Elder & Sister Kevin R. Duncan
General Authority Seventy
Elder Kevin R. Duncan was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 3, 2010. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area. He is currently serving at Church headquarters as an Assistant Executive Director in the Temple Department and on the Scriptures Committee.
Elder Duncan received a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in taxation, and a juris doctor from Brigham Young University in 1991. He began his career as a tax attorney in Seattle, Washington. In 1996 he founded CaseData Corporation, from which he retired in 2005.
Elder Duncan has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in Chile, temple ordinance worker, Church-service missionary as the associate international legal counsel in South America, president of the Chile Santiago North Mission, Area Seventy, and president of the Central America Area.
Kevin Read Duncan was born in Ogden, Utah, on October 6, 1960.
Sister Nancy Smart Duncan was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah. She is the daughter of Grant and Lucille Smart. Sister Duncan graduated with a degree in graphic design from Utah Technical College in Salt Lake City and studied English at Brigham Young University. She worked in the Graphic Design Department of the Church and in the advertising industry prior to her marriage to Elder Duncan. Elder Duncan’s first wife, Wendy Wallentine, died in 1984 leaving Elder Duncan and a seven-month-old daughter, Aubrey.
Elder and Sister Duncan were married on June 27, 1986, in the Salt Lake Temple. Aubrey was two and a half years old at the time of their marriage. Four other children later joined the family—Steven, Kelly, and twins, Lacey and Lindsey. The Duncan family has lived in Utah, Ohio, Washington, Chile, and Guatemala.
Sister Duncan has served in all the auxiliary organizations of the Church in teaching and leadership roles. In addition to formal callings in the Church, Sister Duncan has a special appreciation and love for temple service.
Sister Duncan’s greatest joy and fulfillment come from the blessings of being a wife, mother, grandmother, and homemaker. She also enjoys learning, teaching, music, film, writing, and reading, especially children’s literature.
Spiritual Preparation
Please respond to the prompt below on the devotional discussion board:
Please use the new "Ordinances Ready" feature in the Family Tree app to find an ancestor's name to take to the temple. Then respond to the following questions from Elder and Sister Duncan:
In conjunction with the invitation to download and become familiar with the "Ordinances Ready" feature in the Family Tree app, what relative were you able to identify that still needed temple ordinances performed? What did you feel as you found an ancestor that needed your help to progress towards exaltation?
Kevin: What a great joy it is for Sister Duncan and me to be with you today. You are an amazing and powerful sight! We love you all very much.
Nancy: We know that we are among some of Heavenly Father’s most valiant sons and daughters. So thank you for the privilege of letting us share this day with you.
I will never forget hearing my baby’s heart beat for the very first time. It was a life-changing moment I can only describe as pure ecstasy. It was his heart I was hearing, but it was my heart that was exploding! Exploding with a feeling of love and joy like nothing I had ever experienced before! I walked—or better said, I floated out of the doctor’s office in a state of absolute euphoria, and I didn’t come down out of the clouds for days.
Like most new parents, I didn’t know it was even possible to feel that kind of love—a love so pure, so perfect, and so sacred. I was experiencing, as President Nelson has described, “what is sometimes called the Spirit of Elijah—a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family.” [1] My heart was turned to my child, and his heart was turned to mine. Our hearts truly were “knit together in . . . love.” [2]
Kevin: "[Turning] the [hearts] of the fathers to the children, and the [hearts] of the children to their fathers” is one of the most fundamental purposes of our earthly experience. [3]
We could re-phrase the same idea by saying that love between parents and children and being sealed together forever is at the core of our eternal progression. It is a matter of the heart. It is a matter of love. But it is also so critical and so essential—it is a matter of our very salvation. [4]
We are all familiar with the scriptures that teach about turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, but what is the context or backdrop of that doctrine? Let’s explore that. We all know that the angel Moroni appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith in his bedroom and told him about the gold plates, but one of the very next messages Moroni shared that night was about turning the hearts of the children to their fathers.
Nancy: Moroni was paraphrasing a quote from the Old Testament prophet Malachi. This message about turning the hearts of the fathers to the children was so fundamental and important to us in our day, it became the second section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Think of it, brothers and sisters. That short extract out of Moroni’s full message was so crucial for us to understand that is was given its own place in our modern-day scriptures and, as I said, it became the second section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Moroni was paraphrasing Malachi, but do you know where that scripture is found?
It is in the very last chapter of the Old Testament—in fact, the very last two verses. Think of that: the very last words of the Old Testament, and some of the very first words of the Restoration. Is that just by coincidence? It is not. And even before Moroni had quoted Malachi, the Savior had quoted Malachi when he visited the Americas.
Kevin: So, Malachi gave the prophesy, which is in the Old Testament; the Savior repeated the prophesy, which is in the Book of Mormon; and Moroni re-emphasized the prophesy, which is in the Doctrine and Covenants. And the prophesy was eventually fulfilled in our day.
