The Power of Jesus Christ and Pure Doctrine
The Power of Jesus Christ and Pure Doctrine with Elder Neil L. Andersen
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Elder Neil L. Andersen: Thank you, Elder Gilbert. Thank you, Brother Webb. Two of my friends and dear colleagues. I love them very much.
Wasn’t that choir amazing? And so reverent! You were really impressive. Thank you so much!
I thought of those words as you came into the harmony on the third verse: “The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength. I know in his might I’ll conquer at length.”1 If we could get the feeling of those words deeply into the bones of those we teach, they would keep someone safe.
It’s amazing to be in the Tabernacle, isn’t it? We don’t get to come here too often anymore. Some of you may have never been here; you’re too young. Some of us have many memories from this grand old Tabernacle. How many here have a good memory from being here before? (Show of hands.)
Thirty years ago, Elder Christofferson and I were called in the April general conference. We were sitting, as I remember it, right down there before moving to the red chairs. One of the Apostles, Elder Marvin Ashton, was ill on that conference, and so Elder Christofferson and I bore our humble witness. We didn’t have much time to prepare.
I have another memory here that I will share with you.
I had not spoken in the Tabernacle since that testimony in 1993. We were coming up on the last conference that was going to be held here in the Tabernacle; it was in October of 1999.
Something happened that was quite shocking to me. It was Friday morning before conference—at 7:30 in the morning. I was in my office when the phone rang. The voice on the other end said, “Brother Andersen, this is President Hinckley.” I was a General Authority, but I spent very little time with President Hinckley. His first words to me—absolutely the truth—were, “What kind of pinch hitter are you?” I really didn’t know how to respond, but I mumbled something. He continued: “Elder Robert Hales is sick. He’s having surgery on Monday and won’t be able to speak tomorrow morning. We’d like you to take his place speaking Saturday morning. OK? Goodbye!” That brought a lot of uneasy hours. It was my only experience of giving an assigned talk in general conference here in the Tabernacle.
If we had time, we would love to hear all of your experiences.
Let me begin by expressing my love and the love of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve for each of you. We deeply respect and admire your faith and devotion to our Savior Jesus Christ and His holy work. These are historic days of great importance. The lives of hundreds of thousands of our young Latter-day Saints lie gently within your influence. Whether you were called as a seminary or institute teacher in your ward or stake or chosen as a teacher in one of our 638 institutes across the world or in our released-time seminaries—I just asked Brother Webb how many classes we had, and he said probably around 80,000 seminary classes. The released-time seminaries, of course, are in the western United States, Canada, and the Church schools. Or if you serve in any capacity assisting the work of Seminaries and Institutes, I sincerely thank you on behalf of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. We love you and we pray for you. We consider you our fellow disciples of Jesus Christ as we prepare a righteous people across the nations, cultures, and languages of the world, in preparation of the Savior’s glorious return to the earth.
To honor each of you and the noble teachers who have preceded you in this great work, I recently had a brief conversation with President Andy Diaz, a stake president here in Salt Lake City. We talked about an early-morning seminary teacher of his in his youth. And here is the very interesting connection. After joining the Church at age 13 in the city of Tampa, Florida, President Diaz began attending seminary one year later in the same early-morning seminary class with my wonderful wife, Kathy. Now, you will notice he looks a lot older than Kathy. Life treats us each differently. The teacher was Kathy’s mother, my future mother-in-law, Sister Martha Williams. Listen to this brief conversation between myself and President Diaz.
[video begins]
Elder Andersen: I’m here today with President Andy Diaz, president of the Salt Lake Riverside Stake. President Diaz and I share something in common, and that is that my wife, Kathy, was in his seminary class more than 50 years ago, and even more than that, their teacher was Kathy’s mother, Sister Martha Williams. She was an amazing lady. I, of course, knew her well. She has since passed away. But I wanted to get some of the feelings here, more than 50 years later, from a man who’s now a stake president, who joined the Church when he was 13 and then went to seminary a year later, about Sister Martha Williams. Just give us an overall feeling, President Diaz, about this woman who was your seminary teacher.
