Did You Miss the Worldwide Devotional: A Face to Face with Elder Cook?

On Sunday, September 9, 2018, Elder Quentin L. Cook hosted a Face to Face event with two Church historians, Sister Kate Holbrook and Brother Matt Grow. With the historic Nauvoo Temple in the background, they answered questions from around the world about Church history and the new historical record, Saints.

After the devotional, Elder Cook answered three additional questions on Instagram and Facebook, highlighting how we can use the Saints’ examples, what inspired Saints, and what to say to those struggling with faith because of historical events.

You can view the devotional here and see Elder Cook’s additional answers on Instagram here or Facebook here.

The devotional focused on the great blessings that can come from studying Church history and how to best approach beginning your own study of Church history. In his opening remarks, Elder Cook said, “I promise you that studying the history of the Church can deepen your faith and desire to live the gospel more fully.”

After addressing a question about the transparency of the Church, Sister Kate Holbrook remarked, “What I did learn in my Sunday meetings and my seminary classes was what the main work of the Church is. I learned to repent. I learned to bring my life into harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I learned how to establish a relationship with my Father in Heaven. And these are the things in my life that I hold most dear.” She reminded each of us that the most important thing we can learn in our classes and at church is how to improve our relationship with our Savior and our Heavenly Father by drawing closer to Them.

Brother Matt Grow gave some advice on how to judge reliable sources: “Be careful about sources of information that just seek to tear people down. Look instead for sources of information that are based on the record left by the people themselves and that seek to be fair to them.” In a world with a lot of information available from many sources, Elder Cook cautioned that we should find information in the best places possible, stating that for some things, like politics and religion, the internet may not be the most reliable source.

Toward the end of the devotional, Elder Cook bore his testimony of our Heavenly Father, His plan of salvation, and the Savior: “I want you to know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a perfect plan, that His plan is one of happiness, that we have a Savior who did everything for us. We can trust in Them.”