Strength Built a Day at a Time
From “Spiritual Immunity,” by Elder Christian C. Chigbundu · Saturday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Small and simple things—scripture study, prayer, the sacrament, and covenants—build a spiritual immunity that gives us strength and courage in Jesus Christ to withstand the challenges of life.
Objective
Learners will name the burden they most need strength for and choose one small and simple practice to do daily this week, trusting the Lord to strengthen them.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Christian C. Chigbundu's talk, Spiritual Immunity (Saturday afternoon session). Mark paragraphs on scripture study, prayer, the sacrament, and covenants.
- Write four headings on the board: Scripture study, Prayer, The sacrament, Covenants.
- Bring slips of paper and pens for everyone.
- Ask class members to open the talk in Gospel Library as they arrive.
- Pray by name for those you teach; ask to know who is carrying a heavy load.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 5 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
What weighs on you?
- After the opening prayer, give everyone a slip of paper. Explain that Elder Chigbundu asked his listeners a question, and you will ask it too.
- Read the question aloud, then allow one full minute of silence for people to write an honest answer. Tell them no one will see it.
- Ask them to fold the slip and keep it in their hand or their scriptures. The rest of the lesson is about that slip.
- Briefly set the scene: during the health crisis of 2020, health professionals who spoke at Elder Chigbundu's workplace kept returning to one word, immunity—the body's ability to defend and protect itself. He found himself thinking about what he calls spiritual immunity.
- What keeps you awake at night or weighs on your mind?
Immunity is built, not wished for
- In pairs, take one minute: What ordinary things keep a body able to fight off illness? Hear three or four answers quickly and point out how small and repeated they are.
- Ask someone to read the first key quote (T11.04). Note that Elder Chigbundu names wars, family challenges, and economic uncertainty, and still says we need not fear.
- Read Alma 37:6 together. Explain that Elder Chigbundu calls these small and simple things a spiritual compass the Lord has provided.
- Ask the question below and let two or three people answer.
- Why do you think the Lord so often chooses to strengthen us through small, repeated things rather than one large event?
Four small and simple things
- Divide into four groups and assign each one heading from the board. Each group reads the matching part of the talk and its scripture: scripture study with Mosiah 1:6–7; prayer with Doctrine and Covenants 88:63; the sacrament with Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79; covenants with the words of President Oaks that Elder Chigbundu quotes.
- Give groups five minutes to discuss the two questions below. Ask one person in each group to be ready with a one-minute report.
- Hear the four reports. Write one phrase from each under its heading.
- If no one mentions it, point out what Elder Chigbundu says each practice does: scripture study helps us come to know the Lord; prayer draws us near to Heavenly Father; the sacrament strengthens our relationship with the Savior; covenants create a bond between us and God, and worship in the house of the Lord brings personal direction.
- According to Elder Chigbundu, what does this practice do for us?
- When has this practice strengthened you during a hard season? What did that look like on an ordinary day?
When the burden stays
- Retell the visit in Côte d'Ivoire: after a Saturday session of stake conference, Elder Chigbundu and the stake president visited a sister battling cancer. When they asked how she was feeling, she said that as she prays daily she realizes the Savior loves her and sees His hands all around her.
- Read Mosiah 24:14–15 aloud, slowly. Ask learners to look for what the Lord changed and what He did not.
- Read the second key quote (T11.19) and the words of President Eyring that Elder Chigbundu quotes. Add Elder Hathaway's sentence about grace as an enabling power.
- Discuss the questions. Allow silence; do not rush to fill it.
- What is the difference between a burden removed and a back made stronger? When have you experienced the second?
- Elder Chigbundu says our “Why me?” questions can be replaced by “What can I learn, and what can I change?” What helps that change of question happen?
Choose one and begin
- Read both of Elder Chigbundu's invitations aloud, then the third key quote (T11.25), where he calls these four things the armor of God.
- Ask learners to unfold their slip. On the back, in silence, they write one small and simple thing they will do daily this week for that burden, and when and where they will do it.
- Invite them to tell the person beside them only the practice and the time, not the burden.
- Point to the promise in the first key quote: strength and courage to withstand. Bear a brief testimony of the Savior's power to strengthen.
- Tell the class you will begin next week by asking what they noticed. Follow through: open next week with two minutes of sharing.
- As a check before closing: in one sentence, what does Elder Chigbundu mean by spiritual immunity?
Key passages from the talk
“As we build our spiritual immunity, we develop the strength and courage to withstand the challenges of life.”
“The burden we carry may not always be removed, but our backs will be built to carry the load placed upon them”
“While they may seem small and simple, they are truly the armor of God that will help us stand against the tactics of the devil!”
“Our ‘Why me?’ questions will be replaced by ‘What can I learn, and what can I change?’”
The speaker’s direct invitations
“I invite you to search the scriptures diligently, that you might know the word of God”
“I invite you to always remember scriptures, prayers, the sacrament, and covenants.”
Scriptures
- Alma 37:6 Read together in the second segment to name the principle; the words appear in the talk.
- Mosiah 24:14–15 Read aloud slowly in the fourth segment; look for what the Lord changed and what He did not.
- Doctrine and Covenants 88:63 The prayer group reads it and marks what the Savior asks and what He promises.
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79 The sacrament group reads it and lists the promises we make.
Other voices that agree
“[Proving] moments are not evidence that the Lord has abandoned you. Rather, they are evidence that He loves you enough to refine and strengthen you”
“This grace does not remove the pain and difficulty of affliction; it is an enabling power”
Three things to remember
- Spiritual immunity is built by small and simple things done daily.
- The Lord may not remove my burden, but He will strengthen me to carry it.
- Scriptures, prayer, the sacrament, and covenants are the armor of God.
Ways to act this week
- Choose one of the four practices and set a fixed time and place for it each day this week.
- During the sacrament this Sunday, silently ask what the Savior would have you do, and write down what comes.
- When a worry returns at night, pray about it by name before doing anything else.
- Set a date to worship in the house of the Lord, or take one step toward being ready to.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- How Firm a Foundation
- I Need Thee Every Hour
Adapting the lesson
- At home or with fewer than six people: skip the groups and take the four practices one at a time together, giving each about two minutes.
- With a large class: let several groups take the same practice, and hear only one report for each heading.
- If time is short: keep the opening question, the fourth segment, and the closing choice.
This lesson is an independent study aid written for this site. It is not an official lesson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotations are word for word from the official talk; paragraph numbers count the paragraphs of the talk as published at churchofjesuschrist.org, not counting headings or picture captions. The activities, questions and ideas for acting are suggestions; follow the Spirit and adapt them to those you teach.