Embedded Files
President Nelson Excerpts OVERCOME The world and find REST
You are constantly on my mind. I marvel at the way you spring into action whenever you see others in need. I stand amazed at the faith and testimony you demonstrate again and again. I weep over your heartaches, disappointments, and worries. I love you. I assure you that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, love you. They are intimately aware of your circumstances, your goodness, your needs, and your prayers for help. Again and again, I pray for you to feel Their love for you.
Experiencing Their love is vital, as 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,”1 He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.
Nonetheless, we are presently living in what surely is a most complicated time in the history of the world. The complexities and challenges leave many people feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.
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. Please ponder that stunning truth!
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.
Before the Savior submitted Himself to the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary, He declared to His Apostles, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”3 Subsequently, Jesus entreated each of us to do the same when He said, “I will that ye should overcome the world.”4
Because Jesus Christ overcame this fallen world, and because He atoned for each of us, you too can overcome this sin-saturated, self-centered, and often exhausting world. Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had,5 then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.
You can overcome the spiritually and emotionally exhausting plagues of the world, including arrogance, pride, anger, immorality, hatred, greed, jealousy, and fear. Despite the distractions and distortions that swirl around us, you can find true rest—meaning relief and peace—even amid your most vexing problems.
This important truth prompts three fundamental questions: 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?
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.”6 It means choosing to refrain from anything that drives the Spirit away. It means being willing to “give away” even our favorite sins.7
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.8 Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else.
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.”9 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.10
As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace, and rest.
Now, you may be thinking this sounds more like hard spiritual work than rest. But here is the grand truth: while the world insists that power, possessions, popularity, and pleasures of the flesh bring happiness, they do not! They cannot! What they do produce is nothing but a hollow substitute for “the blessed and happy state of those [who] keep the commandments of God.”11
The truth is that it is much more exhausting to seek happiness where you can never find it! However, when you yoke yourself to Jesus Christ and do the spiritual work required to overcome the world, He, and He alone, does have the power to lift you above the pull of this world.
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.”12
I plead with you now—to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.13
My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. Let Him know through your prayers and your actions that you are serious about overcoming the world. Ask Him to enlighten your mind and send the help you need. Each day, record the thoughts that come to you as you pray; then follow through diligently. Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.14
As I have stated before, 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 have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world, a people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ.
I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.
With the power of the holy apostleship vested in me, I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.
Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”John 16:33 Later He added, “I will that ye should overcome the world.” D&C 64:2
Overcoming the world is not one defining moment in a lifetime, but a lifetime of moments that define an eternity....Those overcoming the world know that they will be accountable to their Heavenly Father. Sincerely changing and repenting of sins is no longer restraining but liberating, as “sins [of] scarlet … [become] white as snow.”11- The world is more interested in indulging the natural man than in subduing him.
Overcoming the world is not a global invasion but a private, personal battle, requiring hand-to-hand combat with our own internal foes...The Christian writer C. S. Lewis described it this way: “Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.’”13
Overcoming the world is trusting in the one voice that warns, comforts, enlightens, and brings peace “not as the world giveth.”16
Unselfishness: Overcoming the world means turning ourselves outward, remembering the second commandment17: “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.”18 The happiness of our spouse is more important than our own pleasure. Helping our children to love God and keep His commandments is a primary priority. We willingly share our material blessings through tithing, fast offerings, and giving to those in need. And as our spiritual antennas are pointed heavenward, the Lord guides us to those we can help.
Overcoming the world is keeping our promises to God—our baptismal and temple covenants and our oath of faithfulness to our eternal companion. Overcoming the world leads us humbly to the sacrament table each week, asking for forgiveness and pledging to “remember him and keep his commandments,” that we “may always have his Spirit to be with [us].”14
Our love for the Sabbath day does not end when the chapel doors close behind us but instead opens the doors to a beautiful day of resting from routine tasks, studying, praying, and reaching out to family and others who need our attention. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief when church is over and frantically running in search of a television before the football game begins, let our focus remain on the Savior and upon His holy day.
The world builds its universe around itself, proudly proclaiming: “Look at me compared to my neighbor! Look at what is mine! See how important I am!”
The world is easily irritated, disinterested, and demanding, loving the cheers of the crowd, while overcoming the world brings humility, empathy, patience, and compassion for those different than yourself.
