John Bytheway: 00:00 Welcome to Part II of this week’s podcast.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 00:07 So how is it that we, through Christ, are begotten sons and daughters of God? How do we become the children of God through Christ when we’re already children of God? Do you see the confusion that that can create?

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 00:24 But I love to say, let’s replace the word here,  “begotten sons and daughters of God,” to, “sealed sons and daughters to God.” Yes, we are begotten. Our spirits were beloved and begotten by Heavenly Parents, and yet we still need to be sealed to them. We have to choose to stay sealed to them.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 00:54 Think about a family, a mom and a dad on earth who are married in the temple. Then their children are born in the covenant. Well, God and Heavenly Mother had spirit children who were born in the covenant, but those children still have a choice that doesn’t force them to be sealed to their parents. They have to make the choice to accept Jesus Christ, accept His Atonement. As they accept Christ, they’re choosing to remain sealed to their parents.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 01:32 In the same way, as we accept Jesus Christ, we’re making the choice to be sealed to him, to be sealed to God, to be sealed to our Heavenly Parents. We’re making that choice. So if the word begotten confuses you here, maybe think sealed, that it’s through him, through Christ, that the inhabitants of the world are sealed or can be sealed in God’s eternal family.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 02:07 Another thing that’s a little confusing is in the next paragraph, it says, “Built upon the foundation of  … apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” That can be confusing for people because lots of people have different bases for their faith. Catholics believe that the rock is Peter. Protestants believe that the rock on which the foundation of the church is is the scriptures, the word of God. This foundation of apostles and prophets is something that’s very meaningful to us, but to others, they don’t always see that as the foundation.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 02:56 Listen to something that my brother has been thinking about and has written as he looks at the footnotes and the scriptures around Matthew 16, those famous verses where we read that, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 03:29 Then it says, “Many Catholics believe Christ was saying he would build his church upon Peter from whom they claim their authority. Many Protestants believe the rock of which Christ spoke is the word of God found in the Bible from which they claim their authority. Latter-day Saints look at the verses differently.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 03:51 In the footnote, we read that in the original Greek, Peter’s name is Petros, which means small rock. While the rock upon which Christ would build is petra, meaning bedrock. Peter, the little rock, would not be the foundation himself, but would stand with other apostles and prophets, and with Christ, the chief cornerstone, to become the bedrock foundation of the church. They would have the authority and keys to lead the church through revelation, the same revelation Peter received when he declared Jesus to be the Christ. “Flesh and blood,” said Jesus, “hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 04:48 So it’s interesting that this document so clearly states that the foundation is the apostles and prophets, with Christ as a corner stone, so that they can receive revelation and that they can lead the Church today. Christ can lead the Church today through revelation to his prophets and to his apostles. I love understanding that.

John Bytheway: 05:18 Could I share something about that story that maybe your distant relative S. Michael Wilcox shared at a CES Symposium once. He took a way to apply that Matthew 16 story, “Whom do men say that I am,” and then,  “But who do you say that I am?” Then Peter “Blessed art thou because God told you that.” Brother S. Michael Wilcox made a wonderful way to apply this. What have you heard, but what do you think and what has God told you?

John Bytheway: 05:52 My brother-in-law Jeff teaches seminary in Herriman, and he said all the time, “I begin class by, ‘All right. What have you heard?'” “Yup, I’ve heard that. I’ve heard that. I’ve heard that,” and then, “Okay. But what do you think? What have you studied? What have you prayed about? What did you do with that? Did you research it? Did you open the scriptures? Did you go to the churchofjesuschrist.org? Then what has God told you?” Wonderful way to apply that.

John Bytheway: 06:18 I think it’s fascinating that Jesus, it sounds like He would care about popular opinion. “Whom do men say that I am?” I think He wanted to know where they were at and probably wants to know … Yeah, wants to know where we are at. “What have you heard, but what do you think?”

