Opening Remarks
That was remarkable, beautiful, stunning. And I think of it right here with this beautiful image of the Savior, the Christus, and I know that His hands are outstretched to you. And thank you for that beautiful expression of love for the Savior. Thank you very, very much.
My dear brothers and sisters across the world, I express my love to you, and I bring you the love of the newly reorganized First Presidency of the Church—President Dallin H. Oaks, President Henry B. Eyring, President D. Todd Christofferson.
Also, I bring you the love, of course, of my quorum, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Kathy and I—we’re so grateful to be here in the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center, in the shadow of this beautiful house of the Lord.
I’m very happy to be with you, our wonderful young adults, both here and around the world. We love you. We’re so grateful for your devotion to Jesus Christ and for being His disciples.
I pray honestly that during the next hour the Spirit of the Lord will be with us and that our faith in the Savior and in His restored gospel will be strengthened and confirmed. Tonight, we will speak of the prophet and the temple and how they point us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
But first, an expression of love to President Oaks from young adults far away from here.
Young Adults from Northern Canada: Hi, President Oaks. We just wanted to let you know that we’re thinking of you and Sister Oaks. We’re sending you guys our prayers and love from northern Canada. Bye.
Young Adult Group from Ensign College: President Oaks, we’re really grateful for your example and for your teachings. We look forward to learning from you.
Young Adults from South Africa: Hello from Johannesburg, South Africa. We love you, President Oaks.
Young Adults from the Philippines: Greetings, President Oaks, from the Philippines. We are so excited to learn from your messages.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: All around the world. I want to begin by telling you of the very sacred experience of only a few days ago, Tuesday, October 14.
It was on that day that we met as 14 ordained Apostles, fasting and fervently praying for the Lord’s blessing in reorganizing the new First Presidency. It is a time that bridges heaven and earth.
How grateful I am for the powerful and unforgettable spiritual witness and confirmation which came to me and each of us, individually and unitedly. With the hands of all 13 Apostles upon the head of President Dallin H. Oaks, President Jeffrey R. Holland set apart the Lord’s Senior Apostle as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I give you my solemn and humble witness that he is the Lord’s prophet upon the earth. He knows the voice of the Lord. He will guide us in truth and point us toward the Lord Jesus Christ. As we are willing, as we’re teachable, our minds and spirits will be expanded, and the powers of heaven will bless our lives.
The keys of the priesthood of God are now held in their fulness, with the authority to exercise those keys held by President Dallin H. Oaks. You will remember the words of Jesus to Peter, His Apostle.
He said, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The Lord said of the prophet Joseph: “For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.” These words are also true for our prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks. Think of it.
For 41 years in his sacred calling, President Oaks has testified as a special witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s watch.
President Dallin H. Oaks (1984): This semiannual conference is my first opportunity to speak to the general membership of the Church, to express acceptance of my calling to the Council of the Twelve. … I will devote my whole heart, might, mind, and strength to the great trust placed in me, especially to the responsibilities of a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world.
President Dallin H. Oaks (1987): We love the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah, our Savior, and our Redeemer. His is the only name by which we can be saved.
President Dallin H. Oaks (1994): Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares you for whatever life brings. This kind of faith prepares you to deal with life’s opportunities—to take advantage of those that are received and to persist through the disappointments of those that are lost.
President Dallin H. Oaks (2000, “The Living Christ”): We bear witness as his duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus Christ is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world.
President Dallin H. Oaks (2006): I testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who invites us all to come unto Him and be perfected in Him. He will bind up our wounds and He will heal the heavy laden.
President Dallin H. Oaks (2013): Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice but a continuous commitment and way of life that applies at all times and in all places.
President Dallin H. Oaks (2025): I testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Only Begotten Son of God, our eternal Father. He invites us to follow the covenant path that leads to a heavenly family reunion. The sealing powers of the priesthood, directed by the keys restored in the Kirtland Temple, bring families together for eternity. They are currently being exercised in a growing number of temples of the Lord throughout the world. This is real. Let us be part of it.
President Dallin H. Oaks (2025): I know beyond any certainty in my life that this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head of this Church, and invoke His blessings upon all of us as we seek to serve Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: Today, we want to discuss some of the powerful teachings we have received from President Oaks, and we want to think about how these teachings can bless our lives. And in this sacred setting of the temple, we also want to discuss how the house of the Lord brings power, peace, and revelation in this very important time of your lives.
Kathy had an experience at the time of the announcement of the Washington D.C. Temple that I would like you to hear from her. Kathy.