President Andy Diaz: She was probably one of the three most influential women in my life—my mother, my wife, and Sister Williams.
Elder Andersen: Are you not exaggerating?
President Diaz: I am not exaggerating.
Elder Andersen: How could she be so important to you?
President Diaz: She helped me grow and learn the gospel, because I was a brand-new member of the Church at 13, and then at 14 I started seminary. And she was essentially the one who helped me to learn the gospel. When I was a junior in high school, I got a job that I had to go to work at two o’clock in the morning, and I would go straight from my job at two o’clock to early-morning seminary at six because I didn’t want to miss it; it was that important to me. And she had already, you know, set the mood for “Let’s have a spiritual experience,” and I wanted those spiritual experiences.
Elder Andersen: Did she stay on the purity of the gospel and the simplicity of the gospel, or was she—I remember 50 years ago in some of my classes, we were exploring things we knew nothing about.
President Diaz: She was definitely teaching me the pure doctrines of Christ. She talked about faith and repentance and things that we need to do in order to get back to our Father in Heaven, enduring to the end.
Elder Andersen: Did she help you with your personal conversion to the Savior Jesus Christ, which has lasted your whole life?
President Diaz: Yes, she did. Because she helped me to have a relationship with our Father in Heaven and with the Savior. I learned about the Savior from her. And all the things that were in the scriptures that she was able to open up, as far as understanding and those doctrines that the Savior taught. She had a testimony, and she would—I can never remember her ending a class without bearing her testimony of the gospel of the Savior and of the things that she was teaching for that day; that was really important. And she was such a dynamic person; she would envelop you in the love of the gospel that she had. And as I watched her, then I would try to emulate what she was doing.
Elder Andersen: Well, as you look back, if you were saying something to seminary and institute teachers—to someone like you, new in the Church, just coming in—what would you encourage them to do, President Diaz?
President Diaz: Love your students. Let them know that you love Heavenly Father and that Heavenly Father loves them. That the Savior loves them. And that if you will follow God and His prophets, that you will be able to make it back and live with our Heavenly Father again.
Elder Andersen: Well, I’m sure your parents would be very proud of you. And I know Sister Williams, who has now graduated from this world 25 years ago, that she would be very proud of you too.
President Diaz: Well, that makes my day.
Elder Andersen: Well, thank you so very much. And thank you for sharing these things with us.
President Diaz: You’re welcome.
[video ends]
Elder Andersen: Brother and Sister Diaz are here with us tonight. Would you stand, Brother and Sister Diaz, so we can acknowledge you? Thank you so much.
President Diaz is representative of the influence you are having and will continue to have on the rising generation because of your faith in the Redeemer and how you hold Him up as the light in all that you say and do.
With your service already so exemplary, my prayer today is that I can share one or two insights that will be spiritually lifting to you and will, in the smallest way, help you strengthen the righteous service you are giving.
Here is the first consideration for you: Let us teach and testify more frequently and more powerfully of Jesus Christ.
Think of how these words from President Russell M. Nelson in this past April general conference are so timely for the students that you teach: “Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!”2
When I was called as a General Authority 30 years ago in the early 1990s, nine out of ten adults in the United States identified as Christians. According to the Pew Research Center, Christians in the United States are now 64 percent of the population and will most likely fall below 50 percent within a few decades. Other nations have faced or are facing similar challenges of faith.
Of course, not all of you attending today are from countries where Christianity is the dominant religion, and many of you are from areas where faith in Jesus Christ remains strong. But wherever we live, we realize that the road to eternal life begins with a deep and settled conversion to our Savior, with a reverence for His divine life and mission.
“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, … how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”3
In the opening message in For the Strength of Youth, the First Presidency writes: “You are truly among Heavenly Father’s choice spirits, sent to earth at this time to do important things. … Turn to the Savior. He is the ‘strength of youth.’”4
I was recently in my grandchildren’s seminary building. I was impressed that on the walls were many images of the Savior and His own words and other scriptures testifying of Him.
