As foretold in the scriptures, today is a time in history when individuals around the world are seeking God and His eternal truths, President Dallin H. Oaks taught during the Sunday morning session of October 2026 general conference.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is home to the restored doctrine and authority of the Savior, President Oaks said. In it, God’s children discover the nature of the Godhead and the importance of the Savior’s Atonement in Heavenly Father’s plan.
“God the Father, the great Elohim, is the Father of our spirit, the builder of heaven and earth and the author of the plan of our salvation. (See Moses 1:31-33; 2:1-2; Doctrine and Covenants 20:17-21.) Jesus Christ is his only Son, Jehovah, and the Messiah, “the God of all the earth” (3 Nephi 11:14),” he said.
Church members heed the invitation of the Book of Mormon prophet Amaleki and invite all others to “come unto Christ” (Omni 1:26).
“As President, I pray for what Heavenly Father wants for each of us: to be active members of the Church of Jesus Christ, moving forward on the covenant path into the eternities. We need each other’s prayers.”
Every individual on earth is a work in progress with personal trials and challenges to overcome and help others overcome them, he said.
“We all have present or future concerns or difficulties that we are trying to overcome. This may include questions or doubts. Whatever they may be, the way to overcome them is to draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
These mortality challenges are intended to give individuals the opportunity to develop their faith in Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
“Strong faith requires more than a strong desire. It means trying daily, one step at a time, with prayer and learning the scriptures,” he said.
In this process of personal development, individuals must exercise patience with themselves and others, President Oaks said. This patience includes the time needed for a better understanding of oneself or a loved one. It also involves being patient with advances in scientific understanding and the “sometimes incomplete teachings of religion,” he said.
Reconciling the conflicts that may exist between science and religion can take time. This process can also help build faith and humility. This same faith and humility compels us to obey the Lord’s commands to repent and be baptized.
“A major concern of your prophet leaders is those whose faith in Jesus Christ is diminishing. We love you…So does the Lord God. He relentlessly pursues each of you in love,” President Oaks said.
The Prophet called on individuals to maintain momentum in building their faith by keeping the commandments, keeping their covenants, and avoiding the artificial limitations of secular learning.
2 ways to learn
The Sunday morning general conference address was President Oaks’ second in such a conference since he was delivered at a formal meeting of the general conference on April 4. In April 2026 general conference, President Oaks called on individuals to act as peacemakers in their homes and in all relationships.
Six months later, President Oaks invited continued learning and study of the Book of Mormon.
President Oaks taught that there are two ways to acquire the necessary knowledge of life.
- Developing human revelations through the scientific method and digital information.
- Truths discovered by the spiritual method, which begins with faith in God and draws on scripture, inspired teaching, and personal revelation.
“There is no ultimate conflict between the knowledge obtained by these different methods because God, our Father Almighty, knows all the truth and expects us to learn by both methods. »
President Oaks also urged individuals to remain humble as they seek and obtain learning through these two methods. He referenced Spencer W. Kimball’s 1963 address at BYU, in which the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and future President of the Church called humility a “teachable opportunity.”
“Teachability is the ability to realize that not all virtues and abilities are concentrated in oneself. … (Humility) is forgiving others, realizing that there may be similar or worse mistakes (that we ourselves make),” Elder Kimball taught.
Members of the Church can strengthen their humility by participating in the ordinance of the sacrament each week and by keeping the promises made in this covenant each week. President Oaks invited those who have made additional covenants in the temple to visit the house of the Lord regularly.
“These simple practices will protect and strengthen you,” he said.
Christ’s Witnesses in the Book of Mormon
President Oaks also shared teachings from the Book of Mormon that can strengthen the testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.
First, he says that the Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus, as Creator, died “for all men, that all should be subject unto him” (2 Nephi 9:5).
“This means that if our sins are to be forgiven through His Atonement, we must comply with the conditions He has prescribed, including faith, repentance, and baptism,” President Oaks said.
These conditions will not and cannot be imposed by the Savior or Heavenly Father, President Oaks taught. Their execution must arise from the desires, choices and actions of individuals.
Second, President Oaks taught that the Book of Mormon illustrates how the resurrected Savior ministered to some of those who were not fortunate enough to learn from Him during His mortal ministry in Jerusalem.
When the Savior appeared to the Nephites on the American continent, He said that He was fulfilling Heavenly Father’s command to visit “other sheep” than those who had witnessed His teachings in and around Jerusalem. (See 3 Nephi 16:1; John 10:16.) The Savior also made clear in the Book of Mormon that the Nephites were not exclusively the “other sheep” whom He would serve.
Third, the Book of Mormon contains teachings that show that God loves all people, President Oaks said.
In 2 Nephi 29:7, President Oaks reads: “Do you not know that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and remember those who are on the islands of the sea; and that I reign in the heavens above and on the earth beneath; and that I speak my word unto the children of men, yea, even unto all the nations of the earth? »
Fourth, President Oaks said the Book of Mormon serves to correct “the erroneous assertion that God’s grace saves only a chosen few.”
The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi taught in 2 Nephi 26 that the Savior will receive all people to Himself, regardless of their differences.
“His grace is for all,” President Oaks reiterated. And everyone who lives on this earth will have the opportunity to receive a manifestation of the reality of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, he said.
President Oaks said millions of people have personal experiences and can testify that this promise has been fulfilled in their lives.
“I invite all to believe them,” President Oaks said of the promises found in the Book of Mormon.
The purpose of the book, as stated on its title page, is to help everyone “know the covenants of the Lord” and “that Jesus is the Christ, the everlasting God, manifesting himself to all nations.”
President Oaks concluded his message by inviting individuals to live the truths of the Book of Mormon and share them with others. This will allow everyone to “draw closer to Jesus Christ our Savior,” he said.
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