Dale G Renlund | The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity | Oct 2021 General Conference | Faith To Act

The Peace of Christ Abolishes Enmity
By Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When love of Christ envelops our lives, we approach disagreements with meekness, patience, and kindness.

My dear brothers and sisters, during an exercise stress test, the heart’s workload is increased. Hearts that can handle walking may struggle to support the demands of running uphill. In this way, the stress test can reveal underlying disease that is not otherwise apparent. Any issues identified can then be treated before they cause serious problems in daily life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly been a global stress test! The test has shown mixed results. Safe and effective vaccines have been developed.1 Medical professionals, teachers, caregivers, and others have sacrificed heroically—and continue to do so. Many people have displayed generosity and kindness—and continue to do so. Yet, underlying disadvantages have been manifest. Vulnerable individuals have suffered—and continue to do so. Those who work to address these underlying inequalities are to be encouraged and thanked.

The pandemic is also a spiritual stress test for the Savior’s Church and its members. The results are likewise mixed. Our lives have been blessed by ministering in a “higher and holier way,”2 the Come, Follow Me curriculum, and home-centered, Church-supported gospel learning. Many have provided compassionate help and comfort during these difficult times and continue to do so.3

Yet, in some instances, the spiritual stress test has shown tendencies toward contention and divisiveness. This suggests that we have work to do to change our hearts and to become unified as the Savior’s true disciples. This is not a new challenge, but it is a critical one.4

When the Savior visited the Nephites, He taught, “There shall be no disputations among you. … He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.”5 When we contend with each other in anger, Satan laughs and the God of heaven weeps.6

Satan laughs and God weeps for at least two reasons. First, contention weakens our collective witness to the world of Jesus Christ and the redemption that comes through His “merits, … mercy, and grace.”7 The Savior said: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another. … By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”8 The converse is also true—everyone knows that we are not His disciples when we do not show love one to another. His latter-day work is compromised when contention or enmity9 exists among His disciples.10 Second, contention is spiritually unhealthy for us as individuals. We are robbed of peace, joy, and rest, and our ability to feel the Spirit is compromised.

Jesus Christ explained that His doctrine was not “to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but [that His] doctrine [is] that such things should be done away.”11 If I am quick to take offense or respond to differences of opinion by becoming angry or judgmental, I “fail” the spiritual stress test. This failed test does not mean that I am hopeless. Rather, it points out that I need to change. And that is good to know.

After the Savior’s visit to the Americas, the people were unified; “there was no contention in all the land.”12 Do you think that the people were unified because they were all the same, or because they had no differences of opinion? I doubt it. Instead, contention and enmity disappeared because they placed their discipleship of the Savior above all else. Their differences paled in comparison to their shared love of the Savior, and they were united as “heirs to the kingdom of God.”13 The result was that “there could not be a happier people … who had been created by the hand of God.”14

General Conference Sunday Morning Session October 2021

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