John Bytheway: 06:34 That’s when Peter has that great moment. “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.” “Where did you get that, Peter?” I told my classes just a couple of days ago, before this recording, “If you believe in Jesus Christ, where did you get that?” You’re prophets and prophetesses,” small letter P. What is it saying in the Book of Revelation, Hank? The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

John Bytheway: 07:01 When we read the Isaiah chapters, Nephi says, “Well, they’re playing unto those that have the spirit of prophecy.” It sounds like it’s easy for you, Nephi. But, no, all of us, if we have a testimony of Christ, have the spirit of prophecy. Like Peter, that’s where we got that.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 07:16 Beautiful. Well, in the final paragraph of the document, there are some powerful, personal words. “We bear testimony as his duly ordained Apostles.” It is such a blessing for us to have living apostles. So many people believe in Jesus because of Peter, James, John, and we do too, but we also have Russell, Dallin, and Henry.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 07:50 We have living apostles, living prophets on which we can rest our testimonies and with whom we can bear our personal witness, as you said, John, our testimonies of Christ that have come to us through revelation. But we don’t stand alone in that. We stand together with them. Our testimonies can rest on their testimonies. When we bear the testimony revelation has given to us, we’re not standing alone because we are standing together with them.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 08:29 2020 was a crazy year for all of us, but it will be a memorable year for me the rest of my life, because I was called to the Young Men Presidency during that year. I’ll never forget the day, it was March 12th, that the world shut down. Hank and John, maybe you remember BYU was saying, “Hey, we’re going to close down. Come to campus.” Hank, you might have been in that same faculty meeting with me where they said, “You’re going to learn how to use something called Zoom. Have you ever heard of Zoom?”

Hank Smith: 09:05 Yeah. I remember going, “Oh no.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 09:07 Yeah.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 09:09 I thought, “Zoom? What are they talking about?” Well, I was hurrying to campus to go to this meeting to figure out how we were going to finish the semester now that everything was being locked down, and my phone was just ringing over and over, people canceling firesides, people canceling tours and trips, and people canceling everything.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 09:32 Then there was another phone call and I answered it. It was Elder Cook’s secretary saying that Elder Cook would like to meet with my wife and me the next Sunday, on the 15th. Then my head went into a complete tailspin.

Hank Smith: 09:47 Oh man.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 09:47 Not only was the whole world closing down, but suddenly I was wondering what Elder Cook was needing to talk to me about.

Hank Smith: 09:55 Right.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 09:55 So, Hank, I might have been in that meeting, but I sure wasn’t thinking about Zoom. I’ll tell you that much. The next Sunday, we drove up to Salt Lake. It was so crazy. Do you remember? I mean we were like the only people on the freeway. Do you remember that? It’s like everything shut down. Nobody was moving. There we were driving up to Salt Lake and it felt like a scene out of an end of the world movie or something.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 10:23 We got there. My wife had said … When I told her about the phone call, she said, “Brad, they’re going to call you to the Young Men General Presidency.” I said, “No.” I said, “Honey, I think a call like that would probably come from the First Presidency.” She said, “I think they’re a little busy right now.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 10:45 Sure enough they were busy trying to figure out how to deal with all these new changes. But Elder Cook was asked to call me and the other counselor, Ahmad Corbitt. So we met with him that day and were called into the presidency with Brother Steve Lund. Then they told us, “You can’t tell anybody.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 11:09 Well, that’s pretty common, don’t share this news. But they said, “Not even with your family, because we don’t know what’s going to happen. In Conference, we don’t know what’s going to happen. So just don’t share this.” So Debbie and I were very careful to not even share this with our children.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 11:26 Then they would call and say, “Okay, you need to be in Conference, but it’s not going to have an audience. But you need to be there because you’re being sustained.” Then he said, “You can bring your family.” Then they called and said, “No, you can’t bring your family. Just come with you and your wife.” Then they called and said, “You can’t bring your wife, just you.” Then they called and said, “You can’t come. We’re not going to have an audience at all. We’re just going to broadcast Conference.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 11:54 So there I was during General Conference, and on the Saturday, when they were announcing those who were being sustained, I was just there in the house.

Hank Smith: 12:04 Just in the house.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 12:05 My daughter and her husband had come over and we’d had scones. It’s a Conference tradition. And so, then in the afternoon session, President Oaks started reading the names for sustaining. I said, “Oh, shh, shh. I want to listen to this.” My daughter goes, “Dad, it’s only the sustainings.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 12:27 I said, “Yeah, but I want to listen to this.”

