October 2026 General Conference › Lessons › President Dallin H. Oaks › Children
Open Hands, Open Heart
From “Closing Remarks,” by President Dallin H. Oaks · Sunday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
When I listen to the prophet and do what I learn, Heavenly Father gives me more.
Objective
Children will show the four actions the prophet invited us to do with conference (study, think, pray, do) and choose one good thing to do this week.
Before you teach
- Read President Oaks’s closing remarks and 2 Nephi 28:30.
- Bring a soft ball, paper, and crayons.
- Find a picture of President Oaks and a picture of the Salt Lake Temple in Gospel Library or the meetinghouse library.
- Think of one simple thing you remember from this conference to share in a sentence.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 7 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Sing and meet the prophet
- After the prayer, sing the chorus of Follow the Prophet while marching in place.
- Show the picture of President Oaks. Say: at the very end of general conference, President Oaks gave us a short message. Today we will learn what he asked us to do.
Four actions game
- Tell the children that President Oaks invited everyone to study the conference talks, think about them with prayer, and do what they teach.
- Teach four motions. Study: hold hands open like a book. Think: touch a finger to your head. Pray: fold your arms. Do: march in place.
- Call out the words in order, then mix them up and go faster. Let a child be the caller.
- End by saying together: I can listen and do.
Open hands
- Stand the children in a circle. Ask one child to fold their arms tight, and gently pretend to hand them the ball. Ask: can you take it with your arms folded like that?
- Now ask the child to hold out open hands, and give them the ball. Pass or roll the ball around the circle so every child receives it with open hands.
- Say: President Oaks told us a promise from the Lord. Read it slowly: “Unto him that receiveth I will give more.” Explain that to receive means to take in what Heavenly Father gives us, like open hands take the ball.
- Say together: I can listen and do.
- How can we show Heavenly Father that our hearts are open?
The temple doors will open
- Show the picture of the Salt Lake Temple. Invite the children to stand tall with hands together above their heads like a spire.
- Tell them: President Oaks said that on April 5, 2027, the doors of the Salt Lake Temple will open to the public, and that the Church is welcoming the world. The temple is the house of the Lord.
- Sing I Love to See the Temple.
Draw the temple
- Give each child paper and crayons. Invite them to draw the temple with its doors open and to draw themselves beside it.
- As they draw, walk around and ask each child to tell you about the picture.
- Ask the question below and let several children answer.
- How do you feel when you see a temple?
One thing I will do
- Tell the children one simple thing you remember from conference, in one sentence. Ask what they remember: a song, a story, how they felt.
- Explain that the prophet invited us to keep learning from conference. Suggest simple choices: listen to one conference talk or story with someone at home, say a prayer about what I heard, or do one kind thing I learned about.
- Have each child turn the paper over and draw the one thing they choose. Help younger children by writing a few words for them.
A blessing and a testimony
- Ask the children to sit quietly with arms folded. Tell them that President Oaks blessed us and our families with peace. Whisper together: peace.
- Tell them he ended with his testimony that this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Share your own short testimony that Heavenly Father loves them and gives more to those who listen and do.
- Do the four motions one last time. Follow up: ask the children to bring back their paper next week and tell what they did.
Key passages from the talk
“Unto him that receiveth I will give more.”
“we invoke the blessings of the Lord on you and your families, blessings of peace and contentment.”
“This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in His Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
The speaker’s direct invitation
“As the talks of this conference are published, we invite all to study and ponder them prayerfully and to act in faith on the principles they explain.”
Scriptures
- 2 Nephi 28:30 The source of the promise President Oaks quoted. Tell it in your own simple words during Open hands; an older child may read the verse aloud.
- James 1:22 Have an older child read it aloud before One thing I will do, then ask what we should do after we hear God’s word.
Other voices that agree
“What a blessing it is to live in a time when apostles and prophets are on the earth.”
Three things to remember
- The prophet invited me to learn from conference and do what I learn.
- When I receive what Heavenly Father gives, He gives me more.
- The temple is the house of the Lord, and the doors of the Salt Lake Temple will open to the public.
Ways to act this week
- Listen to one conference talk or story with someone at home this week.
- Say a prayer about what you heard.
- Do the one thing you drew on your paper, and bring the paper back next week.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Follow the Prophet
- I Love to See the Temple
Adapting the lesson
- Ages 3–7. Use only two motions at first (open hands and marching), repeat the short truth after every activity, roll the ball instead of tossing it, and let helpers write each child’s choice on the back of the drawing. Shorten the talking and sing each song twice.
- Ages 8–11. Have a child read 2 Nephi 28:30 and James 1:22 aloud, let an older child lead the four actions game, and ask a harder question: why do you think Heavenly Father gives us a little at a time? Invite them to write the name of one conference talk they will listen to 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.