October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Edward Dube › Children

30-minute lesson · Children · Ages 3–11: Primary or home

Jesus Says, “Come”

From “Come unto Christ,” by Elder Edward Dube · Sunday morning session, October 2026 General Conference

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The big idea

Jesus loves everyone and invites all of us to come to Him; I do not have to be perfect, I just do my best and He helps me.

Objective

Children will say that Jesus invites everyone to come to Him, and will show one way they can come to Jesus and one way they can invite a friend.

Before you teach

  • Draw a large hand held up to say stop on one sheet of paper and write Keep Out under it. Bring tape.
  • Bring plain paper and crayons for each child.
  • Bring a soft ball and a box or basket.
  • Set two chairs a little apart at the front of the room to make a gate. Tape the Keep Out sign to one chair.
  • If you can, bring a picture of the Savior.

Lesson plan

Thirty minutes in 7 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.

3 min0–3

Welcome and song

  1. Greet each child by name. Invite a child to pray.
  2. Sing the song I Feel My Savior's Love.
  3. Show the picture of the Savior and say: Jesus loves every one of us, and today we will learn something He says to everyone. He says, “Come.”
5 min3–8

The sign on the gate

  1. Point to the two chairs and the sign. Ask the first question.
  2. Tell the story simply: a long time ago, a missionary named Elder Dube saw a sign on the gate of the mission office. It told people to stay out. President Oaks, who is now our prophet, asked for the sign to be taken down, because we invite everyone to come unto Christ.
  3. Choose a child to take the sign off the chair. Then let every child walk through the gate, one at a time. As each one comes through, the class says together: “Jesus says, Come.”
  4. When all are seated, ask the second question.
Ask
  • What does this sign tell people to do?
  • Who does Jesus invite to come to Him?
4 min8–12

Come is an action

  1. Tell the children that Elder Dube said come is an action. It means we move.
  2. Have the children stand along one wall. Stand across the room holding the picture of the Savior.
  3. Name ways we come to Jesus, one at a time: I pray. I go to church. I read the scriptures. I am kind. I say sorry. Each time, the children repeat the words and take two big steps toward the picture.
  4. When they reach you, have them sit in a circle and say together: I can come to Jesus.
Ask
  • What is one way you came to Jesus this week?
5 min12–17

I can do my best

  1. Put the box on the floor. Let each child toss the ball once from a few steps away. Cheer for every try. Most will miss.
  2. Say: No one gets it in every time. That is all right. Now stand beside each child, walk with the child right up to the box, and let him or her drop the ball in.
  3. Tell the story: Elder Dube visited a good man named Brother Child, who was trying very hard to change something that was hard for him. His wife prayed and prayed for him. Heavenly Father answered her. The answer was that he did not need to be perfect. He needed to do the very best he could. Jesus helped him, and he and his wife went to the temple to be sealed.
  4. Have the children repeat after you, with a thumbs-up: I do my best. Jesus helps me.
Ask
  • When we try and it is still hard, who can help us?
6 min17–23

Make a welcome sign

  1. Give each child paper and crayons. Say: The old sign told people to stay out. Let us make a new sign for the gate.
  2. Invite the children to draw a sign that welcomes everyone to come to Jesus. They might draw an open gate, a smiling face, a heart or the Savior with children.
  3. Help them write the word Come at the top.
  4. As they draw, walk around and ask each child to tell you about the sign.
  5. Tape one or two finished signs to the chairs where the old sign was.
4 min23–27

I can invite a friend

  1. Tell the children that Elder Dube asked all of us to find one person and invite him or her to come unto Christ.
  2. Practice in pairs. One child stands at the gate and says, “Will you come with me?” The other says yes, and they walk through the gate together. Then they trade places.
  3. Suggest things they could invite a friend to do: come to Primary, sit with me, pray with our family, come to an activity.
  4. Ask each child to think of one person to be kind to or to invite this week. They do not have to say the name aloud.
Ask
  • How do you feel when someone invites you to come along?
3 min27–30

Testimony and closing

  1. Ask the review questions and let several children answer.
  2. Bear a short testimony: Jesus loves you. You do not have to be perfect to come to Him. When you do your best, He helps you.
  3. Send the welcome signs home and ask the children to show a grown-up and tell them what Jesus says. Tell them that next week you will ask whom they invited and how they came to Jesus.
  4. If time allows, sing the song I'm Trying to Be like Jesus. Close with prayer.
Ask
  • What does Jesus say to everyone?
  • Do we have to be perfect to come to Jesus?

Key passages from the talk

“He invites us to come unto Him.”

Elder Dube’s talk, paragraph 5

“Come: It’s an action.”

Elder Dube’s talk, paragraph 7

“He needs to do the very best he can.”

Elder Dube’s talk, paragraph 23

The speaker’s direct invitation

“My humble invitation to us all: Will you find one person and invite him or her to come unto Christ by exercising faith to follow His teachings, or invite a friend to meet with the missionaries?”

Elder Dube’s talk, paragraph 28

Scriptures

  • Moroni 10:32 Show the children where this verse is. Have an older child read the first few words, up to the name of Christ, and ask everyone to listen for the word come.
  • John 15:11 Tell the children in your own words that Jesus wants us to come to Him so we can have joy; older children can read it aloud during the welcome-sign activity.

Other voices that agree

“Jesus Christ did all of this because He loves all of the children of God.”

President Dallin H. Oaks, quoted in this talk (paragraph 4)

“I am a child of God and He loves me.”

Elder Fale · I Am a Child of God, paragraph 1

Three things to remember

  • Jesus invites everyone to come to Him.
  • I do not have to be perfect. I do my best and Jesus helps me.
  • I can invite a friend to come to Jesus too.

Ways to act this week

  • Come to Jesus every day this week by praying in the morning and at night.
  • Put your welcome sign where your family can see it and tell them what Jesus says.
  • Invite one person to come with you: to Primary, to play, or to sit with you.
  • When something is hard, say a prayer and try again.

Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.

Music

  • I Feel My Savior's Love
  • I'm Trying to Be like Jesus

Adapting the lesson

  • Ages 3–7. Keep the stories to three or four sentences each and let the children walk through the gate twice. Repeat the two short lines often with actions: beckon with a hand for come, thumbs-up for I do my best. Skip the pair practice; instead you stand at the gate, invite each child by name to come, and walk through together. Have a helper write Come on each sign.
  • Ages 8–11. Have a child read Moroni 10:32 aloud and find the three things Elder Dube noticed in it. Ask a harder question: Why might someone think he or she is not good enough to come to Jesus, and what would you tell that person? Let older children lead the stepping activity by naming the ways we come to Jesus, and write their own invitation on the back of the sign.

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.