I Could Not Be Shaken
“I Could Not Be Shaken”
President Quinn’s Weekly Message
California Santa Rosa Mission
August 18th, 2025
It was wonderful being together for zone conferences last week. Thank you for your participation in our discussions. I was inspired by the things you shared with us.
My personal study last week had me reading the book of Jacob. In the seventh chapter of Jacob, we meet the first of three anti-Christs in the Book of Mormon. This man’s name was Sherem. We read that Sherem “preached many things that were flattering unto the people.” He did this “that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.” (v. 2)
At the beginning of each zone conference and district council, we stand to recite our missionary purpose which is to invite and help others understand and live the doctrine of Christ. I couldn’t help but pause and reflect on this verse as I read it. I was reminded how critical it is for us to not only share the doctrine of Chist with our friends, but to have our own firm testimony of it.
Sherem finds an opportunity to meet with Jacob with the hope that he might “shake” him from his faith. Jacob provides us the perfect formula for defending our faith when we are confronted by those who would try to undermine it:
“And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken.” (Jacob 7:5)
I am grateful for the lesson taught to us by Jacob. As we remember and rely on past spiritual experiences, we will have the strength to resist those individuals or circumstances that seek to have us question our faith. We do not need visitations from angels. We need only to recall those times the Spirit has revealed truth to our spirit. These memories, like they were for Jacob, will help us to not “be shaken.” Like the house built on stone in the Savior’s parable, our testimonies firmly planted on truth through the witness of the Spirit will be capable of weathering the storms of life.
When I was a bishop, a well-dressed and groomed young man attended one of the fast and testimony meetings in our ward. He was not a member of our ward. He came to the pulpit during the meeting to share a testimony of Jesus Christ. He was a gifted speaker. The words he used were carefully and articulately delivered. However, his words lacked the confirming power of the Spirit. As he concluded his remarks, he turned from the pulpit and handed me a business card requesting to meet with me.
We met the following week. Prior to our meeting, I learned that this young man was a retuned missionary who had left the Church. He was traveling around our area visiting with bishops asking for the opportunity to speak in a sacrament meeting.
He asked me for the opportunity to share a message of Christ in one of our upcoming sacrament meetings. I promptly declined his request. I told him he would never be given the opportunity to speak to the members of our ward in a sacrament meeting. He was appalled at my response, “Bishop, you heard my message last week. I testified of Jesus Christ. I did so with eloquence and certainty. Public speaking is one of my gifts.” “Yes,” I replied, “You used all the right words when speaking of Christ, but your words did not carry the Spirit.”
I invited this young man to examine the decisions he had made in his life that had led him away from the Church. I invited him to work with his bishop to find the help he needed to rediscover his faith – and the Spirit. He left my office a sad and tragic figure.
Sister Quinn has invited us to keep a list of miracles. She has also provided all of us with a “Coming to Know Him” journal. Please take the time to record your spiritual experiences. Our hope is that you will have a record of those times the Spirit witnessed truth to you. I know that as you reread these experiences, the Spirit will once again confirm the truth of the revelations you received. Our hope is that your faith in the doctrine of Christ, like Jacob’s, can never “be shaken.”
Love,
President Quinn
(630) 881-4030