Hank Smith: 12:29 “I want to hear this one.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 12:30 So I’m listening to all the people who were being sustained to different callings. When we finally got to the end and they were announcing the new Young Men presidency, they announced Steve Lund’s name, and my daughter said, “Oh, dad, I know him. I met him. I did an interview with him when I was in one of my classes at BYU. He is so great.” And she totally missed my name. She totally missed it.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 12:59 Her husband leans over and touches her and says, “I think they just called your dad to something.” She said, “No. What would they call my dad to? I mean he’s just sitting here eating scones.” Then she looked at me, she said, “Did they just call you to something?” I said, “Yeah, they just called me to something.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 13:21 And so, then we have a picture of us hugging in front of the TV as the following speaker was speaking. But then the whole thing started again. They said, “Okay, we’re going to set you apart on Wednesday. You can bring your families.” Then they called and said, “No, don’t bring your families. Just you and your wives.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 13:41 Even when we met Elder Cook in the lobby of the Church Administration Building, even then he said, “I have no idea what’s going to happen. This is all new.” He says, “Maybe they’ll separate into different rooms and set you apart separately.” He says, “I just don’t know.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 14:01 Finally, the door to the conference room that’s just east of President Nelson’s office opened and we were invited in. There was the whole First Presidency. President Nelson said, “I think we’re a small enough group that we can stay together and not be breaking any rules.” Then he said, “I wish we could hug you. I wish we could shake your hands. I wish we could greet you. But since we can’t, feel my love,” and I felt it. I felt it. We all did.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 14:46 Do you remember that General Conference when President Nelson gave us an Apostolic Blessing? When we stood in our living rooms all around the world and we did the Hosanna Shout, and President Nelson read the new document on the Restoration? I mean do you remember? We all felt that love. It came right through the TV and it reached all of us.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 15:14 But there I was standing in the same room as the First Presidency, and my wife and I felt it. President Nelson set Steven Lund apart and he did something I’d never seen before. He said, “Let’s have another chair brought forward.” Then he said to our wives, “We don’t set you apart in this calling, but we know how important you are to the success of this work. So please come sit by your husband as we set your husband apart.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 15:52 And so, Kalleen Lund sat right there by Steve as President Nelson set him apart. Then Ahmad Corbitt was set apart and his wife Jane sat next to him. But Ahmad Saleem Corbitt has a name that’s a little tricky to pronounce. He has come from a Muslim background and he has an Islamic name.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 16:15 And so, the secretary had written the pronunciation of the name out on a card. But as the brethren stood there around Ahmad, Elder Oaks, who was setting him apart, couldn’t see the pronunciation card. President Nelson picked up the card and he held it in between his fingers, just like this. As he had his hands on his head, he held this card so that his counselor could read the name and pronounce it correctly.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 16:48 He didn’t think twice about it. He was just in such meekness just helping his counselor out. Then Elder Eyring, President Eyring, set me apart. I got to hold Debbie’s hand the whole time that he set me apart. Then I stood up and I turned around and there was the whole First Presidency right there. I wanted so badly to just hug them, but I couldn’t. And so, I just said, “General Conference was awesome,” and they laughed.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 17:32 I will never forget the incredible feeling of having those holy hands placed on my head and to be there in the presence of prophets, seers, and revelators. Over the last year and a half, as I have been able to work more closely with the brothers and the sisters who lead this Church, my testimony has been so strengthened as I see their goodness.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 18:12 They’re not one way on a camera and one way when the camera’s off. We live in a world where so many people have double standards, that we just expect our politicians to act one way when they’re in front of a crowd and another way when they’re in the privacy of their own homes, or we expect movie stars and sports stars to have two standards. One when they’re on camera and another when they’re in their hotel rooms. And yet I can testify that these men don’t have a double standard. The Elder Christofferson you see at a pulpit is the same Elder Christofferson that I see in meetings and in a hallway.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 19:00 The goodness of these men and these women just radiates. It is the same goodness in private as it is in public. Their love of the Savior is sincere and it is secure. They know the Lord. They know his voice. They know revelation.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 19:29 I’ve been able to have over the past year and a half a front-row seat to watch this process, and it really is something remarkable. Elder Holland once said at a stake conference, “I wouldn’t devote my life to a fairytale.” He testified of the reality of Jesus who is leading his Church today. These brethren, they give their whole lives.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 20:08 Hank, you and I were just in a meeting with Elder Andersen, in which he said, “I’ve been lobbying to try to get an Apostle Emeritus position …

Hank Smith: 20:19 Yeah. He was so funny.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 20:21 … in the Church,” because he said, “The only way out of my calling is death.”

