Editor’s note: To support elders quorum and Relief Society classes, the Church News is publishing lesson resources on messages from October 2024 general conference. These are meant to be a starting point and not a strict lesson plan.
About this talk
- “Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up”
- by Elder Ronald A. Rasband | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Sunday afternoon session of October 2024 general conference.
- Theme: Those who “hold up” and sustain the Prophet and other leaders hold up the Lord’s light.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Rasband’s message here.
Outline
- Jesus Christ made it possible for God’s children, if they are worthy, to return to Heavenly Father’s presence and be with their families for eternity. The Savior is not absent from one’s mortal journeys. His pure love and mercy are evident when children of God sustain one another in His work.
- Latter-day Saints “sustain,” or “hold up,” general Church leaders. They also hold up local leaders, family members and neighbors, offering to be a strength at their side.
- The concept of “hold up” is rooted in scripture. At the Waters of Mormon, newly baptized members committed to bear one another’s burdens, comfort each other and stand as a witness of God (see Mosiah 18:8-9). The Lord has asks His followers to hold up their light by holding fast to their covenants.
- President Russell M. Nelson has said that sustaining prophets is a personal commitment. To hold up the Prophet is sacred work. Although King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon was subject to many infirmities in body and mind, he was preserved and strengthened by the Lord.
- Just like King Benjamin, President Nelson — now at age 100 — has been kept and preserved by the Lord. Safety relies on following the guidance of those whom the Lord has chosen to lead His Church. The Lord has selected individuals to preside over His Church, and He will make no mistake.
- President Nelson’s maturity, wide-ranging experience, wisdom and consistent receipt of revelation is specifically suited for today. There needs to be more lifting and less murmuring, more upholding the word of the Lord, His ways and His Prophet.
- In his rededicatory prayer on the Manti Utah Temple, President Nelson petitioned the Lord that His holy house would essentially hold up all who entered, that they would receive sacred blessings.
- Before the rededication, President Nelson and Elder Rasband reflected on their ancestors who settled in the valley surrounding the temple. As he and others stood with President Nelson, they had the opportunity to hold up and support the Prophet of God.
- On the day of rededication, President Nelson said that temples are built to honor the Lord and for worship — not for show.
- President Nelson has taught that service in the temple changes lives. The Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Those who worship in the temple will have the power of God and angels.
- Angels reaching out to “hold us up” is described in the scriptures when Jesus Christ knelt humbly in the Garden of Gethsemane. By His suffering He provided an infinite Atonement. As the Lord suffered and asked for the cup to be removed from Him, angels appeared round about Him to strengthen Him.
- There are angels on the earth today. The temple teaches how to part the veil between heaven and earth, and how to ask for strength from God’s angels. Angels bring God’s light.
- Elder Rasband says how blessed he and members and friends of the Lord’s Church are in holding up President Nelson’s teachings and Christlike example. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, and disciples hold up His light.
Discussion questions
What does it mean to “hold up” the Lord’s light? How can we do this in our daily lives?
How can we actively sustain local and general Church leaders?
How can personal revelation “counter the fear, darkness and contention” of the world? What are some ways to seek personal revelation effectively?
How can our service and worship in temples enhance our personal spiritual journeys?
When has following the teachings of the Prophet or other Church leaders impacted your life? How did it change your perspective or actions?
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.”
- “To hold up the Prophet is a sacred work. We do not sit quietly by but actively defend him, follow his counsel, teach his words and pray for him.”
Key scriptures
- “My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.”
- “Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”
- “Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.”
Invitations and promises
- “The Savior is not absent from our mortal journeys. For the past two days we have heard Him speak through His chosen leaders that we might draw closer to Him. Time and again, with His pure love and mercy, He sustains us as we face the drama of life. Nephi describes: ‘My God hath been my support; he hath led me though mine afflictions. ... He hath filled me with his love’ (2 Nephi 4:20-21). That love is evident when we sustain one another in His work.”
- “Brothers and sisters, we need to do more lifting and less murmuring, more upholding the word of the Lord, His ways and His Prophet, who has said: ‘One of our greatest challenges today is distinguishing between the truths of God and the counterfeits of Satan. That is why the Lord warned us to “pray always, ... that [we] may conquer Satan, and ... escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold [the adversary’s] work” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:5).’”
- “We all need to be lifted up by the Lord with peace, with comfort and most of all with personal revelation to counter the fear, darkness and contention encompassing the world.”
Stories
- Elder Rasband shared his experience joining President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson at the rededication of the Manti Utah Temple in April 2024. President Nelson’s unexpected presence brought profound joy and light, highlighting his prophetic influence. In his rededicatory prayer, said Elder Rasband, “President Nelson petitioned the Lord that His holy house would essentially ‘hold up’ all who entered the temple.” Standing with President Nelson was a momentous experience for Elder Rasband, as it reaffirmed his testimony that temples honor the Lord and gave him the opportunity to “hold up” and support the Prophet of God.
- As told in the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin — who suffered many infirmities, both in body and mind — told his people that he was chosen by the Lord to lead them and was given strength to do so. President Nelson has similarly been preserved at this time to lead and guide the world through the latter days.
- As Jesus Christ knelt humbly in the Garden of Gethsemane, His suffering became part of His infinite Atonement. The Lord suffered pain for all, that they might come to repent; this is described as the greatest single act of love in all history. When Christ asked that the cup be removed from Him, angels appeared from heaven to strengthen Him. “We have angels round about us today.”
Notable footnotes
- 16. In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon tried to comfort his son Moroni in a letter when Moroni was alone and hunted by enemies. He wrote, “May Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death ... rest in your mind forever” (Moroni 9:25).
- 17. Before the dedication of the Manti Utah Temple in 1888, two other temples in Utah had already been dedicated: the St. George Utah Temple in 1877 and the Logan Utah Temple in 1884. The first temple of the Restoration was built in Kirtland, Ohio, and dedicated in 1836. Great spiritual manifestations accompanied the services, and priesthood keys were restored by Moses, Elias and Elijah so that temple work and the gathering of Israel could begin in earnest.
Additional resources
- Related image: “One Before God” by Joseph Brickey
- Related video: “Follow the Prophet”
- Related hymn: No. 19, “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”
Recent conference talks on sustaining Church leaders
- Elder Kyle S. McKay: “The Man Who Communed With Jehovah” (October 2024)
- Elder Allen D. Haynie: “A Living Prophet for the Latter Days” (April 2023)
- Then-Elder Russell M. Nelson: “Sustaining the Prophets” (October 2014)
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 in 2004 — a position no other living prophet or apostle has held.
