes without knowing them, I am silent, I offer myself in sacrifice, I yield myself to thee.
I would have no other desire than to accomplish thy will. Teach me to pray, pray thyself in me, amen.

François Fénelon

 on the occasion of my hundred and first birthday, I wish to share two truths, lessons that I believe contribute to lasting happiness and peace. First, each of us has inherent worth and dignity.
I believe we are all children of a loving heavenly Father. But no matter your religion or spirituality, recognizing the underlying truth beneath this belief that we all deserve dignity is liberating. It brings emotional, mental, and spiritual equilibrium. The more you embrace it, the more your anxiety and fear about the future will decrease.
Life can be terrifying. I have watched many, especially young people. Struggle with anxiety about whether they belong or have value, but a heart that knows it is loved and remains focused on its purpose, beats with steadiness, confidence and hope no matter what is happening or not happening in life.

 Second, love your neighbor and treat them with compassion and respect.
A century of experience has taught me this with certainty, anger, never persuades, hostility never heals, and contention never leads to lasting solutions. Too much of today’s public discourse, especially online, fosters enmity instead of empathy. Imagine how different our world could be if more of us were peacemakers building bridges of understanding rather than walls of prejudice, especially with those who might see the world differently than we do.
I’ve seen bitter divisions soften who neighbors choose to listen to one another. With respect rather than suspicion. Even small acts like reaching out across the lines of faith, culture, or politics can open doors to healing. There is power in affording others, the human dignity that all of God’s children deserve earth.

 This work begins at home and you just gave us a good example, didn’t At a time when loneliness and isolation are rising around the world, families. Though never perfect, remain one of life’s strongest sources of stability and meaning.
My own experience has taught me that fidelity, forgiveness, and faithfulness within families yield deep enduring peace. Strong families help us extend kindness outward reinforcing communities and societies as well.

 my faith teaches me that over two millennia ago, Jesus Christ preached these same laws of happiness to love God and to love your neighbor.
After 101 years, I can say that these are not abstract theological ideas. They are practical wisdom. They are what have sustained me through loss and triumph. Uncertainty, peace, war, and healing. if we embrace these eternal truths, honoring our own worth, treating others with dignity and nurturing our families, our lives and our world will be steadier and more joyful.
That is my birthday wish for all of us.

President Russell M. Nelson
Russell M. Nelson: We All Deserve Dignity and Respect | TIME

“Repentance is God’s ever-accessible gift that allows and enables us to go from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm. Repentance isn’t His backup plan in the event we might fail. Repentance is His plan, knowing that we will. This is the gospel of repentance. And as President Russell M. Nelson has observed, it will be ‘a lifetime curriculum.’ In this lifetime curriculum of repentance, the sacrament is the Lord’s designated way of providing continual access to His forgiveness. If we partake with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He proffers us weekly pardon as we progress from failure to failure along the covenant path.”

Elder Lynn G. Robbins

Next time you’re in line at the market, or pumping gas, or in the workplace, notice the people around you and the quick conclusions you’re tempted to draw. Catch yourself judging unfairly and rewind the tape. Instead, see this person as a child of God who is loved and hoped for. Know that a Patriarchal Blessing awaits this person. Realize they cheered in the Pre‑mortal World when they heard the Plan of Happiness. Ask a silent prayer to see if your path was meant to cross theirs today, to help them and bring them the truth.

Joni Hilton

If you don’t like someone, the way he holds his spoon will make you furious; if you do like him, he can turn his plate over into your lap and you won’t mind.

 Irving Becker