From the Podium to YouTube

"Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men."
 
"O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength."

These are familiar words to many Latter-day Saints. Missionaries often study and recite Doctrine and Covenants 4 as they begin their service. 

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge was called and served as a General Authority of the Seventy from 2008 to 2019. In January 2019, he spoke at Brigham Young University (BYU) in a devotional titled "Stand Forever." He turned to the audience listening in the Marriott center and asked: 

"Will you and I stand? Will you stand forever, or will you go away? And if you go, where will you go?"

Seven years later, in 2026, Elder Corbridge returned to the same question. Now an emeritus status General Authority, he was no longer speaking from a podium. But he asked the same question in a YouTube series, "Stand Forever," which shared the same title as the BYU devotional address. The series contains 33 episodes. These episodes are a detailed exploration of his BYU address. 

The series ends with the question: "Is there a God who is our Father?" "Is Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world?" "Was Joseph Smith a prophet?" and "Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on the earth?"

Elder Corbridge said these primary questions are important because, "If you answer the primary questions, the secondary questions get answered too, or they pale in significance, and you can deal with things you understand and things you don't, and things you agree with and things you don't, without jumping ship altogether." 

So, what was the purpose of Elder Corbridge's starting the "Stand Forever" series on YouTube years after his BYU speech?

There was an interesting phrase he mentioned in the YouTube trailer. He said, "As part of an assignment I had as a General Authority a few years ago, I needed to read through a great deal of material antagonistic to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reading revealed a broad panorama of human drama, heartache, conflict, redemption, truth, and triumph, which are not theory or someone's ideas, but rather the actual lived experiences of thousands of people, revealing what works and what does not."

He said he saw a pattern. And one of the patterns was darkness. He mentioned that he felt the gloom while reading antagonistic material. The gloom that came as he waded, chest-deep, through the swamp of secondary questions was the absence of the Spirit of God. He said, "It is the condition of man when 'left unto himself.' It is the gloom of darkness and the 'stupor of thought.'"


In 2022, Elder Corbridge spoke at BYU-Idaho in a devotional titled "Finish the Course, Keep the Faith." He opened by describing life as a journey toward a destination: reaching the end, receiving God's greatest gifts, and helping others do the same. He quoted the Apostle Paul and said, "'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." Elder Corbridge emphasized the last two phrases: finishing the course and keeping the faith.  

He participated in a question-and-answer session after his address. The tone of the auditorium changed as the session started. 

At one point, he said: "This is the hardest part of all of this for me because I don't view myself as having the answer to a whole lot of questions." 

The audience felt his awkwardness when his eyes didn't meet them for a little while, and his voice was not as firm as when he had given his talk a few minutes earlier. 

But then he described a question he had asked himself years earlier: 

"I do remember where you are standing and wondering, Is that me? Are those my thoughts? Or is it the Lord? How do I distinguish between my own thoughts and feelings and the Lord's?"

But then he said, "I never wondered about it anymore. And that's the result of just continuing to listen. Just keep on listening. Hear Him. And your capacity to distinguish will increase rapidly as you continue to do that." 

Another student asked about the difficulty some people experience in remaining faithful. Elder Corbridge acknowledged that he did not know why some people have to sacrifice more than others. But he continued by saying, "One thing for sure is it will never be more than what we can deal with, and more than what we can bear. More importantly, God will always, always give us the strength to keep on going and not quit." 

After all those years, how might the Doctrine and Covenants 4 have been placed in Elder Corbridge's heart?

His YouTube series is like a 33-chapter book. He actually said, "I fear it may be misperceived as self-promotion. Heaven knows I would have preferred to simply publish a book and go fishing." But he took the time to record all his speeches in detail as though he was trying to answer a Q&A session. 

His voice caught, and he paused before continuing a few times during the message. That overwhelming feeling might have reflected the experience of knowing people's agony from his reading assignment. 

Has Jesus Christ experienced our agony when he prayed for us at Gethsemane? Has He also experienced darkness and the absence of the Spirit on the cross?  

Russell M. Nelson, 17th president of the Church, said, "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." 

Elder Corbridge ended his teaser by saying, "This is not a random collection of religious musings, rather a carefully orchestrated series that leads to a particular conclusion. I invite you to join me on this journey and stand forever."

A message spoken to one audience in one room can continue traveling long after the speaker leaves the room. His invitation is also an invitation I want to accept — and one I hope to pass along.