Hank Smith: 20:28 “One exit,” he said. “I have one exit.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 20:30 He says there’s just one exit. You think of the schedule they keep at their ages and you think of the responsibilities that are theirs, the expectations that people constantly have for them to be 100% there.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 20:58 I mean the rest of us get a little day off here and there. The rest of us can have a bad day now and then. But there’s this constant expectation that they will be witnesses. They step up to that and they wouldn’t if they didn’t know that what they’re doing is the right thing, the true thing, the good thing. I have been so privileged to be able to watch these brethren and to be able to see them up close as they literally give their lives to this work and to this cause.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 21:57 It’s not fun. It’s not always fun for them. Somebody said, “Oh, that would be fun. You could travel all over the world.” Give me a break. The amount of traveling these brethren do, the time zones they wake up in and go to sleep in, I mean I can’t even imagine what they go through. People say, “Oh, it would be so fun to have everybody come up and say hi to you.” Yeah, just like all the people who attack them mercilessly on social media and the internet. Oh yeah, that would be fun.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 22:32 We just have to realize that these brethren wouldn’t sacrifice if they didn’t know exactly what they were sacrificing for and didn’t know that it’s worth it. We could say those words about Peter, James, and John. We could say them about Paul and we can say them about our apostle, these duly ordained apostles today.

Hank Smith: 22:56 The Doctrine and Covenants says we should waste and wear out our lives. I remember first seeing President Monson speak. He’s there standing up and he is wiggling his ears. Then his last talk where he can barely hold himself up. Same with Joseph B. Wirthlin, who we mentioned earlier. He can barely stand up there. Remember David B. Haight, how he’s just shuffling up to the front. They literally waste and wear out their lives in the cause of the Living Christ.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 23:29 It’s a beautiful sacrifice that they make, it’s a beautiful example for us, but it’s also a source of joy. These are not sad, unhappy men. They are full of joy and full of humor and full of light and full of life. It’s just so wonderful to be able to see them.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 23:58 I have an autistic grandson, and he has memorized the names of the Brethren and their pictures, but it’s very frustrating for him when one passes away, because then he can’t understand why that one’s not there anymore. And so, his parents have up on the wall of the bedroom the living apostles and then they have the dead apostles that he knows in another panel over here.

Hank Smith: 24:27 Great!

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 24:27 So that way he still sees all these faces that he’s familiar with. Well, when he met Elder Andersen in the parking lot of the Church Office Building, I said, “Roman, do you know who this is?” I’m thinking, well, I’ll show off here because I know he knows who this is. He said, “You’re Neil L. Andersen, but you’re dead.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 24:55 Poor Elder Andersen didn’t quite know how to respond to that one, because he didn’t know about our two charts up there. I don’t know why Roman got confused and thought he was in the dead category and not the living category. But he said, “Yeah, you’re Neil L. Andersen, but you’re dead.”

Hank Smith: 25:20 Brad, did you notice in our meeting with Elder Andersen how he and his wife were just … They looked so happy together. Here’s a couple that is giving their life to the Church and to the Lord. Did you see them just standing side-by-side there? He had his arm around her and she was speaking to us.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 25:41 And leaning on him.

Hank Smith: 25:42 You’re right.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 25:43 Leaning on him. He was leaning on that table and she was standing next to him and just leaning back into his arm that was around her waist. It was beautiful to see these couples working together because the sacrifices that these brethren are making are matched by the sacrifices that their wives are making.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 26:05 I love that these sisters are now sitting on the stand in General Conference as their husbands come and walk in and out with them and help them find their seats. I love that because you look at what Wendy W. Nelson has done to help and support our prophet and to be literally at his side through so many of his travels and teaching with him and testifying with him. I just am so in awe of these sisters.

John Bytheway: 26:44 It’s interesting, in such an important and concise document, what scriptures would they decide to share? My favorite of the many names that Jesus has is Advocate. I love this because we got to talk about it earlier in the year, when Jesus appeared in the Kirtland Temple and Oliver Cowdery was there with Joseph Smith. “I am the first and the last. I am he who liveth.” This document is called “The Living Christ.” “I am he who was slain. I am your Advocate with the Father.”

