Dallin H. Oaks became the 18th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 14, 2025. To review some of his main speaking points, I decided to review his general conference talks. I had several topics pegged as “usual subjects” for Dallin H. Oaks.
Looking back over his talks, I happily discovered an unexpected breadth of topics. President Dallin H. Oaks seemed to speak most often about the plan of salvation and its application in mortality than any other topic. The second subject that dominates his talks is being a peacemaker. He repeatedly admonished the world to find peace through Jesus Christ, calling for unity in nations, community, and family. Zion is built on unity and peace.
I’ve noted his general conference talks as well as his devotional and commencement speeches at Brigham Young University campuses. Talks are listed chronologically from newest to oldest. When President Oaks spoke on campuses, I noted those talks below the general conference talks. The brief summaries are generally quotations from the talks. Each talk title is hyperlinked to the actual talk.
Talks by President Dallin H. Oaks
2025
The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ
Our doctrine and our belief in eternal families strengthen and bond us.
We now go forward with this semiannual general conference, proceeding as planned and with speakers and music assigned by President Nelson after months of preparation.
Our Heavenly Father’s plan provides helps to guide us through our mortal journeys.
BYU-Provo: Honoring Judge J. Clifford Wallace: A Life of Law, Leadership, and Legacy
In this praise of Judge Wallace, the leadership of BYU’s Board of Trustees—the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—are not distant observers. In our worldwide responsibilities, we are well-informed observers of J. Clifford Wallace’s powerful performance worldwide. He is universally respected for his leadership as well as for his unequaled longevity as a judge and a chief judge in the courts of the United States. Internationally, his leadership and teaching to advance the rule of law and the administration of justice in the legal systems of seventy-two nations are unique among the judges of the world.
2024
As followers of Christ, we teach and testify of Jesus Christ, our Perfect Role Model. So let us follow Him by forgoing contention.
Covenants and Responsibilities
The Church of Jesus Christ is known as a church that emphasizes making covenants with God.
2023
We have a loving Heavenly Father who will see that we receive every blessing and every advantage that our own desires and choices allow.
We are given the scriptures to direct our lives. My message today consists of a selection of the words of our Savior—what He said.
2022
Helping the Poor and Distressed
The Church of Jesus Christ is committed to serving those in need, and it is also committed to cooperating with others in that effort.
Divine Love in the Father’s Plan
The purpose of the doctrine and policies of this restored Church is to prepare God’s children for salvation in the celestial kingdom and for exaltation in its highest degree.
We honor the daughters of God in this special session by concentrating on their concerns and those of their organizations.
BYU-Provo: Going Forward in the Second Century
More important than what you do as a student are the choices you are making in your personal life—the priorities you are adopting consciously or subconsciously. Are you going forward against the world’s opposition?
2021
The scriptures clearly teach the origin and need for a church directed by and with the authority of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Defending Our Divinely Inspired Constitution
Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism.
What Has Our Savior Done for Us?
Jesus Christ has done everything that is essential for our journey through mortality toward the destiny outlined in the plan of our Heavenly Father.
President and Sister Oaks both discuss the importance of faith during dark times.
2020
Our unshakable faith in the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ guides our steps and gives us joy.
Knowing that we are all children of God gives us a vision of the worth of others and the ability to rise above prejudice.
We who know God’s plan and who have covenanted to participate have a clear responsibility to teach these truths.
The Melchizedek Priesthood and the Keys
In the Church the authority of the priesthood is exercised under the direction of a priesthood leader who holds the keys of that priesthood.
BYU-Provo: Racism and Other Challenges
Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can unite and bring peace to people of all races and nationalities.
2019
We must try to keep both of the great commandments. To do so, we walk a fine line between law and love.
Our only sure reliance is to trust in the Lord and His love for His children.
Because of God’s plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed by the process of repentance.
We make better choices and decisions if we look at the alternatives and ponder where they will lead.
