Withstand Every Temptation, Elder Kerr Tells Young Adults By Brittany Karford, Church Magazines Exactly 50 years ago from last night's CES fireside, the speaker, Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the of the Seventy, was aboard a beautiful ocean liner bound for Britain. He was on his way to serve a two-year mission where teaching and testifying of the divine truth, he said, caused a testimony to swell within his soul. “I want you to know I loved my mission,” Elder Kerr told the audience at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University and the thousands of young adults tuned in to the fireside worldwide. “I will be forever grateful for that great experience.” It was there that he garnered a shield of protection through his faith in the Lord, a shield he challenged those in the audience to acquire for themselves. “Our faith is our best defense,” Elder Kerr said, citing the counsel Alma gave to his son Helaman in the Book of Mormon: “Teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity . . . teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil with their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (Alma 37:32—33). With faith and testimony firmly and consciously in place, “let your faith in Christ keep you out of the devil’s territory,” Elder Kerr instructed young adults. Instruction has been the foundation of much of Elder Kerr's life, both academically and spiritually. He currently serves as the Commissioner of Church Education and previously served as the Utah Commissioner of Higher Education. He has held numerous administrative positions at colleges and universities across the state of Utah, and was introduced at the fireside as a “champion of latter-day youth.” From his broad experience, Elder Kerr said the basic elements of learning are the three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic. Similarly, he said the elements essential to the gospel also include three Rs: resurrection, revelation, and restoration. The doctrine of resurrection is as old as the history of the world, Elder Kerr said, pointing out the universality of the Atonement, which will allow all to be raised from temporal death. “Even there shall not be so much as a hair of their heads be lost,” Elder Kerr said, touching his own thinning hair with a smile. Moving to revelation, Elder Kerr spoke specifically about revelation from the modern-day prophet—an infallible sign of the restored Church. “We can have unending confidence in the prophetic voice we can hear and read,” he said. He went on to offer a solution for young adults in times of trial. “If you should face a moment of temptation, try to force yourself to think of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” he said. “Allow the consciousness of a living prophet to turn you away from temptation and preserve your worthiness.” Elder Kerr spoke of the consistency in how both ancient and modern revelation have been received, pointing to the doctrine of revelation as a distinct feature of the Restoration. “Most of what we know about important doctrine comes from modern revelation,” he said. “We are here because of the Restoration.” Elder Kerr went on to testify of Joseph Smith and President Gordon B. Hinckley as prophets in our day. The reality of the resurrection, the relevance of revelation, and the reliability of the restoration, Elder Kerr said, will increase faith and allow all to withstand every temptation of the devil.