Last Sunday, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated a new house of the Lord on the West Coast of the United States. The Sunday before traveling to the Willamette Valley Oregon Temple, President Uchtdorf was in Prague, Czech Republic, to dedicate a new stake center and community center. The Sunday before that, he dedicated a new stake center in Salzburg, Austria. Between the two building dedications in Europe, President Uchtdorf met with German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Germany.
At times, I wish I could publish an hour-by-hour schedule taken on by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It would not be an eight-hour schedule. It would not be a 12-hour schedule.
I have seen senior leaders of the Church preside at meetings, devotionals or other gatherings that resulted in them arriving back at a hotel after midnight. Once there, they have debriefed, planned for the next day and taken time for additional meetings on the other side of the world via video conference software on their computers. The next morning, they are often ready to head back out the door to do it all again before the sun has come up.
In one case, while covering a ministry, I followed a Church leader who arrived at a hotel at midnight on an island in the middle of the ocean. I’m sure the island was beautiful. I could hear the ocean and feel the sea’s breeze. But we were back on an airplane the following morning before the sun came up, so I don’t actually know what the island looked like. This wasn’t a vacation, despite the beautiful destination.
With these Church leaders running on only a few hours of sleep, it might seem like a long flight would be a good time to catch up. But these leaders — including General Authority Seventies and organizational leaders of the Church — are awake. They write their next message. They review articles and photos and videos. They share observations from their ministries with other Church leaders. They respond to lengthy lists of emails and text messages. They share copies of the Book of Mormon with flight attendants.
The late President Russell M. Nelson died at age 101. Church President Dallin H. Oaks is 93 years old. President Uchtdorf is 85 years old. Their age seems to be irrelevant at times. They have committed to wear their lives out in the service of God, and they do so.
In November 2024, President Jeffrey R. Holland, then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, recounted a story he told many times in other settings. It was a story I had heard him share in 2020 that was recorded in a Church News video.
“A missionary once asked me, ‘Elder Holland, would you give your life for the Church?’ And I said, ‘Elder, I am giving my life for the Church. Every day I’m giving my life for the Church because I know it’s true.’”
Listening to President Uchtdorf bear testimony of the blessings coming to followers of the Lord Jesus Christ while in Oregon last weekend, I could hear the unwavering dedication he feels to Heavenly Father. He goes where the Lord needs him to go. And he testifies with all his heart. They all do.
“He goes where the Lord needs him to go. And he testifies with all his heart. They all do.”
“Because we are committing ourselves, we are willing to follow the path of Jesus Christ,” President Uchtdorf said in Oregon.
My personal testimony of living Apostles was strengthened this weekend, and it is strengthened every time I witness their sacrifices and study their testimonies of the Savior. They do it every hour of every day. They want others to feel the peace the gospel brings. They want others to be united with families forever. They want others to feel the joy and relief of forgiveness.
They are committed. They follow Him. And they invite everyone — from Salzburg, to Berlin, to Prague, to the islands of the sea and to Springfield, Oregon — to do the same.
