Good morning my dear friends. Cari Lu and I are so happy and privileged to be with you here.
Many of you might have been in the conference center, at a church building, or at home when the prophet of the Lord, President Russell M. Nelson, spoke directly to the rising generation of the Church—to you, the “Hope of Israel”— “You are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation.”[1]
I am indeed looking at the hope of Israel. You, here, are the leaders of this world. You stand in prominent positions of responsibility around the entire globe. President Eyring foresaw this, solemnly prophesying that you “will become legendary for [your] capacity to build the people around [you] and to add value wherever [you] serve.”[2]
How unique is that? How special you are!
You have also heard President Russell M. Nelson proclaim that you are a “child of God,” “a child of the covenant,” and a “disciple of Jesus Christ.”[3]
In fact, many of you sang it throughout your life: “I am a child of God.”[4] Some of you sang it last year: “I’m a disciple of Christ, / And I will never leave Him. / He is the truth and the light; / He’s the strength in my weakness.”[5]
Like other righteous men and women, your preparation started in your premortal life.
In Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph F. Smith noted: "I observed that [you] were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, [you], with many others, received [your] first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord."[6]
That time for you is now! To labor in His vineyard.
In a recent social media post, President Jeffrey R. Holland encouraged leaders to “dream dreams and see visions!”[7]
You are not the leaders of tomorrow or some distant future! You—yes, you—are the leaders of today! You’re it. The Savior has His eyes fixed on you!
As the adversary tries to bombard you with distractions, temptations, attempts to make you forget who you really are—your purpose and divine mission—the Lord’s prophets, seers, and revelators, the scriptures, your family, your leaders, and, in this divine
institution, President and Sister Meredith, your professors, and so many staff, administrators, and local ward and stake leaders are helping you remember who you are.
President Russell M. Nelson said: “I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly … the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity.”[8] So, I pray that today you will feel the Holy Ghost reminding you of how The Lord has been preparing you.
Many of you learned to recite the young women’s and Aaronic Priesthood quorum’s themes:
As young men:
“I am a beloved son of God, and He has a work for me to do.
“With all my heart, might, mind, and strength, I will love God, keep my covenants, and use His priesthood to serve others, …
“I will qualify to receive temple blessings and the enduring joy of the gospel.
“I will prepare to become … a true disciple of Jesus Christ.”[9]
As young women:
“I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny.
“As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I strive to become like Him. …
“[I will] make and keep sacred covenants, and receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple.”[10]
It’s game time, brothers and sisters. The call has already been extended to you. You, the “hope of Israel,” are ready to continue becoming who you know you are meant to become.
Last week, you had the privilege of sitting down together and participating in such a special discussion with one of the Lord’s Apostles, Elder David A. Bednar, and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar. They, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, invited us to let the Lord be in control of our lives.[11] Their reminder was a very meaningful one. Endlessly wondering, worrying, and hesitating will never get you there, but you will never go amiss as you use your agency to press forward with steadfastness in Christ. This is possible because of sacred covenants.
Elder Bednar often reminds me of the powerful hymn, “Let Us All Press On”: “Fear not, though the enemy deride; / Courage, for the Lord, is on our side. / We will heed not what the wicked may say, / But the Lord alone we will obey.”[12]
We will face opposition and distraction, but if we heed not the enemy, but the Savior Jesus Christ, He will help you and I stay the course.
I am so grateful that Cari Lu and I are here together with you. We raised our family mostly in Puerto Rico. During most of our life, we lived far from any temple. But early in our marriage, we made a commitment with the Lord and each other that we would visit, together, His Holy House at least every single year. The Lord blessed us with even more opportunities to attend. Sometimes, this was a trip to temples in Washington D.C., Florida, Utah, or the Dominican Republic. Other times, I would travel throughout the United States and the world with my work, and I saw the Lord bless me as I sometimes would have a house of the Lord right next to me, or other times I would drive up to seven hours to the nearest one. When my job sent me somewhere else, the Lord always provided a miraculous way to be able to go to one of His temples around the world. No matter what, when I was far from it, I drew myself closer to the house of the Lord, closer to His covenants.
