Power to Overcome the Adversary | By Elder Peter M. Johnson Of the Seventy

Brothers and sisters, thank you for all you do to become, and to help others become, true followers of Jesus Christ and enjoy the blessings of the holy temple. Thank you for your goodness. You are wonderful; you are beautiful.

It is my prayer that we will recognize the confirming influence of the Holy Ghost as we come to fully understand that we are children of God. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” states: “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”¹ We are “choice spirits who were reserved to come forth in the fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work.”² President Russell M. Nelson declared: “You were taught in the spirit world to prepare you for anything and everything you would encounter during this latter part of these latter days (see D&C 138:56). That teaching endures within you!”³

You are elect sons and daughters of God. You have the power to overcome the adversary. The adversary, however, is aware of who you are. He knows of your divine heritage and seeks to limit your earthly and heavenly potential by using the three Ds:

• Deception
• Distraction
• Discouragement

General Authority Seventy

Elder Peter M. Johnson was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2019, at age 52. At the time of his call, he had been serving as an Area Seventy and a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southeast Area.

Elder Johnson received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Southern Utah University. He received a PhD in accounting from Arizona State University. He began his career in 1992 as staff accountant for Grant Thornton CPA. He has worked as an associate professor at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, assistant professor of accountancy at Brigham Young University, and associate professor of accountancy at the University of Alabama.

Elder Johnson has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Alabama Birmingham Mission, counselor in a bishopric, ward Young Men president, stake financial clerk, ward mission leader, and stake president.

Peter Matthew Johnson was born in New York City, New York, on November 29, 1966. He married Stephanie Lyn Chadwick in 1990. They are the parents of four children.

~ C.J. Poulsen