Elder Neil L. Andersen on following counsel willingly

Elder Neil L. Andersen (1951- ) served as a Seventy beginning in 1993, and was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 2009.

"The doctrine of Christ is unchanging and everlasting. Yet specific and important steps of the Savior’s work are revealed at their appropriate time. This morning President Nelson said, 'The Restoration is a process, not an event.' And the Lord has said, 'All things must come to pass in their time.' (D&C 64:32.) Now is our time, and we are reestablishing the revealed name of the Church.

"The identity and destiny of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints require that we be called by His name....

"'The name of the Church is not negotiable.' Let us go forward in faith. When we willingly follow the counsel of the Lord as revealed through His living prophet, especially if it runs counter to our initial thinking, requiring humility and sacrifice, the Lord blesses us with additional spiritual power and sends His angels to support us and stand by us. (See D&C 84:88.) We receive the Lord’s affirmation and His approval."

- Neil L. Andersen, "The Name of the Church Is Not Negotiable," General Conference October 2021, Sunday afternoon

Click here to read or watch the full talk

Elder Andersen used his talk to re-emphasize counsel given by President Nelson three years ago, about the use of the proper name of the Church. That is sometimes challenging, especially in conversation, since the name is long; but there is doctrinal importance in the name that we must not forget, and that will bless us as we use it properly. After giving several examples of the blessings of doing that, Elder Andersen summarized the principle of following counsels in this way:

The key is to learn to willingly follow the counsel of prophets. When that is hard to do, we are even more blessed by our actions because God will recognize and acknowledge the sacrifice of our efforts.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2021)