Eight months before I was born, Gordon B. Hinckley — then second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — gave a talk in a general conference of the church titled “Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives.”

President Hinckley’s address was the final talk of the priesthood session in the April 1983 conference. He shared the story of David and Goliath, found in the Old Testament, and spoke boldly to the young men in attendance about Goliaths they would face in their lives.

“There are Goliaths all around you, hulking giants with evil intent to destroy you,” he said. “These are not 9-foot-tall men, but they are men and institutions that control attractive but evil things that may challenge and weaken and destroy you.”

President Hinckley went on to describe how these Goliaths manifest themselves and the challenges they present but expressed encouragement and optimism.

I thought of that talk when I heard the address given by Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women General Presidency of the church, during general conference in April. Spannaus also spoke of the story of David and Goliath. Like President Hinckley, she directed her remarks toward the youth, but also like President Hinckley, her words are applicable to everyone.

“Have you ever wondered how you can be faithful to God while living in a world of sin?” she asked. “Where do you get the strength to go forward and continue doing good? How do you experience true joy?”

Sister Spannaus used the story of David and Goliath to answer those questions.

“In the Old Testament, the army of the Philistines was battling the Israelites, and every morning and every evening, a giant Philistine named Goliath challenged any Israelite to fight him,” Sister Spannaus said.

“Among the Israelite people lived David, a young shepherd much smaller than Goliath but with a giant faith in Jesus Christ. David volunteered to fight. Even the king tried to dissuade him, but David chose to put his trust in Jesus Christ.

“Previously, David had fought a lion and also a bear. From his own experience, he knew that God had protected him and made him victorious. To David, the cause of God was the most important cause. So, full of faith in a God who would not abandon him, he gathered five smooth stones, took up his sling and went to face the giant.

“The scriptures tell us that the first stone David threw hit Goliath’s forehead, ending his life.” (1 Samuel 17:40, 45-49)

Sister Spannaus noted that although David needed only one stone to kill Goliath, he had prepared himself with five. Focusing on that fact, Sister Spannaus introduced the idea of each of the five stones representing a particular strength that we need in our lives. Five strengths she highlighted were love for God, faith in the savior Jesus Christ, knowledge of our true identity, daily repentance and access to God’s power. Elaborating on those five strengths, she said:

“First, the stone of my love for God. Loving God is the first great commandment. (Matthew 22:36-38) The For the Strength of Youth guide teaches us: ‘God loves you. He is your Father. His perfect love can inspire you to love him. When your love for Heavenly Father is the most important influence in your life, many decisions become easier.’

“Our love for God and our close relationship with him give us the strength we need to transform our hearts and more easily overcome our challenges.”

How do we show our love for God? As we learn from the New Testament, keeping commandments is how we show our love for Jesus Christ (John 14:15). That’s how we show our love for Heavenly Father, as well.

What is the result of obedience? Consider the words of Nephi while in the wilderness.

“And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.” (1 Nephi 17:3)

If we want to receive strength from God, we need to love God, which is demonstrated by keeping the commandments. When we keep the commandments, God will provide for us, just as he provided for Nephi and his family.

Sister Spannaus continued:

“Second, the stone of my faith in our savior, Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came to earth, he suffered for our sins, (Alma 7:11-14) and he took upon himself our sorrows, our pains, our weaknesses and our physical and mental illnesses. That’s why he knows how to help us. Having faith in Jesus Christ means to fully trust his wisdom, his timing, his love and his power to atone for our sins. The stone of faith in Jesus Christ will defeat any ‘giant’ in our lives. (1 Nephi 7:12) We can overcome this fallen world because he overcame it first.”

Sometimes we go through situations that we don’t think other people could possibly understand because they haven’t gone through those situations. We don’t have to worry about Jesus being one of those people who hasn’t gone through what we are going through or have gone through. He has literally endured everything — every sorrow, every pain, every weakness, every physical and mental illness. Because of that, he has a perfect knowledge of what we are thinking and feeling, and we can have complete faith in him. If we let him, he can help us through these challenges. He knows exactly how to help us, and he will help us.

“No. 3, the stone of the knowledge of my true identity,” Sister Spannaus said. “Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, taught us that our most important identities are as children of God, children of the covenant and disciples of Jesus Christ.

“Everything changes when I know who I really am. When I doubt my abilities, I often repeat to myself in my mind or out loud, ‘I am a daughter of God, I am a daughter of God,’ as many times as I need until I again feel confident to keep going.”

Because we are children of God, he wants all of us to be happy and to return to him. I found the words Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at April’s general conference to be especially powerful. He said:

“The intent of the Father’s great plan of happiness is your happiness, right here, right now, and in the eternities. It is not to prevent your happiness and cause you instead worry and fear.

“The intent of the Father’s plan of redemption is in fact your redemption, your being rescued through the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, (Doctrine and Covenants 45:4) freed from the captivity of sin and death. It is not to leave you as you are.

