The second session of the 196th Semiannual General Conference ran from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, with President Dallin H. Oaks seated alongside his counselors in the First Presidency. Ten leaders spoke, the most of any session so far this weekend. Two apostles framed the afternoon: Elder Dale G. Renlund opened it, and Elder Ronald A. Rasband closed it.
For Utah Valley, the name to know from this session is Elder Hutch U. Fale. He was born in Provo, practiced law in Utah County until his call in April, and spoke on the simplest truth in the Primary songbook: that every person is a child of God. He was not the only speaker with ties to this valley, and we cover all of them below.
This recap draws on the Church News summary of each talk, along with Deseret News, KSL and Salt Lake Tribune coverage. The Church posts the full text and video of every talk on its Saturday afternoon session page, and those are the words to rely on once they are up.
The Session at a Glance
The ten speakers, in the order they spoke:
- Elder Dale G. Renlund, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "How Long Will It Be Ere They Believe Me"
- President Timothy L. Farnes, Young Men General President: "Divine Appointments"
- Elder Christian C. Chigbundu, General Authority Seventy: "Spiritual Immunity"
- Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, General Authority Seventy: "Trusting the Lord Through Tithes and Offerings"
- Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, General Authority Seventy: "The Infinite Power of God in Our Covenants"
- Elder Hutch U. Fale, General Authority Seventy: "I Am a Child of God"
- Elder Patrick Kearon, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "Jesus Lives to Lift"
- Elder Michael A. Dunn, General Authority Seventy: "The 90 and 10"
- Elder Matthew J. Eyring, General Authority Seventy: "Comfort From the Holy Ghost"
- Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "Love Like Jesus"
Four of the ten, Elders Chigbundu, Morgan, Fale and Eyring, were sustained as General Authority Seventies only in April. The sustaining of Church leaders for this conference took place in the Saturday morning session.
The Talks, in Order
Elder Dale G. Renlund: Remember What God Has Already Done
Elder Renlund, a former medical director of the Utah Cardiac Transplant Program, opened with a story from his medical career: a heart-transplant patient who survived the surgery and then complained that his oatmeal was cold. People fall into that trap easily, he said, fixing on the irritation of the moment and losing sight of where they have been and what God has promised. The children of Israel did the same in the wilderness, and the Lord's question to Moses gave the talk its title: "how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?" (Numbers 14:11).
His answer was trust. Jesus Christ has overcome the world, so His followers do not have to, and faith centered on Him brings peace whatever the circumstances. The Savior's power to save is personal and has no limit, he taught, more than enough to cover any shortfall in any life. Remembering what the Lord has already done is what makes it possible to rely on what He has promised.
President Timothy L. Farnes: Divine Appointments
President Farnes spoke about ministering with compassion. Taking the sacrament is a promise to take on the name of Jesus Christ, he said, which means trying to see people as He sees them and treat them as He would, so that anyone who meets a disciple experiences something of the Savior's kindness and patience. He described the moments when God places someone in a person's path as divine appointments, and he asked members to act on compassion by ministering to whoever is in front of them, as Jesus did.
Elder Christian C. Chigbundu: Spiritual Immunity
Elder Chigbundu, a Nigerian convert who was leading the Nigeria Enugu Mission with his wife before his call, acknowledged that these are frightening times and said members need not fear if they build spiritual immunity. He named four habits that do it: daily scripture study that invites the Holy Ghost, prayer that brings people close to God even when burdens are not removed, the sacrament and the promises renewed in it each week, and covenants kept through temple worship. They may look small and simple, he said, but together they are the armor of God.
Elder Patricio M. Giuffra: Tithing as a Law of Faith
Elder Giuffra, who presides over the Church's Central America Area, told of a woman in her seventies he taught as a young missionary in Chile. She cleaned houses and washed clothes to pay her rent and told the missionaries she could not live the law of tithing, and he privately wondered whether the Lord might make an exception for her. His mission president told him he had no right to deny her the blessings. At their next visit she said she had asked God for help; she was baptized that Saturday and paid tithing faithfully afterward.
Tithing is a law of faith, Elder Giuffra testified, and obeying it lets the Lord work in people's lives, often in ways they do not expect. He spoke of blessings both temporal and spiritual in his own family, and of the assurance that the Lord keeps His promises in His own time, even when the purpose of a trial is not clear.
Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan: Covenants That Reach Across Generations
Elder Morgan, born in Ohio and raised by his mother, grew up in a different church that also accepts the Book of Mormon, and his mother read it aloud to him every day, whether or not he was paying attention. As a young man he came to know that this is the Lord's Church, and he was baptized at 18. Looking back, he said, it was not his own covenants that reached him first but those of the people who came before him.
Covenants with God carry power that extends beyond the person who makes them, he taught, so parents' and grandparents' faithfulness leaves a real mark on their families without overriding anyone's agency. No time spent reading the Book of Mormon is wasted, and no family's story is finished: God is its author. It was his first general conference address.
Elder Hutch U. Fale: I Am a Child of God
Elder Fale built his talk on a single sentence: I am a child of God, and He loves me. Understanding Heavenly Father's love and one's identity as His child, he said, guards against deception and gives mortal life its purpose, and it brings power and comfort, especially in remembering the eternal blessings promised to those who keep their covenants.