John Bytheway: 27:18 I’ve just always loved that nickname. We talked about it when we did Section 45 in 1 John. “If any man sin,” we could add if any woman sin, if any teenager sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

John Bytheway: 27:34 The idea of an advocate is like an attorney for the defense, someone that comes to your side. I just love that they would put that one in there. “I am your advocate.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 27:45 They don’t know it, but they also included my favorite title of Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

John Bytheway: 27:54 God with us.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 27:54 Right in the very final paragraph, they have Emmanuel. So my favorite title for Christ is also included in the document, and that’s meaningful to me.

John Bytheway: 28:04 And here is this third paragraph, “He instituted the sacrament.” I remember reading something of Elder Bruce C. Hafen, where he talked about looking at those words with them, this promise that he will always be with us in the sacrament of prayer. Our Advocate, our Companion, Always With Us.

Hank Smith: 28:23 I really like the fourth and the fifth paragraph where they said, “His life didn’t begin in Bethlehem and it didn’t conclude on Calvary.” He is so much bigger than that. He rose from the grave and they have a title for him, “Risen Lord,” there in that paragraph.

Hank Smith: 28:44 In the Bible Dictionary, it says that, “Christianity is founded on the greatest of his miracles and it is his resurrection.” I’ve told my students believing in the resurrection of Jesus is a … That is a game-changer in life. This is not a little thing to believe. This man who was dead is now alive. That changes everything. That changes everything about your life and mine to believe that he was dead, truly dead, heart dead, brain dead, and then he came back. He is up and moving and going and he is alive. That changes everything.

Hank Smith: 29:24 People had done miracles before. People had taught doctrine before that he taught. It was that Atonement and Resurrection which makes Him the greatest figure of all time.

Hank Smith: 29:37 This is from President Howard W. Hunter about the Resurrection. He says, “Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles. But sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is the ultimate miracle. For the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality.”

Hank Smith: 30:07 I’ve heard people memorize this document. I think it’s an incredible goal. If you’re thinking, “Oh, I can’t memorize the whole thing,” memorize the last three sentences. “He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.” You have a mission statement right there, don’t you? For life.

John Bytheway: 30:37 I love the title of this, Hank and Brad, “The Living Christ,” the Resurrected Christ. There was something I put in my little book about Christmas that I get more comments on. It’s not original with me. A man named William B. Smart wrote Church News editorials, a super insightful little editorial in the Church News called “The Three Levels of Christmas.”

John Bytheway: 31:01 He spoke of level one is Santa Claus and reindeer and jingle bells and the Christmas tree and how wonderful that is and how joyous it is and how we love that. But he said there’s another deeper level called, and I’m just paraphrasing, the Silent Night level. That’s the baby Jesus, of the Wise Men and the star, the shepherds, and that story that we tell in Luke, too.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 31:27 Dressing up all the kids in their bathrobes and doing the nativity.

John Bytheway: 31:33 We sing “Silent Night” and it’s awesome. But he said his great line. He said, “But the man who keeps Christ in the manger will in the end be disappointed and empty.” I think, yeah, the world is okay with the baby Jesus. But what about the Jesus that grew up and started giving us these invitations over and over, even some of them commandments. That’s the third level. The man who keeps Christ in the manger, and there’s a tendency to, well, yeah, we’re all okay with the baby Jesus, but-

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 32:09 Pull him out once a year.

John Bytheway: 32:11 Yeah, and he invited us to followHIM and to do even hard things, and to learn to become like him and to serve like him. The whole reason for Christmas is the adult Christ, the third level, “The Living Christ,” as this document calls it.

Hank Smith: 32:29 You had the Santa Claus Level, the Silent Night Level, and the-

John Bytheway: 32:34 The Silent Night Level is the baby Jesus, yeah. Then the Living Christ or the adult Christ Level, the Redeemer, our Advocate, our Emmanuel. Without this level, the other levels wouldn’t exist. There wouldn’t even be Christmas. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, always winter, but never Christmas. So it’s fun to be talking on this third level of Christ, really the Easter level that’s so critical, without which we wouldn’t even have the other levels.

Hank Smith: 33:05 John, maybe it’s because the baby Jesus doesn’t demand much of us, right?

John Bytheway: 33:09 Exactly.

