As We Abide in Him and He in Us, We Never Walk Alone
2025 BYU Women’s Conference
Dear sisters, it is such a great privilege to be with each of you this evening. Thank you for coming! I hope you can feel the sisterhood in this room, and that you’ll remember that we are all daughters of heavenly parents and spiritual sisters—no matter our ages or appearance, no matter our race or background, no matter where we live. There are millions of us throughout the world, God’s covenant daughters, members of this divinely inspired organization of Relief Society and future members.
We’re excited to have hundreds of young women with us this evening. We look forward to the day when you will join us in Relief Society! We need you! You, along with our young adult Relief Society members, are a special generation of women who has been saved to come to the earth at this time. Listen to what our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, said in a youth devotional a few years ago:
Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you! …
You are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation! … You are the hope of Israel, ‘children of the promised day’!
Young sisters, always remember who you are and how important you are. You are among our Father’s most noble daughters. You are latter-day covenant daughters of God. Every one of you is important, and we need every one of you! You are vital to the work of the Lord in these winding up scenes before the Second Coming of the Savior. I invite you to watch again a general conference talk by Brother Brad Wilcox, “O Youth of the Noble Birthright,” to help you remember who you are and your important role here on the earth.
Don’t allow Satan and the world to tell you that you are nothing and that you don’t matter. You do matter! We are so grateful you are here with us now! We love you! We are all sisters! We need to link arms and walk each other home.
I love this year’s theme! “Behold my Spirit is upon you, … and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore, walk with me.”
Do you know the context for this verse of scripture? It’s the story of God calling Enoch to cry repentance to his people, who had turned from the Lord and had become very wicked.
And Enoch’s response to God? “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” Or in other words, “Why would you call me? The people hate me because I can’t speak well. How can I do what you’re asking of me?”
Sisters, I’m sure there have been times when you have felt incapable of what the Lord was asking of you—whether it was a calling extended to you, a trial or challenge you had to face, or even making the decision to marry and become a parent. I know I have felt that way many times in my life, including when I was called to this position in the Relief Society general presidency.
But the Lord’s response to Enoch is instructive for us all. He told Enoch that His Spirit was upon him, and that as Enoch chose to abide in Him, He would abide in Enoch. Enoch wouldn’t be alone in this! The Lord would be with Him. And then He invited Enoch to walk with Him.
That is what He invites each of us to do—to walk with Him. We cannot of ourselves do all that we are called to do in our lives, including being able to face the myriad trials and challenges in this journey of mortality—physical and emotional health challenges, challenges in our relationships, faith challenges, economic insecurity, disabilities, natural disasters, unfairness of many kinds, and on and on.
Enoch doubted his ability and his capacity to reach the people with his words. He couldn’t speak well. But the Lord had called him, and the Lord would qualify him. Because of Enoch’s great faith and trust in the Lord, he accepted the call, and over time He became an articulate and powerful prophet of God. God blessed Enoch with the capacity and spiritual gifts he needed to preach to the people by the power of His Spirit. Enoch’s people eventually repented and became the people of God.
Listen to these words in Moses 7:
And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God; and their enemies came to battle against them; and [Enoch] spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch and so great was the power of the language which God had given him.
Because Enoch chose to abide in God and walk with Him, God abided in Enoch, and the “lad” who was slow of speech and hated became a powerful prophet and leader of his people. This same Enoch eventually built a city which, over time, became so holy it was taken up into heaven. You’ve probably heard of the city of Enoch.
What an incredible story of what the Lord was able to do with an imperfect and weak human being. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Imagine what He can do in your life as you choose to trust Him and walk with Him!
I hope our young women and our young adult Relief Society sisters are listening carefully! As you choose to abide in the Savior, He will abide in you, and you need never walk alone no matter where you go or what you do in this life! You do not need to fear the future, because the Savior will be with you.
Listen to what our dear prophet has said about walking with the Savior:
My decision to follow Jesus Christ is the most important decision I have ever made. … That choice has made all the difference! That decision has made so many other decisions easier. That decision has given me purpose and direction. It has also helped me weather the storms of life.
He talked about a time when he and his wife were on assignment in a faraway country and armed robbers put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. But the gun didn’t fire. As President Nelson explained, “Throughout that experience, both of our lives were threatened. Yet Wendy and I felt an undeniable peace.”
