Biographical information from the Church website

Church Service

Elder Brian J. Holmes was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the April 2025 general conference. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Eleventh Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southwest Area.

Elder Holmes has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Germany Munich Mission, bishop, high councilor, stake president, and Area Seventy.

Professional Life

Elder Holmes received a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 2008 and a juris doctor degree in 2012, both from Arizona State University. He was vice president of Holmes Homes of Arizona from 2006 to 2010. In 2014, he founded Holmes Law, PLC. Since 2021, he has worked as general counsel for Charter One, LLC.

Personal Life

Brian John Holmes was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 5, 1977. He married Alyson Margaret Wilson in 1999. They are the parents of six children.

Summary

Elder Brian J. Holmes’s talk “Jesus Christ Is the Way” teaches that Jesus Christ is not merely a guide who points us toward eternal life—He is the only path back to the Father. Using the powerful image of a blind marathon runner tethered to a guide, Elder Holmes explains that we all need divine help to navigate life’s difficult “mountain climbs.” He emphasises that we bind ourselves to Christ through covenants, remain safely on the covenant path through faithful discipleship, and follow the Savior by following His living prophets and apostles.

Key quotes and questions to discuss or ponder

What do you take from the story of the blind runner and his guide? (Paragraphs 1 and 2)

‘ …our journey through life has moments of beauty and joy but is no walk in the park.’ (Paragraph 3)

How can we best navigate our way through this journey?

‘Because He lived a perfect life, because He bore every sin and every sorrow, because He broke the bands of death, Jesus Christ alone can stand before the world and declare, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”’ (Paragraph 6)

What do you think Jesus meant when he said he is the way, the truth and  the life?

‘Once we bind ourselves to our Savior through covenant, only we can sever the tie. Jesus never will.’ (Paragraph 10)

How do covenants strengthen our connection to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

‘When we have doubts, when discipleship feels demanding, when others turn back, that is the moment to stay bound to Christ just as Peter did. There is nowhere else to go; only Christ has the words of eternal life.’ (Paragraph 15)

How do we stay bound to Christ during times of doubt or difficulty?

‘To walk with Jesus is to follow His prophet.’ (Paragraph 16)

Why is it important to follow the prophet?

‘From Adam to Noah, Moses to Peter, and Joseph Smith to our day, God has chosen to reveal His Son to His children through a prophet.’ (Paragraph 17)

How do prophets reveal Jesus to His children?

‘The Lord warned of a time when “every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god.” Without apostles and prophets, our perception of Christ gradually becomes whatever we want Him to be. Our understanding of doctrine shifts. Our commitment to standards erodes. Unity dissolves.’ (Paragraph 21)

What does it mean to walk after the image of our own god?

‘I testify that because Jesus Christ climbed the steepest mountain of all as He bore the weight of our salvation, we never have to face our mountains alone.’ (Paragraph 24)

‘As we bind ourselves to Him through covenant and follow His living prophet, we walk the one path that leads us safely home.’ (Paragraph 24)

How can we get safely home?

Invitations and application

’Our Savior invites us to walk with Him. His way is the covenant path, the one path that leads to our celestial finish line. We choose to walk the covenant path by exercising faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance, receiving the ordinances of His gospel, and enduring to the end.’ (Paragraph 8)

Possible Scriptures to Pair with the Talk

John 14:6 — “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

2 Nephi 31:19–21 — Pressing forward on the covenant path.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 — The Lord speaks through His servants.

Helaman 5:12 — Building on the rock of Christ.

John 6:66–69 — Peter’s testimony: “Lord, to whom shall we go?”

Additional thoughts

“Living and loving covenant commitments creates a connection with the Lord that is deeply personal and spiritually powerful. … Jesus then becomes much more than the central character in scripture stories; His example and teachings influence our every desire, thought, and action” (David A. Bednar, “But We Heeded Them Not,” Liahona, May 2022, 15).

‘The Church does have many needs, and one of them is for more people who will just do what they have agreed to do. People who will show up for work and stay all day; who will quietly, patiently, and consistently do what they have agreed to do—for as long as it takes—and who will not stop until they have finished.’ [Elder F Burton Howard, “Commitment,” Ensign, May 1996, 27–28]

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You can watch Elder Holmes’ talk here.