He has made headlines speaking about the Constitution, religious freedom, elections, same-sex marriage, childbearing, peacemaking, even Black lives matter.

On Sunday, President Dallin H. Oaks, worldwide leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made news again when he delivered his keynote address on the final day of the faith’s 196th Semiannual General Conference.

Here is what the 94-year-old Oaks and his fellow church leaders had to say in the two closing sessions:

Afternoon session

President Dallin H. Oaks: A blessing during ‘these challenging times’

As the final speaker of the two-day conference, President Dallin H. Oaks, who spoke earlier in the day, encouraged listeners to attend the much-heralded, six-month open house for the Salt Lake Temple planned for next year.

He also announced that the first in a series of “dynamic” videos regarding the newly renovated temple will be available in multiple languages.

“As we now go forward,” Oaks concluded, “we invoke the blessings of the Lord on you and your families and on your service of the Lord Jesus Christ in these challenging times.”

Apostle Clark G. Gilbert: ‘Stand for truth with love’

Loving others does not mean exempting them from God’s commandments, apostle Clark G. Gilbert emphasized in a sermon focused on bridge building across ideological lines. Nonetheless, he stressed, individuals shouldn’t become combative while holding fast to their principles.

The sermon harked back to a 2022 address he and President Dallin H. Oaks delivered jointly to students of church-owned Ensign College.

Focused on peacemaking, it outlined five principles, which Gilbert, the faith’s newest apostle, revisited in his second General Conference address since his appointment:

• Avoid overly contentious settings.

• Find common ground.

• Be a light.

• Hold to truth even when doing outreach.

• Stay anchored in Jesus Christ.

“It takes courage to stand for truth,” he said. “It takes even more courage to stand for truth with love.”

Sometimes, this means listening more than speaking and waiting for tensions to ease before venturing into a debate.

The former head of the church’s educational system, Gilbert has long been critical of what he sees as the secularization of the country’s universities. And so it was with much difficulty, he said, that he refrained from arguing when a “group of national academic leaders aggressively criticized the role of faith in education.”

Sensing tension, he “tabled” the discussion.

“In part because I chose not to engage in the moment,” he said, “a university chancellor later reached out for counsel in creating a course on character.”

From this, Gilbert said he learned that “being a light opens more doors than any pointed argument ever will.”

Sunday school leader Gabriel Reid: Like the master teacher

Whether people see themselves as a scholar or an athlete, said Gabriel Reid, a former NFL player and second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, the invitation to teach like the Savior is the same.

“Christ-centered teaching is rooted in relationships,” he said. “To teach like the Savior, we must love like the Savior.”

Reid, who was born in American Samoa and played football for church-owned Brigham Young University and later for the Chicago Bears, spoke about the importance of learning to teach in the pattern of Jesus — especially during the recently shortened Sunday school lessons at church.

Some may ask, Reid said, “How can I teach everything in 25 minutes?” He responded saying a better question may be: “How can I help those I teach connect to the Savior sooner?”

“Twenty-five-minute lessons are not a limitation,” he said. “They are an invitation to focus, more clearly than ever, on helping others come to the Savior.”

The purpose of every lesson is not so the audience thinks about the teacher, he concluded, but for them “to leave thinking about the Savior.”

Apostle Gary E. Stevenson: To the church’s children

Speaking to the children in the audience, apostle Gary E. Stevenson, assured them: God and Jesus “know you and love you. Even though you are young, you are an important part of their work.”

Stevenson told them, “You are some of the most valued and faithful members of the whole church. You can help to make your homes, your communities and even the world better. You are our future.”

The apostle said he feels happy when he hears their Primary talks, songs and their answers to “gospel questions.”

“Heavenly Father has given you talents and spiritual gifts,” Stevenson said. “He wants you to use these gifts and talents to be happy and bless others.”

He encouraged his young listeners “to do something that is as simple as gospel fruit is delicious: love, share and invite. Do this with words and actions. As you do so, I promise that you will not only feel joy and happiness that come as you partake of the fruit of the gospel, but even greater joy as loved ones around you partake as well.”

Seventy Paul Sinclair: Be slow to judge, quick to help

A little boy imprisoned himself in his jacket after buttoning the sleeve to its lapel. A little girl came to his rescue, unfastening the buttons without so much as a roll of her eyes. Be, general authority Seventy Paul Sinclair told listeners, that little girl.

Like Jesus to the woman at the well, “we must look not only to [others’] past — we must look to ‘their possible,’” Sinclair said, quoting apostle Dale G. Renlund.

Sinclair, who was named to his church post in April, concluded: “I testify that when we help people rather than judge them, one by one, in our own small and simple ways, we are preparing the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.”

Seventy Thabo Lebethoa: The light of the world

Everyone has concerns and struggles in life, said general authority Seventy Thabo Lebethoa, and the answer to these challenges is always Jesus.

