30-minute lesson · Adults · Relief Society, elders quorum, Sunday School, or home
He Has Your Exact Location
From “God Is at Your Side,” by Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus · Sunday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
The Lord knows exactly where we are, loves us completely, and stays at our side as He guides us toward the righteous desires of our hearts.
Objective
Learners will describe how the Savior loves first and then guides, and will choose one small practice this week that helps them notice Him at their side.
Before you teach
- Read Sister Muñoz Spannaus's talk, noticing that she speaks to the young women of the Church. This lesson asks what the rest of us can learn as we listen in.
- Mark Mark 10:17–21, Isaiah 41:13 and Ether 12:27.
- Write her seven ways on the board or on one sheet of paper before class (see the last segment).
- Bring paper and pens for silent writing.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 5 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
4 min0–4
When the directions do not fit
- After the prayer, explain that Sister Muñoz Spannaus spoke to young women, and that today the class will listen for what her message teaches all of us about the Lord.
- Retell her story briefly: driving to the dentist on the freeway, her phone thought she was on a parallel street and kept telling her to turn right where there was no place to turn. She pulled off and called her husband. Once she gave him her exact location, he could guide her where she wanted to go.
- Ask the question below and take two or three short answers.
Ask
- When has the advice or direction you were getting not matched where you really were in life? What did you need instead?
6 min4–10
What the Lord knows
- Read aloud slowly the paragraph of the talk that begins with the key quote about our exact location. Ask learners to listen for each thing the Lord knows.
- Give one minute of silence. Invite learners to write the one sentence from that paragraph they most need to believe today.
- Have learners turn to a neighbor and share which sentence they chose and, if they wish, why.
- Read the last two sentences again: He knows everything, and knowing everything about us does not make Him love us less.
Ask
- Why is it sometimes hard to believe that being fully known and being fully loved can go together?
8 min10–18
Loved first, then taught
- Divide into groups of three or four. Ask each group to read Mark 10:17–21 and find what the Savior did before He told the young man what he lacked.
- Bring the groups back. Share the speaker's observation: the Savior's look conveyed only love, and only after transmitting that love did He tell the young man what he could do to improve.
- Discuss the questions below. Let learners carry the conversation; add little.
- Read President Oaks's words from this conference (aligned quote) as a second witness of how the Lord feels about each person.
Ask
- How does it change the way you hear correction from the Lord when you picture Him looking at you with love first?
- The speaker taught that part of His love is giving us many opportunities and being patient as we learn. Where have you seen that patience in your own life?
- What could it look like for us to love first when a child, a friend or someone we minister to needs guidance?
7 min18–25
At your side on the dark day
- Retell the speaker's experience faithfully: she had recently moved from Argentina to the United States and was learning English. Her calling involved teaching. One day she felt everything she said had been wrong. She felt as if she were in a black cloud, went to sleep in tears, and woke feeling the same. Then her husband gave her a priesthood blessing, and she felt the heavens open.
- Read the words she received in that blessing from the key quotes, then her testimony that the Lord has greater power than the enemy.
- Ask half the class to read Isaiah 41:13 and the other half Ether 12:27 silently, looking for what the Lord promises to do. Invite one comment from each half.
- Invite one or two learners to answer the question below. Allow quiet; do not rush to fill it.
Ask
- When have you learned for yourself that the Lord was at your side, even though the hard thing did not go away at once?
5 min25–30
One small practice
- Point to the seven ways the speaker offered young women: partake of the sacrament humbly and begin each day asking for the companionship of the Holy Ghost; repent daily; study the scriptures to know God's character; study what it means to have ministering angels help you; protect your sleep; limit cell phone use; seek friends who are striving to follow the Lord.
- Explain that she invited young women to listen to the Spirit and choose one to focus on. Suggest that adults can try the same pattern for themselves, and can encourage a young person they love who is working on hers.
- Give two minutes of silent writing: Which one would most help me notice the Lord at my side? What is the first small step?
- Close with your testimony that the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are at our side. Tell the class you will begin next week by asking what they noticed as they tried their one practice.
Key passages from the talk
“the Lord knows where you are; He has your exact location and can guide you.”
Sister Muñoz Spannaus’s talk, paragraph 5
“He knows everything. And knowing everything about you does not make Him love you less.”
Sister Muñoz Spannaus’s talk, paragraph 5
“Only after transmitting that love did He tell him what he could do to improve.”
Sister Muñoz Spannaus’s talk, paragraph 7
“But the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are at your side.”
Sister Muñoz Spannaus’s talk, paragraph 19
Scriptures
- Mark 10:17–21 Read in small groups. Find what the Savior did before He told the young man what he lacked, and talk about why the order matters.
- Isaiah 41:13 Half the class reads it silently after the story of the priesthood blessing, looking for what the Lord promises to do with our hand.
- Ether 12:27 The other half reads it silently, looking for what the Lord does with weakness. Connect it to the speaker's teaching that He knows how to turn weaknesses into strengths.
Other voices that agree
“He is relentless in His loving pursuit of each of you.”
President Oaks · The Gospel of Jesus Christ Is for All, paragraph 7
Three things to remember
- The Lord knows exactly where I am, and knowing everything about me does not make Him love me less.
- The Savior loves first and then shows us how to improve.
- The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are at my side, and the Lord has greater power than the enemy.
Ways to act this week
- Choose one of the seven ways and practice it for the next few weeks. Write down what you notice.
- Begin each morning prayer this week by telling Heavenly Father honestly where you are and asking for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
- Before you correct or counsel someone this week, pause and let that person feel your love first.
- Ask a young woman you know which of the seven ways she is working on, and encourage her.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- I Need Thee Every Hour
- Abide with Me!
Adapting the lesson
- At home with adults: skip the small groups. Read Mark 10:17–21 together, then let each person answer the question in the fourth segment.
- Short on time: keep the second, third and fifth segments and tell the two stories in a sentence each.
- Large class: do every discussion in pairs first, then take two comments from the whole room.
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.