Raised in the canyons as the son of a science professor, Phil Millett developed a deep love for the natural world at an early age. While other kids spent their time on ball fields and in gyms, Phil wandered mountains and streams, searching for understanding in the world around him. Over time, those experiences led him not away from faith, but toward it. On this week’s episode, Phil shares how nature has helped him recognize evidence of a divine Creator—and the spiritual lessons he’s learned from a lifetime of exploring God’s creations.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once described the Savior’s final hours as being “the loneliest journey ever made.” This week, as we take a look at Luke 22 and John 18, we'll study Christ's loneliest hours when He faced betrayal, mocking, and rejection. These chapters remind us that when we are facing our loneliest hours, we are never truly alone—our Savior knows just what we are experiencing, and He will be there to guide us through our own difficult paths.

Image from lds.org.

“There comes to us from the voice of the Book echoes as from some word that we have heard long since and have well understood; they are the whisperings to us of familiar truths. We recognize them, for they are attested by the reasoning of the mind and the sanction of the spirit within us. They tell us that the end of life is that we shall be born again (Mos. 27:25), redeemed and become the sons and daughters of God; that there is no happiness in sin, and that obedience is the way to joy (Alma 41:10; 2 Nephi 2:25). It teaches that an element of faith is a recognition of God's superior knowledge (Mos. 4:6 12), and how that faith is nurtured and grows in the heart of man (Alma 26:22); and how it may become so powerful that nothing can be held from it (3 Nephi 7:18; Ether 12:19). That spiritual gifts to man cease only because of his wickedness (Mormon 1:14), and that God to be unchangeable must be a God of miracles (Mormon 9:19). It gives full light on the comprehensiveness of the plans of the Almighty (2 Nephi 27:7 10), and shows that all men have been alike to him from the beginning of creation, and that his atonement applied as well before as subsequent to his coming in the flesh (Mos. 3:13). That baptism, necessary now, was always necessary (2 Nephi 31:9; Mos. 2:22; 3 Nephi 11:38 39). That the mission of all prophets has been to testify of the Christ (Jacob 7:11). It teaches that purity of heart alone gives access to God (Jacob 3:1). And with unanswerable authority is given again, by the Lord himself, the essence of his Gospel” (3 Nephi 27:13 16) (John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Seven Claims of the Book of Mormon, pp.167,168).

Three powerful words make up the theme youth will learn about next year.

What do you say when someone asks you to do something difficult? Do you sometimes give a noncommittal maybe? Or do you sometimes say yes, but secretly mean no? In this week’s lesson of Exodus 35–40 and Leviticus 1, 16, and 19, we’ll see how the Israelites responded when the Lord asked them to do something difficult, and what we can learn from their response.

Twenty-six years ago, in what Matt Nerdin terms "a moment of self-doubt and frustration," he ran away from the Provo Missionary Training Center in the early hours of the morning. After reaching the freeway, Nerdin had one "scary, prayer-filled" hitchhiking encounter before receiving a lift from a young Latter-day Saint father.

EXCITING NEWS ALERT~This Is the Gospel is going to join Deseret Book at this year's RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City! To celebrate, we are sharing one of our favorite episodes all about the power of our ancestors' faith stories, "The Roots of Faith." Stories in this episode: An extraordinary lesson from her family history helps Sister Linda K. Burton find the right words to minister to the women of the Relief Society when she is called as president; Deserey is called to be the Family History specialist in her single adult ward and receives a special spiritual confirmation from her father beyond the veil about the value of her calling.

When asked if she sees incongruity between her career as the drummer of the rock band Neon Trees and her membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elaine Bradley has replied that she finds total incongruity between being a human and being a disciple of Jesus Christ. On today’s episode, Bradley shares the foundations of her belief, how she has maintained perspective, and how Christ fills in the gap between where we are and where we are meant to be.