I’ve been asked to speak to you about President Russell M. Nelson's General Conf. talk he gave in October 2022 ‘Overcome the World and Find Rest’. I love this talk so much, this is a talk where it has so much awesome stuff in it. So I hope I’m able to express in my talk what I felt when I was studying it this past week.
My first QUOTE from Pres. Nelson:
Experiencing their love is vital, it seems that we are accosted daily by an onslaught of sobering news. You may have had days when you wished you could don your pajamas, curl up in a ball, and ask someone to awaken you when the turmoil is over.
But, my dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful. (close quote)
First, it's very relatable to want to curl up in your pajamas and never come out. News about natural disasters and man-made disasters and wars and horrible acts of violence, are scary and not only that but just that everyday life and trials can be hard. But then he counteracts that with this beautiful ‘so many wonderful things are ahead and this promise that you know we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen.”
What an incredibly powerful and intense way to start off a talk, a prophet of the Lord has promised us that we will see the greatest manifestations. What great manifestations of the Savior’s power have we seen so far? (think) I haven’t seen any that I know of, because I’m thinking of great manifestations as in Moses’s time and like him parting the red sea. It makes me excited to know that I will be able to see these manifestations in my lifetime. And I believe it will happen because I know that Pres.Nelson is a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ.
QUOTE:
I grieve for those who leave the Church because they feel membership requires too much of them. They have not yet discovered that making and keeping covenants actually makes life easier! Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.
The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Thus, covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God. (close quote)
The beginning of this quote makes me giggle a little bit because I do actually feel that being a member of this church requires a lot. A lot of time, and sometimes takes me out of my comfort zone, like for instance speaking in sacrament. But it’s not a burden and it’s my choice because I believe that this is God's church and I have also felt the power that strengthens us through our trials ….
I experienced having soreness in my jaw, back in 2008 I went to the Doctor and was diagnosed with TMJ, TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint, which is one of two joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull, located in front of each ear. The TMJ is a complex joint that acts like a sliding hinge, with a cartilage disk cushioning the bones to allow for smooth movement.
Well both of my cartilages are gone, I have no cartilage in between the bones that move my jaw up and down. And so my bones are rubbing against each other and it causes alot of pain.
I could have surgery to fix it but when we investigated it, it seemed for most people it didn’t help or it could make it worse. So I relied on the lord for help and I still do, I had a blessing, I remember praying a lot especially because of the pain I was in and having to use a lot of pain pills and heat pads on my face every day. It just got so overwhelming. I would cry a lot thinking this is what I have to deal with for the rest of my life. I know my HF heard my prayers, he didn’t make it go away. I still have it today, but the pain is not daily. It comes and goes, whether I’m talking a lot, or singing a lot or chewing on meat - and actually 3 things that I love to do. I will have pain, but it seems better than what it should be. It should have gotten worse but actually I’ve improved. And I know that it’s because I know my HF loves me and knows what I can handle.
President Nelson gives us 3 questions in his talk and answers them as well:
First, what does it mean to overcome the world?
Second, how do we do it?
And third, how does overcoming the world bless our lives?
SO FIRST QUESTION: What does it mean to overcome the world?
It means overcoming the temptation to care more about the things of this world than the things of God!!!
It means trusting the doctrine of Christ more than the philosophies of men. It means delighting in truth, denouncing deception, and becoming “humble followers of Christ.” It means choosing to refrain from anything that drives the Spirit away. It means being willing to “give away” even our favorite sins. (close quote)
When Covid was happening I got into watching KDramas, KDramas are Korean tv shows where you read the subtitles. They're so good and more wholesome and innocent than American shows, and they make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love them so much that any spare time I had I wanted to watch them. So I got addicted to them, or so my family tells me I have. I know I had a problem so I had to make some adjustments in my life. I had to prioritize my time so that I was reading/studying my scriptures each day, before I could watch a show and not feel guilty about it.