He then said—and this is to all of us—“The Lord will comfort you too! He will strengthen you. He will bless you with peace, even amidst chaos.”
I can testify that the Lord really can do that! In 2016 my husband and I were serving as mission leaders in Guayaquil, Ecuador, when a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the country. The areas of greatest destruction were within our mission boundaries. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured. But the Lord blessed our missionaries with great feelings of peace and love during the earthquake because they were striving to abide in Him. I told that story and showed pictures during a BYU devotional last December. I shared quotes from some of our missionaries of how they felt peace even when there was chaos around them. I invite you to go and watch that talk called “Finding Peace Amidst Uncertainty.”
President Nelson went on to say: “Please listen to this promise of Jesus Christ to you: ‘I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.’ There is no limit to the Savior’s capacity to help you.”
A prophet of God is telling us that there is no limit to the Savior’s capacity to help us! He’s telling us that the Lord can comfort us, and strengthen us, and bless us with peace even in the middle of the storms of life, even in the middle of chaos! But for the Savior to be able to do that, we need to choose to put our faith and trust in Him. We need to choose to walk with Jesus.
I want to share with you one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon. This is the story of the Jaredites crossing the sea to the promised land. For me, this story feels symbolic of our mortal journey here on earth.
The brother of Jared was commanded to build eight barges to cross the sea to the promised land, but they weren’t like the barges we have; they were more like small, airtight submarines. After they were built, he identified three challenges: how were they going to breath, how were they going to have light, and how were they going to steer—the vessels were completely enclosed! The Lord instructed them what to do to get air when they needed it, and the brother of Jared asked the Lord to touch 16 stones he had prepared to put into the boats so they would have light, which the Lord did. He provided them with His light for the journey.
Didn’t He do the same for us? Each person that is born comes to earth with the light of Christ so that we don’t have to cross this journey of mortality in darkness. That light grows brighter as our faith and trust in Him increase.
Now they had light and a way to access air, but they would have to completely depend on the Lord to steer them. Think about how great their faith and trust in God must have been to board those boats to cross that vast ocean. They wouldn’t be able to see where they were going; they wouldn’t be able to steer the boats themselves. They wouldn’t be able to communicate with their friends and family members in the other boats. They were going to have to put themselves completely into the Lord’s hands. They would have no control at all over what would happen as they crossed the ocean. But they could exercise their faith in the Savior.
How would you have felt seeing your family members and friends enter their vessels and close the doors? Would you have wondered if you’d ever see them again? Would you have wondered if all eight boats would arrive safely together in the promised land? What were the chances of surviving that voyage and arriving together? Without the Savior, it was impossible!
Now think about what we might have felt as we were getting ready to come to earth, knowing that there would be a veil of forgetfulness, knowing that the friends we had there might be born at different times and in different places throughout the world. We might have wondered if we would ever see them again. We might have wondered if we would all make it back to our heavenly home. How were we possibly going to do that without being able to remember our life before and all we’d been taught and prepared for? But we did what the people of Jared did. We put our faith and trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we put our trust in the promise of His Atonement that would make all things possible, including the fulfillment of our Father in Heaven’s plan of redemption.
Sisters, you would not be on earth today if you had not had faith and trust in the Savior and in His promises, if you had not chosen to “get on the boat and launch out into the deep.” You can’t remember now, but you did put your faith and trust in Him, or you wouldn’t have chosen to come. It was a choice, and we trusted Him enough to make that choice. We’ve got to keep trusting Him now.
Let’s read what the scriptures say about that Jaredite voyage:
And it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.
That means they put themselves completely in the Lord’s hands, trusting that He would steer them, that He would save them from dangers along the way, and that He would get all of them to the promised land. Now, the Lord had the ability to get them there without difficulty or challenge. But he had told the brother of Jared as they spoke together that it would not be smooth sailing. That was not His plan for them. He needed to prepare them for what they would later face. They needed to learn to completely trust in the Lord and rely on Him. They needed to know for themselves that He was in control and that they could trust Him.
And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. …
The wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters.
It says the Lord caused that furious wind to blow! This wind made it possible for them to progress in their journey toward the promised land. And because of that fierce wind, there were also great and terrible storms. Those vessels were not only tossed around on top of the water but also buried in the depths of the sea because of the huge waves that crashed on top of them. I imagine there were times when they thought they wouldn’t survive, just as we may feel at times when we’re buried under a mountain of trials and challenges.
