It Would Have Been Enough
Religious Educators Conference, June 5, 2026
I am grateful to have this opportunity to speak with you. I look forward to meeting many of you during my service as Commissioner. Thank you, truly, for all you do to strengthen our students’ faith in Jesus Christ and to strengthen their testimonies of living prophets and apostles. It is a sacred charge, which you are accomplishing so well.
During the Passover Seder, Jews traditionally sing or recite a joyous song called “Dayenu,” that translates roughly to “It would have been enough.” The Dayenu is intended to serve as an expression of gratitude to Jehovah for the miracles performed during the Exodus from Egypt. The song highlights that, even if Jehovah had done only one of the miracles, it would have been enough—a blessing sufficient on its own and worthy of celebration. For example, one verse of the Dayenu reads, “If he had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel, dayenu, it would have been enough.”
Following this pattern of expressing gratitude, we might, therefore, say, “If the Savior had only assured our resurrection and paid the price for our sins and if He had not promised to succor us in our infirmities, it would have been enough.” Echoing this dayenu pattern, President Hinckley once said, “I have said many times that if nothing else came out of all of the sorrow and travail and pain of the Restoration than the sealing power of the holy priesthood to bind together families forever, it would have been worth all that it has cost.” I feel this way about so many doctrinal teachings of the Restoration. Over and over, it is true that, even one restored understanding of the Savior’s gospel would have been enough.
Before I turn to my main topic today, I can’t resist a brief discussion of a recent report from the Wheatley Institute at BYU that led me to think about this dayenu pattern. The report collects and summarizes thousands of “rigorous medical and social science studies catalogued in the … Oxford University Press Handbook of Religion and Health.” It describes how academic research is increasingly finding that religion correlates with human flourishing. There is a clear positive correlation between religion and improved mental, social, and physical health.
In dayenu terms, I might state it this way: If living the gospel brought blessings only in the hereafter and not every day of our lives, it would have been enough. But in fact, it brings blessings to our mental, social, and physical health every day. To share just a couple of slides.
As shown in this graph, in the vast majority of studies, religion correlates with less addiction, less abuse, less suicide, less depression, and less anxiety.
Similarly, an overwhelming number of studies show that religion correlates with social support, less crime, and with marriage and family stability.
The same positive correlation shows up for physical health. Again, the vast majority of studies show that religion correlates positively with longevity of life, immune function, less cigarette smoking, better diet and weight, less chronic pain, and less hypertension—to identify just a few of the 15 physical health phenomena shown in the slide. If there were a pill that achieved these sorts of results, doctors would prescribe it.
Given these correlations, it is not surprising that religious believers, particularly those who carry over their worship into their homes, report greater life happiness and greater life meaning. Pew Research Center data show that this same pattern holds in the majority of countries around the world. Those who are actively religious more often say they are “very happy” than those who are inactive or unaffiliated.
Now, I just suggested that if religion were a pill, we’d be eager to take it. But in truth, as the slide suggests, the benefits of religion are more like the benefits of exercise. We need to consistently act to get the full benefit.
In sum, while the Wheatley study recognizes that harmful or coercive forms of religious worship do exist, “the overall pattern across the best available studies” shows that “religious belief and practice are overwhelmingly associated with better mental and emotional well-being.”
We have always trusted this is true as a doctrinal matter, but the social science literature increasingly confirms that your efforts across the world to help our students develop faith in the Savior and to strengthen their testimonies of living prophets are an invaluable contribution to human flourishing. Our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation really is a plan of happiness.
One of the blessings of my calling is that Mary—Sister Rasband—and I receive assignments to participate in mission tours. Typically, a mission tour includes two to three days of zone or multi-zone conferences in different parts of the mission where we teach—and are consistently taught by—the missionaries. One common focus of our discussions during a mission tour is the missionary purpose. As Preach My Gospel teaches, the missionary purpose is to “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.” In teaching the missionaries, I will often note that the lynchpin of the missionary purpose is faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. We, and those we teach, will repent because of our belief in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for us. We will be baptized because we want to be washed clean of our sins through His atoning sacrifice. The Holy Ghost not only completes the remission of sins, which comes “by fire and by Holy Ghost,” but also “beareth record of the Father and … the Son.” Finally, we endure to the end by making additional covenants with Him and consistently repenting to retain a remission of sins through Him and His atoning sacrifice.
Because Jesus Christ and His Atonement are the lynchpin of the missionary purpose, missionaries need to study His atoning sacrifice with particular diligence. You will recall that President Russell M. Nelson, a couple of years ago, urged all of us “to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” Nowhere is this more true than on a mission where it is so critical to understand the doctrine of the Atonement. And my experience with missionaries is that so many do—in no small part, I am sure—because of what they have learned from you. How do I know this? Let me share today something I frequently do with missionaries during a mission tour.
