Russell M. Nelson: Eternal Marriage

This afternoon, Elder Nelson gave an amazing talk on marriage that pretty much could've convinced anyone that the temple is the ONLY WAY to go. He used all three forms of persuasion and multiple rhetorical tools to accomplish this.
Establishing credibility is crucial in convincing people, and Elder Nelson has it in spades. However, he did not just ride on his own laurels on this one, he drew from multiple sources to strengthen his point. For example, he made a list of olden day prophets have spoken on the same issues and have had the same opinion such as Moses, Noah, Adam, and Elijah. He quoted numerous scriptures that also backed him up. This solidified his stand point and brought attention to it.
Credibility is important, but if you're logical, you appeal to a wider range of people. Logos was employed many times over the course of the talk in order to say, "See? It just makes sense." He frequently said things like, "It is the only to get what we truly desire." and "Exaltation is a family matter." These types of phrases are meant to appeal to the minds of his listeners with the hopes that their logic will overrule the "natural man."
The final persuasive tool Elder Nelson used is called Pathos, which is an emotional appeal. He said things that almost guilted listeners into change so that we don't "reject God's gifts." He taught us about "real love" and the best ways to "gain faith." The pure emotion in such phrases stirred hearts and turned heads in a very convincing way.
This talk also included other rhetorical tools such as an analogy about shopping, jokes about marriage that help the audience identify with him, and most importantly, a call to action in the final passage. The call was a firm one where he said that we must stay true and focus on the temple. This "highest quality" goal is one that I personally have committed a little more to because of this great talk.