October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Patrick Kearon › Children

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

Jesus Loves to Lift Me

From “Jesus Lives to Lift,” by Elder Patrick Kearon · Saturday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference

Watch the talkRead the full talk

The big idea

Jesus loves me and wants to lift me up.

Objective

Children will be able to say that Jesus loves to lift them, tell how He lifted Peter, and choose one way to lift someone else this week.

Before you teach

  • Read Matthew 14:28–31 and the part of Elder Kearon's talk about learning to fly a glider.
  • Bring a blanket, several sheets of paper, and crayons.
  • Bring a folder or a stiff piece of card to use as a fan.
  • Clear a space on the floor where children can move safely.

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 and invite a child to pray.
  2. Sing the first suggested song together.
  3. Tell the children that today they will learn something Jesus loves to do. Teach the sentence and say it together twice, raising both hands high on the last word: Jesus loves to lift.
4 min3–7

Fly like a glider

  1. Tell the children that when Elder Kearon was a boy he wanted very much to fly. He learned to fly a glider, which is an aeroplane with long wings and no engine.
  2. Have the children stretch out their arms like wings and glide slowly and quietly around the room, without touching anyone.
  3. Explain that rising air, called lift, carries a glider up. When you call out lift, they glide on tiptoe with wings high. Sinking air, called sink, takes a glider down. When you call out sink, they glide down low, then turn around and rise again.
  4. Call lift and sink several times, then land everyone back in their seats.
5 min7–12

Air we cannot see

  1. Hold a sheet of paper up high and let go. Ask what happened.
  2. Hold another sheet flat on your open hand, and have a child wave the folder upward beneath it, or blow from below, so the paper lifts and flutters. Let two or three children have a turn.
  3. Ask the first question below. Then read the key quote about rising air: “You cannot see it, but you can see what it does.”
  4. Explain simply: we cannot see Jesus right now, but He is real and He helps us. The Holy Ghost helps us feel His love, like a warm and peaceful feeling inside.
  5. Say together again: Jesus loves to lift.
Ask
  • Could you see the air? How do you know it was there?
  • When have you felt warm and peaceful inside?
6 min12–18

Jesus lifts Peter

  1. Spread the blanket on the floor as the sea. Tell the story from Matthew 14:28–31 in a few simple sentences: Peter walked on the water toward Jesus, he became afraid and began to sink, he called to Jesus for help, and straight away Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.
  2. Act it out. One child is Peter and steps onto the blanket, then slowly kneels down as if sinking and calls to Jesus for help. You, or an older child, reach out a hand and gently help Peter stand.
  3. Each time Peter stands, everyone says: Jesus loves to lift.
  4. Repeat until each child who wants a turn has been Peter.
  5. Tell the children Elder Kearon's words about them: “And He wants to lift you!”
Ask
  • What did Peter do when he started to sink?
  • What can we do when we feel sad or afraid?
5 min18–23

Draw a time I felt lifted

  1. Give each child paper and crayons.
  2. Ask them to draw a time they felt happy and close to Jesus. Offer ideas: praying, singing a Primary song, being outdoors, helping someone, hearing a scripture story.
  3. Walk around and ask each child to tell you about the drawing. Write the sentence Jesus loves to lift me at the top of each page, or let older children write it themselves.
  4. Use the aligned quote from Elder Fale: say it once, then have the children say it with you.
4 min23–27

We can help lift

  1. Explain that Elder Kearon said that when we find lift, we can show someone else how to rise. Jesus lets us help Him.
  2. Put the children in pairs. One sits on the floor; the other holds out a hand, says something kind, and gently helps the partner stand. Then they swap.
  3. Ask the question below and take an answer from every child who wants to give one. Suggest ideas if needed: say a kind word, invite someone to play, share a crayon, pray for someone.
Ask
  • How could you help someone feel lifted this week?
3 min27–30

Choose and close

  1. Ask each child to choose one way to lift someone this week and whisper it to you or to a neighbor.
  2. Say the sentence one more time together, hands high: Jesus loves to lift.
  3. Bear a short testimony that Jesus lives, loves each child, and will help them when they pray.
  4. Send the drawings home. Tell the children that next week you will ask whom they helped lift. Close with the second suggested song or a prayer.

Key passages from the talk

“Jesus Christ loves to lift!”

Elder Kearon’s talk, paragraph 27

“And He wants to lift you!”

Elder Kearon’s talk, paragraph 14

“You cannot see it, but you can see what it does.”

Elder Kearon’s talk, paragraph 6

“we have an adoring Father in Heaven, whose Son, our Saviour, loves to lift!”

Elder Kearon’s talk, paragraph 12

Scriptures

  • Matthew 14:28–31 Tell the story of Peter in simple words and act it out on the blanket; older children can read verse 31 aloud.
  • 3 Nephi 27:22 With older children, read it aloud and listen for what Jesus promises to do for those who follow Him.
  • Isaiah 40:31 Optional for older children: read it aloud and ask which bird the verse mentions and how that bird moves.

Other voices that agree

“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 loves to lift.
  • Jesus loves me and wants to lift me.
  • I can help lift someone else.

Ways to act this week

  • Say a prayer each day and tell Heavenly Father one thing that made you feel happy and peaceful.
  • Do one kind thing to lift someone: a kind word, an invitation to play, or a helping hand.
  • Show your drawing to someone at home and tell them how Jesus lifted Peter.

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 each part short and repeat the sentence Jesus loves to lift, with hands raised, after every activity. Give the glider game and the Peter story extra turns and let every child be Peter. Shorten the drawing time and have a helper write the sentence on each page. Skip the extra scriptures.
  • Ages 8–11. Have a child read Matthew 14:28–31 aloud before acting it out, and another read 3 Nephi 27:22. Let an older child call lift and sink in the glider game and play the one who reaches out a hand. Ask a harder question: how can you tell when something is lifting you closer to Jesus and when it is pulling you away? On the drawing, have them add one way they will lift someone this week.

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.