Area Presidency Message
Hear Him!
To us, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are given the power to overcome this world because of the restored gospel which the Father and Son, in a personal visitation to the boy Joseph Smith, ushered in during the early spring of 1820.
It is not possible to fully express appreciation for the reality, power, grace, goodness and love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The unfolding plan of salvation and redemption of mankind is the result of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness—which He presented to us in the premortal existence and which we joyfully accepted.
The purpose of this plan was to provide each of us, as His spirit children who had kept our first estate in the premortal existence, with the means to become more fully as He is and to enjoy a fullness of joy in a condition of infinite and everlasting happiness in His presence.
Through developing faith, obedience, and by overcoming this world, each of us will qualify to receive all the blessings our Heavenly Father can bestow upon us. This enables us to receive the crowning gift of eternal life in the celestial kingdom.
However, the plan of salvation could not come into effect unless Jesus Christ, as the great Jehovah, the Messiah and God of Israel, came to earth to show us the way back to God. This He accomplished by taking upon Himself the sins of all of mankind and by gloriously defeating the final enemy, death, through His miraculous Resurrection.
He showed us the way and how we ought to live as His true disciples and His sons and daughters. More than this, through His infinite Atonement, He finally and everlastingly unshackled the effects of sin and spiritual death on conditions of faith in Christ, repentance and baptism of water and the Spirit and accordingly paved the way for us to once again enter into the presence of our Heavenly Father—who is a sinless and holy Being.
Through His Resurrection, all of mankind are restored to a physical body which is devoid of pain, suffering and death. To those who have lived the godly life of faith, repentance, obedience and service to others, the Resurrection will indeed be a resurrection into great glory.
In this regard, the Apostle John declares:
“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:14–17).
To us, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are given the power to overcome this world because of the restored gospel which the Father and Son, in a personal visitation to the boy Joseph Smith, ushered in during the early spring of 1820. Thereafter, followed the restoration of all the knowledge, powers and authority required for salvation and exaltation through the temples He has established once more on the earth.
In our day, we continue to be led by a living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, his counselors in the First Presidency, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Under the direction of the Lord and by the power of the Holy Ghost, they lead the Church and its people.
Importantly, we are finally living in the prophesied age of the great gathering of Israel. The peoples of God are entering holy temples, which now dot the earth, as individuals and as families. Truly, the Lord is hastening His work! In this regard, President Nelson has spoken of the “ongoing Restoration.”1
I include in this message the full text of, “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World,” which is worthy of review, consideration and application in our daily lives.
In conclusion, President Nelson said the recent turmoil caused by earthquakes, fires, floods and plagues have created upheaval that makes the gospel truth even more important.
“The increasing darkness that accompanies tribulation makes the light of Jesus Christ shine even brighter,” he said. “Just think of the good we can each do during this time of global upheaval.”2 He asked members to study the proclamation “privately and with your family members and friends. Ponder the truths and think of the impact those truths will have on your life if you will hear them, hearken to them, and heed the commandments and covenants that accompany them”3.
Christoffel Golden was called as a General Authority Seventy in March 2001. He is married to Diane Norma Hulbert; they are the parents of four children.