Sister Kathy Andersen: This temple, the Washington D.C. Temple, is very special to me. When I was a girl, I grew up in Florida, which is in the Southern United States, and our closest temple was 2,300 miles away in Salt Lake City.
When I was four years old, my family traveled to Salt Lake City so that we could be sealed together as a family. When I was 12 years old, the announcement was made that the Washington D.C. Temple would be built. We were so excited to think that a temple would now be only 900 miles away from us.
I very vividly remember a Sunday when the bishop asked that all of the parents stay after church and meet in a special meeting with him. And as a child, I just wondered—I was kind of afraid, I think, of why the bishop would be meeting with all of the parents.
And when they came out of the meeting, we got into the car to go home, and my mother and father said to me, “The bishop has asked, and we have been asked by the leaders of the Church, to donate a significant amount of money for the building of the Washington D.C. Temple.”
My family didn’t have a lot of money, and it seemed like quite a great deal of money that they had been asked to give. But Mom and Daddy said, “We will need to sacrifice some things as a family for this. But can you imagine that we will be so blessed to have a temple only 900 miles away from us?” This temple holds a very special place in my heart and for my family.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: Thank you. Beautiful. Thank you, Kathy.
The prophet and the temple point us toward the Savior. In a world of commotion, confusion, and so many distractions, the prophet and the temple keep us anchored to our spiritual foundation.
As the world slides from its spiritual moorings, the Lord sends compensatory power to you, His disciples. Two of the greatest compensatory blessings for the righteous are the teachings of the prophets and the gifts of the house of the Lord.
President Dallin H. Oaks has been preserved, prepared, and refined through more than nine decades. In general conference a month ago, he spoke of his enormous sadness at age 7 when his father passed away. He was raised by a single mother, a teacher in the local public school.
In his youth, his mind and spirit blossomed, and he was accepted into one of the most prestigious universities of law in the United States, the University of Chicago. He excelled to such an extent that the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, Justice Earl Warren, who held the highest judicial office in the entire country, selected Dallin Oaks out of law school to be an assistant and his clerk.
This began a road that would present to this young man of intelligence and capacity enormous opportunities in the world. President Oaks was not drawn away from the Lord’s plan for him by the many offers of financial prosperity and worldly acclaim.
Instead, he followed those quiet promptings as the Lord led him along. He has said, “Throughout my life, my foremost teacher has been the still small voice and feelings communicated by the Spirit of the Lord.” At age 38, he was named the president of Brigham Young University.
I personally have been taught, tutored, and influenced by President Oaks and his teachings for more than 50 years. My first contact with President Oaks came as I returned from my mission and he was the dynamic and visionary university president of BYU. He was warm and personable and beloved by the students.
Here is a brief clip from a talk he gave the same year I graduated.
President Dallin H. Oaks (1975): During the year, I often visit one of our campus cafeterias, take a tray, and enjoy my lunch with some surprised group of students. I find this is one of my best chances to find out what’s on the mind of our students. One fall a few years ago I joined a table of freshman boys at the Cannon Center. Without introducing myself, I began to question the group about their experiences and view of BYU. Soon, one of the young men, apparently slightly irritated with this probing from a stranger, said, “Do you work here or something?” When I replied that I did, he asked a few questions of his own: “What do you do?” “I’m the president,” I replied. Ignoring his neighbor’s jabbing elbow, he pressed on, “What are you president of?” I explained and we all had a somewhat tight laugh together. Then he added this comment that I will never forget. “Oh,” he said, “I go to all of the assemblies and I see you there, but you are so far away I can’t see your face.”
When this freshman boy made that comment, I resolved that sometime I would try to help the student body see my face. That resolve was reinforced later when I told a student that my wife and children and I had done a lot of camping, and had in fact stayed overnight in our tent, sleeping on the ground in twenty-five different states of the union. He was incredulous. “Do you really do that?” he asked. “I can’t imagine a president doing anything like that.”
Again, I was reminded that the aura and distance of the office were so great that my family and I were not real persons to most. Even my children felt the distance after they saw me sitting on the stand for one of my talks. One of my two oldest daughters said, “Daddy, you looked so cross and crabby. If we hadn’t known you, we would have thought you were angry.” This reminded me that only my closest associates had heard me laugh or knew that I had some good-natured fun even in the midst of some very stressful circumstances. I wanted to remedy this since I am a teacher and it is not wise for a teacher to be so distant from others that he is not a real person to them. It is important that you see my face, just as I try to see yours.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: While at BYU, through a series of events, I was able, at times, to interact personally with him. I experienced his faith and his sense of fairness, thoughtfulness, and interest in individuals. He would attend, as he was able, the wedding receptions of many students at the university.
