To help us in a life where "our commitment to do right and be right will be challenged by the world," Elder David F. Evans, of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said we must use a tenacity of faith to overcome obstacles and struggles.
Speaking at this week's BYU Devotional, Evans said, "If we are going to be tenacious in righteous things, we must stay close to the Lord through righteous living. If you care enough to go through the process to seek God's will, God will care enough to answer."
Evans' address was conceived out of a conversation with fellow General Authority, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, about the meaning of the word tenacity. President Uchtdorf referred to tenacity as meaning "an absolute determination to accomplish the work or task that has been undertaken," and as a quality worth developing.
"Tenacity is required to become true disciples of the Savior and to achieve those truly good goals that our Father knows we need to achieve in this life to prepare for eternity," Evans said.
Evans cited scriptural examples of tenacity, such as the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon, and examples from missionary service in Japan. While the principle of tenacity applies to everyone in any circumstance of life, Evans suggests that being tenacious in righteous things will help accomplish important goals.
"Each of us will need to be one who just won't quit - who keeps trying until we reach our goal," Evans said. "That goal, ultimately, is eternal life with our husband or wife, with our children and their children, generations to come."
If you missed Evans' remarks, the Devotional can be streamed on demand on BYUtv.org and will be available on speeches.byu.edu.
Next Week's Devotional
Next week's Devotional address, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 11:05 a.m., in the Marriott Center, will be given by Scott Swofford, BYU Broadcasting creative director.
From the I'm a Mormon campaign to the reinvention of BYUtv, Latter-day Saints are pursuing authentic representations of our faith. Swofford will explore the question: what does this kind of representation really mean?
If you miss Swofford's remarks, the Devotional will be streamed on demand at BYUtv.org and will be available on speeches.byu.edu.
Swofford, in addition to his BYU Broadcasting position, is the director of media for the LDS Church Missionary department and had a major part in bringing about The District series, which follows LDS missionaries in order to provide new missionaries with useful training. Swofford is also the director of BYUtv's family drama television series, Granite Flats and had a part in the Work and the Glory series.
Writer: Nate Depperman
