The Final Words of a Prophet

What can we learn from President Nelson’s last general conference address and from the legacy he left with us? 

President Russell M. Nelson left an impressive legacy, from his amazing career as a heart surgeon to his incredible role as prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reviewing his final address, I wondered recently which of his prophetic teachings defined his legacy and fingerprint on the Church. In an institute class called “The Teachings of President Nelson,” I asked my teacher that very question. My teacher’s answer was this: “His encouragement to be a peacemaker and to receive personal revelation.”

However, President Nelson didn’t mention either of those teachings in his final general conference talk, “Confidence in the Presence of God.” Why did he focus on charity and virtue rather than being a peacemaker or receiving personal revelation? Or perhaps, are those ideas more connected than I realized?

Having Charity and Being a Peacemaker

When we have charity, we are choosing to be peacemakers. We live in a world that is constantly in anxious and angry commotion. But by choosing to show charity to those we disagree with and informing them that we think their opinions are valuable, we can find the “inspired solutions” and build the “bridges of understanding” that President Nelson spoke about in his talk “Peacemakers Needed.” Choosing to be a peacemaker in heated situations can help the people we interact with feel loved. We don’t have to bend to what they say, but we can have charity and find peaceful resolutions.

Being Virtuous and Obtaining Personal Revelation

Likewise, when we choose to be virtuous, we create an environment for receiving personal revelation. If we go back and read President Nelson’s advice in context, he is telling us to be virtuous so that we can feel confident in the presence of God. Why would we need confidence in the presence of God? To receive personal revelation. President Nelson proclaims, “When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confidence in approaching God right now!…I am referring to having confidence that He yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential.” God helps each of us reach our highest potential by guiding and teaching us through the power of personal revelation. And President Nelson teaches us in his talk “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives” that “nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience.” Choosing to live virtuously prepares us to receive his guidance.

So what can we learn from President Nelson’s last official remarks? What is he telling us? He tells us that by choosing charity, we are being peacemakers in a world that needs more loving peace than angry passion. We can be the light that the world so desperately needs and wants. Additionally, he tells us that by choosing to live a virtuous life, we can feel worthy and confident in approaching God to receive personal revelation for our own lives.

President Nelson isn’t trying to remind us to be “good.” He is reminding us that the time and dispensation we live in requires us to be kinder and holier, to choose peace and pursue truth. As we do these things, we can rest assured that we are implementing the final words of a prophet of God in our lives: to be peacemakers and seek personal revelation. 

Read President Nelson’s final talk to find revelation for yourself: “Confidence in the Presence of God.”

Source: General Conference

—Emma Jean Nelson, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS NEWSROOM

Find more insights

Read more about President Nelson’s encouragement for us to be peacemakers by reading his talk “Peacemakers Needed.”

Take a look at President Nelson’s talk “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives” to learn more about how we can use personal revelation to better our lives.