Here he is with Sister June Oaks at our wedding reception. Interestingly, this was just a few weeks before the birth of the Oakses’ sixth child, the renowned violinist Jenny Oaks Baker.
Following BYU, I learned from his talks and teachings. But 16 years later, in 1991, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, his assignment took him to Bordeaux, France, where I was serving as the mission president.
In my 32 years as a General Authority, I, like my brethren, have been blessed by his willingness to teach me, to listen to me, and share his remarkable wisdom with me. Here is a photo of President and Sister Kristen Oaks with Kathy and me in Latin America a few years ago.
In the 93 years of President Oaks’s life, he has known enormous accomplishment, as well as moments of sadness and disappointment. I knew him as I was in the Seventy and he was in the Twelve when his wife, Sister June Oaks, passed away 27 years ago. I watched his pain and suffering in the months that followed. To honor his beloved June, he wrote a remarkable book about her life and his love and reflections of her to share with his family.
It was not until two years later that he opened his broken heart and met Sister Kristen McMain. She has brought enormous love and happiness to his life for the past 25 years. Kathy, would you say something about the remarkable Sister Kristen Oaks?
Sister Kathy Andersen: I would love to say something about Sister Oaks. I love Sister Kristen Oaks. And if you don’t know her already, you will love her too. My husband came home a couple of days ago, and I said, “Did you see the video of President and Sister Oaks?”
And he—I don’t know if you told me if you had or if you hadn’t—but I said, “Well, this is amazing, and the young adults are going to love this.” And he said, “Well, the young adults have probably already all seen it.”
I said, “It doesn’t matter. They’re going to love seeing it again because I love looking at it every day. It’s so beautiful.” So he agreed.
President Dallin H. Oaks: Did you put them up to this?
Sister Kristen Oaks: I did not put them up to this.
President Dallin H. Oaks: On your birthday, I want to thank you for making me happy, making me a better man, and a better informed Church leader, and more effective grandfather and great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. We have 29 grandchildren and 75 great-grandchildren and two—soon-to-be three—great-great-grandchildren. This is a woman who, at age 28, presides over a large population.
Sister Kristen Oaks: And it’s been my privilege. I think the most wonderful thing for me is to be able to have a family and to have a close family, and to be your wife.
President Dallin H. Oaks: Thank you.
Sister Kristen Oaks: I always tell him he’s my favorite person in all the world.
President Dallin H. Oaks: And she’s mine.
Sister Kathy Andersen: Didn’t you love that? Isn’t that so beautiful? Sister Kristen Oaks is a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. Her life is so filled with faith and love. She is so tender hearted, and I think she is a very sweet angel on earth.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: How grateful I am that the Lord has preserved Dallin Harris Oaks through these many decades, teaching him, tutoring him, and preparing him for these final years of his life.
Early in his life, he would establish a personal motto that would be: ‘“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
This he has done without any attention to worldly fame or fortune. The Lord has shaped his heart and will use him to help shape each of us as he serves as God’s prophet upon the earth.
To give you a sense of our prophet, this intriguing painting by Maynard Dixon has hung in his office for more than 40 years. Its title is Forgotten Man.
The painting shows a man on a curb sitting in discouragement. Behind him, the world walks by, showing him no attention.
President Oaks loves every son and daughter of God, and this painting has reminded him that he is to reach out to those who feel alone, who are discouraged, who need to know of their own worth and the love of their Heavenly Father.
President Oaks has pointed out that while the man in the painting feels forgotten, the sun is shining on his head, meaning his Heavenly Father knows his struggles. President Oaks has said of the painting that it speaks to him and reminds him of things he needs to remember. I love the heart of President Dallin H. Oaks.
With our young adults here in Washington D.C., we discussed three important topics that President Oaks has addressed frequently. But first, let’s welcome another expression of love for President Oaks from young adults around the world.
Young Adult Group from Hawaii: Aloha, President and Sister Oaks! We are so grateful for the example you both have on us and the Church. We love and sustain you.
Young Adult Group from Ogden, Utah: Hi, from Ogden, Utah. President Oaks, we are so grateful for your counsel, especially on exaltation being a family affair. We love you and sustain you.
Young Adults from Rome, Italy: Hi, President Oaks. We are sending our love from Rome, Italy. We love your teachings about eternal family, and we are looking forward to seeing you here in the Eternal City. Bye-bye! We love you!
Elder Neil L. Andersen: Our subjects today are first, standing for truth; second, family, marriage, and children; and third, revelation.