Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
President Dallin H. Oaks · President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · Sunday Morning Session
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Because the Resurrection changes everything about how we see each other, followers of Christ are called to love even adversaries and become peacemakers in every relationship.
Skip a deep dive on the Resurrection doctrine, open with it briefly as the foundation, then spend the bulk of your time on the peacemaker principle where discussion will flow.
Before Sunday
Sunday's lesson: what does it mean to love your adversaries?
This Sunday we're discussing President Oaks's Easter talk 'Alive in Christ.' He shares a remarkable story about a nurse who came to see a man she despised as a child of God, and how that moment transformed her. He calls Latter-day Saints to be peacemakers in every relationship, not just with people we already love. Before Sunday, think about someone in your life who is hard to see as a child of God. What gets in the way?
Pick one opening
Think of a time you were in a conflict, with a neighbor, a family member, someone at work, someone online, and you felt completely justified in how you felt about them. Without naming names, what does it feel like inside when we're in that place? What does it cost us?
Think of a time you were in a conflict, with a neighbor, a family member, someone at work, someone online, and you felt completely justified in how you felt about them. Without naming names, what does it feel like inside when we're in that place? What does it cost us?
President Oaks tells about a nurse who cared for a bedridden patient she described as 'the most repulsive man' she had ever met, foul language, spitting, constant insults. She despised him. One night she heard a crash, ran in, and found him fallen in broken glass and blood. In that moment she felt what she called an almost electric current of love from Heavenly Father toward this man. As she held him, he said, 'I just want to go home.' Then he died. President Oaks said that story taught him something he needed to learn.
Teach this first
President Oaks teaches that Jesus's command to love your enemies extends beyond military foes to anyone who actively opposes us, what we might today call our adversaries. Because all mortals are beloved children of God, that identity claims our love even when behavior makes it hard. This doesn't mean surrendering our values; it means choosing the language and methods of peacemakers in how we relate to others.
President Oaks, quoting President David O. McKay: 'There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for one's fellowmen.'
Ask the class
If time remains
President Oaks gives concrete examples of peacemakers: a bishop healing a troubled marriage, young people choosing service over self-gratification, parents raising children in love, missionaries inviting people to repent and come unto Christ. Peacemaking is ordinary, daily work.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, in one specific relationship where things feel tense or distant, try what President Oaks calls 'the language and methods of peacemakers', avoid what is harsh, and say or do one thing that builds rather than bruises.
President Oaks, quoting the Savior, promises that peacemakers 'shall be called the children of God' (Matthew 5:9).
Your witness: Share what it means to you personally that the Resurrection makes our identity, and everyone else's, permanent and precious, and how that truth changes the way you want to treat people.