Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in October 2022 general conference:
What things do you ponder? What things really matter to you? What are the things of your soul?
My brothers and sisters, as I stand in our beloved Conference Center once again, I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Peter: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”1
My thoughts today are centered on the words of the prophet Nephi, who kept the record of his people following Father Lehi’s death. Nephi wrote, “And upon these I write the things of my soul.”2
I used to pass over this verse, thinking the word things was not very elegant or spiritual, not grand enough to pair with “my soul.” Yet I have learned that the word things is used in the scriptures 2,354 times.3 For example, in Moses: “I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things.”4 And Nephi’s words: “Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.”5
Nephi’s words raise the questions “What things do you ponder?” “What things really matter to you?” “What are the things of your soul?”
The things of our souls are often clarified and deepened by asking questions.
Fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith had a question deep in his soul, and he took it to the Lord. President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized: “Take your questions to the Lord and to other faithful sources. Study with the desire to believe rather than with the hope that you can find a flaw in the fabric of a prophet’s life or a discrepancy in the scriptures. Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with … doubters. Allow the Lord to lead you on your journey of spiritual discovery.”6
Youth often ask me what I believe and why I believe.
I remember visiting virtually with one young woman in her home. I asked if it was the first time an Apostle had been in her home. She quickly smiled and responded, “Yes.” Her question for me was good: “What are the most important things I should know?”
I answered with the things of my soul, the things that prepare me to hear promptings, that lift my sights beyond the ways of the world, that give purpose to my work in the gospel and to my very life.
May I share with you some of the things of my soul? These things apply to all who seek to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Ten would be a good, round number. Today I am giving you seven with the hope that you will complete eight, nine, and ten from your own experiences.
First, love God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Jesus decreed the first great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”7
President Nelson declared his devotion to God, our Eternal Father, and to His Son, Jesus Christ, when he was called to lead the Lord’s Church, saying, “I know Them, love Them, and pledge to serve Them—and you—with every remaining breath of my life.”8
For Elder Rasband’s complete talk click ‘The Things of My Soul‘.
