Your List, His Directions
From “God Is at Your Side,” by Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus · Sunday afternoon session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Heavenly Father knows exactly where you are and what you hope for, loves you perfectly, and will guide you toward the righteous desires of your heart.
Objective
Youth will begin their own list of good things they want in their lives and choose one of the speaker's seven ways to focus on for the next few weeks.
Before you teach
- Read the talk. Sister Muñoz Spannaus speaks to young women; if young men are in your class, tell them plainly that they are listening in and that what she teaches about the Lord is true for them too.
- Write each of the speaker's seven ways (from the sacrament through seeking good friends) on its own slip of paper, or be ready to send the talk link so youth can open it on their phones.
- Bring paper and pens. Ask youth to have scriptures or the Gospel Library app ready.
- Mark Articles of Faith 1:13, Mark 10:17–21 and Isaiah 48:17.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
Find your blue dot
- As soon as the prayer ends, ask everyone with a phone to open a map app and find the dot that shows where they are. Those without a phone look on with a neighbor.
- Ask: What would happen to the directions if that dot were one street off?
- Tell the speaker's story: on the freeway on her way to the dentist, 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. When she gave him her exact location, he guided her there.
- Have one youth read the first key quote aloud. Then ask that phones go face down until they are needed again.
Known and loved
- In pairs, read Mark 10:17–21. Challenge each pair to find what Jesus did before He answered the young man's question.
- Share the speaker's point: the Savior's look conveyed only love, and only after that did He tell the young man how to improve.
- Ask the first question below and give ten seconds of quiet before anyone answers. Then read the second key quote.
- Ask the second question.
- If God knows everything about me, including what I am not proud of, how do I think He feels when He looks at me?
- How would you pray differently if you really believed He looks at you the way He looked at that young man?
Start your list
- Tell how the speaker, at about their age, left a lesson thinking about one line of the thirteenth article of faith. She spent that Sunday afternoon writing a list of good things she wanted in her life: things that would bring her closer to God and help her learn, contribute, create and be happy.
- Read Articles of Faith 1:13 together. Ask youth to pick the one word in it that stands out to them and tell a neighbor why.
- Read her invitation to study the thirteenth article of faith and create a list of aspirations (see invitations). Explain that she gave it to young women and that anyone in the room may take it up.
- Give four minutes of silent writing. Each youth starts a list under four headings: learn, contribute, create, closer to God. No one will collect it.
- Invite two volunteers to share one item each.
Seven ways, pick one
- Form two or three teams. Give each team the seven slips, or have them open the talk to the seven ways. Allow one minute to read them.
- Turn the slips over or close the phones. Teams have one minute to write all seven from memory. Check answers together; the team with the most wins bragging rights.
- Ask each team to choose the one they think is hardest for people their age and explain why to the class. Expect sleep and phones to come up. Read the third key quote, on social media, and Elder Andersen's words (aligned quote).
- Read President Oaks's invitation about friends, which the speaker gave as number seven (aligned quote).
- Read her invitation to listen to the Spirit and choose one to focus on. Give thirty seconds of silence, then have each youth write the one they choose at the top of their list.
- Why do you think getting enough sleep and limiting phone use are on the same list as the sacrament and repentance?
- What is the difference between feeling connected online and feeling heard face to face?
When the black cloud comes
- Say honestly that making a list does not mean every day goes well. Tell the speaker's experience: newly moved from Argentina and still learning English, she taught in her calling and felt that everything she said had been wrong. She felt as if she were in a black cloud, went to sleep in tears, and woke up feeling the same.
- Tell what happened next: her husband gave her a priesthood blessing, and she felt the heavens open. She was told that Satan wanted to destroy her self-esteem, and then that the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost were at her side.
- Have a youth read Isaiah 48:17 aloud and another read the fourth key quote.
- Ask the question below. Accept one or two answers or let it rest in silence. If a youth describes feeling this way for a long time, speak with them afterward and encourage them to talk with a parent or leader.
- What helps you remember on a bad day that the Lord has not lost track of you?
Lock it in
- Invite youth to pick up their phones once more and set a reminder or a lock-screen note naming the one way they chose.
- Read the speaker's promise in her own invitation: we can look at our lives with the certainty that our Father in Heaven will guide us (see invitations).
- Bear brief testimony that the Lord knows where each of them is. Tell them you will begin next week by asking who added to their list and how their one way is going.
Key passages from the talk
“the Lord knows where you are; He has your exact location and can guide you.”
“And knowing everything about you does not make Him love you less.”
“Social media makes us believe we are connected; however, it is a thief of our peace of mind, self-esteem, and the real connection that makes us feel loved, accepted, heard, and valued when spending time face to face with others.”
“I testify that the Lord has greater power than the enemy. He knows where you are and has promised to lead you by the hand.”
The speaker’s direct invitations
“I invite you to look at your life and what you want to achieve with enthusiasm and the certainty that your Father in Heaven will guide you on that journey”
“I invite you to listen to the Spirit to choose one to focus on over the next few weeks.”
“I invite you to study the thirteenth article of faith and to create your own list of aspirations.”
Scriptures
- Mark 10:17–21 Read in pairs. Find what Jesus did before He told the young man what to do next.
- Articles of Faith 1:13 Read together before the silent writing. Each youth picks one word that stands out and uses it to begin a list of good things to seek.
- Isaiah 48:17 One youth reads it aloud after the black cloud story. Listen for what the Lord says He does for us.
Other voices that agree
“Seek friends … who are striving to follow the Lord … with whom you can feel the Spirit and … reinforce your faith.”
“Our phone seems almost attached to our hand, bringing a flood of information, misinformation, and now artificial information.”
Three things to remember
- The Lord has my exact location, and knowing everything about me does not make Him love me less.
- I can make a list of good things to seek and trust Heavenly Father to guide me toward them.
- On the worst day, the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are at my side.
Ways to act this week
- Finish your list this Sunday afternoon and keep it where you will see it.
- Work on the one way you chose for the next few weeks, and tell a parent or leader which one it is.
- Pick a bedtime and a place outside your bedroom to leave your phone for five nights this week.
- Spend time face to face this week with a friend who helps you feel the Spirit.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- Let the Holy Spirit Guide
Adapting the lesson
- Mixed class or a quorum: say at the start that the talk was given to young women. Young men can ask what the Lord would have them learn from it, and how they can support the young women they know.
- At home or with two or three youth: skip the teams. Take turns reading the seven ways and let each person name the easiest and the hardest.
- Short on time: do the first, third and fourth segments and send the black cloud story home as reading.
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.