I don’t know about you, but my journey through mortality has not been on calm waters. There have been many times when I’ve cried to the Lord and asked Him why things had to be so hard. Why couldn’t He smooth the way and make things easier for me or for my loved ones? I know all of you have had similar times or are going through similar times now and have prayed similar prayers.
While the Lord does not cause all the storms in our lives, we may not fully understand until after this life why He allows some of the extreme difficulties we go through. Nephi said he didn’t understand the meaning of all things, but he did know that God loves His children. In the middle of life’s storms, we must remember that our Father loves us, that He knows what He’s doing, that everything is in His hands, and that He would not have us go through difficult challenges just to see us suffer. That is not His character, nor is it His plan.
He cares more about our growth than He does about our comfort, and He knows that the many obstacles and challenges we face in this fallen world will cause us to grow in ways that will eternally bless us. He takes the long view. His perspective is an eternal perspective. We want our suffering and difficulties to be resolved now, but His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We need to learn to trust Him throughout the journey of our lives.
Jared’s people would never have reached the promised land if the water had been calm and clear and there had been no strong wind. They would have floated off course and would not have progressed in their journey over that vast ocean, nor would they have been prepared for the dangers they would face in the future. Our Father knows that persistently calm waters are not for our best good. His strong winds blow us toward our promised land.
And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah.
Even when they were buried in the deep, no water could get in to sink them because the Lord had instructed them how to prepare airtight vessels. Those vessels did not keep them from being tossed around and buried in the waves, but they didn’t sink; it didn’t destroy them.
The most important way that enables the Lord to abide in us so that our vessels will be “airtight” for our journey through mortality is through a covenant relationship with Him, which more deeply connects us to Him. Listen to what our prophet has said:
My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. …
The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. … His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.
Did you hear what a prophet of God is telling us? “Oh, how we will need God’s power in the days ahead.” Sisters, I hope the Spirit is witnessing to you right now that what our prophet is saying is true—not just true, but true for each of you! How you will need God’s power in the days ahead! There are furious winds and mountain waves coming. Our boats need to be airtight, and our foundations need to be securely built on the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ!
President Nelson has said:
“Every man and every woman who participates in priesthood ordinances and who makes and keeps covenants with God has direct access to the power of God.”
Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant. … The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants as they are to men who bear the priesthood. … Sisters, you have the right to draw liberally upon the Savior’s power to help your family and others you love.
The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power.
He also said, “I would urge you not to wait until marriage to be endowed in the house of the Lord. Begin now to learn and experience what it means to be armed with priesthood power.”
Reading all those words of President Nelson fills me with hope and courage. Recently he also said:
We are instructed that all who worship in the temple will have the power of God and angels having ‘charge over them.’ How much does it increase your confidence to know that, as an endowed woman or man armed with the power of God, you do not have to face life alone? What courage does it give you to know that angels really will help you? … Understanding the spiritual privileges made possible in the temple is vital to each of us today.
Sisters, this is how our “vessels” can become airtight and how we can more deeply abide in Christ and He in us, so that the winds and waves and storms of life don’t destroy us, so that the world doesn’t take us off course, so that that the adversary doesn’t have power over us, and so that we can access the power of God and have angels help us.
We need these blessings in our lives, sisters. For those of you who are old enough but have not yet received your temple endowment, whether you’re 18 or 108 or any age in between, I invite you to ask your Father in Heaven if it’s time for you to prepare to make those special covenants with Him and with the Savior. And, young women, you can begin preparing now.
As our prophet said, “Understanding the spiritual privileges made possible in the temple is vital to each of us today.”
So I invite all of you, including our young women, to study over the next few months these five talks of our prophet. (Get out your phones and take a picture.) Now listen to this next invitation. I invite you to look for all the promises, blessings, privileges, and power that are available to you through making and keeping covenants with God, and then put all that you find in those five talks into a single document. You will be amazed at what the Lord is offering you and the strength and protection it will give you! Our Father in Heaven wants us to understand the blessings that can come to us through a deeper covenant relationship with Him and the Savior.