Brother Chad Webb has taught this principle: “The single most important way in which we can help increase faith in the rising generation is to more fully place Jesus Christ at the center of our teaching and learning.”5
Weren’t we profoundly impacted in April general conference when President Dallin H. Oaks quoted Nephi’s words, “Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things [that you] should do,”6 and then took the remainder of his powerful message to share “a selection of the words of our Savior—what He said” both in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon. President Oaks concluded with this simply stated, prophetic declaration: “I affirm the truth of these teachings in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”7
There is a transcendent power in the words of Jesus Christ:
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.”8
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”9
“Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. … I am the light and the life of the world.”10
If ever you wonder what to say, speak the words of the Savior. Speak of His experiences; speak of His parables; speak the words of scripture and of prophets testifying of Him.
As we teach and testify of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost will confirm in the hearts of our young disciples the truth of His life and teachings with a power far more lasting than the power of our own teaching.
Let us humbly consider if we are doing all we should in teaching and testifying, as President Nelson asked, of His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, His restored gospel of healing and progression.
Because our teaching pattern of the past may not be sufficient for today and what will come in the future, let us expand our own understanding and, as President Nelson counseled, “learn more” ourselves and encourage the youth and young adults of the Church to “learn more” about “the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.”11
Now, my second consideration: Let us keep the doctrine pure and simple.
What we truly know about our Heavenly Father; our Savior Jesus Christ; our premortal life; our Father’s plan of happiness for us; the principles of faith and repentance; the saving ordinances, the commandments, covenants, obedience, and endurance; and our promised blessings beyond this mortal world—all these things are so beautifully clear, we should never feel the need to go “beyond the mark,”12 as the scriptures teach.
We center our teaching on our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and their revealed doctrine to help our youth increase faith in Them, become converted to Them, and receive Their promised blessings.
The doctrine of Christ is found in the scriptures and in the teachings of the prophets, whose responsibility it is to communicate the will of the Lord.
The doctrine in the scriptures and taught by the prophets includes the principle of multiple witnesses, a principle you’ve heard often in general conference and one I shared more than 10 years ago: “A few question their faith when they find a statement made by a Church leader decades ago that seems incongruent with our doctrine. There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many. Our doctrine is not difficult to find.”13
Can you see the importance of constantly bringing the teachings of the prophets and the apostles into your classroom discussions? The Lord’s directions for questions and concerns in our modern world come from those who have been ordained with apostolic authority. If confidence in the prophets and apostles is waning, the distractions, the misdirections, and the sophistries of the world can detach one from his or her spiritual moorings. Eagerly anticipate general conference and discuss the important teachings that follow. Clearly identify the sacred role of the Lord’s anointed. As the world moves further away from the commandments of God, the Apostles’ role will be increasingly important.
In keeping the Lord’s doctrine pure and understandable, be careful to stay within the bounds God has established, avoiding the errors that come through speculation and non-doctrinal personal ideas. Such ideas can be very enticing to some but do not have the force of truth that strengthens faith.
I like the lesson taught by President Dallin H. Oaks to his son when his son asked a question that was not clearly explained in the doctrine of Christ. His answer: “Son, I don’t know the answer to that question, but let me answer a question that I do know.” He then bore witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the First Vision. Let’s be willing to say, “I don’t know about that, but this is what I do know.”
Consider these questions and answers:
“Brother Jones, what is the connection between the Big Bang and Adam and Eve?” “I don’t know the answer to that question, but let me tell you what we do know about Adam and Eve.”
“Sister Gonzalez, why don’t we know more about our Mother in Heaven?” “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that you are ‘a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny.’14”
Think how you can turn good questions, but questions that tempt speculation, into answers that build faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. And here is a challenge for you. Help instill in your students the insight that all questions are not created equal. Spiritual understanding and maturity help separate important questions from the interesting questions.
With accuracy, clarity, and simplicity, we invite the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. “When the Comforter is come, … even the Spirit of truth, … he shall testify of me.”15
Brigham Young described the teachings of Joseph Smith this way: “He took heaven, figuratively speaking, and brought it down to earth; and he took the earth, brought it up, and opened up, in plainness and simplicity, the things of God.”16
Be careful that accounts and stories you have been told are not embellished. Try to ensure that the scriptures or statements you are quoting are in the context they were intended.
