PROVO — Partisanship, nationalism and “group identities” distract from the overriding identity of all people as God’s daughters and sons who should love each other, President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said Tuesday during a BYU devotional.

President Ballard clearly placed his remarks in the context of recent campus discussions on the school’s honor code policy.

“With all my soul, I invite you to keep your membership in God’s family first and foremost in your minds and live the two great commandments,” he told the 8,700 who gathered in the Marriott Center to hear from one of senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Ballard, 91, said he has 95 great-grandchildren, many about the same age as BYU students. He joked that he has learned from them that Tik Tok is more than the sound of a clock. That drew laughter. They roared when he added that he also has learned a new expression they use to refer to older people like him: “OK, boomer!”

He pointed out that he is a member of the silent generation, not a baby boomer.

President Ballard told the students the top three messages he wanted them to remember were that Heavenly Father loves them, that Jesus Christ loves them and that he loves them.

He told BYU students that he does not agree with criticisms “about you millennials and Gen Zs.” Rather he praised them for wanting to understand their true identity and purpose, their commitment to a sustainable future and their desire for authenticity and transparency.

Two weeks ago, the Church Educational System updated its honor code for BYU and its other schools. The update deleted a section that prohibited “all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings,” a definition that included hand-holding and kissing. BYU officials said the update aligns with the newly published general handbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which says all sexual relations outside marriage between a man and a woman is sin.

Some have argued that gives room for gay couples to date, hold hands and kiss. Others say it does not. BYU has said the Honor Code Office will decide on a case-by-case basis.

President Ballard said the discussion made it clear why he felt prompted to “highlight the truth about being daughters and sons of God.”

The Lord, he said, “is anxious to heal any ‘wounded souls’ on this campus and to bring together each and every one of you in love and peace. We can help in the process as we love, seek forgiveness, offer forgiveness and seek to build bridges of understanding.”

He made it clear that being a disciple of Christ by showing love to one another “does not deny the need for open and honest discussions on campus to resolve issues and deal with challenges. What this provides is the antidote to anger, ill feelings, distrust, hate and demonizing one another.”

“I invite you,” he said, “to look deep in your souls and ask how you can fulfill your purpose of being a child of God by loving the Lord and loving your neighbor more faithfully than you have before today.”

He drove home his point by telling students that he remembered when, while he was their age, the Allies liberated Auschwitz, where the Nazis systematically murdered minority groups from Jews to gays to other ethnic and religious minorities.

“Marginalizing and persecuting people based on age, gender, nationality, religious preferences or anything else can be hurtful or misunderstood,” he said.

President Ballard spoke strongly about national identity overriding political partisanship and global identify overriding the national.

“Belonging to a political party can be a very good thing when it helps us to align ourselves with candidates and others who share our personal values and beliefs,” he said. “But we must never forget that although we may be a member of a political party, we are first and foremost citizens or residents of our country. That larger and more important shared identity should bind us to one another and help us to overcome the petty squabbling and demonization that has sadly become standard operating procedure in contemporary partisan politics throughout most of the world.”

Identifying with one’s country is appropriate and rooting for one’s own country’s athletes at the Olympics is fun, he said, “However, today we see where dedication to a false idea about one’s nation is destructive. In this case, it is so important to remember that we are all part of a much larger group. That is, we are inhabitants of the same planet, and we are dependent upon each other for our mutual survival, happiness and peace.”

People should constantly pray for their countries and leaders, he added, and heavenly identity should prevail over all others.

“The foundational fact of heavenly parentage is not just my truth or your truth. It is eternal truth, written in big, bold, capital letters. Understanding this truth — really understanding it and embracing it — is life-changing. It gives you an extraordinary identity that no one can ever take away from you. But more than that, it should give you an enormous feeling of value and a sense of your infinite worth.”

He cautioned that he did not mean that people should set aside or deny their many identities including ethnic, cultural or national heritages.

President Ballard said he has noticed that the desire of millennials and Gen Zs among BYU students to understand their true identity and purpose has pushed them “to ask difficult questions, promote change, and help those who may be marginalized or forgotten.”

“I admire you for your efforts and wish some of the older generations would have been more sensitive to these same issues,” he said.

He also said they are right to try to protect and preserve the earth, calling it a divine stewardship.

“Whether it is environmental, economic, or social sustainability, I hope you will continue to find creative solutions to help protect the future for all of God’s children in our world,” he said.

Finally, he said, their desire for authenticity and transparency has “helped many of God’s children find greater peace and hope.”

“For example, although we have a long way to go, the openness I hear in discussions about mental and emotional health has made it easier for many to get the professional help and support they need without feeling any embarrassment or guilt. Thank you for this important, Christlike service.”

Finally, President Ballard invited the students to to pray, serve, correct anything in their life that is out of harmony with God and share his message.