Merry Christmas!

General Authority Gems: Then Jesus Beholding Him Loved Him

“There came one running … and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

“And Jesus said unto him, …

“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

“And he answered … , Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

“Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." (Mark 10:17-21)

“Then Jesus beholding him loved him.”

As I heard these words, a vivid image filled my mind of our Lord pausing and beholding this young man. Beholding—as in looking deeply and penetratingly into his soul, recognizing his goodness and also his potential, as well as discerning his greatest need.

Then the simple words—Jesus loved him. He felt an overwhelming love and compassion for this good young man, and because of this love and with this love, Jesus asked even more of him. I pictured what it must have felt like for this young man to be enveloped by such love even while being asked to do something so supremely hard as selling all he owned and giving it to the poor.

My dear brothers and sisters, now anytime you feel you are being asked to do something hard—give up a poor habit or an addiction, put aside worldly pursuits, sacrifice a favorite activity because it is the Sabbath, forgive someone who has wronged you—think of the Lord beholding you, loving you, and inviting you to let it go and follow Him. And thank Him for loving you enough to invite you to do more. (from Then Jesus Beholding Him Loved Him)

~ S. Mark Palmer, of the Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Words of a Prophet ~ Following Christ

“[As followers of Christ], we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing his image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of him whose name we have taken upon ourselves.

“And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God.

“It is that simple, my brethren and sisters, and that profound and we’d better never forget it.” 

~ President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, We Look to Christ

Words of a Prophet ~ Prayer

President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made the following significant statement on prayer. 

"I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle. …"

To read about the miracle he describes, for individuals, families, and the world, read his counsel in "How Mighty a Thing Is Prayer."

Words of a Prophet - Religious Freedom

Where does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

stand on religious freedom? Our founder, Joseph Smith, set us the example that we still follow today when he said:

"If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a "Mormon," I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul — civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race."

—Joseph Smith, 1843

Learn more about the importance of religious freedom at religious freedom.lds.org.