October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Neil L. Andersen › Adults
The Quiet Courage of a Disciple
From “Courage Born of Our Faith in Jesus Christ,” by Elder Neil L. Andersen · Sunday morning session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Faith in Jesus Christ gives us courage to choose the right, and each courageous choice makes that faith stronger.
Objective
Learners will name one place in their own discipleship that calls for spiritual courage right now and choose one act of faith in Christ to meet it this week.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Andersen's talk, marking paragraphs T21.05, T21.11, T21.13–T21.24.
- Bring paper and pens for silent writing.
- Draw a large circle on the board with two words on it, one at the top and one at the bottom: Faith in Christ, Courage. Leave the arrows off for now.
- Be ready to read aloud the short account of the Woodbury family (T21.18).
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Courage no one saw
- Begin with prayer. Then say that Elder Andersen taught that faith and courage are hallmarks of disciples of Jesus Christ.
- Ask learners to think silently for thirty seconds about the first question below.
- Invite them to turn to a neighbor and share only as much as they wish. Take two or three brief responses from the room.
- When has doing the right thing taken more courage than anyone around you realized?
- Where did the strength to do it come from?
What spiritual courage is
- Have someone read Elder Andersen's definition from T21.05 (see key quotes). Ask which of the three, obstacles, doubt or fear, feels most real to people today, and why.
- Read T21.11 aloud slowly. Invite a learner to come to the board and draw the arrows on the circle to show what Elder Andersen described: faith in Christ brings courage, and courage to choose the right strengthens faith.
- Read Moroni 1:3 together. Point out that Elder Andersen said our world is different from Moroni's day, but discipleship always requires courage.
- Why do you think the Lord lets faith and courage grow together, each feeding the other?
Courage in ordinary discipleship
- Divide into groups of three or four. Assign each group two or three of these paragraphs: T21.13 (private prayer), T21.14 (the sacrament), T21.15–T21.16 (accepting a calling; President Oaks), T21.17 (commandments and unforeseen trouble), T21.19–T21.20 (young people; a young mother on Sunday morning), T21.21 (speaking of the Savior, covenants, repentance, following prophets).
- Ask each group to read their paragraphs and talk about the questions below. Give them five minutes.
- Invite one sentence from each group: the kind of courage in their paragraphs that they most admire in someone they know. No names are needed.
- Which of these takes real courage for people in our ward or family right now?
- In your paragraphs, what does the Lord give in return for the courage?
When life is upended
- Read aloud the account of Cody and Haylee Woodbury in T21.18. Then summarize gently, without adding detail, the woman in T21.22 who bore testimony that in happiness or unspeakable grief she would trust her Savior.
- Read 2 Corinthians 4:8 together. Ask learners to notice what Paul says after each trouble.
- Share Sister Runia's words from this conference (see aligned quotes) and ask the question below. Allow silence before anyone answers.
- What is the difference between faith that expects to be spared the storm and faith that stands on the rock during it?
Stillness
- Retell briefly Elder Andersen's summers on the dairy farm: guiding the cows to a high meadow and spending the day alone with his thoughts, with no phone and no music. Read his conclusion: “We need stillness to nourish our faith in Christ.”
- Read the line from President David O. McKay that Elder Andersen heard as a young man (see aligned quotes).
- Hand out paper. Give two minutes of real silence for learners to write an answer to the question below. No one will be asked to share.
- What battle is being fought in the silent chambers of my soul, and when this week will I be still enough to kneel alone and speak with Heavenly Father about it?
Choose and trust the promise
- Read Elder Andersen's promise in T21.24 (see key quotes). Ask learners to listen for the three blessings he promised. Check understanding by having the class name them: answers will come, spiritual power will increase, and courage in following Christ will define the eternal soul.
- Read John 14:23, which Elder Andersen quoted, and ask what the Savior promises those who love Him and keep His words.
- Invite each learner to write one specific act of courage for this week beneath what they wrote earlier. Offer the ideas in the act list if helpful.
- Bear your witness of the Savior. Tell the class that next week you will begin by asking two or three people what they noticed about their faith after they acted.
Key passages from the talk
“Spiritual courage is the triumph over obstacles, doubt, and fear in choosing the right.”
“As we choose faith in Christ, He blesses us with the courage, sometimes in very difficult situations, to choose the right, and as we manifest our courage to choose the right, our faith in Christ strengthens.”
“In those quiet moments when we speak with our Heavenly Father privately, independently, we are given the increased courage to choose the right.”
“I promise you that as you strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ by believing and following Him and keeping His commandments, your answers will come, your spiritual power will increase, and your courage in following Christ will define your eternal soul.”
Scriptures
- Moroni 1:3 Read together in the second segment as an example of courage born of faith in Christ when a disciple stands alone.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8 Read together in the fourth segment; have learners notice what Paul says follows each trouble for those whose hope is in Christ.
- John 14:23 Read in the closing segment; ask what the Savior promises those who love Him and keep His words.
Other voices that agree
“The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.”
“The gospel isn’t the umbrella; it’s the solid rock we’re standing on during the storm”
Three things to remember
- Spiritual courage is choosing the right in spite of obstacles, doubt and fear.
- Faith in Christ brings courage, and acting with courage strengthens faith.
- Quiet, private prayer is where the Lord gives increased courage.
Ways to act this week
- Set aside one period of real stillness this week, with the phone in another room, to kneel alone and pray about the battle you wrote down.
- Do the one act of courage you chose, and afterward write a sentence about what happened to your faith.
- During the sacrament, think about one covenant you will need courage to keep this week.
- Tell someone whose quiet courage you admire what you have seen in them.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Be Still, My Soul
- Do What Is Right
Adapting the lesson
- At home with two or three adults: skip the groups and read T21.13–T21.21 aloud in turns, pausing whenever someone says, That one is me.
- Large class: keep people in pairs with those beside them instead of forming groups, and take only three reports.
- Short on time: keep the definition, the stillness writing and the promise; summarize the group reading in two minutes.
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.