“My dear brothers and sisters, aloha! In February, I rejoiced with you when the number of members outside the United States edged ever so slightly past the number of members inside the United States. That slight shift is an important symbol of the international nature of the Church. I thought of Paul’s statement to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). …Brothers and sisters, today I want to talk about the beautiful oneness that we share in the gospel. I just returned from the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji three weeks ago… Earlier assignments have taken me to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Samoa, Korea, and Japan.…
“With our all-inclusive doctrine, we can be an oasis of unity, and celebrate diversity. Unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity.”
“Think of the protection provided by the skin. Could you make, or even conjure in your mind how to create a cloak that would protect you and yet, at the same time, perceive and warn against injuries that excessive heat or cold might cause? That is what the skin does. It even gives signals indicating when another part of the body is ailing. The skin can flush and sweat with fever. When one is frightened or ill, the skin pales. When one is embarrassed, the skin blushes. And it is replete with nerve fibers that communicate and often limit possible harm through perception of pain...The concept of self-renewal is remarkable. Each cell in the body is created and then regenerated from elements of the earth according to the recipe or…
“To counter racism and the pride and greed that are associated with it, the King of Kings invites each of us in love and magnanimity to “come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.” The Savior invites all of us to share in His abundant gifts of love and redemption, in which racial and economic status are inconsequential, in which each of us can partake of His nourishing word, and in which we are inherently equal. Jesus Christ taught us that we too should be loving and generous. Yet the adversary attempts to distort the great commandment through pernicious forms of racism. He attempts to convince us that if we want a world in which race is no longer a…