Hank Smith: 33:10 Like the adult Jesus does.

John Bytheway: 33:11 The adult, he made invitations and commandments and asked us to be like him. Talk about a tall order.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 33:20 A Christ who doesn’t expect anything of us is making nothing of us. That’s simply not the case, because we are his work and his glory.

Hank Smith: 33:34 Brad, there’s this great second to the last paragraph. “We testify that He will someday return to earth.” I mean that is a reality to us. The Lord is coming back. That is no myth, as we talked about before. This is no myth. He is coming back and we plan on it.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 33:51 Yes, and He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords. “Every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak and worship before him.” This is beautiful doctrine because not only will people recognize Christ, but they will recognize his Church.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 34:17 That means that everybody who has fought against the Church, everybody who thinks that what we’re doing is crazy, everybody who thinks that it’s just this anomaly off in the western part of the United States and that it will never amount to anything, everybody will one day realize that Jesus is the Christ and that this is His Church, that we were not throwing our lives away by devoting ourselves to this cause, to this work.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 34:52 That is a very comforting feeling for all of us on days when we begin to wonder and struggle to find motivation to keep going. Boy, one day we’re going to face Christ and we are going to see Him and feel the excitement of that moment and feel the love that he will share. We will have the satisfaction of knowing that our faith was not misplaced.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 35:22 Other people are going to have to have a big turnaround, where they realize that this Jesus that they heard about that they dismissed so easily is actually real. But for those of us who have clung to our faith, that will be a joyous day when others will realize that we were right all along.

Hank Smith: 35:44 I know both of you. Your worlds revolve around the Savior. Your entire worlds revolve around him. It’s the way you speak. It’s the way you act. It’s your family. It’s everything. It all revolves around Him.

Hank Smith: 35:59 I read this from Elder Oaks. He says, “What does it mean to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus?” He says, “Surely this includes keeping his commandments and serving Him. So, therefore, what, from this document, is if you’re devoted to Him, keep His commandments and serve Him.”

Hank Smith: 36:16 He said, “But would it also include bearing witness of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and our Redeemer to believers and non-believers alike?” Then he says this, “To those who are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, listen … ” How many people are listening to this, John, and they’re devoted? John and Brad. They’re devoted to the Lord. “To those who are devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, I say there has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith privately and publicly.”

Hank Smith: 36:46 So to me, that’s a takeaway from this, that I want to do better at professing my faith, both privately, with my children and my wife, and publicly, with my friends, my ward, on social media.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 37:03 In the very last paragraph of the document, it says, “His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.” Therefore, it’s because of our faith in Jesus Christ that we can be happy and that we can find joy.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 37:25 We can feel this gladness of the season all year long. We don’t have to go through the post-Christmas trauma of saying, “Now I can’t be happy until next December, when they start playing Christmas music again.” We can feel joy all the time.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 37:45 C. S. Lewis said this. He said, “Money, poverty, war, prostitution, classes, slavery, the long and terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way, without bothering about religion or, Hank, without bothering about commandments. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 38:32 I testify that this document clearly points the way to happiness. I testify with those same words. “His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come.”

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 38:53 President Benson used to say Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the right way, He is the saving truth, and He is the abundant life. I know that. I feel it. He is the happiness in my life.

Bro. Bradley R. Wilcox 39:10 And so, Merry Christmas to everybody. Thank you for listening to us as we’ve discussed this important document. As you’ve heard my testimony, if anybody ever asks me, “Why are you happy?” There’s only one answer: because of the guy I share a birthday celebration with. Because of Jesus Christ. I say that in his name, amen. Hope everybody has a great Christmas. There’s a heart coming to you. Merry Christmas.

Hank Smith: 39:44 We will be back for the Old Testament, Come, Follow Me curriculum. Thank you all for listening. We’re grateful for your support. We couldn’t do this without our executive producers, Steve and Shannon Sorensen. We love you, Sorensen family. To all Steve and Shannon’s kids and grandkids, Merry Christmas. We love you.

Hank Smith: 40:05 We’re grateful for our production crew. We have David Perry, Lisa Spice, Jamie Neilson, Will Stoughton, Kyle Nelson, and just for … I had never mentioned him before, but he does a lot of work for us, Scott Houston. Scott, Merry Christmas. We hope you all will join us as we have a brand new season of followHIM.