Church of Jesus Christ's newest apostle reflects on role to testify of Christ

SALT LAKE CITY — When President Dallin H. Oaks invited him into his office Wednesday, Elder Clark G. Gilbert said he thought the church president was going to give him an assignment.

But the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had something bigger in mind for Elder Gilbert — a lifelong calling to the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Gilbert said it was overwhelming to hear President Oaks extend the calling, but described the experience as amazing.

"We feel overwhelmed right now, but I can always bear my witness of the Savior, and I feel the gifts of the Spirit pouring out on us at this moment, strengthening that witness with greater clarity and depth than I've ever felt before, and I know that will continue," Elder Gilbert told KSL Friday. "I have a lot to learn and a lot to grow still in my life, but I can feel the strength of this calling coming to lift us and make us more than we would be on our own."

The church announced his calling on Thursday.

Support from family and quorum

Elder Gilbert said interacting with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles over the last few days has been "so beautiful."

During a meeting of the quorum on Thursday, he said Elder David A. Bednar talked about how each of the apostles has different gifts and experiences but are unified in witnessing of the Savior and loving one another. Elder Gilbert said he felt that love from the other members of the quorum toward him.

Elder Gilbert's family has also been "so incredibly supportive." He said he has a close-knit family with eight children who are all in various life circumstances and his calling will affect each of them differently.

"They love their mom and they support their dad and it was just sacred," he said about sharing the news with them.

Elder Gilbert and his wife Christine have been married for 32 years. He listed his wife as one of the people whose influence helped him grow closer to Christ.

"I look at my wife and I marvel at her goodness, her dedication, her prayers every morning, her devotionals in our home with her children, her quiet service in the temple," he said.

Elder Gilbert has had many other opportunities to serve in the church, including as president of BYU-Idaho and as a general authority seventy. The nights before his callings were announced, he said he and his wife discussed their fears and prayed that they would be strengthened. They did the same with this calling to the Quorum of the Twelve.

"Nothing could have prepared us for the feelings we had the night before this was announced to the world, and we just sat in bed and wept and prayed, but we reflected on the witnesses we'd seen from each one of the 12 apostles ... and if we could just focus on bearing witness of Jesus Christ we would be OK," he said.

Testifying of Christ

Elder Gilbert said the other members of the quorum and the First Presidency have been "tremendous examples" to him. He recalled a conversation about the future of technology in the church between Presidents Dieter F. Uchtdorf and D. Todd Christofferson during a meeting. He said it wasn't just about what the two apostles said — to use technology to witness of Christ — but the way the two looked at each other.

"I knew they were special witnesses. There was something different about that witness," he said.

Elder Gilbert said he remembers a "moment of terror" on his first morning at the Missionary Training Center before his mission to Japan. He said he questioned what he had signed up for and decided he needed to know if what he would be teaching was really true. He started to read the Book of Mormon "with a fervent, earnest desire to really have an answer."

He described the setting, a Formica countertop and fluorescent lamp, when he read a scripture in Moroni inviting him to "come unto Christ and be perfected in him."

"As I read that I felt a light and a clarity and a conviction that I'd never felt before, and that experience was poignant," he said.

Elder Gilbert said that was the start of a "pattern of recurring witnesses" to him throughout his life that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus is the Christ.

Although he now has a special calling to be a witness of Christ, Elder Gilbert said "the miracle of this church" is that it points everyone to Christ and anyone can have that same relationship with and witness of Christ. What is unique for the church's apostles is the responsibility to share that message with the world.

Following multiple roles in the church education system, he said young adults in the church want "a light and clarity in their lives." He said listening to the Holy Ghost, attending the temple, and following the teachings of prophets all point members toward Christ so they can find that light.

"With so much turbulence in the world, we have the temple that gives us a stable anchor, and everything in the temple points to the Savior, Jesus Christ," he said.

A consecrated life

Elder Gilbert said he hopes to be remembered for doing his best to do what the Lord tells him to do, which is his responsibility as an apostle.

"We try to be consecrated to every call he's given us in our lives and I hope I can take that and amplify and magnify that commitment to do what he would have us do," he said.

The "hear him" message church leaders have recently shared is not just about hearing Christ's messages but about doing what Christ tells you to do. As an apostle, he said he has a responsibility to both hear Christ and act on his directions.

Elder Gilbert said he has always had the ability to see others' potential. He hopes that in his role as an apostle, he will be able to use that ability to help those who are struggling with doubts or challenges in their lives, to see what the Lord sees in them and how they can become more through his help.

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