"Overcoming the world will always mean that we will have some beliefs that are ridiculed by the world. The Savior said: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.”19
President Russell M. Nelson said this morning, “True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world.”20
A disciple of Christ is not alarmed if a post about her faith does not receive 1,000 likes or even a few friendly emojis. Overcoming the world is being less concerned with our online connections and more concerned with our heavenly connection to God.
President Thomas S. Monson has said: “The world can be … challenging. … [As we go to the temple], … we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. … We will be renewed and fortified.”21
With increasing temptations, distractions, and distortions, the world attempts to beguile the faithful into dismissing the rich spiritual experiences of one’s past, redefining them as foolish deceptions.
Overcoming the world is remembering, even when we are discouraged, the times we have felt the love and light of the Savior.
Overcoming the world does not mean we live a cloistered life, protected from the unfairness and difficulties of mortality. Rather, it opens the more expansive view of faith, drawing us to the Savior and His promises.
While perfection is not complete in this life, overcoming the world keeps our hope aflame that one day we “shall stand before [our Redeemer]; [and] see his face with pleasure,”23 and hear His voice: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.”24
May we each try a little harder in our efforts to overcome the world, not excusing serious offenses yet being patient with minor slips and falls, eagerly hastening our speed and generously helping others. As you trust more fully in the Savior, I promise you blessings of greater peace in this life and a greater assurance of your eternal destiny.
Quoting President Nelson
October 2022 General Conference
General Conference lasted just over 9 hours and there were 32 talks given by people NOT named Russell M. Nelson. 21 of those people quoted President Nelson, sometimes more than once, for a total of 39 times. On average, President Nelson was quoted 1.2 times every talk. He was quoted an average of every 14 minutes (unless you take out the hymns, then it’s every 12.4 minutes). Could I do more to use these words to help me
Elder Uchtdorf
1. President Russell M. Nelson taught: “When your greatest desire is to let God prevail [in your life], … many decisions become easier. … Many issues become nonissues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you … want to become.”
Sister Browning
2. Our dear prophet has taught that “our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel” and that we must “strive to look unto Him in every thought.”
President Nelson has also promised that “nothing invites the Spirit more than fixing your focus on Jesus Christ. … He will lead and guide you in your personal life if you will make time for Him in your life—each and every day.”
Elder Pino
3. President Russell M. Nelson has said: “Today we often hear about ‘a new normal.’ If you really want to embrace a new normal, I invite you to turn your heart, mind, and soul increasingly to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Let that be your new normal”
President Nelson has also counseled: “Embrace your new normal by repenting daily. Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed. Minister to others. Keep an eternal perspective. Magnify your callings. And whatever your challenges, my dear brothers and sisters, live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your Maker.”
Elder Montoya
4. When ministering was announced, President Russell M. Nelson said, “We will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others.” President Nelson said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”
Elder Rasband
5. “This day,” one of the greatest missionaries of the Book of Mormon is President Russell M. Nelson. When he was a newly called Apostle, he gave a lecture in Accra, Ghana…“The truths of the Book of Mormon,” President Nelson has said, “have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.”
President Ballard
6. Last general conference, President Russell M. Nelson reaffirmed “that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission” and that “a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity” for “young and able sisters.”
Shortly after becoming the prophet and President of the Church, he pled with us to “increase [our] spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”
He continues to teach us to strengthen our testimonies. In a devotional for young adults, he said: “I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. …[Then] watch for miracles to happen in your life.”
He is teaching us how to become more spiritually self-reliant. He has said that “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
Sister Yee
9. President Russell M. Nelson has taught that the Savior offers us the ability to forgive: “Through His infinite Atonement, you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility for their cruelty to you. It is usually easy to forgive one who sincerely and humbly seeks your forgiveness. But the Savior will grant you the ability to forgive anyone who has mistreated you in any way. Then their hurtful acts can no longer canker your soul.”
Elder Christofferson
10. President Russell M. Nelson recently wrote: “Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart.… Jesus Christ is the guarantor of those covenants.”
Bishop Causse
11. President Russell M. Nelson once remarked: “As beneficiaries of the divine Creation, what shall we do? We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations.”
