Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Saturday evening session of October 2025 general conference about new beginnings available through Jesus Christ. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Kearon’s talk summary
“To each leper, blind man and adulterous woman; to the lame, the deaf and the dumb; to every grieving mother, desperate father and mourning widow; to the condemned, the shamed and the suffering; to the dead in body and the dead in spirit, what He did was offer a new beginning.”
Everything the Savior said and did provided a new beginning for those He healed, blessed, taught and relieved of sin. “All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”
Some think a new beginning happens only once, at baptism. However, “Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”
Jesus gave healing and compassion to those with great faith, those with wavering faith and those who hadn’t sought Him at all. “To all who would listen and respond, He gave a new beginning, whether it was a new life forgiven of sin, or a new life healed of disease, or a new life raised from death.”
Through the goodness and grace of the Savior, “you can actually change things about yourself that have been wearing you down for years. You can start again through the might of the Master of new beginnings.”
Read the full text of Elder Kearon’s talk: 'Jesus Christ and Your New Beginning’
Notable quotes
“New beginnings are at the heart of the Father’s plan for His children. This is the Church of new beginnings. This is the church of fresh starts.”
“Little by little, the more we invite His goodness into our hearts and cast out the self-defeating voices in our heads, we become His people because we truly make Him our God.”
“To those who are struggling with the same sin or the same setback over and over again … You don’t have to be who you’ve been before. Embrace your fresh start, your second or third or fourth — or hundredth — chance, offered to you through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.”
Who is Elder Patrick Kearon?
- Elder Patrick Kearon was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Dec. 7, 2023, filling a vacancy in the quorum after the death of President M. Russell Ballard. At the time of his call, Elder Kearon was serving as senior president of the Presidency of the Seventy. He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2010, and had served in the Presidency of the Seventy from 2017 until his call as an Apostle.
- He married his wife, Sister Jennifer Hulme Kearon, on Jan. 12, 1991, in the Oakland California Temple. They are the parents of a son, who died at 3 weeks old from a heart condition, and three daughters. Prior to being called as a general authority, he and Sister Kearon owned a communication consultancy.
- After joining the Church on Christmas Eve 1987, Elder Kearon served in numerous Church callings — Area Seventy, stake president, branch president, bishopric counselor and ward Young Men president.
What has Elder Kearon done recently?
- On Palm Sunday, April 13 — this year’s day of commemorating the Sunday before Easter and the start of Holy Week — Elder Kearon dedicated the Auckland New Zealand Temple, the 203rd dedicated house of the Lord.
- In May, Elder Kearon spent 10 days ministering in the Philippines, visiting Caloocan, Manila, Davao and Cebu.
- Drawing upon his personal conversion — a long journey of skepticism, persistent love and faith — Elder Kearon taught new mission leaders at the 2025 Seminar for New Mission Leaders at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Saturday, June 21, that in every aspect of missionary work, no effort is wasted.
- Elder and Sister Kearon’s participation in a Primary service activity in the Philippines was featured in the Friend to Friend broadcast Saturday, Sept. 6.
- Speaking to global faith leaders Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the Eighth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held at the Palace of Independence in Astana, Kazakhstan, Elder Kearon called the Salt Lake Temple renovation a powerful metaphor for building relationships with others.
Read more of Elder Kearon’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube.
