Religious freedom is the cornerstone of peace in a world with many competing philosophies. We were privileged to represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Canterbury Medal Gala hosted by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—a fitting venue for celebrating religious liberty. I was honored to offer the invocation at this event. Moral agency, the ability to choose right from wrong and to act for ourselves, is essential to God’s plan of salvation. Religious freedom ensures that people can exercise their agency in matters of faith. We are grateful to be associated with so many wonderful people of faith who we stand with to advocate for religious freedom.

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“It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true Word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him. “When it becomes really necessary (i.e. for our spiritual life, not for controversy or curiosity) to know whether a particular passage is rightly translated or is Myth (but of course Myth specially chosen by God from among countless Myths to carry a spiritual truth) or history, we shall no doubt be guided to the right answer. “But we must not use the Bible (our ancestors too often did) as a sort of Encyclopedia out of which texts (isolated from their context and read without attention to the whole nature and purport of the books in which they occur) can be taken for use as weapons.” —C.S. Lewis, letter to Mrs. Johnson on November 8, 1952 Lewis was replying to Mrs. Johnson’s question, “Is the Bible infallible?” Only the Word is infallible, and Jesus Christ—not a book—is the Word. It would not matter if the Bible was infallible, because the reader is not. The reader has perspectives, personality, opinions, life experience, weaknesses, trauma history, blind spots, a worldview-scaffolding built stick by stick out of his private daily impressions. He will do his best, but he will read scripture imperfectly and inevitably fashion some ideas out of what he reads that support his pre-formed conclusions about God, himself, and his fellow beings. The fallibility of the Bible in his life is equal by degree to how he reads it. If he reads it with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, intending to find Jesus, receive Jesus, make covenants with Jesus, follow Jesus, and be like Jesus, then it will be least fallible to him. If he reads it looking for weapons and excuses and fuel for his pride, it will be most fallible indeed, as he will learn to exercise theological tyranny—he “will torment [others] without end … with the approval of [his] own conscience” (also C.S. Lewis). We’re not on earth to prove scripture. Scripture proves us. To find the infallible Word, relentlessly pursue the Word Himself. Find Jesus Christ—in everything you read.

Sometimes it seems like the sun will never rise, but it will. In the meantime, He will sit with you in the dark. His hope (and His grace) springs eternal.

“Of all idols, man finds himself the hardest to abandon.” —Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) Art: The Rich Young Ruler by Liz Lemon Swindle

As you study the Savior’s life, the restoration of the priesthood, and the return of the sealing keys by Elijah that unite our families for eternity, you can know with certainty that the Savior fulfilled the Father’s plan.

In the gospel workshop I hosted about hearing God’s voice in an age of artificial intelligence, I invited viewers to take specific actions to deepen their relationships with God, self, others, and the natural world and environment around us. In a world of accelerating technology and artificial intelligence, may we never lose the divine intelligence that matters most—the voice of God. Learn more about hearing God’s voice in an age of artificial intelligence: youtu.be/Ts5Z64A0Vv4

“Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self. Sameness is to be found most among the most ‘natural’ men, not among those who surrender to Christ. “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints. “The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. “Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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In 2016, I had the sacred privilege of organizing the first stake in Prague, Czech Republic. You can imagine the joy I felt returning 10 years later to dedicate a beautiful new stake center in this same stake. 

Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this region has not always been easy. Yet through unwavering devotion and trust in the Lord, the faith of members of the Church has endured. 

As we look back with gratitude for those who came before, we can move forward with hope and confidence in the future. This new meetinghouse symbolizes the faith of members old and new and will be a blessing for all who come and see.

All who live or ever have lived who come unto Christ and live His gospel will feel joy beyond any earthly expression as we reunite, resurrected, with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ and with our parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and ancestors.

Is artificial intelligence helping you grow, or quietly replacing your growth? I invite you to join me at YouTube.com/ChurchofJesusChr… on June 7 as we discuss how to hear God's voice in an age of artificial intelligence.

To those who doubt: Justin and Kenna Valdez moved away from family so they could more easily walk away from their faith. But their eight-year-old son still wanted to be baptized. Sensing a door opening, a wise stake president scheduled us for a ministering visit to their home. Kenna eventually confided that she still had faith in the Savior, and even a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but faced a few triggering issues that held her back. We promised them that as they anchored on the things they believed, the Lord would help with the things they didn’t. Overcoming their concerns was not an issue of resolving every faith question but of helping them recognize the Holy Ghost. As President Dallin H. Oaks recently taught, “You live in a season where the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived.” Justin and Kenna began to make the changes necessary to come back to church. Six months after our visit, Kenna texted me: “Hi Elder Gilbert! We are ready to be sealed as a family.” This is a photo from the day they were sealed at the temple. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling all of us home.

“Suffering is better than sinning. There is more evil in a drop of sin than in an ocean of affliction. Better to burn for Christ than turn from Christ.” —Spurgeon We suffer one way or another. It’s part of life to endure hard things. But we can suffer from sin without Him to help us, or we can give Him our sins through repentance and endure affliction in the arms of His love. He is our protection, our relief, our healer, our light, our brother, our Redeemer, our everlasting friend. Life is a burning. Whether we are consumed because of sin or refined because of Jesus Christ is entirely up to us. Don’t go on alone! Come unto Jesus.

Phones, watches, doorbells, cars, factories and energy grids are increasingly becoming connected, all collecting and communicating information to be interpreted, analyzed and acted upon. Noting this trend, Elder Gerrit W. Gong (@GerritWGong)  of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will discuss how to safely navigate artificial intelligence in a 60-minute gospel workshop video titled “Faith, Dignity and Human Flourishing: Hearing God’s Voice in an Age of Artificial Intelligence,” available on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Learn more on Church Newsroom. newsroom.churchofjesuschrist…

In recognition of the 250-year anniversary of the founding of the United States of America as a free and independent nation, Elder Quentin L. Cook and I discussed the importance of religious liberty and its underlying significance for the restored Church of Jesus Christ. We believe in religious liberty. As the Eleventh Article of Faith reminds us, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) Look, there’s some more world over there. And another creature, let’s go. 🏆

What started as advice is turning into a theme and an imperative. Don’t be alarmed … unless you’re not paying attention. Then go ahead and be at least alarmed enough to pay attention. Which way, children of God—into the pit or up Mount Zion?