Elder Dallin H. Oaks: Words of the Wise

While I enjoyed all the general conference talks I was able to hear, this past conference (October 2014) I really connected with Dallin H. Oaks’ talk in the Saturday afternoon session, entitiled "Loving Others and Living With Differences". He spoke about the importance of loving everyone, not just those we are familiar with. In the October 2012 general conference Elder Oaks spoke about the importance of protecting the children. (See "Protect the Children").

Both of these topics require a certain finesse to pull off without becoming “preachy”. Elder Oaks quite frequently uses quotes to improve his ethos and to have real life connections. When discussing the importance of loving others Elder Oaks quotes over ten scriptures in just the first section of his sermon. He really is appealing to the fact that Christ has told us that we must love other people. Emphasizing the scriptural content puts credibility behind the topic instead of him simply telling us that all people are worth loving.

On the contrary, however, is his talk entitled “Protect the Children”. In this talk his ethos is based more on statistics and quotes from news sources. They still prove his credibility, but in a completely different way and in a way that allows the audience to be broadened.

He discusses laws of the land in both of the talks I analyzed. He references the importance of “being in the world, but not of the world” on several occasions. This helps him to address the struggle that Latter-day Saints go through as they try to understand the evil that is in the world.

While not known to be a powerhouse speaker (such as Elder Holland), Elder Oaks still has a way of getting the point lodged into our minds.