My dear friends, I struggle to find words or simple ways to explain it, but I have faced many adversities. Darkness tried to creep up on me many times as I was a young adult building a family with Cari Lu. I was sent to many places, and faced the adversary’s “mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, … his hail and his mighty storm” trying to “beat upon” me and trying to have “power over [me] to drag [me] down to the gulf of misery and endless wo.” But brothers and sisters, I did, and I strive to do, all I can to “build [my] foundation” upon “the rock of [my] Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God.”[13]
I could have never imagined the sacred and overwhelmingly indescribable experience I had decades later. The Lord then blessed me to have been serving in the Caribbean Area Presidency, when, during my last year there, I was assigned to accompany Elder D. Todd Christofferson to the dedication of the house of the Lord in my home island of Puerto Rico. I was invited by Elder Christofferson to pronounce the dedicatory prayer for the last session of the dedication.
I can still remember the feelings of the heavens opening, the Savior accepting His house, and—together with the Saints, family members, and beloved lifelong pioneers in Puerto Rico on both sides of the veil—saying “Hosanna to God and the Lamb.”
I want you to feel the heavens open for you as well, my dear friends. Difficult times will come. Temptations will continue to arise, and, during this and future seasons of your life, you will have to run far, far away from sin, like Joseph of Egypt.[14]
One of the most helpful aids at your disposal is the Savior’s temple. You have one close and another one being built just as close. Bring the temple even closer to you, my friends, and you will find God and His Son, Jesus Christ, manifest Themselves in your lives.
More than any group of people on earth, the adversary will try to distract you—as Brother Brad Wilcox taught this last conference, the “Youth of the Noble Birthright”[15]—from something called hesed.[16] Can you repeat that with me? It’s kind of joyful to say, hesed. But it’s sacred, it’s the special love, mercy, and grace that we have access to because of the covenants we make with God and because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
Elder Bednar taught us that it is more than just a relationship. It’s a “covenant connection.”[17] That is how we gain full access. Additionally, the prophet invites us to “get on the covenant path and stay there.”[18] Why? Because of this hesed, this covenant love.
For those who have not yet received their temple endowment, you might ask, “When should I? Before I leave on a mission? Before I am sealed to my spouse? When things get less busy? When my family members or Church leaders bring it up?”
The Church Handbook states: “The decision to receive the endowment is personal and should be made prayerfully. The endowment is a blessing of power and revelation to all who prepare to receive it. Members may choose to receive their own endowment when they meet all of the following conditions:
- They are at least 18 years old.
- They have completed or are no longer attending high school.
- One full year has passed since their confirmation.
- They feel a desire to receive and honor sacred temple covenants throughout their lives.”[19]
Are you seeing what I’m seeing? The Lord, who is thinking of you, continues to reveal inspired adjustments through His prophet. His gospel is a gospel of continuous revelation.
So, I continue echoing the words of President Nelson, “Now is the time for us to make our discipleship our highest priority. In a world filled with dizzying distractions, how can we do this?
“Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. … As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power … we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world.”[20]
Is this not what we are all looking for in our lives? Why wait? Don’t procrastinate your day, today is the day to prepare to meet God.[21]
The Savior pleads with you, “Draw near unto me [now] and I will draw near unto you [now]; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”[22]
Before we are set apart as full-time missionaries, we are required to receive our endowment. But do we have to receive a mission call or be a missionary right now to be set apart from the world as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ? Nope! Neither does your discipleship and covenant focus end after a period of only two years or 18 months. This is a lifelong quest.
The Lord will bless you and your posterity as He is blessing mine today. I am so grateful for the times we can go to the temple with our children, Cari Anne, Kelli, and Jorge. They each have had their own individual experiences during different times.
Our oldest, Cari Anne, has been an example of faithfulness to us. She loved her time here at BYUI, but her academic journey was not easy. Cari Anne decided with a roommate to attend the temple weekly and saw the Lord bless her and help her finish her degree. She’s now a successful teacher, leading her own preschool in Queen Creek, Arizona. Her and her eternal companion, Trennon, have made us the grandparents to Nixon and Lana, who we absolutely adore.
Our second daughter, Kelli shared: “When I was endowed in the temple a day or two before being sealed to my husband, Connor, there were so many things on my mind that I paid more attention with my mind than the Spirit. It was challenging to feel completely comfortable, and I felt a little lost. I tried to keep acting in faith by attending the temple more.
