At packed Utah Valley Institute devotional, Elder Rasband counsels to ‘form loving friendships, find wise and faithful mentors’

Apostle also says students ‘peacefully reflected the light and love that Jesus Christ has’ following Sept. 10 UVU shooting

Published: Dec 6, 2025, 5:14 p.m. MST

Elder Ronald A. Rasband and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, make heart gestures after a devotional. — Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, make heart gestures to attendees following a Utah Valley Institute devotional Thursday night, Dec. 4, 2025, in Orem, Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

OREM, Utah — Using examples from the scriptures and early Church history as well as personal experiences, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles extolled the virtues and impacts of good friends and mentors as he spoke to a standing-room-only devotional Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Utah Valley Institute in Orem, Utah.

“I counsel all of you tonight: form loving friendships, and find wise and faithful mentors,” he invited.

Elder Rasband singled out Jesus Christ as “our most cherished friend,” saying “In friendship, as in every other principle of the gospel, Jesus Christ is our Exemplar.”

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