QUOTE:
Now, overcoming the world certainly does not mean becoming perfect in this life, nor does it mean that your problems will magically evaporate—because they won’t. And it does not mean that you won’t still make mistakes. But overcoming the world does mean that your resistance to sin will increase. Your heart will soften as your faith in Jesus Christ increases. Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else. (close quote)
Now you’re probably thinking watching KDramas is not a sin, and it’s not but it was getting in the way of my spiritual growth and the desire for me to read my scriptures. I’m choosing to watch a show instead of choosing my Savior. I need to show him I love him by giving some time of my day to him and not just because I have to but because I want to. Also, I know that the only way to find the strength to overcome the world is in the Savior, we cannot do that in and of ourselves, we just aren’t fully able to do that, we need him, we need to rely on him and his atonement.
NUMBER 2 QUESTION: How, then, do we overcome the world?
King Benjamin taught us how. He said that “the natural man is an enemy to God” and remains so forever “unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” Each time you seek for and follow the promptings of the Spirit, each time you do anything good—things that “the natural man” would not do—you are overcoming the world.
Overcoming the world is not an event that happens in a day or two. It happens over a lifetime as we repeatedly embrace the doctrine of Christ. We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping covenants that endow us with power. We stay on the covenant path and are blessed with spiritual strength, personal revelation, increasing faith, and the ministering of angels. Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives. (close quote)
Last year Jay and I decided to go to the temple every other week instead of once a month. And it’s embarrassing for me to tell you this, because once a month doesn’t seem enough, especially when there’s a temple nearly on every corner of the block. So I'm kinda thinking why we didn’t do this sooner. We did have the excuse of having small children back then. But our youngest last year was 13 yrs old, so there’s really no excuse. Except for, we didn't even think about it, cause that’s what we’d naturally do. We thought once a month was good enough. Now don’t feel bad if you can only go once a month, that's great for you. But Jay and I, our situation is we have that time to do that so why not use that time for the Lord. And because we’ve increased our temple attendance, I’ve noticed that it has increased our spiritual momentum in our lives.
NUMBER 3 QUESTION: Now, how does overcoming the world bless our lives?
The answer is clear: entering into a covenant relationship with God binds us to Him in a way that makes everything about life easier. Please do not misunderstand me: I did not say that making covenants makes life easy. In fact, expect opposition, because the adversary does not want you to discover the power of Jesus Christ. But yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.
I reaffirm a profound teaching of President Ezra Taft Benson: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, … lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.”(close quote)
This is a true principle that if we devote our life to the Lord, it doesn’t guarantee that we’re going to live a life of peace and prosperity, free of all pain and abuse and sorrow and setbacks. What it does mean is that we begin to live in heaven at that moment that we decide that we’re going to focus our life on JC, on His restored gospel, on true principles taught by His prophets, His appointed servants, and that we find in the scriptures.And then we leave all of the consequences in the hands of the Lord. We may experience difficulties and trials and setbacks or loss of a job or loss of a loved one.
But the Lord will guide us and will turn those losses into eternal gain as long as we continue to think celestial, as Pres. Nelson has urged.
So now here are the final pleadings of our Prophet, his call to action. Because, prophets don’t just teach doctrine and then say, just thought you might want to know. Good luck, have a good day. They teach doctrine, they reveal the Plan of Salvation, and then they follow it up with invitations, a call to action.What does the Lord want you to do? - Now that you know what you know?
PLEAS:
He pleads with us to take charge of our own testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.
He pleas for us to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through our covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world.
He states again that the gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today. One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again, a people who can live the holier laws of Jesus Christ.
He calls upon us to become this righteous people to cherish and honor our covenants above all other commitments. And he leaves us with a promise of greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.
So what’s all this for, what's all the urgency for, well we know if you’re paying attention to our Prophet we are preparing for the second coming we know that we are in the last days and because of that our days are really numbered the Lord has said that he will hasten his work in his time he will hasten his work for the sake of the elect.
It’s clear that we need to prepare, we need to be able, ready and worthy to receive the Lord Jesus Christ he has told us to become that righteous people. We can overcome the world, I know that it is true we need to consecrate our time, talents and energies to this work and we need to remember that there is absolutely hope And Jesus Christ’s return is that hope. We see terrible things in this world happening right now and they’ve been happening but the Lord has promised us that through his Prophet that we will receive countless privileges and blessings and miracles between now and when Christ comes and may that time come quickly………………. I'm praying for it, in the name of JC Amen.
.jpg)
.jpg)
