Last October, President Dallin H. Oaks participated in an interview as the newly called president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he was asked what phrase or scripture he would like people to have in mind as he begins his ministry, he said, “Jesus Christ is the way.” Then, he shared this scripture from the Book of Mormon:
There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
Mosiah 3:17
This week, in a devotional address at Brigham Young University, he emphasized the same principle:
Whatever [our] doubts, the way to overcome them is to get closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. Again and again, He has taught us that He is the way.
“Coming Closer to Jesus Christ,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 10 February 2026
He then shared four ways to draw closer to the Savior: strengthen our faith, increase our humility, seek help from others, and be patient.
In contrast, the human tendency is to try to exalt ourselves. This tendency is on full display in the story of the Tower of Babel. As recorded in Genesis 11, a group of people embarked on an ambitious project:
Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:4
The story culminates in the confounding of their language and their consequent scattering (the very fate they were trying to avoid), but its most important message is the futility of self-exaltation. They wanted to build their way to heaven instead of building a relationship with the One who could lift them to heaven. They wanted to make a name for themselves instead of adopting the only name by which we can be saved.
Unspoken in the Genesis account is the story of a family who was present but decided to ascend in a more constructive way:
The brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded …
and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.
Ether 1:35, 37
By turning to God, Jared and his people avoided the fate of their neighbors and were able to retain both their language and their identity as a people.
Today I will draw closer to the Savior by following the counsel of the prophet. I will remember that He alone can lift me to heaven.
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