Elder David A. Bednar

Elder David A. Bednar is an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served as a General Authority of the Church since 2004 and is known for his emphasis on spiritual self-reliance, technology, and the importance of the family. He has also written several books and given many talks that have been widely shared throughout the church.

“The first experience occurred as we entered a dark room and turned on a light switch. Remember how in an instant a bright flood of illumination filled the room and caused the darkness to disappear. What previously had been unseen and uncertain became clear and recognizable. This experience was characterized by immediate and intense recognition of light.

“The second experience took place as we watched night turn into morning. Do you recall the slow and almost imperceptible increase in light on the horizon? In contrast to turning on a light in a dark room, the light from the rising sun did not immediately burst forth. Rather, gradually and steadily the intensity of the light increased, and the darkness of night was replaced by the radiance of morning. Eventually, the sun did dawn over the skyline. But the visual evidence of the sun’s impending arrival was apparent hours before the sun actually appeared over the horizon. This experience was characterized by subtle and gradual discernment of light.

“From these two ordinary experiences with light, we can learn much about the spirit of revelation.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  “The Spirit of Revelation”

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“Perhaps the greatest indicator of character is the capability to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us.”

Elder David A. Bednar

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“To those who know and understand the plan of salvation, defiling the body is an act of rebellion [see Mosiah 2:36–37] and a denial of our true identity as sons and daughters of God.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May 2013, 43.

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One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction.

Elder David A. Bednar  |  Watchful unto Prayer Continually

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The adversary works relentlessly to attack the elements of the Father’s plan he hates the most…Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. President Russell M. Nelson has taught that spiritual safety ultimately lies in “never taking the first enticing step toward going where you should not go and doing what you should not do.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  Watchful unto Prayer Continually

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“Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to ‘pray always’”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  “Pray Always,” Ensign, November 2008, 42.

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“As members of the Lord’s restored Church, we are blessed both by our initial cleansing from sin associated with baptism and by the potential for an ongoing cleansing from sin made possible through the companionship and power of the Holy Ghost—even the third member of the Godhead.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins

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“I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the redeeming power of the Atonement and not as associated with the enabling power of the Atonement. The Atonement is also for saints. I don’t think many of us get it. We mistakenly think that we have to make the journey from good to better all by ourselves. Individuals through faith in the Atonement receive strength and power to do good works that they could not do otherwise.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality"

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I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the redeeming power of the Atonement and not as associated with the enabling power of the Atonement. The Atonement is also for saints. I don’t think many of us get it. We mistakenly think that we have to make the journey from good to better all by ourselves. Individuals through faith in the Atonement receive strength and power to do good works that they could not do otherwise.

Elder David A. Bednar

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True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous action. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “faith [is] the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness” and that it is also “the principle of action in all intelligent beings” (Lectures on Faith [1985], 1). Action alone is not faith in the Savior, but acting in accordance with correct principles is a central component of faith. Thus, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).

Elder David A. Bednar  |  “Ask in Faith,” Ensign, May 2008

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