He warned against the idea that people can be saved regardless of sin, teaching that receiving Christ through priesthood ordinances and covenants, and staying faithful to them, is the way to fully understand God's love and to reach exaltation. Knowing that love also makes people resistant to divisive labels, he said, and from the prodigal son to the shepherd who leaves the ninety and nine, the Savior's message has always been that it is not too late to turn to Him.
Elder Patrick Kearon: Finding Lift
Elder Kearon compared discipleship to flying a glider. A glider pilot learns to stay out of sinking air and to find the air that rises, and Latter-day Saints can learn the same two skills spiritually. The scriptures are full of people Jesus Christ lifted out of despair, he said, and the Savior who was lifted up on the cross promises to lift up His followers at the last day. His closing point was the title: Jesus lives to lift, and with Him there is no ceiling on how high a person can climb.
Elder Michael A. Dunn: The 90 and 10
Elder Dunn, who with his wife has run more than 50 marathons, including 100-mile ultramarathons, began with how long races go: running at the start, then walking, then shuffling. Hard spiritual journeys work the same way, he said. The first 90 percent can use up every ounce of strength a person has, and the Savior reaches out to help with the final 10 percent. The Redeemer rescues people not by shortening their course but by helping them lengthen their stride, often in ways they cannot see. He pointed members to the hymn "Lord, I Would Follow Thee" and promised that peace can come even when the hoped-for outcome does not.
Elder Matthew J. Eyring: Comfort From the Holy Ghost
Elder Eyring, who worked at BYU-Pathway Worldwide before his call and now serves in the Pacific Area presidency, said every person faces challenges that cannot be overcome without the Savior, because mortal life is designed to try faith. He cited the Lord's promise to draw near to those who draw near to Him (Doctrine and Covenants 88:63) and warned that true sources of comfort will grow scarcer in a turbulent world. Without divine comfort, people lose hope, and without hope they can stop trying. The Lord can rescue even from death, he testified, and living worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost should be among a disciple's highest priorities.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband: Love Like Jesus
Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles closed the session by speaking about loving family members and friends who have left the gospel path. By divine design, he taught, every person must choose for themselves whether to follow Jesus Christ, and what those who love them can offer is love, which can still have a real influence on someone who has strayed. Jesus Christ is the perfect embodiment of that love, he said, and love sits at the center of His gospel.
He was specific about what that love looks like. It is not stepping back from people, and it is not endorsing every choice they make. It is staying genuinely interested in their lives, their successes and their struggles, being there with open arms and a cheerful face, and lifting them with faith and hope in the Savior. To anyone carrying worry over a loved one who has wandered, he said to let go of guilt, turn that despair over to Jesus Christ, and remember that He is always the answer.
Where Utah Valley Shows Up in This Session
- Elder Hutch U. Fale was born in Provo and raised in Mu'a, Tonga. He holds a joint bachelor's degree in history and political science from BYU-Hawaii, and a Master of Public Administration and a law degree from BYU. He was a partner in the Utah County law firm Avery Burdsal & Fale and was serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area when he was called, according to his Church News biography.
- Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan earned his law degree at BYU.
- Elder Michael A. Dunn was managing director of BYUtv and BYUradio, the university's broadcast networks, before his call, and he spoke at a BYU devotional in 2025.
- Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke at a devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center in June, where he offered missionaries five cairns to guide their service.
What Ran Through the Afternoon
Read together, the talks circled one idea from several directions: what to do when life is heavy. Elder Renlund said to remember what God has already done, Elder Kearon to look for the lift Christ offers, Elder Dunn to trust the Savior with the final stretch, and Elder Eyring to seek the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Alongside that ran a practical thread about ordinary habits that build faith over time: Elder Chigbundu's scriptures, prayer, sacrament and covenants, Elder Giuffra's tithing and President Farnes's ministering. Elder Morgan and Elder Fale tied it to family and identity, from a mother reading the Book of Mormon aloud every day to the truth children learn first in Primary, and Elder Rasband closed on the hardest family question of all: how to keep loving someone who has stepped away.
Watching Sunday
The two Sunday sessions are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on October 4. They stream on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, in the Gospel Library app and on the General Conference YouTube channel, and in Utah on KSL-TV, KSL NewsRadio, BYUtv and BYUradio. Our General Conference weekend guide covers the timing and the brunch window between sessions, our list of restaurants open on Sunday covers tomorrow, and every recap from the weekend lives on our General Conference page.
Where to Read the Full Talks
The Church publishes the text, audio and video of each talk on its Saturday afternoon session page as they are released. Until then, Church News has a summary of each talk, and Deseret News, KSL and the Salt Lake Tribune covered the session as it happened. Where those reports disagree on a detail, this recap either leaves it out or says so.
Related Guides
- October 2026 General Conference: The Saturday Morning Session, Talk by Talk
- General Conference Weekend in Utah Valley: A Local's Guide
- How LDS Wards Work: A Guide for People Moving to Utah Valley
- Missionary Farewells and Homecomings in Provo: What the Signs at the Airport Mean, and Why the Farewell Officially Ended in 2002