Now continuing in the Book of Ether:
Therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
When they were buried in the sea because of the mountain waves and they cried to the Lord, He brought them back up again on top of the waves. Remember, to be able to access air, they couldn’t be under the water. It would have been so distressful to feel like they needed air, open the air hole, and have water come flooding in! They had to rely on the Savior for even the very air they were breathing, but so do we.
The Lord can also bring us back up on top of the water after we have been buried under the mountain waves, but it will be in His time and in His way. If we are abiding in Him and He in us, we won’t sink, no matter how much we are buried and tossed and blown around. He is still in control, all things are in His hands, and we can trust Him.
And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared … did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
What a beautiful example for all of us! In the storms of life that we pass through, even when we can’t see clearly and we can’t see how the Lord is helping us, we should continue to thank and praise Him. We should strive to feel gratitude for His tender mercies, even when it’s hard to see His hand in our lives. There may have been times when Jared’s people felt like they’d been abandoned, but they still chose to exercise faith and trust in the Lord. They chose to sing praises and be grateful to Him throughout their entire journey, which helped them focus on Him.
And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.
They were on that voyage for almost an entire year! But they chose to trust the Lord through it all. They had built their foundation on the rock of their Redeemer. No creature of the deep could hurt them, and they had the Savior’s light continually with them even when they were under the water.
And finally, we read about their arrival:
And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.
The Lord had fulfilled His promises to them. He had brought them through the great deep and through all those violent storms and dangers, and He had delivered all eight boats with their passengers to the shores of the promised land. Without the Lord’s hand in that journey, it would have been impossible for them to survive, much less for all eight boats to arrive in the same place. I’m sure their faith and trust in the Savior increased exponentially because of that journey.
I believe that when we pass through the veil to the other side, we will also shed tears of joy when we look back and fully realize the eternal blessings that we have received and who we have become through the difficult winds and storms of mortality. I believe we will weep tears of gratitude for the Savior as we understand how very involved He really was in our lives in helping us through those difficult times. I believe we will realize that our prayers never went unanswered and that we were never alone; there are always angels around us, as President Jeffrey R. Holland has taught.
I want to direct these last words to my dear little sisters, you young women and young adults, including my granddaughters. Please don’t fear the future. Satan will try to put fear in your hearts, but don’t listen to him. There is no need to fear. Our Savior is more powerful than the adversary and his minions. I promise that you can trust Him. Remember the lessons of that ocean voyage; remember the lessons of Enoch. Put yourselves in the Lord’s hands. Let Him guide you. Walk with Him. Jesus Christ is your iron rod. He will help you in all the different phases of your life, just as He has helped me. He will not let you down.
Even if you sometimes stray from the path, please remember that your Father in Heaven and your Savior love you no matter what. The Savior suffered and died for you because of His great love for His Father and for you. We all need the blessings of daily repentance to keep us coming back to the path. It is an invaluable gift we’ve been given through our Savior’s Atonement. As Sister Tami Runia said in general conference, your worth is up here and was given to you by God. Your worth in the Savior’s eyes and in your Father in Heaven’s eyes will never change no matter what you or anyone else does. I invite you to go back and watch Sister Runia’s talk again. It will help you remember your immeasurable worth in the sight of God and the joy your Father in Heaven and your Savior feel as you use the blessing of daily repentance to continually draw closer to Them.
As you look down the road at your future and the opportunities that will come to you and the decisions you will be required to make, including decisions about getting married and having children, please don’t make those decisions out of a sense of fear just because there is uncertainty and you can’t be sure what the future will bring. Fear is one of the Satan’s most effective tools and when you feel that fear, know that it’s coming from him. Don’t allow the voices of the world or even the voices of some of those around you to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. Seek the Lord’s direction. Remember the voice of a prophet of God: “There is no limit to the Savior’s capacity to help you.”
Here is the voice of the Lord Himself to you in the book of Isaiah:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. … Fear not: for I am with thee.
My dear sisters, young and old, I testify that because of our dear Savior and His infinite atoning sacrifice, you really will never walk alone if you choose to abide in Him so that He can abide in you. I can testify to you, because of my own personal experiences, that you really can put your full faith and trust in your Savior, Jesus Christ. He will not fail you. He will lead you and help you. He will walk with you through the winds and waves of mortality. He will comfort you, strengthen you, and transform you. He loves you with a perfect love. Of that I bear testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.