I’ve always really enjoyed listening to President Oaks because of the clarity and seriousness with which he speaks.

The first talk that President Oaks ever gave in general conference as an apostle was in October 1984. He delivered a talk titled “Why do we serve?”

In the talk, then-Elder Oaks provided six reasons in ascending order of virtue to answer that question:

1. Desire for an earthy reward
2. Desire for good companionship
3. Fear of punishment
4. Sense of duty or loyalty to friends, family or traditions
5. Desire for an eternal reward
6. The love of God and for his children

“‘Charity is the pure love of Christ,'” Elder Oaks said, quoting from the Book of Mormon. “The Book of Mormon teaches us that this virtue is ‘the greatest of all.’ The Apostle Paul affirmed and illustrated that truth in his great teaching about the reasons for service:

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. …

“‘And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, … and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.’

“We know from these inspired words that even the most extreme acts of service — such as giving all of our goods to feed the poor — profit us nothing unless our service is motivated by the pure love of Christ.”

This talk came into my mind as I listened to the words of Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, a member of the Seventy in the church, at the April general conference. His talk was titled “My love for the Savior is my ‘why.'”

In his address, Elder Giménez echoed the words of Elder Oaks, saying “I love our Savior. This is the real and most powerful reason why I do what I do, and then connected with this is my love for you, my fellow brothers and sisters.”

Connecting what we do to our love for the Savior

Elder Giménez said that as we “link everything we do with our love for the Savior” we will “understand the real ‘why’ behind everything we do as disciples of the Savior.” This will, in turn, “strengthen our covenantal connection with God, understanding His divine and eternal truths — His eternal and absolute truths that will never change. Eternal truths like ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,'” he said.

In his talk, Elder Giménez addressed doing “things because we have done them for many years, without considering their impact on our covenantal connection with the Savior.”

Examples shared included reading the scriptures, praying or preparing a family or ward activity.

“… is the real goal simply to accomplish these tasks? Or are these actions the means, the tools at your disposal, to achieve the true goal?” he said. “Is the purpose merely to hold an activity because we have done it for many years and then check the box that we have completed it? Or, once again, are these the means we use to learn, to feel, and to connect with the Savior?”

It’s a humbling thing to ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. But it’s important because God wants to connect with us. He wants to guide us back to him. Do we want to connect with him? How much are we willing to invest in order to ensure we return to him?

“Please don’t misunderstand my point about having activities and traditions or setting goals and working hard to achieve them; there is nothing wrong with this,” Elder Giménez said. “However, I invite you to open your hearts and minds to the opportunity and blessing of understanding why we do these things and how we practice our religion.”

Elder Giménez continued:

“The more we can connect the reason with our love for the Savior, the more we will be able to receive what we need or are seeking. President Nelson said, ‘Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.’ And then he extended this invitation: ‘Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!'”

A question frequently asked is why do good people have to suffer, especially children. Well, look at the life of Jesus Christ. Who was more righteous than him? He literally never sinned, yet he was persecuted, betrayed and crucified. If the best human being to have ever lived had to suffer, then why wouldn’t we have to suffer in sometimes excruciating ways?

But suffering had a purpose for Jesus, and it has a purpose for us, though we may not able to understand exactly what very easily. And we know through understanding the Savior and his Atonement that no matter how much we may hurt, no matter how much agony we might be in, there is nothing we could feel that Christ hasn’t felt and can’t comprehend. This means we never have to suffer alone, and we never have to accept that there’s nobody who can strengthen us.

Learning from general conference

Elaborating on the idea of following counsel but not necessarily connecting the reason why to love of the Savior, Elder Giménez spoke of general conference messages.

“One option, which is probably extreme, could be to read all the messages from general conference all at once; then, when I am done, I will check this invitation from my to-do list without doing anything else with what I read,” he said. “I understand this is an extreme case, but it is not unreal. Probably, many are at some point between this and the ideal.

“The invitation is to study and ponder the messages from the general conference and use them to determine and understand what we each can do to improve.

“When we accept the invitation, understanding the ‘why’ behind it, we will have more opportunities to become closer to the Savior. We will begin to understand that because I love the Savior, I want to learn more about Him by studying the words of the living prophets. And because I love my fellow man, I will share the teachings of prophets, seers, and revelators with others, starting with my loved ones.

“In both examples, you are doing a righteous thing. In one, the goal seems to be using the means that Heavenly Father and the Savior have given us, which are the messages shared during general conference. The second version embraces the profound blessing of gaining insight into the underlying reasons, offering a pathway to understand eternal truth and the blessings promised to all who make the teachings and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the focal point of their lives.”

This is an example that resonates with me personally because when I was younger, I didn’t connect watching or listening to general conference with my love for the Savior. Because of that, it seemed like a chore. It felt like an obligation. As a result, I didn’t get much out of general conference. I waited for it to be over so that I could do something I really wanted to do.

It was hard for me to connect with the messages at general conference for many years because I just didn’t have a great motivation.

When something is done simply to cross it off a checklist, it’s harder to want to do it, and it’s easier to justify doing something else considered more enjoyable instead.

Over time, my love for the Savior has deepened, and because of that, I have a stronger desire to watch or listen to general conference, not out of obligation but because I want to know the will of God. General conference has gone from can’t enjoy to can’t miss.

The restoration of the church

Near the conclusion of his talk, Elder Giménez connected all that he had said to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I hope you can feel and see the importance of connecting our actions with our love for the Savior,” he said. “In a globalized world, many voices will try to influence you and, if possible, lead you to believe that some fundamental truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are unnecessary. These voices start with the essential truth of the need for a restoration in these the last days, including the necessity of having God’s kingdom on earth, represented by the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“You may hear voices insisting that only a personal relationship or understanding with the Savior is sufficient and that religion or the restored Church is unnecessary or nonessential. I invite you to be slow to consider or even be immune to being influenced by these misleading ideas and to be quicker to remember what the Savior has been telling and teaching us since ancient times–beginning with the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for us and connecting our love for Them as the reason to follow Them.

“God the Father and His Son came and spoke with Joseph Smith to restore Jesus Christ’s Church and to initiate the dispensation of the fulness of times, His kingdom on earth. Therefore, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the means established by Heavenly Father to access covenants that enable us to return home. Thus, we need more than just a personal relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son; we require essential priesthood ordinances through which we make covenants with Them. This provides a covenantal connection with Them and grants us access to Their covenantal love, making it possible to attain the highest kingdom of glory prepared for all those who are true and faithful to their covenants.”

Conclusion

Elder Giménez concluded:

“With all the energy of my soul, I bear witness to the reality and divinity of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves you. He knows what is happening in your life. His arms are wide open, extending the invitation ‘Come unto me, … and I will give you rest.'”