After we discuss the importance of understanding the atoning sacrifice to their entire missionary purpose, I often will ask missionaries to share with me their favorite scripture to teach a friend about the Savior’s Atonement. I give them a couple of minutes to think of a scripture. I tell them that we will share our favorite scripture in a very specific way. I ask them to share only the citation to the scripture and then read the part of the scripture that is most meaningful to them. I instruct them that they should not provide any additional explanation or gloss on the scripture, such as, “I chose this scripture because” or “I have always liked this explanation of the Atonement because.” I tell them, “Just the citation and the scripture without anything more.” I then give an example. I might say, “We’ll do it like this. When I call on you, you can stand and say, ‘John 3:16: “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.”’”
After a couple of minutes to allow them time to consider a favorite scripture, I start calling on missionaries. Usually, 20 to 25 will share a scripture. Let me give you some flavor of what it is like. Missionaries will stand one after another and say something like this:
“Alma 22:14: ‘He breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory.’”
“Doctrine and Covenants 18:11, 13: ‘For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. … And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!’”
“Alma 7:12: ‘And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.’”
“Isaiah 53:5: ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.’”
“Alma 40:23: ‘The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.’”
“Isaiah 61:1, 3: ‘He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. … To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’”
I will stop, but I hope you get a sense of what it is like to listen to the missionaries share 20 to 25 of their favorite scriptures to teach about the Savior’s atoning sacrifice. Frankly, I wish we could share with each other our favorite scripture, and I wish we could counsel together about potential lessons from this exercise, but today let me share a few things this exercise has taught me.
First, in all the times I have engaged missionaries in this exercise, 70 to 80 percent of the scriptures they cite are from the Book of Mormon. It never fails. Surely, there are beautiful passages in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that teach of Jesus’s Atonement—in fact, I shared a couple—but when missionaries really need to explain the Savior’s atoning sacrifice to a friend who is learning about the gospel, their go-to source is the Book of Mormon. This happens without any push or prompt. In fact, I always use a scripture from the Bible as a starting example precisely because I want to avoid priming them to think about the Book of Mormon.
The reason they turn to the Book of Mormon is because it is truly another testament of Jesus Christ. Just as its title page declares, the Book of Mormon is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.” When missionaries, or any of us, want to understand the Atonement or the Father’s plan for us, we turn to the Book of Mormon. Surely, this is why the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Or as President Nelson testified, “The Book of Mormon provides the fullest and most authoritative understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ” and its “truths … have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.”
A second, and related, lesson from this exercise with the missionaries is that the simple act of focusing on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice causes the Spirit to fill the room. This is true in a missionary setting where the sisters and elders are striving so diligently to live worthy of their sacred calling. But it is also true in much less auspicious settings. I have also felt the presence of the Holy Ghost when I have visited prisons. In the past I had the opportunity to visit a number of prisons, jails, and juvenile correction facilities in Utah as part of a ministry assignment. Despite the somber setting and the serious crimes committed by many of those who were incarcerated, I felt over and over again the presence of the Holy Ghost. A part of what I felt may have been that I was following the admonition of the Savior—admittedly by assignment—to visit those who are in prison, and I was therefore reaping the benefits of His teaching that “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
But I am convinced that an even more significant reason the Spirit was present during my meetings with those in prison was that they were focused like a laser on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. When they spoke, it was about their need for His Atonement. When they testified, it was in gratitude—or sometimes just in hope—that He had suffered for them and that He would heal, comfort, and bless those whom they had harmed. The Atonement, for them, was not theoretical or abstract. They hungered and thirsted for it. And that sincere hunger and thirst allowed the Holy Ghost to testify.
Previously, I suggested that the “simple act of focusing on the Savior” allows the Spirit to teach and testify. I feel the need to clarify that it is not merely reading about the Savior that has power. It is His doctrine. For this reason, I would suggest that, although it is surely powerful to remind students of the Savior’s love for them, it is even more powerful to teach our students how the doctrine of the gospel shows the love of the Father and the Son.
President Oaks’s teaching about the Resurrection at our last general conference is a beautiful example. Rather than expressing gratitude for the Savior’s Resurrection in the abstract, he turned to the Book of Mormon to teach that the Resurrection is a literal uniting of Spirit and body and is universal. He quoted Alma 11: “The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form. … Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous.” President Oaks then proceeded to explain in some detail how “the conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity changes the whole perspective of our mortal life.”
In the part of his talk where he discussed the Resurrection, President Oaks did not specifically state the Savior’s love for us. Yet, as he spoke, and as I better comprehended the perspective and blessings that flow from the Resurrection, I was filled with love for the Savior and with gratitude for His atoning sacrifice. I understood better the Savior’s love for me, even without President Oaks using those words. In fact, at least for me, I took greater assurance from understanding the nature of the Savior’s gift than I would have if President Oaks had merely assured me of His love.