BYU-Hawaii: Anxiety in Stressful Times
The restored Gospel gives us the perspective to understand the purpose of life and the role of opposition. It teaches us and gives us direction to grow toward the eternal destiny established by a loving Father in Heaven.
2018
When we see the truth about religion, we should use spiritual methods appropriate for that search.
Our Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness tells you who you are and the purpose of your life.
The magnifying of the holy priesthood you hold is vital to the work of the Lord in your families and in your Church callings.
We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of time, seemingly small things bring to pass great things.
BYU-Idaho: The Paradox of Love and Law
President Oaks teaches how to balance living the commandment of loving one another and keeping God’s commandments.
2017
The family proclamation is the Lord’s reemphasis of the gospel truths we need to sustain us through current challenges to the family.
The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation
Because we have the truth about the Godhead and our relationship to Them, we have the ultimate road map for our journey through mortality.
BYU-Hawaii: Push Back Against the World
When I say, Push back against the world, I mean push back against that part of the world’s values and practices that draw us away from the Lord’s teachings and our covenant obligations.
BYU-Provo: Challenges to the Mission of Brigham Young University
To accomplish its mission, BYU must have all parts of its community united in pursuing it.
BYU-Idaho: Living in Challenging Times
President Oaks provides comfort in reminding us that while we may be living in challenging times, we can overcome whatever trials may come.
2016
What we call “member missionary work” is not a program but an attitude of love and outreach to help those around us.
Opposition permits us to grow toward what our Heavenly Father would have us become.
BYU-Provo: Elections, Hope, and Freedom
We must strive for mutual understanding and treat all with goodwill. We must exercise patience. We should all speak out for religion and the importance of religious freedom. We must, above all, trust in God and His promises.
2015
Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ
Because of His Atonement, the Savior has the power to succor—to help—every mortal pain and affliction.
It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful.
Only from Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of this world, can we obtain the living water whose partaker shall never thirst again, in whom it will be “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
2014
Loving Others and Living with Differences
As followers of Christ we should live peacefully with others who do not share our values or accept the teachings upon which they are based.
The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood
Priesthood keys direct women as well as men, and priesthood ordinances and priesthood authority pertain to women as well as men.
Elder Oaks expresses the importance of standing firm in our faith.
2013
Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess to worship?
Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice but a continuous commitment and way of life that applies to all times and in all places.
2012
None should resist the plea that we unite to increase our concern for the welfare and future of our children—the rising generation.
Our lives of service and sacrifice are the most appropriate expressions of our commitment to serve the Master and our fellowmen.
BYU-Provo: Hold the Banner High
Though men’s hearts are failing them, you should take heart. There have always been challenging times. We, the generations of your predecessors, have survived daunting challenges, and so will you. The answer to all of these challenges is the same as it has always been. We have a Savior, and He has taught us what we should do.
2011
Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten and Beloved Son of God. … He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth.
To achieve our eternal destiny, we will desire and work for the qualities required to become an eternal being.
BYU-Provo: Truth and Tolerance
Our tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made.
2010
We must use both the personal line and the priesthood line in proper balance to achieve the growth that is the purpose of mortal life.
We have this priesthood power, and we should all be prepared to use it properly.
2009
The love of God does not supersede His laws and His commandments, and the effect of God’s laws and commandments does not diminish the purpose and effect of His love.
Our Savior teaches us to follow Him by making the sacrifices necessary to lose ourselves in unselfish service to others.
Elder Oaks invited us to uphold religious freedom under the United States Constitution.
2008
Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament
The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church.
Knowledge encourages obedience, and obedience enhances knowledge.
If you are not careful, you can be imprisoned by another form of slavery, whose duration can be life-long.
2007
We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.
A good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.
BYU-Provo: Push Back Against the World
Elder Dallin H. and Sister Kristen M. Oaks talk about dating, hope, and how to push back against the pressures of the world by keeping the Sabbath day holy.
