Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered a devotional on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the Marriott Center. He bore his testimony that Jesus Christ is the answer to life’s trials.
Elder Duncan received a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in taxation, and a juris doctor from Brigham Young University in 1991. His message centered on the sustaining power of Jesus Christ, a truth he learned through personal trials.
Duncan shared how his faith was tested when his first wife, Wendy, passed away in a car accident just two years into their marriage, leaving him a single father to their daughter, Aubrey.
“The grief was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It tested my faith and resilience in ways I could never have imagined,” he said.
In a tender mercy, Duncan realized God had prepared him for that moment. Just days before the accident, he had traveled with a friend whose wife was expecting a child. The conversation turned to how they would cope if their wives passed away.
“Through those hours of discussing grief, faith, and His plan, Heavenly Father had knowingly and tenderly been preparing my heart and my mind to face the unimaginable,” Duncan said.
He said understanding strengthened his faith in the Lord immeasurably.
“I learned in a most poignant way that He is aware of every detail in our lives and is constantly working, preparing and sustaining us.” he said.
Navigating life as a widowed father while attending BYU was difficult, but this assurance became a lifeline in the years that followed.
“No matter how much I tried to fit in, making new friends was nearly impossible,” he said.
However, simple acts of kindness from friends helped remind him of Christ’s love.
Duncan later met his second wife, Nancy, in a BYU biology class. He saw God’s hand in their meeting when they happened to finish an exam at the same time.
When he told her about his daughter on their first date, he said "her calm acceptance" melted his fears of rejection.
“My friends, your challenges might not look like mine did, but the answer is always the same,” Duncan said. “The answer is Jesus Christ.”
He closed by quoting the Savior’s words in 3 Nephi 17: “Have ye any that are sick among you? Or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them.”
Christ’s healing power, he emphasized, extends beyond physical ailments.
“It reaches into the depths of our hearts, restoring peace, hope, and strength,” Duncan said. “I invite you to stay close to Him.”
Duncan’s message emphasized that through the Savior’s grace, no burden is too heavy and no trial is faced alone.