One of the reasons why the Spirit is so manifest when missionaries share their favorite scriptures is that so often the scriptures they share teach important truths about the breadth and depth of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice—that His suffering not only allows us to be cleansed from sin, on the condition of repentance, but also allows Him to succor us in our infirmities, to save those who are not accountable, and to enable and strengthen us to become like Him. My experience is that when we learn these extraordinarily hopeful truths—when we hear these glad tidings of great joy—we better understand the Savior’s love for us and are filled with love for Him.
Consider a related point. The infinite and eternal love of the Father and the Son might be described as a necessary condition to bring about the Father’s plan of salvation. But Their love was not, itself, sufficient. As Jesus taught, it was because “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
But, as Alma explained to Corianton: “The plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.”
The Savior’s mercy and all His love could not on its own save us. He had to suffer to “appease the demands of justice” that we would otherwise be obligated to satisfy. Does the fact that His love alone is not enough to make us whole somehow diminish His love? Quite the contrary. His willingness to suffer for us exemplifies the depth and infinite nature of His love.
I think this point is more than mere semantics. If we conclude that His love alone can save us, we may mistakenly conclude that justice imposes no demands upon us. And by doing so, we may inadvertently diminish His suffering for us and deny ourselves a fuller understanding of the infinite nature of His love.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that we avoid telling students, friends, and loved ones that Jesus Christ loves them. It is a true and joyful statement of fact. But I am suggesting there is additional power in teaching doctrine that shows the nature of His infinite love. From my perspective this is a core reason for religious education and a sacred gift that you give your students. By helping them understand the doctrine of Christ and His commandments—which are merely instructions about how to live joyfully—you are teaching with depth and power that the Father and the Son love all of us and love each of us.
A third lesson of my experience with the missionaries reinforces the lesson of Doctrine and Covenants 88:122: “Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege.”
As 20 to 25 missionaries share their favorite scriptures, it truly does feel that all are edified of all. Surely, there is great power in reading scriptures about the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, but I don’t believe it would be nearly as powerful if I had prepared my own list of scriptures and asked the missionaries to read from my prepared list. As taught in the Lectures on Faith and as Elder David A. Bednar reminded us, “Faith is a principle of action and of power.” When missionaries declare their own favorite scripture, they are exercising their agency to testify of principles they know of their own accord. They are acting, and their actions strengthen their faith.
If I were to simply ask the missionaries to read scriptures, they would effectively be objects in my lesson rather than actors with power to edify each other. This is not to say that it is wrong to ask others to read scriptures as a part of a lesson we are teaching. It can give a break from our voice and help keep others engaged. But this should be distinguished from more valuable participation that cultivates faith through the exercise of agency.
As missionaries share their scriptures, each is testifying of what they have found powerful in their own life and as they have taught the gospel to friends. And each missionary learns from each other—and from the Holy Ghost—about the scriptures they themselves might share to fulfill their missionary purpose. We know that edifying one another is part of teaching in the Savior’s way. I surely have seen that truth in this simple exercise with the missionaries.
A fourth and final lesson I might draw from my mission tour experience is another common one—namely, there is power in canonized scriptural text. I quite intentionally ask the missionaries not to provide any explanation or additional gloss on their favorite scripture because I want them to see the power of scriptural text apart from any explanation we might provide. Partly, I intend this to be comforting. It is okay for them, and for all of us, not to be perfectly fluent in our explanation of the doctrine of the gospel. This is not to say that we need not diligently strive to better understand and explain Him and His doctrine. Of course we should. Indeed, the very act of turning to scriptures that teach about Him requires a lot study. But as we think about how to teach, it is important to recognize the power in the language of scripture. Perhaps even more than knowing how to explain the doctrine, we need to know where to find the word of the Lord in scripture. Personally, I still have far to go.
I express my gratitude to you that step by step, precept upon precept, you are helping our students learn where to find scriptures that teach about our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and the Savior’s sacred role in that plan.
And now, I will conclude where I began. If the Book of Mormon and the Restoration had only confirmed the Bible’s witness that Jesus is the Christ, dayenu, it would have been enough. If they had only confirmed that the grave has no victory, it would have been enough. If they had only verified that through His Atonement we may repent and be cleansed from sin, it would have been enough.
But they do so much more—indeed, they contain the fulness of the gospel. They teach us that He not only redeems us but succors us in our infirmities; that He not only rescues but restores; that He not only invites us to come unto Him but enables us to become like Him. In these and so many other glorious truths, we see the infinite depth, breadth, and power of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
Thank you for giving your career and your lives to sharing with our students these glad tidings of great joy. I am grateful for my new assignment to labor alongside you in this great effort. May our Heavenly Father bless each of you—and may He bless your families—for your consecrated efforts to live and teach in a way that strengthens our students’ faith in His Son and in living prophets and apostles. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.