He “can bring light in our moments of darkness and restore hope where there is hopelessness,” the native of South Africa said. “He knows where we have been, where we are and where we need to be.”

Lebethoa, who was named to his church position in April, shared an experience of a talk he and his wife had shortly after they were married. The discussion quickly escalated into an argument, leaving the two in a “selfish state of quiet desperation.”

Jesus is the light and the life of the world, he taught and contention is not the way to invite the light of Christ. He shared three ways to increase that light in everyday life.

• Increase faith in Christ.

• Study the scriptures daily, especially the Book of Mormon, the faith’s foundational text.

• Practice repentance daily.

“Through [Christ] today can be a new day,” Lebethoa said, “and tomorrow can be a better day.”

Apostle David Bednar: The promise of covenants

A covenant is “an enduring commitment between God and his sons and daughters,” said apostle David A. Bednar. “God establishes the conditions of all gospel covenants, and his children exercise their moral agency to learn about and consent to what he asks them to do.”

The temple sealing of a man and a woman, Bednar said, “is a crowning covenant and ordinance of the Savior’s restored gospel.”

What happens, though, when one of the partners breaks the promise?

“A spouse’s sins, infidelity, personal apostasy or other difficulties may cause contention, alienation and even divorce,” the apostle said. “In these cases, a faithful spouse may ask, ‘Can the unrighteous exercise of moral agency by another person rob me of what God has promised?’ The answer to this question is an emphatic no!”

It may “bring heartache and sorrow to the other spouse and family members,” Bednar said. “However, unrighteousness by one person cannot hinder or thwart the flow of God’s love, strength and blessings to another person.”

The apostle reassured members that “no faithful disciple will ultimately be deprived of any eternal blessing God has promised because of another individual’s unrighteous exercise of moral agency.”

Seventy Moisés Villanueva: The blessing of paying tithing

Good health, a steady job, gratitude, even a long-lasting propane tank — these are some of the blessings general authority Seventy Moisés Villanueva cited he and others had received as a result of paying tithing.

Recalling the faith of the widow of Zarephath who imparted what she believed to be her last meal to the biblical Prophet Elijah, the native of Mexico described his single mother’s own difficulty paying tithing while rearing eight young children.

“I am especially grateful that my mother trusted the Lord’s promises,” he said, “and chose to live the law of tithing regardless of our difficult circumstances.”

Blessings resulting from paying one’s tithing might not always take the form or arrive in the moment we hope. But they will, he assured listeners, come.

Young Women leader Andrea Muñoz Spannaus: Spiritual direction

Whenever souls feel lost in life, they should remember that God always knows their exact location, said Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, and despite feelings of despair, he can guide them.

“Our Father and our Savior know you and have the same perfect love for you,” the Argentine native said. “Part of that love and mercy is giving us many opportunities and being patient as we learn and work on our list of aspirations.”

Speaking to the teenage girls in the church, Spannaus encouraged them to remember their “divine nature” and “eternal destiny.” She then shared seven tips that would help them in their spiritual endeavors.

• Partake of the sacrament, or Communion, humbly.

• Repent daily and pray for forgiveness.

• Study the scriptures with a desire to know God’s character.

• Study what it means to have ministering angels help them.

• Get enough sleep and go to bed early.

• Limit cellphone use.

• Seek friends with whom they can feel the Spirit.

“Dear young women,” Spannaus concluded. “I testify that you are beloved daughters of Heavenly Parents, with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. Each of you has a crucial and important work to do here on Earth.”

Apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf: It’s time to unify

When senior apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf reads the scriptures, he’s impressed by how much of Christ’s work has to do with bringing people peacefully together.

In New Testament times, he noted, the people were divided. “Jews and Samaritans avoided each other. Gentiles were considered unclean. Pharisees and Sadducees agreed on little except their dislike of publicans and sinners,” the apostle pointed out. “The people were divided in a dozen different ways — culturally, politically, religiously.

“When you think about it,” Uchtdorf added, “it wasn’t so different from our world today.”

Christ broke down those barriers then, he said, as he does so now.

While Jesus reaches across worldly boundaries to unite God’s family, Uchtdorf said, “Satan is seeking to divide us. He aims to weaken God’s children by isolating us from each other. He emphasizes our differences, making them feel like impassable barriers. We can see the fruits of his efforts in the contention, mistrust and hatred all around us.”

In the church, it is not “our political views, culture or personal interests that unite us,” he said. “It is our love for God and neighbor. It is our commitment to our covenants with Jesus Christ and to his restored gospel. We are ‘one in Christ.’”

He noted that the weekly sacrament ritual [Communion] is the church’s “only ordinance we receive during which we are not addressed by name? Rather, it is performed for ‘the souls of all those who partake of it.’....We partake individually but also as a group.”

