Dear
Friends: Given the nature of what we’re seeing today – the hatred –
vilification – and utter contempt of the Constitution – this is a very
meaningful talk by President Nelson given 14 years ago but timely today even
more so. c/ork
“Teach Us Tolerance and Love”
Upcoming this weekend:
October 2018 General Conference
·
OCTOBER 6–7, 2018
Date
October 6–7, 2018
Location
Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah; and via satellite or
online streaming https://www.lds.org/church/events/october-2018-general-conference?cid=HP_FR-28-9-2018_dPTH_fCNWSxLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng
Dear brothers and sisters, I join my brethren in extending
Easter greetings to each of you, while expressing personal gratitude for the
atonement of Jesus Christ, for His example, and for His teachings that have
motivated my message today.
I
have been impressed to speak on the subject of tolerance—a virtue much needed
in our turbulent world. But in discussing this topic, we must recognize at the
outset that there is a difference between tolerance and tolerate. Your
gracious tolerance for an individual does not grant him or her license to do
wrong, nor does your tolerance obligate you to tolerate his or her misdeed.
That distinction is fundamental to an understanding of this vital virtue.
I
attended a “laboratory of tolerance” some months ago when I had the privilege
of participating in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. There I conversed
with good men and women representing many religious groups. Again I sensed the
advantages of ethnic and cultural diversity and reflected once more on the
importance of religious freedom and tolerance.
I
marvel at the inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith when he penned the
eleventh article of faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God
according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same
privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” [A of F 1:11]
That
noble expression of religious tolerance is particularly poignant in light of
the Prophet’s personal persecution. On one occasion he wrote, “I am at this
time persecuted the worst of any man on the earth, as well as this people, … all
our sacred rights are trampled under the feet of the mob.”1
Joseph
Smith endured incessant persecution and finally heartless martyrdom—at the
hands of the intolerant. His brutal fate stands as a stark reminder that we
must never be guilty of any sin
sown by the seed of intolerance.
Two Great
Commandments to Love
Revealed to that revered prophet was the fulness of the gospel. He was
tutored by the resurrected Christ, whom Joseph adored. He taught doctrines
declared by the Lord, including these He gave in response to the question of an
exacting lawyer:
“Master, which is the great commandment in
the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets.”2
Hence, our highest priorities in life are to
love God and to love our neighbors. That broadly includes neighbors in our own
family, our community, our nation, and our world. Obedience to the second
commandment facilitates obedience to the first commandment. “When ye are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”3
Parental Love
That concept is easy for mothers and fathers to understand. Parental love
includes gratitude for service extended to any of their children, especially in
their time of need.
I was amused recently when one of our grown
children confided that she had always thought that she was her daddy’s favorite
daughter. She was surprised to discover later that each of her eight sisters
harbored that same feeling. Only when they had become mothers themselves did
they realize that parents hardly have favorites. (Incidentally, our only son
never had to wonder who was our favorite son.)
Our Father in Heaven loves all of His
children, too. Peter taught that “God is no respecter of persons:
“But in every nation he that feareth him,
and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”4
Yet His children can be so intolerant with
one another. Neighboring factions, whether they be identified as groups or
gangs, schools or states, counties or countries, often develop animosity. Such
tendencies make me wonder: Cannot boundary lines exist without becoming battle
lines? Could not people unite in waging war against the evils that beset
mankind instead of waging war on each other? Sadly, answers to these questions
are often no. Through the years, discrimination based on ethnic or religious
identity has led to senseless slaughter, vicious pogroms, and countless acts of
cruelty. The face of history is pocked by the ugly scars of intolerance.
How different our world would be if all
parents would apply this inspired instruction from the Book of Mormon: “Ye will
not suffer your children … that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and
quarrel one with another. …
“But ye will teach them to walk in the ways
of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve
one another.”5
If such training occurred, children and
parents around this globe would join in singing, “Fill our hearts with sweet
forgiving; Teach us tolerance and love.”6 Men and women
would respect their neighbors and the beliefs held sacred by them. No longer
would ethnic jokes and cultural slurs be acceptable. The tongue of the tolerant
speaks no guile.
Independence and Cooperation
While we strive for the virtue of tolerance, other commendable qualities
need not be lost. Tolerance does not require the surrender of noble purpose or
of individual identity. The Lord gave instruction to leaders of His restored
church to establish and maintain institutional integrity—“that the church may
stand independent.”7
Meanwhile, its members are encouraged to
join with like-minded citizens in doing good.8 We are grateful
for the many examples of heroic service rendered in times of earthquakes,
floods, hurricanes, or other disasters. Such cooperative efforts to help
neighbors in distress transcend any barriers posed by religion, race, or
culture. Those good deeds are latter-day love in action!
Humanitarian relief rendered by members of
this church is extensive, multinational, and generally unpublicized. Even so,
there are doubtless many who wonder why we don’t do more to assist the
innumerable worthy causes to which our hearts respond.
Of course we are concerned with the need for
ambulances in the valley below. But at the same time, we cannot ignore the
greater need for protective guardrails on the cliffs above. Limited resources
needed for the accomplishment of the higher work cannot be depleted in rescue
efforts that provide only temporary relief.
The biblical prophet Nehemiah must have felt
that same commitment to his important calling. When he was asked to divert
attention away from his primary purpose, he replied: “I am doing a great work,
so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and
come down to you?”9
Fortunately, we in the Church rarely have to
make such a decision. We consider love of neighbor an integral part of our
mission. And while we serve one another, we continue to build a spiritual house
of refuge on the cliffs above. Such a sanctuary becomes a blessing for all
mankind. We are but the builders; the architect is almighty God.
