Elder Clark G. Gilbert: On the Frontier | Coming to Know the Savior (LDS)

Send us Fan MailHow do we come to truly know the Savior Jesus Christ? In this LDS (Latter-day Saint) episode, Tia Smith shares Elder Clark G. Gilbert's talk "On the Frontier" — and its central answer: we come to know Christ at the frontier, the place where He does His work, quoting former BYU–Idaho president Kim B. Clark, "If you want to know the Savior, go to the frontier."Elder Gilbert — now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, called in February 2026 — gave this address as a BYU–Hawaii devotional in November 2010, on the heels of the Laie Hawaii Temple rededication, while he was leading Church-owned media in Salt Lake City. He teaches through both institutional frontiers (the Restoration, the pioneer exodus, temples, and Church education) and personal ones, and names the two obstacles that keep us from following the Lord into unfamiliar ground: pride, which stops progression because the proud aren't teachable, and fear, which grows when we lean on our own understanding instead of trusting the Lord — illustrated by Nephi being asked to build a ship he had no idea how to build.Tia Smith frames all of this for the work of the gathering of Israel: she sees the spirit world and family history work as one of the Lord's great frontiers, and encourages listeners to embrace change and new, more efficient ways of doing family history on FamilySearch, so this work can move at the accelerated pace President Russell M. Nelson prophesied. When we go to the Lord's frontier — including the frontier of redeeming the dead — we come to know Him because we are doing His work.Q: Where do we come to know the Savior Jesus Christ, according to Elder Clark G. Gilbert?A: At the frontier — the unfamiliar ground where the Lord is doing His work and inviting us to join Him. Elder Gilbert (now of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) taught this in his 2010 BYU–Hawaii devotional "On the Frontier," quoting former BYU–Idaho president Kim B. Clark, and explained that we come to know Christ both by doing His work and because something changes in us when we let go of ourselves to follow Him.Q: What are the two obstacles that keep us from following the Lord to the frontier?A: Elder Gilbert identifies pride and fear. Pride stops progression because the proud aren't easily taught and won't admit they were wrong; fear takes hold when we rely on our own understanding rather than trusting the Lord — the same fear Nephi's family had to overcome when the Lord asked them to build a ship and cross the sea.Q: How does family history and temple work connect to knowing the Savior?A: In this episode Tia Smith applies Elder Gilbert's "frontier" teaching to the gathering of Israel, describing the spirit world and family history work as one of the Lord's frontiers. As Latter-day Saints roll up their sleeves, embrace change, and do the work of redeeming the dead in the temple, they go where the Savior is working — and come to know Him there.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a2CITATIONS:Clark G. Gilbert, "On the Frontier", BYU Hawaii, Nov. 23, 2010: https://speeches.byuh.edu/devotional/on-the-frontierhttps://speeches.byuh.edu/devotional/on-the-frontierSupport the show