Turn Up the Light
From “Jesus Christ Is the Light and Life of the World,” by Elder Thabo Lebethoa · Sunday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Whatever we are facing, the answer is always Jesus Christ, and we can increase His light in our lives by daily faith, daily scripture study, and daily repentance.
Objective
Youth will explain three ways to receive more of the Savior’s light and commit to one small daily action for the next seven days.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Lebethoa’s talk and mark the three things we can do.
- Ask youth to bring their scriptures, on paper or on a phone.
- Bring three sheets of paper, each headed with one word: Faith, Scriptures, Repentance.
- Be ready to dim the room: lights off or blinds closed.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Lights down
- As youth sit down, dim the room and turn on one phone flashlight at the front. Ask everyone to find 3 Nephi 11:11 and try to read it.
- After a few seconds, invite everyone with a phone to turn on its flashlight. Read the verse aloud together, then turn the lights back on.
- Ask the question below, then have someone offer an opening prayer.
- Explain that Elder Thabo Lebethoa of the Seventy taught how to receive more of the Savior’s light, and today the class will test his three answers.
- What changed in the room, and who changed it?
The silent treatment
- Retell the story: Elder Lebethoa’s name, Thabo, means joy. His wife’s middle name means eternal or endless. Together their names mean eternal joy. Then, shortly after they married, came their first serious disagreement, an argument, and the silent treatment.
- Say that while he pondered what to do, the words of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon came to his mind.
- Have pairs read 3 Nephi 11:29–30 and decide on one sentence that sums up what the Savior teaches there.
- Share that he said these words enlightened his mind and helped him know how to resolve the challenge.
- Where do arguments start for people your age: at home, at school, in a group chat?
- When has something from the scriptures come to your mind right when you needed it?
Is that answer too simple?
- Read the list of concerns Elder Lebethoa named: becoming self-reliant, demands at school or work, feeling inadequacy, fear, and doubt, losing a loved one, or simply knowing what to do with our lives.
- Give one minute of silent writing. Each person writes, in a private note on their phone or on paper, one thing that feels dark or unclear right now. No one will see it.
- Read the key quote that begins “Whatever concerns” and the one that begins “Jesus Christ can bring light.”
- Ask the questions below honestly and let youth answer honestly. Point out what he actually promises: light, hope, and a Savior who knows where we have been, where we are, and where we need to be.
- Some people hear “the answer is always Jesus Christ” and think it sounds too simple. What do you think Elder Lebethoa means by it?
- What is the difference between Jesus Christ removing a problem and Jesus Christ bringing light into it?
Three teams, sixty seconds
- Form three teams and give each one sheet: Faith, Scriptures, or Repentance.
- Faith team: read Alma 7:11–12 and Doctrine and Covenants 6:36, and use President Uchtdorf’s words from the aligned quotes about the tree of faith.
- Scriptures team: retell the man who read the Book of Mormon, then took a shovel, dug a hole in his garden, and buried a newly purchased large tin of coffee. Use the key quote about consistency and sincerity, and Elder Lebethoa’s list of ways to study: in order, by topic, with a question, or starting with a verse that draws your attention.
- Repentance team: use his teaching that repentance means a change of mind and a turning of the heart to God, and his reminder that we do not need to go through this alone. Read Alma 7:12.
- Give four minutes to prepare a sixty-second pitch that answers: What did he teach? What is one thing a teenager could really do this week?
- Hear the three pitches. Let the class vote, not for their own team, on the most doable idea.
- Which of these three is easiest for you right now, and which is hardest? Why?
My seven days
- Read Elder Lebethoa’s invitation from the invitations list. Name the areas he suggested: how we use our time, the things we watch or listen to, and the language and tone we use as we communicate with others. You might add that for youth this can include texts and comments.
- Read the second aligned quote, from President Uchtdorf at this conference, and say that small is fine.
- Give two minutes of silence. Each person writes next to their earlier note: one change I need to make, and one small thing I will do every day for seven days.
- Invite two or three volunteers to share only their daily action, not the change.
- What time of day will you do it, and what will remind you?
A better tomorrow
- Check for understanding: go around the room quickly and have each person name one of the three ways without repeating the person before.
- Share his promise: he testified that today can be a new day and tomorrow will be a better day for all who come unto Jesus Christ and receive His light. Read Matthew 11:28 and bear your testimony.
- Tell the youth that next week you will ask who kept their seven days and what they noticed. Close with prayer.
Key passages from the talk
“Whatever concerns, challenges, and struggles we may have in our lives, the answer is always Jesus Christ.”
“Jesus Christ can bring light in our moments of darkness and restore hope where there is hopelessness.”
“Ultimately, the method, timing, and length of our scripture study matter less than the consistency and sincerity of our effort.”
“Through Him, today can be a new day and tomorrow can be a better day.”
The speaker’s direct invitation
“Let us ponder about the changes that we need to make in our lives”
Scriptures
- 3 Nephi 11:11 Find and read it during the opening, first by one light and then by many. Ask what the Savior calls Himself.
- 3 Nephi 11:29–30 Read in pairs after the story of the disagreement. Each pair sums up the Savior’s teaching in one sentence.
- Alma 7:11–12 The Faith team reads both verses and the Repentance team reads verse 12. Look for what the Savior experienced and why that means He can help.
- Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 The Faith team reads it and builds its sixty-second pitch around what the Lord asks us to do with our thoughts, doubts, and fears.
Other voices that agree
“Strong faith in Jesus Christ doesn’t happen overnight. No, in this mortal world, it’s the thorns and thistles of doubt that grow spontaneously. The healthy, fruitful tree of faith requires intentional effort”
“Spiritual growth is rarely dramatic at the beginning.”
Three things to remember
- Whatever I am facing, the answer is always Jesus Christ.
- I can increase His light by daily faith, daily scripture study, and daily repentance.
- Small and consistent matters more than long and impressive, and I am not doing it alone.
Ways to act this week
- Do your one small daily action for seven days in a row and note each day what you noticed.
- Choose one way to study the scriptures this week, such as by topic or with a question, and keep the same time each day.
- Before you answer a message or a person when you feel angry, pause and remember 3 Nephi 11:29–30.
- Each night, ask in prayer what you need to change, and ask the Savior to help you with it.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Teach Me to Walk in the Light
Adapting the lesson
- At home or with two or three youth: skip the teams. Take the three ways one at a time and let each person suggest one doable idea.
- No phones or a room that will not darken: use one flashlight and a single set of scriptures passed along a row, or simply ask when a small light made a big difference.
- Short on time: do the opening, the story with 3 Nephi 11:29–30, and the seven-day plan.
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.