Editor’s note: “This week from the pulpit” highlights recent messages from General Authorities, General Officers, and leaders of the Church. This story may be updated throughout the week.
General conference may have come and gone, but this week three Apostles spoke from the pulpit: Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.
Both Elder Cook and Elder Stevenson offered counsel to students graduating from Ensign College and BYU–Idaho, respectively. And in a worldwide missionary devotional, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke about how every missionary companionship should be a threesome—with the third companion being the Holy Ghost.
Learn more about these messages and see other recent social media posts from Church leaders below.
By Scott Taylor, Church News
In speaking to a virtual audience, which included 2,576 BYU–Idaho graduates whose last year of education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described how as a young missionary he overcame fears related to learning the very difficult Japanese language.
“You are going to take a few scrapes and bruises,” Elder Stevenson said. “There will be dark patches on the road ahead.”
However, as sons and daughters of God, “you have an inexhaustible, divine source of strength burning inside of you. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, . . . and of a sound mind’ (2 Timothy 1:7). ‘Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you and will stand by you’ (Doctrine and Covenants 68:6). The Lord’s promise to us is certain: ‘He that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome’ (Doctrine and Covenants 63:20). There is always hope,” Elder Stevenson promised.
He then detailed how to respond, in faith and hope, to three fears graduates might be facing.
Read the full article, which includes remarks from Elder Paul V. Johnson, General Authority Seventy and Church Commissioner of Education, as well as BYU–Idaho President Henry J. Eyring, at Church News.
By Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News
Latter-day Saints will be inspired to make wise and righteous decisions if they strive to live a life based on virtue and keeping the commandments of God, said Elder Quentin L. Cook during the 134th commencement exercises of Ensign College on Friday.
“We inevitably must make choices,” he said. “If we know the doctrines and principles of the gospel, we will make wise choices. If our lives are pure, the Spirit will guide us.”
Offering the keynote address during the virtual ceremony, Elder Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressed the topic “The Foundation for Happiness.”
The commencement ceremony—during which 457 students were awarded a two-year degree and 316 students a certificate—marked the first graduation held since the school was renamed Ensign College from LDS Business College. Of the graduates, 140 served full-time missions, 165 students are from 35 countries outside the United States, and 112 are first-generation college students.
See more of the Apostle’s remarks, including principles which guided his choices and decisions as a young adult, at Church News.
By Scott Taylor, Church News
For full-time missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, divine companionship should be considered on at least two levels, explained Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
First is the actual pairing of two elders or two sisters. “Every missionary companionship ought to be a brotherhood or sisterhood that is truly divine—sweet, sensitive, kind and unforgettable, bathed in the Spirit of the Lord,” he said, adding that any disunity or division offends the Spirit and cripples the work.
The second level is that every missionary twosome should become a threesome, with the Holy Ghost as the third companion, taught Elder Holland in a worldwide missionary devotional.
He called three “a sacred number in the mathematics of the gospel”—such as the Godhead, the First Presidency, the three degrees of glory, and the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. “Three is a wonderful number in witnessing of God’s work, and every companionship, in its quest to be effective and divine, ought to be a threesome.”
Learn more about the prerecorded devotional, which was broadcast on Thursday, April 15, at Church News.
Church Leader Social Posts
When I think back to when I was a young adult, one of the things that comes to my mind is when I was a missionary in... Posted by M. Russell Ballard on Wednesday, April 14, 2021
For many years now, after each general conference my family plays a game together to help us remember some of the... Posted by Neil L. Andersen on Saturday, April 10, 2021
With you, I rejoiced at the privilege to hear from the prophet of God this past weekend. As President Russell M. Nelson... Posted by Dale G. Renlund on Friday, April 9, 2021
Lead image: A missionary takes notes on March 17, 2021, during an address by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland for a future broadcast in Salt Lake City. Credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