Missionary Responsibilities
Latter-day Saints throughout the world work side by side with
others—regardless of race, color, or creed—hoping to be good examples worthy of
emulation. The Savior said: “I give unto you a commandment, that every man,
both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, … prepare and accomplish the
things which I have commanded.
“And let your preaching be the warning
voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.”10
This we are to do with tolerance. While in
Moscow in June 1991, in that spirit of preparation and with sincere respect for
leaders of other religious denominations, Elder Dallin H. Oaks and I had the
privilege of meeting with the presiding official of the Russian Orthodox
Church. We were accompanied by Elder Hans B. Ringger and the mission president,
Gary L. Browning. Patriarch Aleksei was most gracious in sharing a memorable hour
with us. We perceived the great difficulties endured for so many years by this
kind man and his fellow believers. We thanked him for his perseverance and for
his faith. Then we assured him of our good intentions and of the importance of
the message that missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints would be teaching among his countrymen. We affirmed that ours is a
global church and that we honor and obey the laws of each land in which we
labor.11
To those with an interest in the fulness of
the restored gospel—regardless of nationality or religious background—we say as
did Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “Keep all the truth and all the good that you
have. Do not abandon any sound or proper principle. Do not forsake any standard
of the past which is good, righteous, and true. Every truth found in every
church in all the world we believe. But we also say this to all men—Come and
take the added light and truth that God has restored in our day. The more truth
we have, the greater is our joy here and now; the more truth we receive, the
greater is our reward in eternity. This is our invitation to men [and women] of
good will everywhere.”12
Each of you with a testimony of the truth of
the restored gospel has opportunity to share that precious gift. The Lord
expects you to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness.”13
Baptism Transcends Background
On every continent and across isles of the sea, the faithful are being
gathered into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Differences in
cultural background, language, gender, and facial features fade into
insignificance as members lose themselves in service to their beloved Savior.
Paul’s declaration is being fulfilled: “As many of you as have been baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.
“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.”14
Only the comprehension of the true
Fatherhood of God can bring full appreciation of the true brotherhood of man. That
understanding inspires desire to build bridges of cooperation instead of walls
of segregation.
Our Creator decreed “that there should be no
contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye,
having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity
and in love one towards another.”15
Intolerance seeds contention; tolerance
supersedes contention. Tolerance is the key that opens the door to mutual
understanding and love.
Risks of Boundless Tolerance
Now may I offer an important note of caution. An erroneous assumption
could be made that if a little of something is good, a lot must be better. Not
so! Overdoses of needed medication can be toxic. Boundless mercy could oppose
justice. So tolerance, without limit, could lead to spineless permissiveness.
The Lord drew boundary lines to define
acceptable limits of tolerance. Danger rises when those divine limits are
disobeyed. Just as parents teach little children not to run and play in the
street, the Savior taught us that we need not tolerate evil. “Jesus went into
the temple of God, and … and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers.”16 Though He loved
the sinner, the Lord said that He “cannot look upon sin with the least degree
of allowance.”17 His Apostle
Paul specified some of those sins in a letter to the Galatians. The list
included “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, … wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies,
“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like.”18
To Paul’s list I might add the regrettable
attitudes of bigotry, hypocrisy, and prejudice. These were also decried in 1834
by early Church leaders who foresaw the eventual rise of this church “amid the
frowns of bigots and the calumny of hypocrites.”19 The Prophet
Joseph Smith prayed that “prejudices may give way before the truth.”20 Hatred stirs up
strife21 and digs
beneath the dignity of mature men and women in our enlightened era.
Paul’s list included “uncleanness.” As
members of the Church entrusted with its holy temples, we are commanded that
“no unclean thing shall be permitted to come into [His] house to pollute it.”22
That assignment requires great fortitude as
well as love. In former days, disciples of the Lord “were firm, and would
suffer even unto death rather than commit sin.”23 In latter days,
devoted disciples of the Lord are just as firm. Real love for the sinner may
compel courageous confrontation—not acquiescence! Real love does not support
self-destructing behavior.
Tolerance and Mutual Respect
Our commitment to the Savior causes us to scorn sin yet heed His
commandment to love our neighbors. Together we live on this earth, which is to
be tended, subdued, and shared with gratitude.24 Each of us can
help to make life in this world a more pleasant experience. Not long ago the
First Presidency and the Twelve issued a public statement from which I quote:
“It is morally wrong for any person or group to deny anyone his or her
inalienable dignity on the tragic and abhorrent theory of racial or cultural
superiority.
“We call upon all people everywhere to
recommit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect.
We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and
compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our
deepest differences.”25
That pronouncement is a contemporary
confirmation of the Prophet Joseph’s earlier entreaty for tolerance. Unitedly
we may respond. Together we may stand, intolerant of transgression but tolerant
of neighbors with differences they hold sacred. Our beloved brothers and
sisters throughout the world are all children of God. He is
our Father. His Son, Jesus, is the Christ. His church has been restored to the
earth in these latter days to bless all of God’s children. I so testify in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
“To Be Understanding”
cji
10/1/18
Understanding =
tolerance
if one is blinded
found
failing to understand
a failure to see
clearly
feel the hurt in your
being
listening to
sickening world
chaotically confusing
all
contention the rule
of law
without understanding
one cannot be
tolerant
therefore not in tune
failing to lift
others up
being blinded
unseeing
tolerance =
understanding!
Copyright
© 2018 – cji