The affable German said, “Now is the time to unify.”

Unity “won’t magically happen in the next life if we haven’t earnestly tried to learn it here,” Uchtdorf said. “Every step we take toward unity matters, however small it may seem.”

Morning session

President Dallin Oaks: Never let your secular learning limit your spiritual horizons

What President Dallin H. Oaks wants is for Latter-day Saints to be “active members, proceeding forward on the covenant path into the eternities.”

But the 94-year-old leader recognized that many “have present or future concerns or struggles” they are trying to overcome, including questions and doubts.

“Whatever they are, the way to overcome them is to get closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ,” Oaks said. “...Overcoming uncertainty and doubt — which may include resolving conflicts between the evolving understanding of science and the sometimes-incomplete teachings of religion — can be a lengthy process. It involves building faith and strengthening humility. Hold on to the first article of faith even if something else is uncertain.”

Church leaders worry about “members of diminishing faith in Jesus Christ,” Oaks said. “We love you, young and old, men and women.” And so does God, who “is relentless in his loving pursuit of each of you.”

He urged any with doubts to “keep the commandments and be true to the covenants so many of you have made to guide you along the covenant path.”

“Never let your secular learning limit your spiritual horizons,” said Oaks, a former president of church-owned Brigham Young University. “There are two methods of gaining needed knowledge: (1) the evolving disclosures of man discovered by the scientific method including modern electronics, and (2) the truths disclosed by the spiritual method, which begins with faith in God and relies on scriptures, inspired teaching and personal revelation.”

There is no conflict between these methods, he said, “because God, our omnipotent eternal Father, knows all truth and expects us to learn by both methods.”

Interestingly, a recent Pew Research Center report showed that secular learning actually can help cement Latter-day Saints in the faith. Some 86% of U.S. members with a bachelor’s degree or higher attend church weekly compared to 59% of those without a college diploma.

Oaks then moved to the teachings about Christ in the Book of Mormon. The faith’s scripture says the great Creator died “for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.”

This means, according to Oaks, “that if our sins are to be forgiven through his Atonement, we must comply with the conditions he has prescribed, including faith, repentance and baptism. The fulfillment of these conditions depends on our desires, our choices and our actions.”

Other passages “contradict the erroneous assertion that the grace of God saves only a chosen few,” the president said. “His grace is for all. Similarly, the Book of Mormon tells us that the children of God in ‘every nation’ have his promise that he “manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

He urged his listeners to “act on these truths and to share them with others [so] that we may all draw closer to Jesus Christ.”

Seventy Ciro Schmeil: ‘This day I will bless you’

God has “prepared a plan for us to return to his presence,” said general authority Seventy Ciro Schmeil. “The scriptures call this the plan of salvation or the great plan of happiness. …This life is the time for us to prepare to meet God.”

He urged listeners to “consider [their] ways,” the Brazilian church leader said. God “is not asking us to physically build the temple, but he is asking us to build a strong relationship with him and his son Jesus Christ through our covenants. He will magnify our efforts as we consider our ways and make the proper adjustments to make and keep covenants with him. God knows what is best for us and is eager to bless us.”

The leader reminded members what God said to the Israelites: “From this day will I bless you.”

Schmeil concluded, “I know that God keeps his promises. I have seen it in my life. He gave me spiritual and physical strength when I needed it most.”

Seventy Alfred Kyungu: The language of peacemakers

Church members intent on following prophetic counsel to be peacemakers should, general authority Seventy Alfred Kyungu taught, excise from their vocabulary harsh and demeaning language.

Listing examples such as “what is wrong with you?” and “you are useless,” the speaker from the Democratic Republic of Congo warned that “such words never edify.”

Instead, listeners ought to embrace phrases aimed at honoring differences and working through tense moments respectfully — phrases like, “that is a good point” and “let us slow down and talk.”

Kyungu admonished: “Let us pray for peaceful communication among us, regardless of the difference in our opinions.”

Apostle Quentin Cook: Integrity and virtue lead to happiness

The idea of happiness is a “predominant goal of most people,” said apostle Quentin Cook. Yet, he taught, the relationship between virtue and happiness is not as well understood today as it was in the past.

Living a virtuous life, Cook said, leads to true happiness. He referenced the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which highlighted the premise that all are created equal and endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, including “life, liberty and [the pursuit of] happiness.”

“Some scholars,” Cook explained, “have noted that the reference to ‘happiness’ was understood by the founders to be based on living a virtuous life.”

The apostle continued that crude conduct and coarse language may be prevalent in society, it violates the principles the Savior taught.

“Any use of the internet to bully, destroy a reputation, or place a person in a bad light,” Cook said, “is reprehensible.”