Elijah did come, and he appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, declaring that his purpose was to turn the “hearts of the fathers to the children” and “the hearts of the children to their fathers.” [5] The “ushering in of the . . . fulness of times” was in full swing. [6]
Nancy: After this initial instruction from Moroni, the prophet Joseph continued to receive additional understanding about our relationship to our ancestors and the fact that none of us could become perfected without the other. There is literally an interdependence that we share with our ancestors, and being sealed or linked together is essential to our salvation and progression.
The prophet Joseph explained: “Let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as . . . they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect.” [7]
Kevin: The prophet explains that the word “turn” in “turning the hearts” is synonymous with the words “bind” or “seal.” [8]
He continues: “The earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children.” [9]
I think it’s safe to say that none of us want to see the earth be cursed, and thankfully that doesn’t have to happen as long as we do our part to help save our dead. How exactly do we do that? We do that by providing them with the ordinances of the temple, where they, like we, can qualify to reach their full eternal potential as sons and daughters of God.
Nancy: But what I really love are the verses that immediately follow this instruction from the Prophet Joseph, because they are some of the most joy-filled in all of holy writ. In speaking about these things and the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, Joseph cannot contain his happiness.
He says: “Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy.” [10]
Kevin: That’s a lot of happiness, isn’t it? But Joseph does not stop there. He continues and includes even the very earth itself in these rejoicings.
He says:
Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joys! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers! [11]
Nancy: That is a lot of joy for all of God’s creations! For even the earth will fill the measure of its creation and receive its paradisiacal glory. As Joseph said, how glorious is our God to give us the great gift of immortality and eternal life.
Moroni’s quote was slightly different from Malachi’s. Moroni spoke of promises that had been made to the fathers and how these promises would have an effect upon the hearts of the children. What exactly were these promises that had been made to the fathers?
President Joseph Fielding Smith explained: “What was the promise made to the fathers that was to be fulfilled in the latter days by the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers? It was the promise of the Lord . . . that the time should come when the dead should be redeemed.”[12]
Kevin: We are helping God fulfill His promises to our fathers when we provide our ancestors with the opportunity to accept the ordinances of the temple.
In addition to Moroni, Malachi, and others, our modern-day prophet has proclaimed that this is the day and age of bringing salvation to all of God’s children on both sides of the veil.
President Russell M. Nelson has said: “There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you.” [13]
Nancy: Let’s bring this back around to you and me here today. I think by now you are beginning to see your crucial role in the responsibility you have in the shared salvation for yourself and your ancestors. Does the temple suddenly now have a new importance for you?
As we have seen, this work and the ushering in of all things are causes filled with incredible joy, but in addition, they are also filled with unique personal blessings—for you! For as you serve your ancestors, individual blessings will be poured out upon you.
Elder Dale G. Renlund compiled a list of just some of the blessings that you can receive from helping your ancestors. As we read this list, notice if any of these blessings are things that you want. As you engage in the work of salvation for your ancestors, you will receive:
Kevin: “Assistance to mend troubled, broken, or anxious hearts.”
Nancy: The ability to “no longer feel alone.”
Kevin: Increased love for others, especially your family members living and dead.
Nancy: Power to discern.
Kevin: Greater “influence of the Holy Ghost to feel . . . direction for [your life.]”
Nancy: Increased ability to repent and protection from temptation.
Kevin: Refinement and sanctification of your heart.
Nancy: “Increased family blessings, no matter [your] current, past, or future family situation or how imperfect [your] family tree may be.”
Kevin: Deep and abiding conversion to the Savior through increased faith in Him and a better understanding of His atonement.
Nancy: And, “increased joy through an increased ability to feel the love of the Lord.” [14]
Aren’t those incredible promised blessings? Family history and temple work can offer profound help for virtually any problem that is plaguing us.
Kevin: Many of you have or will serve full-time missions. As you know, or will know, there is no greater joy than to see a person gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel and enter the waters of baptism. Imagine for a moment how you would feel if you helped bring a person along to the point where they wanted to enter the waters of baptism but they and you had to rely on someone else to perform that actual ordinance. Wouldn’t it be agonizing for both you and your convert if no one stepped forward to help perform this baptism? The following true story illustrates this point.
Nancy: Frederick William Hurst was working as a gold miner in Australia when he first heard Latter-day Saint missionaries preach the restored gospel. He and his brother Charles were baptized in 1854. He tried to help his other family members become converted, but they rejected him and the truths he taught.
Fred settled in Salt Lake City four years after joining the Church, and he served faithfully as a missionary in several different countries. He also worked as a painter in the Salt Lake Temple.
In one of his final journal entries, he wrote:
Along about the 1st of March, 1893, I found myself alone in the dining room, all had gone to bed. I was sitting at the table when to my great surprise my elder brother Alfred walked in and sat down opposite me at the table and smiled. I said to him (he looked so natural): “When did you arrive in Utah?”
He said: “I have just come from the Spirit World, this is not my body that you see, it is lying in the tomb. I want to tell you that when you were on your mission you told me many things about the Gospel, and the hereafter, and about the Spirit World being as real and tangible as the earth. I could not believe you, but when I died and went there and saw for myself I realized that you had told the truth. I attended the Mormon meetings.”
