October 2026 General Conference › Talks › President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Sunday afternoon session · October 2026 General Conference

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Christ-Centered Unity

Acting President, Quorum of the Twelve

Read the full talk on churchofjesuschrist.orgWatch on YouTube

In brief

President Uchtdorf, recalling his own baptism in a public swimming pool, teaches that baptism is an individual ordinance that also joins us to a covenant people. While the Savior broke down walls between Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles, Satan works to divide, yet in Christ's Church we are united by love for God and neighbor and by our covenants, not by politics or culture. He points to the sacrament as a weekly fresh start taken together and invites all to "come and see, come and help, and come and belong."

1,423words
~12minutes
25.3references to Christ per 1,000 words
3questions asked
3direct invitations

Themes in this talk

Truth with love 25Covenants 8Striving 3Grace 2Ministering 1Daily practices 1Witness 1

Number of coded passages from this talk in each theme.

Direct invitations

Sentences where the speaker directly invited, urged, asked or pleaded with us to act, in the exact words.

Join in Christ-centered unity

“I invite you to join the Christ-centered unity we are trying to build.”

T28.29
Join in Christ-centered unity

“Please, come and see, come and help, and come and belong.”

T28.29
Receive the sacrament with purpose

“let us not miss the unifying power of the sacrament”

T28.26

Teach this talk

Three ready-to-teach 30-minute lessons built on this talk.

Adults · 30 minutesCloser to Him, Closer to Each OtherJesus Christ has the power to unite us: the closer we come to Him, the closer we come to each other, and our covenants make us one people.Youth · 30 minutesBridges, Not WallsJesus Christ reaches across every boundary to unite Heavenly Father’s family, and the closer we come to Him, the closer we come to each other.Children · 30 minutesJesus Brings Us TogetherJesus loves everyone and brings us together; when we come closer to Him, we come closer to each other.

Test yourself on this talk

Three short quizzes on what President Uchtdorf taught: easy for families and first-time listeners, medium for understanding, hard for careful study.

Questions and explanations are written for this site and are not official Church materials. Each answer points to the paragraph of the official talk it comes from. All quizzes →

Key passages

Truth with love · unity in christ

“The closer we come to Him, the closer we will come to each other”

T28.21
Truth with love · unity in christ

“If we are not one, we are not His.”

T28.22
Daily practices · small and simple practices

“Spiritual growth is rarely dramatic at the beginning.”

T28.04

Scripture referenced

  • 2 Nephi 31:18
  • Matthew 7:13–14
  • Jacob 6:11
  • Mosiah 18:8
  • Mosiah 18:8–9
  • D&C 20:37
  • Ephesians 2:14
  • Matthew 8:2–3
  • Matthew 8:5–10
  • Matthew 15:21–28
  • Luke 10:30–37
  • 2 Nephi 26:24–28
  • Ephesians 2:19
  • Galatians 3:28
  • 4 Nephi 1:15, 17
  • Moses 7:18–19
  • Moses 7:16
  • Moses 7:53
  • D&C 38:27
  • 1 Samuel 16:7
  • D&C 88:67
  • John 17:11, 21–22
  • Matthew 19:26
  • Alma 34:34
  • D&C 130:2
  • Moroni 4:3
  • 1 Corinthians 10:16–17
  • Matthew 18:20

From the talk's official footnotes and in-text citations.