Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of October 2024 general conference. He spoke about how to sustain or hold up leaders, including the Prophet. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Rasband’s talk summary
The love of the Savior is evident when people sustain, or “hold up,” each other in this work.
“To sustain means to hold up another person, to give them our attention, to be faithful to their trust, to act upon their words.”
To “hold up” one another is being there for them, to be a comfort and strength. “Hold up” is rooted in the scriptures in supporting each other through baptismal covenants and in the Savior’s teaching to the Nephites when He said: “Hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up” (see 3 Nephi 18:24).
Individuals hold up the Lord’s light “when we hold fast to our covenants and when we support our dear living Prophet as he speaks the words of God.”
Supporting, or to “hold up,” the Prophet “is a sacred work” and means to actively defend him, follow and teach his counsel and pray for him.
In the temple, individuals can be lifted up by covenants and the power of God.
“We all need to be lifted up by the Lord with peace, comfort and, most of all, with personal revelation to counter the fear, darkness and contention encompassing the world.”
See the full text of Elder Rasband’s talk: ‘Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up’
Notable quotes
“When we hold up one another we are saying, ‘I am here for you, not just to hold up your arms and hands when they hang down, but to be a comfort and strength at your side.’”
“We hold up the Lord’s light when we hold fast to our covenants and when we support our dear living Prophet as he speaks the words of God.”
“We all need to be lifted up by the Lord with peace, comfort and, most of all, with personal revelation to counter the fear, darkness and contention encompassing the world.”
Who is Elder Rasband?
- Elder Ronald A. Rasband was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Oct. 3, 2015. Between his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2000 and serving in the Presidency of the Seventy in 2005, he served in the Temple Department first as an assistant executive director and then as executive director of the Temple Department in 2004 — a position no other living prophet or apostle has held.
- Although he attended the University of Utah, Elder Rasband never graduated, due to a business opportunity. But in 1995, he received an honorary doctorate of business and commerce from Utah Valley State College, which is now Utah Valley University.
- Elder Rasband and his wife, Sister Melanie Twitchell Rasband, were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1973 and have five children.
What has Elder Rasband done recently?
- In the April 2024 general conference, Elder Rasband invited listeners to consider the words of God, the words of His prophets and one’s own words.
- In July, Elder Rasband visited four South American countries — Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia — as part of his ministry and invited Saints to “go through Jesus to get into their phones.”
- During BYU’s annual University Conference in August, Elder Rasband testified that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s Prophet on the earth.
- On Sept. 22, Elder Rasband dedicated the Mendoza Argentina Temple. “In the temple, we can receive revelation and gain greater understanding of the Lord’s plan of exaltation,” he said leading up to the dedication.
Read more of Elder Rasband’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
