2018
Believe, Love, Do (excerpts)
November 2018


“Believe, Love, Do (excerpts),” New Era, Nov. 2018, 30–31.

Believe, Love, Do (excerpts)

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Believe, Love, Do

There is a word in German, Weltschmerz. Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be.

Perhaps there is a little Weltschmerz in all of us. …

The good news is, there is hope. There is a solution to the emptiness, vanity, and Weltschmerz of life. There is a solution to even the deepest hopelessness and discouragement you might feel.

This hope is found in the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the Savior’s redemptive power to heal us of our soul-sickness. …

The healing hands of Jesus Christ reach out to all who seek Him. I have come to know without a doubt that believing and loving God and striving to follow Christ can change our hearts, soften our pain, and fill our souls with “exceedingly great joy” [1 Nephi 8:12].

Of course, we must do more than merely have an intellectual understanding of the gospel for it to have this healing influence in our lives. We must incorporate it into our lives—make it a part of who we are and what we do.

May I suggest that discipleship begins with three simple words:

Believe, love, and do.

Believing God leads to faith in Him and developing trust in His word. Faith causes our hearts to grow in our love for God and others. As that love grows, we are inspired to emulate the Savior as we continue our own great journey on the path of discipleship. …

… The gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope. And, in the Church of Jesus Christ, we join with others who seek a place where we can feel at home—a place of growth where, together, we can believe, love, and do.

… As we believe in God, as we love Him and love His children with all our hearts, and as we strive to do as God has instructed us, we will find healing and peace, happiness and meaning.