“The intent of the Father’s plan of mercy is to extend mercy as you turn back to him and honor your covenant of fidelity to him. It is not to deny mercy and inflict pain and sorrow.

“The intent of the Father’s plan of salvation is in fact your salvation in the celestial kingdom of glory as you receive ‘the testimony of Jesus’ (Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-70) and offer your whole soul to him. (Omni 1:26) It is not to keep you out.”

How much does Heavenly Father want us all to return to him? Elder Kearon said:

“My friends, my fellow disciples on the road of mortal life, our Father’s beautiful plan, even his ‘fabulous’ plan, is designed to bring you home, not to keep you out. (2 Nephi 26:25, 27) No one has built a roadblock and stationed someone there to turn you around and send you away. In fact, it is the exact opposite. God is in relentless pursuit of you. He ‘wants all of his children to choose to return to him,’ and he employs every possible measure to bring you back.”

Remembering we are God’s children, and how much he loves us and wants us to return to him because of that, should give us the strength we need to endure our challenges.

“Fourth, the stone of my daily repentance,” Sister Spannaus said. “In the For the Strength of Youth guide, we read: ‘Repentance isn’t punishment for sin; it is the way the savior frees us from sin. To repent means to change ― to turn away from sin and toward God. It means to improve and receive forgiveness. This kind of change is not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process.’

“Nothing is more liberating than feeling God’s forgiveness and knowing that we are clean and reconciled with him. Forgiveness is possible for everyone.”

Repentance demonstrates remorse for sin and a commitment to change and follow God’s commandments. Following God’s commandments is how we show our love for God, and showing love for God brings his power into our lives. Thus, if we want God’s power in our lives, we should be repenting every day, and frankly, we should be grateful for it. It’s a powerful gift that God has given us in order to bless us.

“The fifth stone is the stone of my access to God’s power,” Sister Spannaus said. “The covenants we make with God, such as those we make in the ordinance of baptism, give us access to the power of godliness. God’s power is a real power that helps us face challenges, make good decisions and increase our capacity to endure difficult situations. It is a power with which we can grow in the specific abilities that we need.

“The For the Strength of Youth guide explains: ‘Covenants connect you to Heavenly Father and the Savior. They increase God’s power in your life.’

“Let’s talk about that connection. Remember when Christ taught the difference between a house built on rock and one on sand? (3 Nephi 14:24-27) Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained: ‘A house doesn’t survive in a storm because the house is strong. It also doesn’t survive just because the rock is strong. The house survives the storm because it is firmly attached to that strong rock. It’s the strength of the connection to the rock that matters.’

“Our personal connection to Jesus Christ will give us the courage and confidence to move forward amid people who do not respect our beliefs or who bully us. Christ invites us to keep him in our thoughts constantly; He tells us, ‘Look unto me in every thought.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36) Thinking about the savior gives us clarity of mind to make decisions, to act without fear and to say no to what is contrary to God’s teachings. (Doctrine and Covenants 6:33-34) When my day is difficult and I feel like I can’t take any more, thinking about Christ brings me peace and gives me hope.

“How can we draw upon this power of Jesus Christ? Obeying our covenants and increasing our faith in Jesus Christ are key.”

The “covenant path” has been a major theme since President Nelson became the prophet, and we can see why. Covenants are the means by which we are connected to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and thereby can access God’s power.

A favorite Book of Mormon scripture of mine is Helaman 5:12. It reads:

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

We build upon the rock of our redeemer by making and keeping covenants.

Sister Spannaus said she wished David had one more stone, which she said would be the stone of her testimony.

“Our testimony is built by personal spiritual experiences in which we recognize the divine influence in our lives,” (Alma 5:46) she said. “No one can take that knowledge from us. Knowing what we know from having lived our spiritual experiences is priceless. Being true to that knowledge gives us freedom. It gives us joy. If we love the truth, we will seek it, and once we find it, we will defend it.”

Testimonies provide strength because when you know that there is a Heavenly Father, when you know that he has a plan for you that is so much greater than anything possible in this life and when you know that he loves you and relentlessly pursues after you so that you can achieve all of your divine potential, you’re able to have an eternal perspective that makes worldly challenges suddenly a lot more bearable.

Sister Spannaus concluded her talk by saying:

“Dear friends, Christ is eager to accompany us on the journey of our lives. I promise you, as you hold on to the iron rod, you will walk hand in hand with Jesus Christ. (1 Nephi 8:19, 30; 15:24-25; Helaman 3:29-30) He will be guiding you and he will be teaching you. (3 Nephi 22:13) By his hand, you will be able to bring down every Goliath that appears in your life.

“I testify that there is joy in praying every day, in reading the Book of Mormon every day, in partaking of the sacrament every Sunday and in going to seminary — even in the early morning! There is joy in doing good.

“There is joy in being faithful to the God of the universe, the savior of the world, the king of kings. There is joy in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

“God is our Father. He knows your heart’s desires and your possibilities, and he trusts you.

“Dear youth, Jesus Christ will help you to be faithful to the end.”

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.