October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › Elder Vaiangina Sikahema › Children

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

I Can Listen to the Prophet

From “Prophets, Seers, and Revelators,” by Elder Vaiangina Sikahema · Saturday morning session, October 2026 General Conference

Watch the talkRead the full talk

The big idea

Heavenly Father loves us, so He gives us prophets and apostles who teach us about Jesus Christ, and I can listen to them.

Objective

Children will be able to say that Heavenly Father speaks to us through prophets and will choose one way to listen to the prophet this week.

Before you teach

  • Read Elder Sikahema’s talk. In this lesson, tell only the part about the family sailing through a storm to hear an Apostle; leave out the death of the baby.
  • Bring a blanket or large towel, a flashlight, paper and crayons.
  • Bring a picture of the living prophet, or have one ready on a phone.
  • Clear a space on the floor large enough for all the children to sit on the blanket.

Lesson plan

Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.

3 min0–3

Come close to hear

  1. After the prayer, stand far from the children and whisper very softly: Heavenly Father loves you. Ask whether they could hear.
  2. Invite them to tiptoe close and whisper it again. Ask what they did to hear better.
  3. Show the picture of the prophet. Say today’s truth and have the children repeat it with you twice: Heavenly Father speaks to us through prophets.
6 min3–9

The boat and the storm

  1. Spread the blanket on the floor. This is the boat. Invite everyone aboard.
  2. Tell the story simply: a long time ago, on a small island in Tonga, in the great Pacific Ocean, lived Elder Sikahema’s grandparents. They were missionaries. They heard that an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Elder Matthew Cowley, was coming. An Apostle had come to their islands only two times before. They wanted very much to hear him, so they got on a boat with their little children.
  3. Have the children sway gently as the boat sails. Then tell them a storm came. Sway more, pat knees for rain, hug arms for cold. The trip should have taken 16 hours. It took two and a half days. They were soaked and sick. It was very hard and very sad.
  4. Become still. Say: they did not give up. They kept sailing to hear the Apostle. Ask the questions below.
Ask
  • Why do you think they wanted so much to hear an Apostle?
  • Who do Apostles and prophets teach us about?
5 min9–14

The light comes on

  1. Stay on the blanket. Dim the lights if the children are comfortable with that. Explain that for a very long time there were no prophets on the earth, and people who wanted to hear God’s word could not find it.
  2. Tell them a boy named Joseph Smith prayed. Turn on the flashlight and shine it on the ceiling. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came to him in bright light. Heavenly Father pointed to Jesus and spoke. Read His words from the key quotes and have the children repeat the last two words: Hear Him.
  3. Turn the lights back on. Say that because of that day we have prophets and apostles again, and today’s prophet helps us hear Jesus.
  4. Repeat together: Heavenly Father speaks to us through prophets.
4 min14–18

Freeze and listen

  1. Have the children walk quietly around the room. Tell them that when you say something prophets teach, they freeze, cup a hand to an ear, and say it back.
  2. Speak in a normal voice at first, then more softly each time so they must listen harder: Jesus loves you. Pray every day. Be kind. Read the scriptures. Love your family.
  3. Sing “Follow the Prophet” (the chorus is enough) as they walk back to their seats.
7 min18–25

Draw how I listen

  1. Give each child paper and crayons. Ask them to draw themselves listening to the prophet. Offer ideas: listening at general conference, hearing a story about the prophet, or doing something the prophet teaches, such as praying or being kind.
  2. As they draw, go to each child and ask them to tell you about the picture. This is how you check what each one understood.
  3. Write on each paper, or let children who can write do it: I can listen to the prophet.
  4. Let two or three children show their drawings and say the words on the paper.
5 min25–30

Choose and close

  1. Remind them that the family in the story sailed for days to hear an Apostle. We can hear the prophet very easily, and that is a blessing. Read the key quote that begins: What a blessing it is.
  2. Ask each child to choose one way to listen this week and say it aloud: I will listen to the prophet by…
  3. Bear a short testimony that Heavenly Father loves them and that Jesus Christ leads His Church through living prophets.
  4. Ask them to take their drawings home and tell someone the story of the boat. Tell them you will ask next week what they did, and begin next week by asking.
  5. Say the truth together one last time and close with prayer.

Key passages from the talk

“What a blessing it is to live in a time when apostles and prophets are on the earth.”

Elder Sikahema’s talk, paragraph 26

“This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Elder Sikahema’s talk, paragraph 22

“having an Apostle of the Lord among them was the chance of a lifetime”

Elder Sikahema’s talk, paragraph 4

Scriptures

  • Amos 3:7 Tell the children in your own words that the Lord tells His prophets what He wants us to know; an older child may read the verse aloud.
  • Joseph Smith—History 1:17 Use during the flashlight activity; read the Father’s words from the key quotes and have the children repeat the last two.
  • D&C 1:38 For older children: read it aloud and ask whose voice we hear when the Lord’s servants speak His word.

Other voices that agree

“Apostles bear a unique, authoritative, divinely empowered witness of the living Christ”

Elder Caussé · The Gift of Testimony, paragraph 9

Three things to remember

  • Heavenly Father speaks to us through prophets.
  • Prophets and apostles teach us about Jesus Christ.
  • I can listen to the prophet.

Ways to act this week

  • Listen to or read one short part of a general conference talk by the prophet with a grown-up, and say one thing you heard.
  • Do one thing prophets teach, such as praying each day or being kind to someone.
  • Show your drawing at home and tell the story of the family who sailed through a storm to hear an Apostle.

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

Music

  • Follow the Prophet
  • We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

Adapting the lesson

  • Ages 3–7. Keep the story to about two minutes and let the swaying, rain and cold actions carry it. Repeat the truth after every activity. Give each child a helper job, such as holding the flashlight, holding the picture of the prophet, or passing out crayons. For the drawing, it is enough to draw a face with big listening ears. If dimming the lights worries anyone, leave them on.
  • Ages 8–11. Invite one child to read Amos 3:7 and another Joseph Smith—History 1:17 aloud. Let an older child lead the freeze and listen game. Ask a harder question: hearing the prophet is easy for us, so how do we keep from forgetting how special it is? Share Elder Caussé’s words about the witness of Apostles (see aligned quotes) and ask what an Apostle is a witness of.

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.