Samuel Major & Brianna Holmes

Biosketches

Sam earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brigham Young University, and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Northwestern University. He is currently earning a PhD in psychology at BYU where his research interests focus on critical analysis of the philosophical assumptions and implications of prominent theories in psychology and psychotherapy. He currently works as an LMFT at the Center for Couples and Families where he specializes in treating people struggling with compulsive pornography use.

Brianna is currently working towards her master’s degree in Marriage, Couples, and Family counseling. Her current interests and research focus on seeking ways to integrate principles of moral agency within the context of therapeutic practices. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband and 4 children.

“But We Heeded Them Not: Contrasting Worldly Identity with Divine Identity & Destiny"

Elder Bednar explained in his April 2022 conference talk that “the doctrine of Christ [...] increases our capacity to ‘heed not’ the many distractions, taunts, and diversions in our fallen world.” One of the prominent distractions of our day is the emphasis on worldly identities.

Throughout this presentation we will discuss worldviews and how they impact our understanding of our own identity. Specifically, we will discuss the secular identity of the ‘authentic self’ and how this identity can get in the way of understanding our eternal, divine identity. We will explore how the scriptures, modern revelation, and prophets have already given us the means to know and understand who we are.

As we understand our divine identity, we can change how we approach complicated issues like human sexuality, the roles and responsibilities within the eternal family, and so forth.