It is easy to be drawn to something new or intensely intriguing beyond the edge of our understanding. Stay within the safety of the pure and simple doctrine.
Be careful with your choice of media, personal stories, and object lessons. Used effectively, they add interest and depth. If overly emphasized, they can distract from your teaching. The method can overshadow the message.
The prophet Alma testified that the glad tidings of the gospel were “made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err.”17
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”18
Think about how these scriptures are beautifully clear:
“Come unto me.”19
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [daily], and follow me.”20
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”21
“We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”22
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”23
In his powerful sermon “Hear Him,” President Nelson said, “[Heavenly Father] communicates simply, quietly, and with such stunning plainness that we cannot misunderstand Him.”24
Clear, accurate, simple is the divine way of teaching.
Be wise as you balance the doctrine you teach. Give appropriate weight to a point of doctrine within the context of other related truths. Remember the Savior’s counsel about teaching the commandments: “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”25
Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained, “Gospel principles are weaved together in a fabric which keeps them in check and in balance with each other.”26
Think of it: God’s love and God’s laws, forgiveness and repentance, the love for God and the love for others, agency and accountability.
As has been said many times, teach not only to be understood, but teach so you are not misunderstood.
Finally, as we all know so well, these truths are to be shared in a climate that welcomes and encourages the Spirit. We cannot force the Spirit. We pray for and we invite the Spirit, but we do not artificially attempt to fabricate a spiritual experience.
More than 30 years ago, President Dallin H. Oaks told me of an experience with his daughter Jenny, who was then still a teenager. Here are his words: “Jenny attended a Young Women class or activity when she was a teenager. When she came home, my wife and I asked her how that gathering went, as parents do. Jenny said, ‘Well, the teacher said, “Tonight we are going to have a spiritual experience. If everyone will hold hands in the circle, we will have a spiritual experience.”’”
I continue to quote President Oaks: “I asked Jenny, ‘How did you feel?’ And she said, ‘I just felt icky!’” (Maybe today, 30 years later, we might say, “I felt yucky.” I’m not sure what the right words are.) President Oaks continued, “I said, ‘I’m glad, because when I hear something like this, I feel icky too.’” Then President Oaks said, “I taught her how spiritual experiences are not scheduled by appointment, but they occur when we are seeking the influence of the Spirit of the Lord.”
Remember the love President Diaz felt from his seminary teacher, Sister Williams? We invite the Spirit as we teach with love, peace, gentleness, meekness, and faith.
You all know this scripture: “He that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth. … Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.”27
So this rests not only on you but also on those in your classroom. Our students will learn from you that only through obedience and always remembering Him can they continually have His Spirit with them.
Here are President Eyring’s words:
“Doctrine gains its power as the Holy Ghost confirms that it is true. We prepare those we teach, as best we can, to receive the quiet promptings of the still, small voice. That takes at least some faith in Jesus Christ. It takes at least some humility, some willingness to surrender to the Savior’s will for us. The person you would help may have little of either, but you can urge that they desire to believe. More than that, you can take confidence from another of the powers of doctrine. Truth can prepare its own way. Simply hearing the words of doctrine can plant the seed of faith in the heart. And even a tiny seed of faith in Jesus Christ invites the Spirit.”28
Beautiful words. Well, you’ve been very reverent. Thank you so much for allowing me to spend this time with you. We love you, and we thank you for all you do to strengthen our youth and young single adults and to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.
As the Lord’s servant, and with my apostolic authority, I bless you that your minds and hearts will be filled with the love, the mercy, the teachings, and a deep reverence for the incomparable atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. I bless you, if it is your desire, that your ability to teach the doctrine of Christ with purity and power will increase and that you will see and feel the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost upon your good students.
I leave you with my sure and certain witness that Jesus is the Christ. And I testify to you of His promise when He said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”29 In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.