The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Cover image via Church Newsroom.
As President Russell M. Nelson said “amen,” in his concluding testimony at the close of October 2020 general conference, it instantly felt to me that the crescendo of inspired and prophetic messages had culminated with a mighty exclamation point.
President Nelson declared, “Now, my dear brothers and sisters, I bless you to be filled with the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. His peace is beyond all mortal understanding. I bless you with an increased desire and ability to obey the laws of God. I promise that as you do, you will be showered with blessings, including greater courage, increased personal revelation, sweeter harmony in your homes, and joy, even amid uncertainty.”
He concluded with an invitation and exhortation to every member of the Church. “May we go forward together to fulfill our divine mandate — that of preparing ourselves and the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I so pray, with my expression of love for you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
During the closing prayer, something shifted in my mind’s eye. My visual image of an exclamation point suddenly appeared to lean forward, upward and onward. I recognized that the “amen” was not an indication that we had reached the emphatic finish of a most extraordinary conference. The “amen” was a clarion and united declaration, that each of us was ready to enlist in pressing forward, reaching heavenward and linking arms to journey onward along the covenant path.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “Faithfulness is not foolishness or fanaticism. Rather, it is trusting and placing our confidence in Jesus Christ as our Savior, on His name, and in His promises. As we ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men,’ we are blessed with an eternal perspective and vision that stretches far beyond our limited mortal capacity.”
Spiritually seeing is central to pressing forward, moving onward and actually begins by looking heavenward.
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