Russell M. Nelson

Russell M. Nelson
Russell Marion Nelson Sr. is an American surgeon and religious leader who is currently the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Prior to becoming an LDS Church apostle, he was an internationally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon. He has been an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve since 1984 and is the oldest living and second-most senior apostle in the church...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth9 September 1924
CountryUnited States of America
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we are not. Each day, ours is the challenge to access the power of the Atonement so that we can truly change, become more Christlike, and qualify for the gift of exaltation and live eternally with God, Jesus Christ, and our families. For these powers, privileges, and gospel gifts, thanks be to God!
Now is the time to align our goals with God's goals.
Every religious group, while perhaps a majority somewhere, is also inevitably a minority somewhere else. Thus, religious organizations should and do show tolerance toward members of other religious denominations.
Agency, or the power to choose, was ours as spirit children of our Creator before the world was. It is a gift from God, nearly as precious as life itself. Often, however, agency is misunderstood. While we are free to choose, once we have made those choices, we are tied to the consequence of those choices. We are free to take drugs or not. But once we choose to use a habit-forming drug, we are bound to the consequences of that choice. Addiction surrenders later freedom to choose.
They climbed the ladder of learning only to find it leaning against the wrong wall.
Spirit and body, when joined together, become a living soul of supernal worth.
Abortion sheds that innocent blood. Now, as a servant of the Lord, I dutifully warn those who advocate and practice abortion that they incur the wrath of Almighty God, who declared, "If men... hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her . . . he shall be surely punished."
Love for family and friends, great as it may be, is much more profound when anchored in the love of Jesus Christ. Parental love for children has more meaning here and hereafter because of Him. All loving relationships are elevated in Him. Love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provides the illumination, inspiration, and motivation to love others in a loftier way.
I thank God and His Son, Jesus Christ, for the Restoration and its power to propel a magnificent wave of truth and righteousness across the earth.
Sadly, many individuals don't know where to find God, and exclude him from their lives. When spiritual needs arise, they may look to the left, the right, or round about. But looking to other people on the same level cannot satisfy spiritual shortages. When the immortal spirit is starved, hunger persists for something more filling. Even when material success comes, there is a hollow ache - if living well falls short of living worthily. Inner peace cannot be found in affluence accompanied by spiritual privation.
Throughout the world, the family is increasingly under attack. If families fail, many of our political, economic, and social systems will also fail.
David Whitmer wrote: ' Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine.'
Material possessions and honors of the world do not endure. But your union as wife, husband, and family can. No sacrifice is too great to have the blessings of an eternal marriage. By making and keeping sacred temple covenants, we evidence our love for God, for our companion, and our real regard for our posterity-even those yet unborn. Our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in this life; so will it be throughout all eternity.
Living life in separate compartments can lead to internal conflict and exhausting tension.