Elder Mathias Held, a General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of April 2024 general conference about choosing to handle opposition with faith. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Held’s talk summary
Heavenly Father gave each person agency so they could learn from making choices. Sometimes people struggle due to their own choices, and sometimes they struggle because of circumstances beyond their control. Either way, the scriptures teach that there is opposition in all things. And although individuals can’t always choose their circumstances, they can choose how they react.
“We can seek to learn from the experience and ask for our Lord’s help and support, or we can think that we are on our own in this trial and that we must suffer it alone. We can ‘adjust our sails’ to the new reality, or we can decide not to change anything. In the darkness of night, we can turn on our lights; in the cold of winter, we should wear warm clothes; in seasons of sickness, we can seek medical and spiritual help.”
Individuals can trust that their difficulties, sorrows, afflictions and pains don’t define them. Rather, how they respond to those trials will help them grow and draw closer to God. “It is our attitudes and choices that define us much better than our challenges.”
Notable quotes
“Our Father in Heaven gave us the divine gift of agency precisely so that we could learn from our choices — from the right ones and also from the wrong ones.”
“In the darkness of night, we can turn on our lights; in the cold of winter, we choose to wear warm clothes; in seasons of sickness, we can seek medical and spiritual help. We choose how to react to these circumstances.”
“Let us constantly make a very conscious effort to see both sides of every coin allotted to us in our lives.”
See the full text of Elder Held’s talk: ‘Opposition in All Things’
Who is Elder Held?
- Elder Mathias Held was sustained as a General Authority Seventy during the April 2018 general conference.
- Elder Held previously served as a high councilor, high priests group leader, elders quorum president, counselor in a stake presidency and counselor in a bishopric.
- He and his wife, Sister Irene Held, were childhood classmates and married in 1985, later becoming sealed in the Frankfurt Germany Temple. They have three children.
- He worked for more than 25 years for Mercedes-Benz in different countries, including Germany, Guatemala and Brazil. Before his call as a general authority he was working as the general manager of LED Industrial Group Colombia.
What has Elder Held done recently?
- During the April 2019 general conference, he spoke on seeking knowledge through the Spirit.
- In 2018, he attended the Barranquilla Colombia Temple dedication, which had special meaning for him because Barranquilla is where his German ancestors first came to Colombia.
Read more of Elder Held’s general conference addresses.