Elder Pearson
12. President Russell M. Nelson has warned that “in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
Elder Silva
13. In general conference of October 2021, President Russell M. Nelson, our beloved prophet, taught that contrary to what some think, there really is what we call right and wrong. There really does exist an absolute truth—an eternal truth.
Elder Andersen
14. President Russell M. Nelson said: “[Our] covenant[s] will lead us closer and closer to Him. … God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him.”
And as President Nelson said so beautifully this morning, “With the dedication of each new temple, additional godly power comes into the world to strengthen us and counteracts the intensifying efforts of the adversary.”
Both President M. Russell Ballard earlier and Elder Kevin W. Pearson just moments ago spoke of President Nelson’s prophetic warning that I will repeat again: “It will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
President Nelson said, “Yes, you are living in the world, but you have very different standards from the world to help you avoid the stain of the world.”
Sister Dennis
15. Our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, said: “Any abuse or prejudice toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters!”
While President Nelson has invited all to enter and stay on the covenant path that leads back to our Father in Heaven, he also provided the following counsel: “If friends and family … step away from the Church, continue to love them. It is not for you to judge another’s choice any more than you deserve to be criticized for staying faithful.”
Elder Sitate
16. We are then able to take up His yoke and discover that it is easy—that discipleship is not a burden but a joy, as President Russell M. Nelson has so eloquently and repeatedly taught us.
Brother Lund
17. And they follow a living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who leads with the knowing optimism of a seer in proclaiming that the great endeavor of these times—the gathering of Israel—will be both grand and majestic
Elder Olsen
18. I see in you what President Nelson sees in you. He said that “there is something undeniably special about this generation of youth. Your Heavenly Father must have great confidence in you to send you to earth at this time. You were born for greatness!”
19. President Nelson has said: “The adversary is clever. For millennia he has been making good look evil and evil look good. His messages tend to be loud, bold, and boastful. However, messages from our Heavenly Father are strikingly different. He communicates simply, quietly, and with such stunning plainness that we cannot misunderstand Him.”
20. President Nelson recently said: “The gospel of Jesus Christ has never been needed more than it is today. … This underscores the urgent need for us to follow the Lord’s instruction to His disciples to ‘go … into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’”
Elder Schmitt
21. Concerning Jesus’s many names, President Nelson said, “Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you.”
22. We can also demonstrate consistency by accepting President Nelson’s invitation to “make time for the Lord.” Great spiritual strength comes from small and simple things like developing “holy habits and righteous routines” of daily prayer, repentance, scripture study, and service to others.
Elder Eddy
23. I invite you to ponder three examples with me as we turn our focus to the Book of Mormon—a book that President Russell M. Nelson described as “our latter-day survival guide.”
24. As one who has been changed by the power of the word, I personally testify of this truth so beautifully taught by our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson: “To me, the power of the Book of Mormon is most evident in the mighty change that comes into the lives of those who read it ‘with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ.’ Many converts forsake much that they once held dear in order to abide by the precepts of that book. … It will be your most effective instrument in bringing souls unto Jesus the Christ.”
25. I plead with you to experience the virtue of the word of God, particularly through the Book of Mormon, every day of your life. As you do so, you will experience this prophetic promise from President Russell M. Nelson: “I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day.”
Elder Stevenson
26. And President Russell M. Nelson kindly counseled recently: “Feed [your testimony] truth. … Nourish yourself in the words of ancient and modern prophets. Ask the Lord to teach you how to hear Him better. Spend more time in the temple and in family history work.… Make your testimony your highest priority.”
Elder Morrison
27. President Russell M. Nelson taught, “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.” He further said, “Joy comes from and because of Him.”
Elder Cook
28. The proclamation on the family tells us those “who abuse spouse or offspring … will one day stand accountable before God.” President Nelson strongly emphasized this yesterday morning. Please make up your mind that regardless of whether your parents did or did not abuse you, you will not physically or verbally or emotionally abuse your spouse or children.
29. President Nelson gave members profound counsel on repentance at the April 2019 general conference. He made it clear that daily repentance is integral to our lives. “Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind,” he taught. “Daily repentance is the pathway to purity, and purity brings power.” If Corianton had done what President Nelson counseled, he would have repented as soon as he had begun to entertain impure thoughts. Major transgressions would not have occurred.