“When I was helping my younger brother prepare to make covenants in the temple, I shared with him that all we do in the temple is about Jesus Christ, so focus on Him when you go. Helping my brother, I realized it’s less about the actual ceremony and more about what the Savior is teaching us.
“When I started focusing on Jesus Christ with all my heart during my temple worship, I became confident, and now, I can say that the temple is the best thing I have in the world to get close to Jesus Christ.”
She also shared with me how the most recent adjustments to the endowment ceremony have impacted her. She said, “Papá, the Lord is speaking to our generation.”
Years later, I spoke with my son, Jorge Daniel, while he was a missionary in Portugal. He said: “I am so glad I was encouraged to prepare to be endowed in the temple quite a while before my mission. As a temple ordinance worker, I had many sacred experiences, and then my mission leaders helped me have constant unforgettable experiences in the temple as a missionary. Although it’s special to see friends we’ve taught choose to be baptized, what’s been truly life-changing is going to the temple with them and seeing them progress in the covenant path.”
Today, Jorge adds, “Being home for over a year, I have felt more and more protection, guidance, and angels assisting me as I’ve served in the temple during the busiest time of my life and ran to the Savior in His holy house for direction, comfort, and healing.”
Like any and every family, we all go through our struggles, but my confidence lies in my Savior and His power to light our lives with His grace that blesses my eternal family.
Before you receive your endowment, please dedicate and use time wisely to prepare for that wonderful gift from your Heavenly Father and your Savior. It is not just a box to be checked before serving a mission or being sealed in the temple. Rather, it is an essential ordinance that includes making sacred covenants intended to bless you now and throughout all eternity. Do not lose the vision of this goal, and as you do make these covenants, be careful not to become casual covenant-keepers.
President Dallin H. Oaks admonished, “Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice but a continuous commitment and way of life that applies at all times and in all places.”[23]
The promise to you in Doctrine and Covenants 109 is, "You will go forth from this house armed with power."[24]
Now, please remember that the more you want to get closer to the Savior, and the more you seek to understand the sacred things that happen within the walls of the temple, the more you might encounter in other aspects of your life, such as social media, comments, videos, and hollow narratives mocking and trying to undermine that which is holy—that which is the Atonement of Jesus Christ and sacred covenants that bind us to God.
Just as Korihor mocked Alma as he testified of Christ for having “frenzied and [deranged minds] … because of the traditions of [their] fathers,”[25] so will the modern-day “Korihors” on social media, and sadly, sometimes even friends and family, mock us as we learn of Christ and worship in the house of the Lord. Yes, there will be opposition in any attempt to come unto Christ, but seek not worldly sources to understand what is not of this world.
As the prophet said to you, “I plead with you now—to take charge of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Work for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with false philosophies of unbelieving men and women. As you make the continual strengthening of your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.”[26]
Let’s do this for the rest of our lives. Be proactive in your preparation to receive and participate in the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, and in honoring the covenants that will transform your life now and throughout every day of your life. I invite you to focus on temple covenants as a main goal in your life. This is a battle, and we are all enlisted together by a prophet of God. You are on the front lines of the Lord’s battalion, so, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”[27]
The Lord wants you to understand. He wants to bring these blessings to you early in your life in a way that is clear and that helps you look unto Him, Jesus Christ. He wants your generation to feel comfortable in His house.
I love our new hymns; we sing in “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need:” “O may Thy house be mine abode / And all my work be praise! / There would I find a settled rest / While others go and come— / No more a stranger or a guest, / But like a child at home.”[28]
God does not expect you to be perfect—you know that. Yet you and I both seem to forget anyway. I struggled with weaknesses at your age, and guess what? I still do! You and I both need to remember that being “therefore perfect”[29] is not to perform without error, but to strive to be complete, to become whole.
We can overcome our shortcomings because of our Savior and the covenants we have been invited to make with Him and our Father in Heaven.
Does the Lord get tired of us? No, He does not! Keep trying and lean on Him when you fall. Cari Lu and I were called very young to truly leave our nets and follow Him. Although we still lack much and are still trying to figure anything out, we have learned to rely on the Savior of our souls.
