Conference Isn’t Over
From “Closing Remarks,” by President Dallin H. Oaks · Sunday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
The Lord gives more to those who receive what He has already given, so what we do with conference after it ends matters.
Objective
Youth will pick one conference talk, make a simple plan to study, ponder, pray and act on it this week, and write one true sentence of their own testimony.
Before you teach
- Read President Oaks’s closing remarks (seven short paragraphs) and 2 Nephi 28:30.
- Bring paper and pens, a clear cup, a small pitcher of water, and a bowl or towel.
- Ask youth to have Gospel Library or their scriptures ready; have a printed list of conference talks for anyone without a phone.
- Write on the board: STUDY, PONDER, PRAY, ACT.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 7 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Sixty-second recall
- As soon as the prayer ends, put youth in teams of two or three with one sheet of paper. Give exactly sixty seconds to list everything they remember from this general conference: speakers, stories, phrases, feelings.
- Count the lists and cheer the longest one. Then ask the question below and take two or three honest answers.
- If we do nothing else, how much of this list will we still have in a month?
Find the invitation
- Have everyone open President Oaks’s closing remarks from the last session. Tell them it is the shortest talk of the conference: seven paragraphs.
- Challenge: in the second paragraph, find the things he invites us to do with the conference talks and the promise from the Lord that follows. First to find them reads the paragraph aloud.
- Match what they found to the four words on the board.
- Check for understanding: ask someone to say the invitation in the words they would use with a friend.
- Why isn’t hearing a talk once enough?
- Which of the four is hardest for you, honestly, and why?
The open cup
- Hold the cup over the bowl with your hand covering the top. Ask a youth to pour a little water; it runs off. Uncover the cup and pour again. Ask what changed. The water was the same; the cup was open.
- In pairs, read 2 Nephi 28:30. Look for who receives more and what happens to those who say they have enough.
- Read the promise as President Oaks quoted it: “Unto him that receiveth I will give more.”
- Share President Uchtdorf’s words (aligned quotes) and ask the questions below.
- What does a covered cup look like in real life? What does an open one look like?
- When has doing one small thing you were taught led to understanding more?
First pick
- Give two minutes to scroll the list of talks from this conference and choose a first pick: the one talk they will study first. Ways to choose: a title that fits a question they have right now, a talk during which they felt something, or one a parent or leader mentioned.
- Each tells a partner the pick and the reason.
- Read James 1:5 silently. Then have each youth write one real question to pray about while they study their talk.
- On the same paper, write when and where they will study it, and leave a line labeled What I will do.
The doors will open
- Ask a youth to read paragraphs three through five of the closing remarks. Have everyone listen for a date and two numbers.
- Review what President Oaks said: on April 5, 2027, the doors of the Salt Lake Temple will open to the public for the first time since 1893, which is 134 years. The world is welcome in person or virtually, and there is a video series called Dedicate and a virtual tour to come.
- Each youth drafts a two-sentence message they could send a friend, inviting them to look at TempleSquare.org or the Temple Square app together. They decide later whether to send it.
- President Oaks says we are welcoming the world. Who is one friend you would want to welcome?
One true sentence
- Read President Oaks’s testimony in the last paragraph. Ask youth to notice the phrase “Truth is to be found here” and what two kinds of truth he names.
- Read Elder Caussé’s words about testimony (aligned quotes).
- Give one quiet minute for each youth to write a single sentence about something they know or are coming to believe. Invite a few volunteers to read theirs. No one is required to.
Blessing and challenge
- Read President Oaks’s blessing in paragraph six. Point out that he blessed them and their families with peace and contentment, and blessed their service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Give the challenge: study your first pick this week, pray about your question, and do one thing because of it.
- Follow up: next week, open class by having each youth share one line from their talk and the one thing they did.
Key passages from the talk
“we invite all to study and ponder them prayerfully and to act in faith on the principles they explain. The Lord has promised, ‘Unto him that receiveth I will give more.’”
“On April 5, 2027, the temple doors will open to the public—the first such opening since 1893, 134 years ago.”
“Truth is to be found here—truth about the teachings of the Lord and truth about the covenant path that will lead us to our destiny, the destiny desired by our Heavenly Father.”
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.”
The speaker’s direct counsel
Direct instructions in his exact words. They are not counted among the invitations.
“Join us at TempleSquare.org or through the Temple Square app to learn more.”
Scriptures
- 2 Nephi 28:30 The source of the promise President Oaks quotes. Read in pairs after the cup demonstration; look for who receives more and what happens to those who say they have enough.
- James 1:5 Read silently before writing a question to pray about while studying the chosen talk.
Other voices that agree
“Spiritual growth is rarely dramatic at the beginning.”
“It need not be long, eloquent, or dramatic—it only needs to be true.”
Three things to remember
- The prophet invited me to study, ponder, pray about and act on the conference talks.
- The Lord gives more to those who receive what He has already given.
- Truth is found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and I can say what I know in one true sentence.
Ways to act this week
- Study your first-pick talk this week, with your question written at the top of your notes.
- Do one specific thing because of that talk and write it on the blank line.
- Look at TempleSquare.org or the Temple Square app, and send your invitation to a friend if it feels right.
- Share your one true sentence with someone at home.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet
Adapting the lesson
- At home or with one or two youth: do the recall list together, and have a parent choose a talk and make a plan too.
- No phones or no water: use printed copies of the talk and the list of talks, and show the cup idea with a ball tossed to open hands and then to folded arms.
- Short on time: keep Find the invitation, The open cup, and First pick.
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.