Conference Talk of the Week

Overview

President D. Todd Christofferson speaks plainly about gambling. He opens by echoing President Gordon B. Hinckley's short answer: "We are against it." He explains that smartphones have turned gambling from an occasional trip to a casino into something available at any hour, through online sports betting, casino-style games, and prediction markets, and that youth and young adults are hit hardest. He then gives three reasons to stay away from it. Gambling carries a heavy opportunity cost in money, time, and relationships. Your example can lead someone weaker in the faith into temptation, as Paul taught about food offered to idols. And gambling is morally wrong, because any gain in it comes at someone else's expense. He closes by asking members not only to stop gambling but to put the time and money they save into doing good.

Three Key Takeaways

• 1Mobile access has changed gambling. Because a phone puts betting within reach all day and in private, occasional entertainment can turn into a repeated habit that cuts into saving, adds debt, and takes time from studies, relationships, and career, especially for teenagers and young adults.
• 2Every choice has an opportunity cost. President Christofferson draws on President Dallin H. Oaks's question "Where will this lead?" and asks what gambling takes away from your money, your time, your relationships, and the worthwhile things you could be doing.
• 3Even if you believe a small wager would never hurt you, others watch your example. Paul taught that a believer's liberty could become "a stumblingblock to them that are weak" (1 Corinthians 8:9–11). Christ died for that person, so their soul is worth more than your recreation.

Reflection Questions

• Where on your phone or in your daily routine are you being invited to bet, wager, or chase something for nothing, and what would it take to remove those invitations?
• If you apply President Oaks's question "Where will this lead?" to how you spend your free time and money right now, what honest answer do you get?
• Who in your family, ward, or circle of friends might take license from your example, and how does knowing that Christ died for them change the way you think about your own choices?