He encouraged Latter-day Saints to live a life filled with integrity and virtue, stating that “integrity, virtue, and ongoing repentance are the answer” in a world where challenges are seemingly so common.

Seventy Edward Dube: Come unto Christ

As a young Zimbabwean missionary in 1987, Edward Dube saw a sign on the mission gate that read, “Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

Dallin H. Oaks asked that it be removed, said Dube, now a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, “to avoid any impression of exclusion. Rather, we invite all to come unto Christ.”

The adversary “wants us to hang that sign on the gate of our heart,” Dube said. “Addiction, doubt, pride, pain, grief, guilt, materialism — or whatever is holding us back — he tells us this makes us unworthy to come unto Christ.”

Such members do not need to be perfect, he said. Just do the best they can.

Seventy James G.O. Fantone: Taking on Jesus’ name through service

At baptism, Latter-day Saints covenant to take upon themselves the name of Jesus. But what, asked general authority Seventy James G. O. Fantone, does that mean?

“How,” the Filipino leader asked, “does that manifest in our daily lives?”

The answer: serving others.

As a mission leader in the Philippines, Fantone saw firsthand “courageous service” of the church’s young full-time proselytizers.

“In their first few months,” he recalled, “it was not uncommon for some to sit across from me in tears and say, ‘President, I am so sad, lonely and homesick. The days feel so long and time is so slow, I don’t even know if I can last for three more months.’ Yet, these valiant missionaries got on their knees, put on their nametags and went out to serve anyway.”

A year later, Fantone said, the same missionaries would state, “President, I am so happy! I love the people, and I love this work. But time is moving too fast — I don’t want this to end!”

Time, of course, did not change, Fantone said. “The missionaries did. The work did not change — but the workers did.”

Quoting former apostle Marion G. Romney, he said: “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the Celestial Kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the Celestial Kingdom is made.”

Apostle Neil Andersen: Discipleship requires courage

The world is in constant commotion, said apostle Neil L. Andersen. In an age of technology, misinformation and artificial intelligence, he added, disciples of Christ require spiritual courage.

“As we choose faith in Christ, he blesses us with the courage, sometimes in very difficult situations, to choose the right,” he said. “And as we manifest our courage to choose the right, our faith in Christ strengthens.”

It is this courage, Andersen said, that gives people the strength to get through hardship. He shared a recent experience when he accompanied fellow apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf to Spokane, Washington, where fires had destroyed hundreds of homes.

One Latter-day Saint couple, whose home was lost in the flames, said to Andersen, “Our family is safe, and our faith is secure. We can build another house.”

Their faith in Jesus Christ, he said, lifted their courage and “their courage has elevated their faith.”

Andersen promised that as members strengthened their faith in Jesus, their answers will come, their spiritual power will increase and their courage in following Christ will define their character.

Primary General President Rosemary K. Chibota: Seeing others as God does

As a child growing up in Zimbabwe, Rosemary K. Chibota learned the southern African greeting “sawubona,” which means, “I see you.”

Chibota, the first African to lead one of the faith’s worldwide organizations, said, “This greeting is much more than a simple ‘hello.’ It is an acknowledgment of another person’s worth and humanity. It communicates, ‘I recognize you. I respect you. You matter.’”

During her daughter’s final parent-teacher conference, a school janitor approached the parents, the African said. “With tears in his eyes, he thanked us for our daughter. He explained that she regularly greeted him, knew his name and even helped him clean up after lunch.”

He told the couple, Chibota said, “very few students know my name. Your daughter sees me.”

Seeing others as children of God “also influences the way we see ourselves, yet the world often encourages us to see ourselves and others differently,” she said. “The world invites us to focus on labels rather than eternal identity. However, labels can never fully capture who we truly are.”

She acknowledged sometimes viewing herself through such labels.

“When President Oaks extended my new calling, he told me, ‘You’ve been called for who you are. The Lord knows you.’” Chibota said. “In that moment, I was reminded that God’s view of us is always more complete and more hopeful than our own. This reminder eased my feelings of inadequacy.”

She left the audience with a final sawubona: “I see you. More importantly, your Heavenly Father sees you.”

President Henry B. Eyring: Gratitude for the helpers

Delivering his remarks seated, as has been his practice for some time, senior apostle Henry B. Eyring acknowledged that life is full of challenges — and that is just as it should be.

“It is because [God] knows that we must grow in spiritual cleanliness,” taught the first counselor in the church’s governing First Presidency, “and stature to be able to live in his presence.”

Eyring said he learned this lesson from his mother, who suffered from illness throughout her life. From his father, he learned to see and thank those trying their best to ease the burdens of others.

Directing the remainder of his remarks to those engaged in the work of helping those in need, he said: “You are an important part of the Lord’s answers to their prayers for assurance.”