He raised his hand and said with much warmth: “I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart. I believe in faith, and repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but that is as far as I can go. I look to you to do the work for me in the temple. . . .
You are watched closely. . . . We are all looking to you as our head in this great work. I want to tell you that there are a great many spirits who weep and mourn because they have relatives in the Church here who are careless and are doing nothing for them.” [15]
Kevin: Brothers and Sisters, what about you? Are your ancestors weeping, mourning, and waiting, or are you helping them to progress?
In the hastening of His work, the Lord continues to provide ever more effective tools to help us help our ancestors progress. You have all previously been asked to install the Family Tree app on your mobile device. You have also been asked to use the new Ordinance Ready function in that app to locate the names of your ancestors who need their temple work done. You can either print the card in the temple using the QR code or you can print a card directly from your mobile device to any printer. We invite you to take your family names to the temple and experience the joy of helping to save your ancestors.
Nancy: And if you didn’t find a name, go to the temple anyway. President Russell M. Nelson said, “I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy.” [16]
Kevin: It’s obvious to see that there is a great deal of work yet to be done. The prophet Brigham Young explained: “To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple, but thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as far back as the Lord shall reveal.” [17]
Nancy: Today we are blessed to have over 200 temples either operating or announced around the world. Still, Brigham Young said we will need thousands to accomplish the work of our Father, so we are only beginning to see temples dot the earth. The work of bringing temples to all of God’s children will continue to accelerate. This year alone, 12 temples will be dedicated or re-dedicated somewhere in the world. It is an exciting time to be alive and helping in the greatest cause on earth.
Kevin: Joseph Smith said of our day:
The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung, and written and prophesied of this our day;—but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter Day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter Day glory. . . . a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets—a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family. [18]
Nancy: I see the temple differently now. In addition to seeing it as the house of the Lord, I see it as a great house of love. The crowning ordinance in the temple is all about building loving, eternal families. It is all about sealing husbands and wives and their children together forever. In conjunction with that sealing, God bestows blessings that are so incredible it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend them.
At the moment I first heard my baby’s heartbeat, if someone had told me that we couldn’t be together forever, what was a very glorious moment would have been shattered into a very agonizing one, for as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described, heaven wouldn’t be heaven without those we love most.
When I go to the temple for one of my ancestors, I realize that they love their children and grandchildren as much as I love mine. They love their parents and grandparents as much as I love mine. All of this is possible because of the love of our Heavenly Father and the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. The temple is truly a house of love––the house of the Lord.
Kevin: My appreciation for the temple has increased over the years as well. What used to feel like a duty now feels like a joy. I will be honest with you. When I returned from my mission, I learned an important skill that helped me to succeed in school. It was the skill of planning and completing a task list. I applied that same mentality to temple attendance.
In other words, my temple attendance became a task—just one more thing on a list of things to do. When I approached temple service in that manner, it felt more like a duty and almost a burden. But gradually my heart changed and instead of simply checking off another to-do item on a list, I went to the temple to draw closer to Christ. When that happened, the feeling of duty and burden transformed into a feeling of overwhelming joy.
In the temple I began to know my Savior as someone who, because of His love for His Father, was willing to suffer the ultimate and unimaginable sacrifice. I had served a mission and thought I knew the gospel of Jesus Christ. But in the temple endowment instruction, I finally began to feel the gospel of Jesus Christ and His infinite love for the Father and for me. That love is so binding and strong that as I turn to Him, it is sufficient to bring me back to the Father.
My dear friends, I witness to you that there is no other place on earth where you can find such clarity in understanding and such depth in joy as in the temple. You are a generation like no other before you in that you are attending the temple at an earlier age and more frequently than any other. My prayer is that your time in the temple will bring you joy and peace as you draw closer to the Father and the Son there and help to save and exalt your ancestors and yourselves, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
[1] Russel M. Nelson, “A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998.
[2] Mosiah 18:21; see also Malachi 4:5-6; 3 Nephi 25:5-6; Doctrine and Covenants 2.
[3] Malachi 4:6.
[4] See Doctrine and Covenants 128:15.
[5] Doctrine and Covenants 98:16.
[6] Doctrine and Covenants 128:18.
[7] Doctrine and Covenants 128:15.
[8] See Joseph Smith, History of the Church, (Deseret Book Company, 1991), 6:183-84.
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 128:18.
[10] Doctrine and Covenants 128:19.
[11] Doctrine and Covenants 128:23.
[12] Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith, (Bookcraft, 1999), 2:154.
[13] Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” Worldwide Youth Devotional, Jun. 3, 2018.
[14] Dale G. Renlund, “Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Ensign, May 2018.
[15] Joyce E. Holt, Frederick William Hurst, and Samuel Harris Hurts Jr, Diary of Frederick William Hurst, (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014), 204.
[16] Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” Ensign, Nov. 2018.
[17] John A. Widtsoe, Discourses of Brigham Young, (Deseret Book Company, 1954), 394.
[18] Joseph Smith, “The Temple,” Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, No. 13, (May 2, 1842), 776s.