Russell M. Nelson
“Throughout the world…strident voices are engaged in divisive disputation and name-calling. Often demeaning nicknames are added to—or even substituted for—given names. Unfortunately, terms of derision obscure the true identity of children of the covenant…When the Nephites were truly righteous, they avoided divisive nicknames….’There were no…Lamanites, nor any manner of –ites; but they were one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God’ (4 Nephi 1:17). That lesson from history suggests that we also delete from our personal vocabularies names that segregate…” (Ensign, May 1995, p. 34 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 468-9)
Elder Anthony W. Ivins
“We have not succeeded, during the past century, in accomplishing that which was accomplished by the Nephites, notwithstanding the great results which have come from our efforts. The people have not yet all been converted to the Lord. We have not reached that condition, which I sincerely believe that we must some time reach, when we are united in temporal things, as were the Nephites. We have not reached a condition where there is no envy, nor strife, nor malice, nor whoredoms, nor any manner of lasciviousness among the people. We have not reached a condition that we are in one the children of Christ, as the Lord would have us to be.” (Conference Report, Apr. 1920, p. 113)