The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

In commemoration of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., President Russell M. Nelson, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, posted a message on social media Monday, Jan. 17, asking all to “labor together to abandon attitudes and actions of prejudice.”

“The Book of Mormon teaches that ‘black and white, bond and free, male and female … all are alike unto God,’ (2 Nephi 26:33)” he wrote on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

President Nelson wrote about his treasured friendship with the Rev. Amos C. Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, a member of the board of directors of the NAACP and a former student of the Rev. King. “Though I come from a different background, a different family and a different race, he affectionately refers to me as his ‘brother from another mother,’” wrote President Nelson.

“Today, we commemorate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As one of the eight students in the only class taught by Dr. King in his lifetime at Morehouse College, Amos Brown had a front-row seat to history and was shaped as he looked at the events of the civil rights movement through the lens of faith.”

President Nelson noted that he and the Rev. Brown have enjoyed several opportunities to give speeches together, to collaborate on projects together and to even write an opinion piece together for the Tampa Bay (Florida) Times. “Our joint efforts have shown that we have far more in common than issues that, at first glance, might appear to divide us,” they wrote in the article.

To read the full article, CLICK HERE.