Sunday School General President Tad R. Callister gave a talk in the October 2017 General Conference titled “God’s Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon”. In this talk, he takes an interesting “well what if this” or “what if that” approach to disprove the adversaries claims about the Book of Mormon being a figment of Joseph Smith’s imagination that he wrote and we use so frequently in our church today. “The Book of Mormon is not only the keystone of our religion, but it can also become the keystone of our testimonies so that when trials or unanswered questions confront us, it can hold our testimonies securely in place.” The Book of Mormon, in any case, sits on the scales of truth with the critics’ arguments and outweighs them. Why is this? Because if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a true prophet and this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ, regardless of any historical or other arguments that are contrary. For this reason among many others, the adversary is determined on disproving the Book of Mormon, but the obstacles are insurmountable because of the truth that the book holds. ...

Over the last year, I’ve come to realize some not-so-pleasant things about others. I never thought that it would be possible to become friends with someone and then have them stab you in the back. It hurts, and I had never felt this sort of hurt before. I was left with many questions but I was focused on one in particular: what did I do wrong? What did I miss? ...

I’m sitting here reading an article I found on the Church’s website about Brett Taylor’s wife. (Brett was the guy who was killed in action in Afghanistan while serving as city mayor out in the Wasatch Front). I’m amazed at the strength that his wife has to move on and continue to raise their seven children without the physical support of her husband. But I know that it happened for a reason. Just like Trevor’s death. They both happened for a reason that we here on earth do not understand. That’s hard for me to see. Here on earth, I seriously question God’s reasoning’s for this. Trevor left behind five children, one of them anti-LDS. I’m left to question and wonder why. Why then? Both men left behind lovely families, leaving their wife’s widowed. That’s a hard thing to process. But as the article says, God is there in the details even when things change. I know that there is something massive going on beyond the veil and beyond our comprehension. While I may not be able to see it, I know that I can be one of God’s instruments that helps his work along. ...

Good morning brothers and sisters. As I stated before, you’re going to be seeing a lot of younger faces up here as we prepare for missions, no offense to those that are also on the stand with me today. So my talk today is based on another talk given in this last general conference. It is “Behold, the Lamb of God” by Jeffery R. Holland. He starts with the following: “Looking up from the water’s edge, past the eager crowds seeking baptism at his hand, John, called the Baptist, saw in the distance his cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, striding resolutely toward him to make a request for that same ordinance. Reverently, but audible enough for those nearby to hear, John uttered the admiration that still moves us two millennia later: ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’” Now, at the time, a lamb was used as a figure in sacrificial ceremonies, a very common image among the religious. The sacrificial lamb was offered in atonement for the sins and sorrows of the fallen world. Elder Holland then goes into a short history lesson explaining why a lamb of all animals was used. Allow me to shorten this even further. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, they faced a devastatingly confusing future. They opened the doors to mortality and in turn, closed the doors to immortality and eternal life for their own selves. “Due to a transgression they had consciously chosen to make in our behalf, they now faced physical death and spiritual banishment, separation from the presence of God forever. … We are not certain just how much the two were allowed to remember of the instruction they received while still in the garden, but they did remember they were to regularly offer for a sacrifice unto God a pure, unblemished lamb, the first male born of their flock. An angel later came to explain that this sacrifice was a type, a prefiguration of the offering that would be made in their behalf by the Savior of the world who was to come.” In the premortal council, God promised Adam and Eve along with everyone else that help would come from his unblemished Firstborn Son, the Lamb of God. ...

Good morning brothers and sisters. So, before I start off, I’d just like to say that this isn’t the last time you’re going to see me up here at this podium. As a future missionary, the stake presidency has assigned me to a high councilman and every month, I speak with that high councilman in whatever ward we’re assigned to. So I was asked to speak on Where can true happiness be found? And while I was getting ready to fall asleep one night, I was pondering this question when a thought came to mind. That thought was Heavenly Mother, because today is Mother’s Day after all. We all talk about our Heavenly Father and what He does for us, but have we stopped to think, and remember, that we have a Heavenly Mother? Not a lot of people do, it’s something we sometimes forget about because it isn’t mentioned like at all anywhere in the scriptures. Churchofjesuschrist.org mentions this fact in its definition of Heavenly Mother. ...

My topic was based upon the talk given just this last general conference titled “Answers to Prayer” given by Elder Brook P. Hales of the Seventy in the Saturday morning session. I personally did not watch it at the time, being occupied with something that I don’t even remember. That’s how insignificant it was compared to general conference but at the time, it took precedence. While talking about my inability to make choices concerning my own spiritual welfare, the title of this talk stands out to me. “Answers to Prayer”. While remaining simple, it speaks on a much larger magnitude. Through personal experience, I have found, as many people do, that God sometimes has a sense of humor. Your question may not be answered right away or in the way that you had anticipated, sometimes far from it. ...

You ever had someone act like they’re too good for something? Maybe too good for you? Now it doesn’t necessarily have to be someone that you’re crushing on. Maybe an old friend. Maybe a colleague. Or maybe even yourself! We all do it at some point in our lives, even if it’s unintentional. Even if somebody doesn’t call you out on it, you’ve probably acted like you’re too good for someone else. I know I have and almost anyone I’ve ever been around has acted like that to someone else at some point, whether intentional or not. ...

We, as human beings, naturally will trust another human being. It’s written in our DNA. Sometimes, however, that trust can be misplaced. It can happen in a variety of ways but the main one I’ll be focusing on today is that when we trust someone else, we sometimes rush that trust; we trust too quickly. I’m sure we all have experiences of trusting too quick. I know I have several times but each time, I’ve learned something new. I’m sure you have too. You probably have you’re own lessons that you’ve learned and today I’d like to share some of the ones I’ve learned through my own experiences. ...

As I stand here in the wind, I have a thought to write this post. Standing in the wind, to me, seems to be calming despite the circumstances as to why I’m standing in the wind. Standing in the wind is like this life and the trials that it contains. The wind is those trials and you have a choice on how you can be manipulated by those trials. The wind pushes on me, causing me to lean. However, when my friend (he’s a brother to me) comes to stand next to me, I’m no longer pushed on by the wind. He is pushed upon, but our support of each other causes us to be unmovable to the wind. I no longer sway in the wind and neither does he. This goes to show that you might sway in your own wind but with the help of others and trusting in God, we can be unmovable no matter what winds come to push upon us. ...