“The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints centers on the family. Essential to our doctrine on the family is the temple. The ordinances received there enable us to return as eternal families to the presence of our Heavenly Father.”
President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught these truths during October 2025 general conference. And when Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles heard this, he remembered how it felt to learn for the first time that he is a son of God.
“I could not believe it. I just could not believe it,” he said. “I mean, it seems such a far-fetched idea, and I think that is the way [it seems] for many who hear it for the first time. But it is beautiful, and it is the foundation for everything we are going to talk about today.”
Elder Kearon shared his thoughts during the 2026 Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction, which is an annual, 30-minute recorded training for Latter-day Saints in stake and ward councils and others with callings supporting temple and family history efforts. It became available for on-demand streaming via Gospel Library (under Temple and Family History and then Leadership Instruction) and ChurchofJesusChrist.org on Thursday, March 5, at 8 a.m. Mountain Time.
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Elder Kearon said the “first and foremost” thing he wants people to take away from this video is that the Savior is central to family history and temple work.
He referred to 2 Nephi 25:26, which reads: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
See what else Elder Kearon said about family history in the full Church News article.
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