30. In a recent talk and again this morning, President Russell M. Nelson said it this way: “I plead with you to take charge of your testimony of Jesus Christ. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Then watch for miracles to happen in your life.”
TWO KINDS OF FAITH IN CHRIST
President Russell M. Nelson:
“Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible to them that believe” (Mark 9:23 – ‘Jesus Said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’)
Your growing faith in Him will move mountains – not the mountains of rock that beautify the earth but e mountains of misery in your lives. Your flourishing faith will help you turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity.” ‘Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains’, C.R. April 2021
President Boyd K. Packer:
“There are two kinds of faith. One of them functions ordinarily in the life of every soul. It is the kind of faith born by experience; it gives us certainty that a new day will dawn, that spring will come, that growth will take place. It is the kind of faith that relates us with confidence to that which is scheduled to happen…
There is another kind of faith, rare indeed. This is the kind of faith that causes things to happen. It is the kind of faith that is worthy and prepared and unyielding, and it calls forth things that otherwise would not be. It is the kind of faith that moves people. It is the kind of faith that sometimes moves things…It comes by gradual growth. It is a marvelous, even a transcendent, power, a power as real and as invisible as electricity. Directed and channeled, it has great effect.” © By Intellectual Reserve, Inc., used with permission.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson:
“[There] is a level of faith that consists of spiritual assurances and that produces good works, most especially obedience to the principles and commandments of the gospel. This is a true faith in Christ…There is, however, a level of faith that not only governs our behavior but also empowers us to change what is and to make things happen that otherwise would not happen. I am speaking of faith not only as a principle of action but also as a principle of power.” Building Faith in Christ, Ensign, Sept. 2012
Joseph Smith:
“Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things” Lectures on Faith, Lecture First, 16,24
Moroni 7:26;33
“Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you…And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me”.
Elder Neil L. Andersen
“There is a power that can cause things to happen that need to happen. There is a spiritual force that can stir a mortal soul toward the spiritual, motivating deeper study into the Book of Mormon and more prayer with real intent. Faith is a power, and it can cause things to happen that need to happen. It can cause a soul who is good but dormant to awaken to God.” The Faith to Find and Baptize Converts, June 25, 2016, New Mission Presidents Seminar
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
“Faith is a strong conviction about something we believe—a conviction so strong that it moves us to do things that we otherwise might not do.” “Fourth Floor, Last Door”, C. R. Oct. 2016
Elder Gene R. Cook:
“Faithful Latter-day Saints will want to know how to use their faith to cause all things to work for their good (see D&C 90:24), to act and not be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13, 14, 16-27), and to righteously prevail over self and others and situations (see 3 Nephi 7:17-18)…The simplest definition I know of faith is, ‘Faith is power’…Commit yourself in advance to what you righteously desire. The righteous exercising of faith will bring it about.” Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, November 8, 1981
Elder Hartman Rector Jr.:
“Faith, the first principle of the gospel, begins with belief. What man can conceive, he can achieve. Believe you can do it…Expect a miracle. All too often we really don’t expect a miracle. We are not looking for it, and so don’t recognize it when it comes…This is the first important principle. All things are possible to them that believe (see Mark 9:23). Surely we must believe in a thing before we can desire it. And God does grant unto men according to their desire (see Alma 29:4). If the desire is strong enough, performance is assured.” Following Christ to Victory, April 1979
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
“Preparatory faith is formed by experiences in the past—by the known, which provides a basis for belief. But redemptive faith must often be exercised toward experiences in the future—the unknown, which provides an opportunity for the miraculous. Exacting faith, mountain-moving faith, faith like that of the brother of Jared, precedes the miracle and the knowledge. He had to believe before God spoke. He had to act before the ability to complete that action was apparent. He had to commit to the complete experience in advance of even the first segment of its realization. Faith is to agree unconditionally—and in advance— to whatever conditions God may require in both the near and distant future.”
Action Power
Preparatory redemptive
Inward Outward
Just happens causes it/work
Foundation trusting/abiding
Experience commitment
Confidence growing, moving
Hope BUT IF NOT
Strength you have strength you don’t have
Controllable uncontrollable
logical Let God prevail, magnify
Cause Effect
Do Become
Past Future
Limited Unlimited
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