I See You: Looking at People the Way the Savior Does
From “A Child of God,” by President Rosemary K. Chibota · Sunday morning session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Jesus Christ sees every person, including us, as a beloved child of God, and when we pray to see others as He does, love and service follow.
Objective
Learners will name one person who may feel unseen, plan a simple way to acknowledge that person this week, and feel more surely that the Savior sees them too.
Before you teach
- Read President Chibota’s talk, marking paragraphs 1–8 and 10–14.
- Read Mark 10:21, John 5:2–9 and Luke 10:30–35.
- Bring a small slip of paper and a pencil for each person.
- Write on the board: Who was overlooked? What did the one who stopped see? What did he do?
- Pray by name for the people you will teach, asking to see them as Heavenly Father does.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 5 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
A greeting that means more than hello
- After the prayer, tell the class that President Chibota, the Primary General President, began her talk with the southern African greeting sawubona, which means “I see you.” Read her explanation in paragraph 1 (first key quote).
- Ask the first question below. Give ten seconds of silence, then let people turn to a neighbor for one minute before two or three share with the class.
- State the purpose of the lesson in one sentence: today we will learn from the Savior how to see people, and how He sees us.
- When has someone noticed you at a time you felt invisible? What did that person actually do?
How the Savior saw people
- Divide into three groups (or three pairs). Assign Mark 10:21, John 5:2–9 and Luke 10:30–35, one to each.
- Give four minutes to read and answer the three questions on the board.
- Have each group report in one minute. As they do, read what President Chibota said about each account from paragraphs 2–4. Point out that she said the Savior loved the rich young man even though he later walked away sorrowing.
- Read the second key quote aloud. Then share President Farnes’s words from this conference (aligned quote) and ask the question below.
- President Chibota said that where others saw labels, the Savior saw beloved sons and daughters of God. What gets in the way of our seeing people like that on an ordinary day?
It can begin with a name
- Ask someone to read paragraphs 5–6, the account of the school janitor who thanked President Chibota and her husband for their daughter. She greeted him, knew his name, and helped him clean up after lunch.
- Read the last sentence of paragraph 4: helping others feel seen often begins with something as simple as learning their name.
- Hand out the slips of paper. Invite everyone to write silently the answer to the first question below. No one will be asked to share what they write.
- Invite one or two to answer the second question aloud.
- Who do I pass every week, at church, at work or on my street, whose name I do not know or have forgotten?
- Why does being called by name matter so much to us?
Above every label
- Explain that President Chibota turned the lesson toward ourselves: seeing others as children of God also changes how we see ourselves.
- Read paragraphs 11–13 together. Note what President Oaks told her when he extended her calling, and that it eased her feelings of inadequacy.
- Ask learners to turn their slip over and write, for their eyes only, one label they carry that weighs on them. Then read the third key quote slowly.
- Read Romans 4:17 and paragraph 9. Have learners write the three eternal truths from her invitation under their label: Child of God. Child of the covenant. Disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Discuss the question below in pairs, then hear from one or two.
- How would this week be different if you believed, all the way down, that God’s view of you is more complete and more hopeful than your own?
Choose, pray and act
- Read President Chibota’s three invitations for this week (see invitations). Ask each person to circle the name on the slip, or choose one of the other two invitations, and decide when they will act.
- Share the promises she attached: when we ask Heavenly Father to help us see others, He guides us to those who feel unseen, and hearts change, relationships deepen, and faith grows. Read President Kimball’s words that she quoted (aligned quote).
- Check for understanding: ask two people to finish this sentence aloud: This week I will see someone by…
- Bear brief testimony that the Savior knows each person in the room by name. Tell the class you will begin next week by asking whose name they learned and what happened.
- Follow up next week: open with that question and let two or three report before the new lesson.
Key passages from the talk
“It is an acknowledgment of another person’s worth and humanity. It communicates, ‘I recognize you. I respect you. You matter.’”
“Where others saw labels, He saw beloved sons and daughters of God.”
“Whatever labels may weigh heavily upon you today, Jesus Christ can raise you above them. His grace is sufficient to lift you above every label and limitation.”
“When we see others through the Savior’s eyes, love and service naturally follow.”
The speaker’s direct invitations
“This week, I invite you to: Learn the name of someone who may feel unseen.”
“Pray to see others as Heavenly Father sees them.”
“Replace worldly labels with these eternal truths: Child of God. Child of the covenant. Disciple of Jesus Christ.”
Scriptures
- Mark 10:21 Group 1 reads it and reports how the Savior looked at the rich young man before asking something hard of him.
- John 5:2–9 Group 2 reads it and reports who had been passed by at the pool of Bethesda and what the Savior did after He saw him.
- Luke 10:30–35 Group 3 reads it and lists each thing the good Samaritan did once he chose to see the wounded man.
- Romans 4:17 Read the end of the verse with paragraph 9 in the fourth segment; ask what it means that the Savior sees who we can become.
Other voices that agree
“To Jesus, these people were not interrupting His mission. They were His mission.”
“God does notice us, and … it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.”
Three things to remember
- The Savior sees beloved sons and daughters of God where others see labels.
- Helping someone feel seen can begin with learning a name.
- Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ see me, know my name, and see who I can become.
Ways to act this week
- Learn the name of the person you wrote on your slip, and use it the next time you meet.
- Each morning this week, pray to see the people you will meet as Heavenly Father sees them, then act on the first simple prompting to include someone.
- When a heavy label comes to mind, say the three eternal truths to yourself: child of God, child of the covenant, disciple of Jesus Christ.
- Greet one person at church next Sunday whom you have never spoken with.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Lord, I Would Follow Thee
- I Am a Child of God
Adapting the lesson
- At home with two or three adults: skip the groups, read John 5:2–9 together, and spend the extra time on the slips of paper and the pair question about labels.
- Large class: keep people in their rows and assign the three passages by section of the room; take one report per passage.
- Only 15 minutes: do the opening question, John 5:2–9, the janitor account and the closing invitations.
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.