Sister Spannaus: 3 Ways to ‘Stay Strong’ in Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ 

To begin her address to BYU–Hawaii students and faculty on Tuesday, February 25, Sister Andrea M. Spannaus, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, invited listeners to picture themselves in Egypt atop a tall mountain thousands of years ago.

“Imagine a man, Moses, having a conversation with the Omnipotent God,” Sister Spannaus said. “Now, picture in your mind the sacred moment when Moses hears these four words from the very mouth of God: ‘Thou art my son’” (Moses 1:4).

Besides teaching Moses about an eternal truth regarding his identity, this experience also teaches Moses about the character of God, Sister Spannaus noted.

After Moses witnesses God’s “majestic power” and converses with Him face to face, the presence of God withdraws, and Satan appears to him saying, “Moses, son of man, worship me” (verse 12).

“But Moses knew who he was,” Sister Spannaus said. Moses replies, “Where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?” (verse 13).

During the interaction, Satan cries with a loud voice, weeping and wailing, but Moses does “not cease to call upon God” and the devil departs.

“After this exhausting encounter, I can imagine Moses still trembling, trying to understand what just happened,” Sister Spannaus continued. “With a loyal faithfulness to his Father, perhaps looking for comfort, he lifts his eyes to heaven and calls upon God.”

A voice answers, saying, “Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee. … I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (verse 25).

In speaking to those gathered in the Cannon Activities Center in Laie, Hawaii, of this experience, Sister Spannaus explained that there is a war between good and evil that continues today.

Some might wonder how to move forward despite this war. Like Moses, there is only one answer, said Sister Spannaus — “with the help of our Savior Jesus Christ and only with His help.”

The Joseph Smith Translation of Revelation 12 reveals that in the war in heaven, Michael and his angels overcome Lucifer and his angels “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (JST, Revelation 12:11).

“It was by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, the Lamb, and by the power of our testimonies that we won,” said Sister Spannaus, adding, “My dear friends, we had that faith before we came to Earth. And we can do the same now.”

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Three Ways to ‘Stay Strong’

God’s children on earth have not been left alone in the fight against evil. “Our Heavenly Father has given us so much to succeed,” she said, including the opportunity to access His priesthood power through covenants and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Sister Spannaus then shared three ways to “stay strong” in faith and trust in Jesus Christ:

1. Beware of distractions.

Recently, Sister Spannaus said she was working on several talks for different assignments but felt stuck.

Shortly afterward she had a dream where she was at a restaurant and served a delicious meal. In her excitement for the meal, she would turn to chat with people at another table, but when she turned back, her plate was empty and the waiter was gone. This happened several times.

When she awoke, Sister Spannaus said she realized she wasn’t getting inspiration for her talks because she wasn’t “eating the delicious meal in front of me” and allowing herself to get distracted by other things.

“What is distracting you?” Sister Spannaus asked her listeners. “What is robbing your precious time with the Lord?”

2. Avoid contention.

President Russell M. Nelson has taught, “Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation.”

Sister Spannaus asked, “What is causing contention in your daily life?”

3. Analyze how to feed your testimony of the gospel.

For herself, Sister Spannaus said, that includes daily prayer — “opening my heart and thoughts to our Father” — as well as scripture study, partaking of the sacrament, temple attendance and striving to listen to the guidance of the Spirit.

“I invite you to engage your life more fully, more intentionally, with your Savior. Looking unto Him in every thought,” she said.

In closing, Sister Spannaus shared 1 Nephi 14:14, where the prophet Nephi sees the saints of the Church of the Lamb, and “they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”

Said Sister Spannaus: “Nephi is talking about us. Our righteousness is a shield in this wicked world. The more righteous we are, the less powerful the enemy is.

“May the Lord bless you with the strength and power that comes from truly knowing who you are, and by reminding you that as His covenant daughter or son, you can call upon Him and be blessed through His power at any time and any place, in any circumstance.”