2006
The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ…is available for every affliction in mortality.
Again and again the Book of Mormon teaches that the gospel of Jesus Christ is universal in its promise and effect.
Elder Oaks speaks on how we can use more wisdom in the things we do in life.
2005
Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church
There are many similarities and some differences in the way priesthood authority functions in the family and in the Church.
Let us all improve our personal behavior and redouble our efforts to protect our loved ones and our environment from the onslaught of pornography.
BYU-Provo: The Dedication of a Lifetime
Elder Oaks expounds promised blessings of a dedicated life.
2004
The Holy Ghost will protect us against being deceived, but to realize the wonderful blessing we must always do the things necessary to retain that Spirit.
Preparation for the Second Coming
We need to make … spiritual preparations for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming.
BYU-Provo: Where Will It Lead?
What seem to be only small deviations in direction or small detours from the straight and narrow path can result in huge differences in position down the road of life.
2003
Repenting means giving up all of our practices—personal, family, ethnic, and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God.
When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and adversities in the context of the purpose of life.
2002
I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go
The full measure of [our] conversion to men and women of God happens best through our labors in His vineyard.
He has given us His Atonement, His gospel, and His Church, a sacred combination that gives us the assurance of immortality and the opportunity for eternal life.
The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His.
2001
The most effective missionaries, member and full-time, always act out of love. … If we lack this love for others, we should pray for it.
Available information wisely used is far more valuable than multiplied information allowed to lie fallow.
2000
In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.
Resurrection is much more than merely reuniting a spirit to a body. … The resurrection is a restoration that brings back “carnal for carnal” and “good for that which is good” (Alma 41:13).
1999
In our sacred callings of gospel teaching, no effort is too good for the work of the Lord and the growth of His children.
One of Martin Harris’s greatest contributions to the Church, for which he should be honored for all time, was his financing the publication of the Book of Mormon.
The weightier matters that move us toward our goals of eternal life are love of God, obedience to his commandments, and unity in accomplishing the work of His Church.
1998
The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament
Those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacramrnt to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.
As Latter-day Saints use the words saved and salvation, there are at least six different meanings.
BYU-Provo: Why Do We Serve at BYU?
I testify that God expects us to work to purify our hearts and our thoughts so that we may serve one another for the highest and best reason, the pure love of Christ.
BYU-Provo: Judge Not and Judging
I have been puzzled that some scriptures command us not to judge and others instruct us that we should judge and even tell us how to do it. I am convinced that these seemingly contradictory directions are consistent when we view them with the perspective of eternity.
1997
Do you, like the pioneers, have the courage and the consistency to be true to the faith and endure to the end?
The burden [of a bishop] is a heavy one that cannot be fulfilled without the supportive efforts of ward officers and members.
1996
I have chosen to speak about the relationship between our partaking of the sacrament and our enjoying the blessings available from the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Joseph, the Man and the Prophet
I have chosen to speak about the Prophet Joseph Smith and to emphasize some lesser-known aspects of his life that further affirm his prophetic calling.
1995
Let us focus our teachings on those great and powerful ideas that have eternal significance in promoting righteousness, building up the children of God, and helping each of us toward our destiny of eternal life.
We offer these truths and opportunities to all people and testify to their truthfulness.
Like the mortal life of which they are a part, adversities are temporary. What is permanent is what we become by the way we react to them.
1994
We who have “felt to sing the song of redeeming love” (Alma 5:26) need to keep singing that we may draw ever closer to him who has inspired sacred music and commanded that it be used to worship him.
I pray that each member of this church will qualify for the blessings promised and bestowed on those bring all their tithes into the storehouse.
“Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”
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. Most importantly, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ opens the door of salvation and exaltation.
We may suffer adversities and afflictions from our own mistakes or from the mistakes of others, but in this we have a comforting promise. The Lord, who suffered for the pains and afflictions of his people, has assured us through his prophet that he will consecrate our afflictions for our gain
BYU-Provo: Responsibilities of Citizenship
Elder Oaks outlines some duties of freedom-minded citizens.
