I am honored to be asked to speak at the devotional assembly this morning. Because the weekly devotionals at Brigham Young University have been such a significant part of my life, I have taken this invitation very seriously. My topic is “What We Believe.” Sooner or later you and I will be approached by men and women not of our faith—persons either sincerely interested in what we believe or else opposed to much of what we stand for. This is particularly true as the Church grows and as our influence spreads throughout the world. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for us to entertain a few questions about what we believe, questions frequently asked of the Latter-day Saints concerning scripture, God, Christ, and salvation. For example: 1. How can the Latter-day Saints justify having additional books of scripture and adding to the Christian canon? I remember very well sitting in a seminar on biblical studies at an eastern university many years ago. One of the things that stands out in my mind is our discussion of the canon of scripture. For at least two hours the instructor had emphasized that the word canon—referring, of course, to the biblical books that are generally included in the Judeo-Christian collection—was the “rule of faith,” the standard against which we measure what is acceptable in belief and practice. He also stated that the canon, if the word meant anything at all, was closed, fixed, set, and established. He must have stressed those words at least 10 times as he wrote them on the blackboard over and over. I noticed in the second session on this topic that the instructor seemed a bit uneasy. I remember thinking that something must be wrong. Without warning, he stopped what he was doing, banged his fist on the table, turned to me, and said: “Mr. Millet, will you please explain to this group the Latter-day Saint concept of canon, given your people’s acceptance of the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture beyond the Bible?” I was startled. Stunned. Certainly surprised. I paused for several seconds, looked up at the blackboard, saw the now very familiar words under the word canon,and said, somewhat shyly, “Well, I suppose you could say that the Latter-day Saints believe the canon of scripture is open, flexible, and expanding.” We then had a really fascinating discussion! Joseph Smith loved the Bible. It was through pondering upon certain verses in the Epistle of James that he felt directed to call upon God in prayer. Most of his sermons, writings, and letters are laced with quotations or paraphrased summaries of biblical passages and precepts from both the Old and New Testaments. The Prophet once remarked that one can “see God’s own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best” (Teachings, p. 56). From his earliest days, however, he did not believe the Bible was complete or that religious difficulties could necessarily be handled by turning to the Old or New Testaments for help (see JS—H 1:12). Nor did he believe […]

Robert L. Millet shares his experiences answering the most common, but often most difficult questions on what Latter-day Saints believe.

Revelation serves many purposes necessary and beneficial: it testifies, prophesies, comforts, uplifts, informs, restrains, confirms, and impels.

Revelation serves many purposes necessary and beneficial: it testifies, prophesies, comforts, uplifts, informs, restrains, confirms, and impels.

Meekness does not oppose boldness. It means to speak up without speaking down. It means to depend upon the Lord. It means to become like the Savior.

I am so happy to be able to share some ideas with you today that I know have been directed by Heavenly Father. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will help me communicate the thoughts I have received, according to the desire of the Lord. What a blessing this assignment has been to me. I want to borrow a term I first heard at a workshop conducted by the Franklin Institute, now Franklin Covey. They introduced me to the concept of the belief window, which I have identified with ever since. I can still visualize a clear window suspended in front of the eyes of a cartoon face, illustrating the idea that we see the world through our belief window. The beliefs that we have are the lenses of reality for each of us. I would like to expand upon this idea and talk about your spiritual eyeglasses and leave you with the notion that what you see is what you get or what you see is what you are, as far as eternity is concerned. It is very important that gospel truths make up our belief window so that we can see the celestial kingdom clearly. Let me illustrate. The world looks very different for me depending upon the lenses, or glasses, through which I look. For instance, this first pair of glasses I am putting on has very thick lenses, and they distort my view to the point that, if I wear them very long, I am frustrated and not able to clearly see the path before me. In fact, they give me a headache. This next pair of glasses, with the eyeballs on springs, changes my view with each movement of the springs. Once again the path before me is distorted and even comical. With this pair of sunglasses I am having a hard time seeing anything at all in this room. They shut out the light. This next pair of glasses doesn’t aid my vision at all, but they glow in the dark and draw attention to me and my eyes in a dark room. I have used them for effect several times when I wanted to solicit a reaction from people. They are a fun icebreaker, but that’s all. They don’t aid my vision. This final pair of glasses totally changes others’ perceptions of me. With these lenses I can create a fictitious image of who I am. I have created a distorted picture of myself and what my belief window contains. Thank goodness for my own prescription lenses. Now I can see you as well as the printed words before me and, I hope, the path to the celestial kingdom. It really is very important that we wear the proper pair of glasses—or, in other words, that our belief window is correct. The message that I am bringing today is that your beliefs are the lenses through which you see the world. What you believe determines your focus and in turn your actions. You are seeing things as you believe they are—not […]

The spiritual eyeglasses we view the world through define what we believe, where we focus, and how we act. Wearing an incorrect pair can distort our vision.

The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. Forget yourself and reach out. You will be happier when you do.

God will save our generation by sending Elijah, with priesthood sealing keys to connect us with our forefathers and our posterity.

I know that most of you who gathered tonight from across the United States and Canada come with a determination to do what is right. You have had those feelings in your heart to live worthily no matter what others may say. I speak also to others present who want to have such feelings. You are of the finest generation that has come to earth. You have prepared yourself well in the premortal existence and have been selected to come forth in this singularly important time in the unfolding of Father in Heaven’s plan. I am deeply moved to be in your presence. I realize that the majority of you do not have the slightest idea of how truly capable, noble, and wonderful you are. I have prayed about, pondered over, and worked on this message because each one of you is an exceptional daughter or son of our Father in Heaven and I want to help you. Early on, I strongly felt impressed to discuss with you how to make your noble dreams and aspirations a reality. I am sure that each one of you has treasured dreams of what you want your life to be. Having moved down the path of life ahead of you, I have learned that while there are growing challenges along the way, life is most beautiful. As you continue to exercise faith in the Master and are obedient to His commandments, you will receive magnificent blessings. Some of those blessings you will have dreamed about. Other blessings He plans for you are beyond anything you can conceive of now. My earnest desire is to help you live so that your worthy dreams become realities. I have wrestled with many different ways to communicate principles that I know—if understood and applied—would greatly help you. As this evening approached, I realized I did not yet have a satisfactory way to express what I know to be true. Then a peace enveloped me. I felt that if I strive the best I can to talk to you, and you listen with an open mind and heart with real intent, having faith in the Lord, then it won’t matter too much what I say. You will have impressions come to you that will be individually tailored to your needs. As you write those impressions down and follow them, they will be guidelines for your life and will help you realize your righteous dreams. You are at a time of life when there are many critically important decisions to be made, and you are understandably unsure of your capacity to make them. You live in a world where it is increasingly more difficult to assure that your worthy dreams and aspirations will come true by avoiding the allurements and temptations that Satan would put in your path to destroy you. You may have doubts about your own self-worth. You want to be accepted. You have questions about your future and about how to gain true and enduring friendships. […]