What Did LDS Apostles Teach During Sunday Morning Session?

The second day of the October 2026 General Conference consisted of two sessions – morning and afternoon. This essay will share excerpts from talks given by members of the First Presidency and other Apostles during the morning session. Holly Wallace reported on the conference in her article published in the Deseret News. 

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency

The Lord fulfills His promise to sustain us through trials, often through faithful disciples who respond to others’ needs.

President … Eyring affirmed the promises of divine help in “How Firm a Foundation,” explaining that “It is important to realize that the promise is not for the removal of challenges.” His mother’s lifelong medical trials illustrated how faith in the Lord’s presence can sustain a person through enduring hardship.

Trials help prepare Heavenly Father’s children to live in His presence, with Jesus Christ making repentance and spiritual growth possible. President Eyring emphasized the Savior’s personal understanding: “The Savior not only understands and has felt grief, but He has borne your griefs and carried your sorrows.”

Remembering his father’s bedside care for his dying mother and gratitude toward her nurses, President Eyring explained that the Lord often provides help through other people. He thanked listeners who respond to promptings to reach out, explaining, “That you felt prompted to reach out to them was evidence to them that the Lord knew and loved them.”

President Eyring encouraged kindness toward missionaries and appreciation for those serving in Church callings, whose responsibilities require strength and reassurance. He also urged listeners to seek the Holy Ghost’s help in comforting others, teaching that the Lord entrusts His disciples with helping fulfill His promise to sustain Heavenly Father’s children.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Faith in Jesus Christ gives disciples spiritual courage, and exercising that courage strengthens their faith.

… After testifying of the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection, he taught, “It has always taken spiritual courage, born of faith in Jesus Christ to be His disciple.”

Moroni’s refusal to deny Christ despite profound isolation illustrated the courage discipleship requires. Addressing today’s flood of information and distractions, Elder Andersen recalled quiet days tending cows and explained, “We need stillness to nourish our faith in Christ.”

Faith and courage strengthen each other through prayer, covenant keeping, and accepting opportunities to serve. Elder Anderson taught, “In those quiet moments when we speak with our Heavenly Father privately, independently, we are given the increased courage to choose the right,” and shared President Dallin H. Oaks’s decision to accept a demanding calling while working as a young attorney.

Spiritual courage also sustains disciples through missionary service, family responsibilities, disappointment, and devastating loss. Describing families whose homes had burned and a woman enduring her husband’s betrayal, Elder Andersen showed how faith helps people trust Christ when circumstances remain painful.

He promises answers and increased spiritual power to those who strengthen their faith by believing in Christ, following Him, and keeping His commandments. Recalling Peter and John’s courageous witness of the resurrected Savior, Elder Andersen concluded with his own testimony: “He guides this holy work, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles

Lifelong discipleship requires integrity and virtue expressed through daily choices, service, and repentance.

Elder … Cook taught that the covenant path is well marked, but following it requires a Christlike life of integrity and virtue. Recalling the inscription that inspired President David O. McKay to fulfill every responsibility well, he emphasized, “We need to live our lives with integrity and follow His example.”

Integrity means being honest with God and others and living according to one’s beliefs and commitments. Elder Cook connected virtue with lasting happiness, explaining, “True happiness, often translated as blessedness, is the actual outcome of integrity and being virtuous.”

He warned that coarse language and online attacks undermine civil discourse and violate the Savior’s teachings. Despite attacks directed at the Church, he counseled, “We cannot control the conduct of others, but we can strive to be a peaceable people who live in accordance with the Christlike conduct and virtues taught by the Savior Jesus Christ.”

Daily scripture study and spiritual renewal help disciples follow a Savior who came to save the world. Elder Cook explained that obedience, service, and virtue demonstrate integrity, teaching “The ultimate reward of integrity and virtue is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.”

Acknowledging faults and repenting daily are also essential expressions of integrity. Elder Cook recalled a World War II veteran who compared learning about repentance to the overwhelming relief of returning home, illustrating the joy available through forgiveness and the desire to share that joy with family.

President Dallin H. Oaks

Drawing closer to Jesus Christ is the way to face doubts and struggles while continuing on the covenant path.

“Strong faith requires more than strong desire. It means daily trying, one step at a time with prayer and scriptural learning.”

“There is no ultimate conflict between knowledge obtained by these different methods, because God, our omnipotent Father, knows all truth, and expects us to learn by both methods.”

President Dallin H. Oaks affirmed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s Church, possessing the restored fullness of His doctrine and authority. Expressing love and gratitude for members’ prayers, he directed those facing struggles, questions, or doubts toward the Savior: “Whatever they are, the way to overcome them is to get closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Building faith requires daily prayer, scriptural learning, and patience with ourselves and others. Acknowledging that resolving uncertainty can take time, President Oaks counseled, “Hold on to the first article of faith, even if something else is uncertain,” and urged listeners to trust the Lord’s timing and promises.

Addressing those whose faith is diminishing, he emphasized God’s persistent love and urged faithfulness to commandments and covenants. He taught that scientific and spiritual learning have no ultimate conflict because God knows all truth, while encouraging humility and warning, “never let your secular learning limit your spiritual horizons.”

President Oaks urged members to renew their covenants through the weekly sacrament, live according to those covenants, and attend the temple regularly if endowed. He promised, “These simple practices will protect and strengthen you,” and explained that forgiveness through Christ’s Atonement requires meeting His prescribed conditions, including faith, repentance, and baptism.

Through its account of Christ’s ministry to His scattered sheep, the Book of Mormon witnesses that He loves and reaches out to all people, with grace available to everyone.

Anticipating additional inspired records coming forth, President Oaks concluded, “I call upon all to act on these truths and to share them with others, that we may all draw closer to Jesus Christ, our Savior.”