In social media posts on Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday, July 20, President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught about true identity.

"Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating," President Nelson wrote.

He continued, "I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God."

President Nelson explained that no identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations:

• Child of God
• Child of the covenant
• Disciple of Jesus Christ

Any identifier that is not compatible with those three basic designations will ultimately let you down, said President Nelson.

"Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become."

During a devotional broadcast worldwide to young adults ages 18 to 30 on Sunday, May 15, President Nelson spoke about identity and divine potential, telling a capacity crowd in the Conference Center that righteous choices in mortality will pay unimaginable dividends eternally.

“My purpose tonight is to make sure that your eyes are wide open to the truth that this life really is the time when you get to decide what kind of life you want to live forever,” he said. “Now is your time ‘to prepare to meet God.’”

Read more: President Nelson asks young adults, ‘Decide what kind of life you want to live forever’

Designations, labels and identifiers can be important and positive, but can be of unequal value and also change with the passage of time, he taught, but if any label replaces the most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. 

“I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God,” testified President Nelson.