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Elder Hans T. Boom: 'Loving and Growing'

General Authority Seventy

Notable quotes:

"The gospel light will provide warmth and healing and will help you understand who you really are and what your purpose in life is."

"We all know where we can do better. There is no need to repeatedly remind each other but there is a need to love and minister to each other and in doing so provide a climate of willingness to change."

"Heavenly Father will never leave us when we reach for Him. We can fall and get up and He will help us brush off the dirt from our knees."

Summary points:

  • Heavenly Father invites everyone to walk the path of discipleship and return to Him.
  • By creating an environment of love, people will be empowered to make the changes they need to and become better people. 
  • Each person can discover his or her part in the second coming of Jesus Christ by asking Heavenly Father to make it known.

Talk summary:

Heavenly Father invites everyone to walk the path of discipleship and return to Him. The way is “to help each other understand who we are by ministering to each other.

“To me, ministering is exercising divine love. In that way we create an environment where both the giver and receiver obtain a desire to repent. In other words, we change direction and come closer to and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.”

There is no need to tell spouses or children how they can improve. They already know. But by creating an environment of love, they will be empowered to make the changes they need to and become better people. 

This way, repentance becomes a daily process of refining, which can include apologizing for poor behavior.

“In this same environment we are learning who we really are and what our role will be in this last chapter of the world’s history prior to the second coming of the Savior.”

Each person can discover his or her part by asking Heavenly Father to make that part known. “The answer will probably come gradually and then more clearly when we have set our feet more firmly on the covenant and ministering path.”

If the path of repentance appears difficult, know that “if we keep at it the burden will be taken from our shoulders and there will be light again. Heavenly Father will never leave us when we reach for Him.”

Perfect love, charity or the pure love of Christ, will be found in homes where parents minister to children and children to their parents. “Through that love, hearts will be changed and desires born to do His will.”

In the news:

  • Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Europe Area of the Church from April 11-22. As an Area Seventy in the Netherlands, Elder Boom commented on the apostle’s visit.

About the speaker:

  • Elder Hans Theodorus Boom was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in the April 2019 general conference.
  • Elder Boom served in the England London East Mission from 1981-1983, and while there, he learned important lessons, especially the importance of obedience.
  • At age 23, he accepted the call to serve as branch president, and by age 30 he was serving as a counselor in the stake presidency.
Related Stories
Elder Ronald A. Rasband: 'Standing by Our Promises and Covenants’
Elder Dale G. Renlund: ‘Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ’
Elder Jorge M. Alvarado: ‘After the Trial of Our Faith’
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