You and I remember Him saying, “My grace is sufficient.”[30] So, “come unto [Him], all ye that labour and are heavy laden”—all you students taking too many credits, sleeping too few hours, wrapping up midterms and preparing for finals, trying to work to sustain yourselves or your young families, trying to be the best version of yourselves—“and [He] will give you rest.”[31]
He will never put more on you that you cannot bear with His help.
He also invites us by saying: “Abide in me and I in you, therefore walk with me.”[32]
Take the temple with you. As Cari Lu does with ours, make your home feel like the temple.
Let’s decide now, today, right here that He really is the way, the truth, the life, and the light of our lives.[33]
“Prove me now,” He says, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven.”[34] And we remember His promise: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say."[35] The Lord's words to Moses apply also to you: "I have a work for thee."[36] He is inviting you, pleading with you, to fully engage in God's work. Buckle up, get ready, and keep bearing His armor of light. Angels will bear you up.[37] The Lord has something big for you, my friends! Let’s do all we can within our reach to heed not the enemy of your soul,[38] but heed your Savior.
I’ve seen very clearly that I cannot do it alone, and your Father in Heaven does not expect you to do it alone either—ever. Just as it’s difficult for you to imagine what could happen in your life, so it was impossible for Cari Lu and I, as 22-year-olds, to ever imagine I would be here speaking with you today at BYU-Idaho. You may not see it now, but the Lord does.
He says: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you … whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.”[39]
I bear you my witness that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of you in every single circumstance. Our Savior Jesus Christ is stretching out His hand for you to reach and hold tight. I know He lives. I bear witness that we have a living prophet and authorized Apostles—they are listening and acting upon the impressions and inspiration from God for you. Cari Lu and I love you. We’re grateful for you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” (Worldwide Youth Devotional, June 3. 2018), Gospel Library
[2] Henry B. Eyring, “A Steady, Upward Course,” BYU-Idaho Speeches, Sept. 18, 2021.
[3] Mary Richards, “President Nelson posts about labels and true identity,” Church News, July 20, 2022; Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity” (Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, May 15, 2022), Gospel Library
[4] “I Am a Child of God,” Hymns, no. 301
[5] Nik Day, “Disciple of Christ,” Disciple of Christ: 2024 Youth Album.
[6] Doctrine and Covenants 138:55–56
[7] Jeffrey R. Holland, “I’m not sure about the success of economies, politics, businesses, universities, or hospitals. But I know one thing that will never fail—the restored gospel of Jesus Christ,” Instagram, Nov. 11, 2024
[8] Mary Richards, “President Nelson posts about labels and true identity,” Church News, July 20, 2022; Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity” (Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, May 15, 2022), Gospel Library
[9] “Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme,” Gospel Library
[10] “Young Women Theme,” Gospel Library
[11] Rachel Sterzer Gibson, “In honor of their 50th wedding anniversary, Elder and Sister Bednar share lessons learned from marriage,” Church News, March 11, 2025.
[12] “Let Us All Press On,” Hymns, no. 243
[13] Helaman 5:12
[14] Genesis 39:12
[15] Bradley R. Wilcox, “O Youth of the Noble Birthright,” Liahona, Nov. 2024.
[16] Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022.
[17] David A. Bednar, “‘Abide in Me, and I in You; Therefore Walk with Me,’” Liahona, May 2023.
[18] Russell M. Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” Liahona, May 2022.
[19] Church Handbook, 27.2.2
[20] Russell M. Nelson, "The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again," Liahona, Nov. 2024.
[21] Alma 34:32–33
[22] Doctrine and Covenants 88:63
[23] Dallin H. Oaks, “Followers of Christ,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2013.
[24] Doctrine and Covenants 109:22
[25] Alma 30:16
[26] Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022,
[27] Ephesians 6:11
[28] “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” Hymns—for Home and Church.
[29] Matthew 5:48
[30] Ether 12:27
[31] Matthew 11:28
[32] Moses 6:34
[33] See John 14:6; 3 Nephi 11:11
[34] Malachi 3:10
[35] Doctrine and Covenants 82:10
[36] Moses 1:6
[37] Doctrine and Covenants 84:88
[38] 2 Nephi 4:28
[39] John 16:15, 23