1993
Questions like, Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going? are answered in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The language of prayer is easier and sweeter to learn than any other tongue. We should give our children the privilege of learning this language by listening to their parents use it.
BYU-Provo: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
The subject I believe we have neglected is the Book of Mormon’s witness of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ and our covenant relationship to him.
1992
Bible Stories and Personal Protection
Faithful Latter-day Saints are protected from the powers of the evil one and his servants until they have finished their missions in mortality. … [We] continue our course with the protection of guardian angels.
The Relief Society and the Church
“Men have no greater claim than women upon the blessings that issue from the Priesthood and accompany its possession.”
BYU-Provo: Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall
A person who engages in self-congratulation over a supposed strength has lost the protection of humility and is vulnerable to Satan’s using that strength to produce his or her downfall.
1991
Joy is the ultimate sensation of well-being. It comes from being complete and in harmony with our Creator and His eternal laws.
“Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother”
In time to come, each of us will be judged by the Lord God of Israel, who commanded us to honor our fathers and our mothers.
BYU-Provo: Getting to Know China
Each year there are new examples of coincidences—I call them miracles—that further our ties and our friendship with China and its people.
1990
Every member of this Church should bear witness and testimony of Jesus Christ.
The peace the gospel brings is not just the absence of war. It is the opposite of war. Gospel peace is the opposite of any conflict, armed or unarmed. It is the opposite of national or ethnic hostilities, of civil or family strife.
BYU-Provo: Meeting the Challenges of the Nineties
The Church has positioned BYU to have an enormous impact on the youth of the Church, its future leaders.
We don’t have to have personal experience with the effects of serious transgressions to know that they are destructive of our eternal welfare.
1989
As modern pioneers press forward, they suffer hardships and make sacrifices. But they are sustained by an assurance given by the Lord Himself.
In the acquisition of sacred knowledge, scholarship and reason are not alternatives to revelation. They are a means to an end, and the end is revelation from God.
1988
There is no other name and no other way under heaven by which man can be saved except by Jesus Christ.
As we remember our Lord and Savior, we should contemplate the great blessings we have as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1987
“The Light and Life of the World”
Jesus Christ is the light and life of the world because all things were made by him.
What is the significance of a priesthood blessing? A priesthood blessing is a conferral of power over spiritual things.
BYU-Provo: Free Agency and Freedom
May God bless us to live our lives so as to avoid entangling ourselves in sin and compromising our precious and unique gift of free agency. May we accept responsibility for our thoughts and our actions. May we use our free agency to make righteous choices and to act upon them as we have the freedom to do so.
1986
May God bless us to live the Golden Rule in our earning activities. As we seek to be our brother’s keeper, we will be attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Master.
Sometimes we can remove ourselves from language that is profane or vulgar. If this is not possible, we can at least register an objection so that others cannot conclude that our silence means approval or acquiescence.
Elder Oaks teaches about spiritual gifts.
1985
We view our experiences in terms of eternity. As we draw farther from worldliness, we feel closer to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided by his Spirit. We call this quality of life spirituality.
Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ
Our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ constitutes our declaration of candidacy for exaltation in the celestial kingdom.
BYU-Provo: The Desires of Our Hearts
Each of us desires the ultimate blessing of exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Even when we fall short, we desire what is right.
1984
I have gladly forsaken my professional activities to spend the rest of my days in the service of the Lord. I will devote my whole heart, might, mind, and strength to the great trusts placed in me. I know that God expects us to work to purify our hearts and our thoughts so that we may serve one another for the highest and best reason, the pure love of Christ.
BYU-Provo: Counsel for Students
The water of Jacob’s well—however significant in satisfying temporary earthly desires—is insignificant in value beside what we can obtain from Jesus’ words and from his atoning sacrifice.
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