In a new, powerful video series by the Mormon Channel, five Apostles and two female Church leaders speak directly to members who feel ostracized and like they do not belong in the Church.
Their overall message: You are loved. You are needed. And Church members should extend their love, empathy, and support to others, regardless of perceived differences.
The videos, recently announced by Mormon Newsroom, feature Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Sister Carol F. McConkie of the Young Women general presidency, and Sister Jean B. Bingham of the Primary general presidency.
Acknowledging that some people attend their Sunday meetings to be uplifted and inspired but leave feeling judged or unneeded, Sister Carol F. McConkie urges members to see others through Christlike eyes. “The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not marginalize people,” she said in one of the seven videos. “People marginalize people.”
“Whatever our condition at the moment may be, the body of Christ [the Church] is there to sustain each member (see 1 Corinthians 12:25-27)," Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminds members. “As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called upon to see the worth and potential of each soul."
“All of us have glorious possibilities through Christ to contribute richly to the kingdom of God, and all of us struggle and are in need of His redeeming and enabling love,” he says. “Together, as we follow the call to 'bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light' (Mosiah 18:8), we will discover the divine potential our Heavenly Parents have in store for each of us.”
Watch the videos in the playlist below: