SALT LAKE CITY — Just days before his 101st birthday, the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has shared a personal message on happiness and peace in an op-ed published by TIME magazine.
President Russell M. Nelson used the op-ed to share what he called his birthday wish for the world. He encouraged readers to live by two foundational principles: that each person has divine worth, and that we should love our neighbor with compassion and respect.
“My faith teaches me that over two millennia ago, Jesus Christ preached these same laws of happiness: to love God and to love our neighbor,” President Nelson wrote. “After 101 years, I can say that these are not abstract theological ideas — they are practical wisdom. They are what have sustained me through loss and triumph, uncertainty, peace, war, and healing.”
Millions of members of the church are celebrating President Nelson’s upcoming milestone birthday. His message in TIME builds on a consistent theme of his ministry to promote love and peacemaking worldwide.
President Nelson wrote that embracing the principles of divine worth and treating others with dignity will make our lives, and the world, “steadier and more joyful.”
Read the full article in TIME here.