October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Dale G. Renlund › Adults
Past the Cold Oatmeal: Trusting the Lord’s Promises
From “How Long Will It Be Ere They Believe Me?,” by Elder Dale G. Renlund · Saturday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
When we remember the great things the Lord has already done, we can see past today’s frustrations, trust His promises, and find peace and joy in Jesus Christ now.
Objective
Learners will name specific times the Lord has helped them and choose one promise of His to rely on this week, feeling that it applies to them personally.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Renlund’s talk, especially the story of Mr. Martin and the story of his sister, Linda.
- Study Numbers 14:2, 11; Moroni 10:3; 2 Nephi 2:3; and John 16:33.
- Bring a slip of paper and a pencil with an eraser for each person.
- Write on the board: Where have I been? What has God promised?
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
The breakfast tray
- After the opening prayer, retell the story of Mr. Martin in your own words. In the late 1980s he was dying of heart failure. His first transplanted heart did not work well. A second donor heart, one considered marginal, functioned beautifully. Ten days later, the day before going home, he sat gripping his breakfast tray, irritated that the oatmeal was not hot and the milk was not cold.
- Point out that Elder Renlund tells this with affection and humor, not scorn. He says we can easily fall into the same trap.
- Read the first key quote aloud. Invite everyone to think silently of one piece of “cold oatmeal” in front of them this week. No one needs to share it.
- Why do small, present frustrations so easily crowd out large, past mercies?
How long will it be?
- Explain that Elder Renlund sees this same pattern in the children of Israel, whom the Lord had led out of Egypt, saved at the Red Sea, and fed in the wilderness.
- In pairs, read Numbers 14:2 and then Numbers 14:11. Ask one partner to listen for what Israel was feeling and the other for what the Lord was asking.
- Share Elder Renlund’s restatement of the Lord’s question: “Why don’t they trust me? Despite all I have done, why won’t they believe me?”
- Discuss the questions as a class. Welcome honest answers; Elder Renlund acknowledges that some have been served more than their share of cold oatmeal.
- What do you hear in the Lord’s question: anger, sorrow, longing, something else?
- Elder Renlund says Israel’s trust eroded as they overlooked both the Lord’s blessings and His promises. How does forgetting the past weaken trust in the future?
Remember the great things
- Read Moroni 10:3 together and point to the two questions on the board. Then read the second key quote.
- Hand out the slips of paper. Give three quiet minutes for each person to list times the Lord has inclined His ear to them: a prayer answered, strength given, a rescue seen only later.
- Invite learners to turn to a neighbor and share one item from the list, as they feel comfortable.
- Ask two or three people to tell the class what happened inside them as they wrote.
- How does looking back at what the Lord has done change the way today’s cold oatmeal looks?
Erase the asterisk
- Tell the story of Elder Renlund’s sister, Linda. She read the Lord’s promises but saw in her mind a big asterisk that excepted her. Over the years she came to realize, in her words, “The blessings are promised to me too.”
- Read 2 Nephi 2:3 and ask whose righteousness Lehi says Jacob’s redemption rests on. Read the key quote that begins with faith in Jesus Christ freeing us from uncertainty.
- Read the Prophet Joseph Smith’s statement in the aligned quotes. Elder Renlund explains that ample provision means every human circumstance is within the Savior’s redemptive reach.
- Invite each person to draw a small asterisk in pencil on the back of the slip and silently name a promise they struggle to believe is for them. Read the key quote about the asterisk, then invite them to erase it.
- Why is it sometimes easier to believe God’s promises for others than for ourselves?
- How does it change things to rest our hope on the Savior’s faithfulness rather than on our own?
Peace in the here and now
- Read John 16:33 aloud. Note that the Savior promises peace in Him while plainly saying we will have tribulation.
- Share Elder Renlund’s teaching that Jesus overcame the world, so we do not have to do so ourselves. Then read President Oaks’s words from the aligned quotes.
- As a check for understanding, ask one or two people to finish this sentence in their own words: I can have joy now, even with cold oatmeal, because…
Choose and act
- Invite each person to write one promise of the Lord on the slip, beneath the list of times He has helped, and to choose one item from the act list.
- Connect the action to what Elder Renlund taught: as we reflect on what the Lord has done, we are better positioned to grasp the bigger picture and rely on His promises, and when our faith is centered on Jesus Christ, He promises spiritual peace no matter our circumstances.
- Bear a brief testimony that the Lord keeps His promises. If time allows, sing or read the chorus of “Standing on the Promises,” which Elder Renlund quoted.
- Next week, begin by asking: When did remembering change how a hard moment looked?
Key passages from the talk
“We focus on the here and now—the ‘cold oatmeal’—and lose sight of the bigger picture, both where we have been and God’s promises to us.”
“As we reflect on the great things the Lord has already done and remember His goodness and mercy, we are better positioned to grasp the bigger picture and to rely on His promises to us. We can trust Him.”
“Faith in Jesus Christ frees us from uncertainty because our hope rests on His faithfulness and righteousness, not on our own.”
“there is no asterisk excluding you from God’s richest blessings. If you think there is, take out a big eraser and obliterate that asterisk. You can rely on God’s promises.”
Scriptures
- Numbers 14:2, 11 Read in pairs. One partner listens for what Israel felt, the other for what the Lord asked. Then discuss what erodes trust.
- Moroni 10:3 Read together before the silent writing. Use it to frame the list of times the Lord has been merciful to each learner.
- 2 Nephi 2:3 Read aloud and ask whose righteousness Jacob’s redemption rests on. Connect it to erasing the asterisk.
- John 16:33 Read near the end. Notice that peace in Christ and tribulation in the world are promised in the same verse.
Other voices that agree
“knows the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made ample provision for their redemption, according to their several circumstances, and the laws of the kingdom of God, whether in this world, or in the world to come.”
“These promises from the Book of Mormon are true. Millions believe them and have had experiences to affirm their truth. I invite all to believe them.”
Three things to remember
- Cold oatmeal is real, but it is not the whole picture.
- Remembering what the Lord has done helps me trust what He has promised.
- There is no asterisk excluding me from God’s promises.
Ways to act this week
- Keep your slip where you will see it each morning and add one more time the Lord has helped you every day this week.
- When a frustration looms, stop and ask the two questions: Where have I been? What has God promised?
- Choose one scriptural promise you have privately marked with an asterisk. Pray about it by name and tell Heavenly Father you want to trust Him.
- Tell a family member or friend about one great thing the Lord has done for you.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Standing on the Promises
- Count Your Blessings
Adapting the lesson
- At home: do the remembering list aloud around the table, taking turns until everyone has named three times the Lord has helped.
- Large class: do the sharing in threes rather than as a whole class so that everyone speaks.
- Short on time: keep the breakfast tray, the remembering list, and the asterisk; summarize Numbers 14 in a sentence.
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.