from DALE G. RENLUND

Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly 

with God

1  | We're not doing enough...(sort of). Elder Renlund reminds us that our good deeds are not enough—"Salvation is not earned." BUT—instead of using this as a reason to not even try or become hopeless, we can take comfort in the fact that Christ sees even the tiniest effort. He sees YOU and sanctifies your EVERY effort to turn to and follow Him. He sees how far behind you are I am in Come Follow Me. He sees you me just barely remembering to pray before the meal as the baby starts tossing food. He sees how alone you I feel sometimes. But if I let go of the need to EARN my salvation, to beat myself up for any misstep or for not having a 30 minute doctrinal discussion for FHE (followed by a Pinterest-worthy treat), it's then that I can truly grasp the wonderful truth of Christ's infinite Atonement. He is the ONLY WAY: "because of and through Jesus Christ we can become enough." As someone who is constantly convinced she is not enough or doing enough, it's helpful to pause and remember the Savior sanctifies our every effort—and if we let go of our human version of perfection, we can embrace the Godly process of perfecting.

2  | It can be simple. I love a good scripture that encapsulates everything I need to do (my all-time favorite is D&C 19:23) and Micah 6:8 is no exception! Although Elder Renlund lists many examples under each of the three main ideas (do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God), our discipleship can essentially be boiled down to very simple, overarching ideas. The three covered in the talk are a few of the principles that cause a positive trickle-down effect into every other area of life and discipleship.
 

3 | Be genuinely kind and civil to all. "A just person is civil in words and action and recognizes that differences in outlook or belief do not preclude genuine kindness and friendship." Any and all differences are "superseded by Christlike love." I feel like this was a recurring theme throughout this past conference—surely this is a priority our prophet wants us to take to heart. I pray that others may be able to look to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as shining exemplars of Christ's infinite love to all his children.
 

"People who love mercy are not judgmental; they manifest compassion for others, especially for those who are less fortunate; they are gracious, kind, and honorable. These individuals treat everyone with love and understanding, regardless of characteristics such as race, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and tribal, clan, or national differences. These are superseded by Christlike love."

DALE G. RENLUND

"We can assess our own progress. We can know “that the course of life [that we are] pursuing is according to God’s will” when we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God." 

DALE G. RENLUND

INVITATION:

Ponder the three main ideas in the title of this talk: do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Prayerfully pick one of these principles in which you feel you are lacking, and set a goal to improve. 

Examine a way you can become more "authentically faithful." Remember—the Lord will sanctify our every effort, no matter how small! Use the talk for examples of mindset shifts and tangible steps to better align your life with these principles. 

Example: In order to strengthen your ability to walk more humbly with God, examine your relationship with prayer. Are you just going through the motions? Are you not setting aside meaningful brain-space or time to connect? Are you saying a few things and then closing without ever listening for a response? 

Think of a personal way to improve your prayer habits and walk more humbly with God.
 

AFFIRMATION:

I am authentically faithful and seek to do justly by all. I extend the same mercy to others as God gives to me. I feel the deepest joy when walking humbly beside my Father in Heaven.