The role of an Apostle today is the same as it was anciently. We read in the Bible that those ancient Apostles held the keys of the kingdom. The simplest way to define the work of an Apostle is an Apostle is a missionary, bearing testimony of the reality and the divinity of Jesus Christ in all the world. The role of an Apostle is to focus on individuals and families and bear witness of Christ. That is the first, foremost, and major responsibility and function of a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in these days. The focus is upon the teachings of the Savior, His doctrine. For example, there are trials I've not encountered that are remedied through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I don't have to have personally experienced those trials to be able to bear witness of the Savior and of His Atonement and of its cleansing and strengthening power in the lives of people who are struggling.

The commission is to go in all the world and proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I think, for example, many members of our Church think that what Apostles do is give talks in our general conferences, and they see us in that venue. I would suggest certainly that's an important part of our work, but everywhere we travel, we are to find individuals or families. That would be exactly the same today as it was anciently. So it's not a large corporation. And the Apostles are not the board of directors. This is an individual work. The Savior knows people by name. He knows their circumstances. And He directs us in our work to bless the lives of individuals, not run a gigantic organization. One of the things I personally do is when I meet with a gathering of Saints, I'll often invite them to ask questions. Because the individual I need to identify may be in that congregation. And I cannot find him and I cannot find her if I'm just standing at the pulpit talking. And so to be able to find that individual and try to be as responsive as I can, not from my experience, not from my capacity, but with the help of the Lord, to that particular individual in that concern, that's the nature of this work. And that's just a tremendous experience. We are very ordinary men that shoulder an extraordinary responsibility. It's not because of our background. It's not because of our experience or capacity that we have been called to these positions. The ancient Apostles were common men. And that was a part of their credential. It had to be the Lord's work, because it couldn't have been accomplished through uneducated fisherman. Well, the same is true today. We're very ordinary men. And this work cannot prosper because of any capacities that we may have. So it's the Lord's work. It's His restored Church. And it's His direction that enables us to accomplish what He needs to have done.

I was an educator. And certainly that influences how I see and do many things. But I hope I'm not an educator who's an Apostle. I really want to be an Apostle who used to be an educator.

The basic principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ are simple and they are universal. Faith in the Savior is the same in Boston as it is in Accra. Now, you might use different illustrations, but the basic doctrines and principles are the same. The other thing that you find in this ministry is that you learn so much in each of these different areas of the world. The people in Africa, for example, have such a sweet, simple faith. And there's much that we in the Western world need to and should learn from them. As I visit in homes in Africa, I find mothers and fathers and children that are very happy. They're not running around in SUVs from soccer practice to violin lessons, and they can't seem to find the time for family prayer and family scripture study. So there are great lessons to observe and learn in every area of the world.

The longer you serve, the less able you feel. The longer you serve, the more you realize the tremendous responsibility, and you know that you can never measure up. But what assists with that challenge is knowing that through the Savior's Atonement, one is not only cleansed from sin, but one can receive strength to do very hard things. If I-- knowing what I know of this responsibility, if I thought it was up to me in my capacity, I don't have any idea how to proceed. But knowing that I will be strengthened by the Lord to accomplish His work, as ordinary as I am, I can press forward knowing that I'll have that help.

There are endowments of spiritual power that attend the office of the apostleship. So when one is ordained to the office of Apostle in the priesthood and then set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and receives the keys of the kingdom, the rights to direct the work of the priesthood in all the world, there are spiritual powers that attend that. But that also applies to a 12-year-old boy who's called to be the president of a deacons quorum. Now, he has a smaller field in which to work in a quorum. But the principle is the same. Our field is the entire world. For that 12-year-old boy, it might be six or seven or eight young men in that deacons quorum.

Well, I may be unusual, but I just find it so invigorating to go to so many places in the world and learn from so many different people. A sister in Africa, who had only been a member of the Church for eight months, she was teaching a class about fasting. Now at the time, I was 54 years old, member of the Church since I was eight, and an Apostle for two years. Now, remember, she's been a member of the Church for eight months. This is in a place in Africa where they're not starving, but they're hungry most of the time. And they would probably have one meal a day, as we understand that. This woman was teaching the sisters in a Relief Society, and she said "Sisters, there are many days when we do not have food and we do not eat. That is not fasting. It's only fasting on a day when we have food and we can choose not to eat it." I had been a member of the Church all my life, and I had to go to Africa to learn from a woman who joined the Church just eight months earlier what it really meant to fast. I am eager to go and learn from these faithful Saints all over the world. They bless my life.

Well, as members of the Church, we all need to be true to what we know. I believe every member of this Church has a testimony. A testimony is what we know to be true, not intellectually, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. I'm not so sure every member of this Church is converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because as we are increasingly converted, we become more consistent and true to what we know. So it's one thing to know it's true. It's another thing to consistently be true to what we know. The members of the Church need to have more than testimonies. They need to be converted. And that produces a spiritual fruit in our lives, if you will, that's evident to other people. And they will inquire. And we should never be ashamed to give a reason for the hope that is in us, which is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's perhaps a more elaborate way of saying we need to live what we know. It's more than being an example. It's living what we know. As we do that, in a world that's becoming more confused, and where evil influences are ever more pervasive, that goodness will shine, and people will be attracted to that light.

There's not a unique vocabulary for Apostles to declare their witness. We use ordinary language. The difference is that as I declare my witness of the Savior, I do so in the authority of the office of an Apostle. I witness and testify that He lives. I know that He knows us by name, that He is concerned about us in our individual circumstances, and I know that He lives. I witness that He is resurrected, that He speaks in these latter days through His servants, and that He directs the affairs of His Church. It is the joy of my life to know that I will spend my life declaring that witness all over the world. And I know and witness that it is true. In the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.