Elder Sean Douglas, General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of October 2021 general conference. Building a foundation on Jesus Christ’s teachings is essential to weathering spiritual hurricanes, he said. The following is a summary of what he said.
Notable quotes from Elder Douglas
“We face our spiritual hurricanes best by believing in Christ and keeping His commandments.”
“The joy or misery we feel as we brave the storms of life is tied to the laws that God has set.”
“Doubt is an enemy of faith and joy. … Satan seeks to lead us to the breeding ground of doubt.”
Summary of Elder Douglas’ talk
Physical hurricanes are massive storms that leave behind tremendous damage. They are governed by natural laws as they form under specific conditions and weaken when they meet land.
“Each of us has weathered, and will weather, spiritual hurricanes that threaten our peace and try our faith.”
Through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, people can joyfully overcome these challenges.
“Just as natural laws govern physical hurricanes, divine laws govern how to feel joy during our spiritual hurricanes.”
President Russell M. Nelson has shared: “It becomes a rather simple formula: If you want to be happy, keep the commandments.”
The enemy of faith and joy is doubt, and doubt is the breeding ground for spiritual hurricanes. Satan wants to lead people to this breeding ground of doubt and harden people’s hearts and tempt them to relax their spiritual vigilance.
“Just as hurricanes weaken over land, doubt is replaced with faith as we build our foundation on Christ.”
Then, when spiritual hurricanes are seen in their proper perspective, a person’s capacity to overcome them is enlarged.
Perfect faith or knowledge isn’t required; however, people are asked to believe.
“We face our spiritual hurricanes best by believing in Christ and keeping His commandments.”
About Elder Douglas
- Elder Sean Douglas was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in the April 2021 general conference.
- He served as a young missionary in the Chile Concepcion Mission. He and his wife, Sister Ann Douglas, were leaders of the Perú Lima South Mission from 2012 to 2015.
- His family has lived in England; St. Louis, Missouri; Houston, Texas; Salt Lake City and eventually back to Houston.
