President M. Russell Ballard on sharing the love of the Lord

President M. Russell Ballard (born October 8, 1928) was called as a Seventy in 1976, and has served as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles since 1985. He became acting president of the Twelve in January 2018.

"Our hope and faith are rooted in the profound understanding that He lives today and that He continues to lead and guide His Church and His people. We rejoice in the knowledge of the living Christ, and we reverently acknowledge the miracles He continues to work today in the lives of those who have faith in Him. He is the head of the Church, which bears His name. He is our Savior and our Redeemer. Through Him we worship and pray to our Heavenly Father. We are grateful beyond measure for the essential and awesome power His Atonement has in each of our lives.

"Because we love the Lord, we should be spiritually sensitive to moments when the powerful and important truths of the gospel can be shared with others. Perhaps more importantly, however, we should seek at all times to purify ourselves and to lead such worthy lives that the Light of Christ emanates from us in all that we say and do. Our day-to-day lives should stand as immutable witness of our faith in Christ. In the words of the Apostle Paul, 'Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Tim. 4:12)."

- M. Russell Ballard, "How Is It with Us?", General Conference April 2000
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Those who strive to follow Christ have much to be grateful for. "We rejoice in the knowledge of the living Christ, and we reverently acknowledge the miracles He continues to work today in the lives of those who have faith in Him." We truly feel "essential and awesome power" through His Atonement.

Given those profound blessings, we should be moved to share them with others around us. We can be prompted, if we are "spiritually sensitive," in those moments when we can appropriately share the message of His love with those around us:

Even more important than the words we share, we also should be the light to those around us. Coincidentally, I subscribe to a "quote of the day" message that contained this thought today: "You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." (Oliver Goldsmith, Irish Writer, 1728-1774)

As we strive to "purify ourselves" and live "worthy lives," we will find that "the Light of Christ emanates from us in all that we say and do." A true disciple of Jesus Christ will always be seen and will be noticed by those around him!

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)