Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from October 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Look to God and Live”
- President D. Todd Christofferson | Second counselor in the First Presidency
- Sunday morning session of October 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Those who look to God can find peace, growing faith and strength despite challenges.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of President Christofferson’s message here.
Outline
- In June 2025, 15 people from the country of Lesotho died in a bus accident while branch members headed to a young women gathering. Despite feelings of anger, depression and guilt, the survivors, family members and friends have comforted one another and turned to God for solace.
- Alma counseled in the Book of Mormon, “See that ye look to God and live” (Alma 37:47). When the ancient Israelites were afflicted by fiery serpents, Moses raised a brass serpent; many looked and were healed, while those who would not look perished. (See Alma 33:19-22.)
- The counsel “look to God and live” makes all the difference in the character and quality of a mortal life. In a fallen world, it is only by looking to God that individuals, families and nations can flourish.
- Those who keep commandments prosper, while those who don’t are cut off from God’s presence. (See 2 Nephi 1:20.) “Prosper” meant enjoying the guidance and blessings of heaven and having the capacity to rise above hardship and trial.
- God’s commandments and counsel are found in the scriptures and the words of His servants. For example, this counsel can be found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” and the “For the Strength of Youth” guide.
- The “For the Strength of Youth” guide instructs, “Treat your body — and others’ bodies — with respect.” In 2023, President Russell M. Nelson admonished, “Few things will complicate your life more quickly than violating this divine law [of chastity].”
- All are imbued with the Light of Christ, and those who are baptized receive the gift and added light of the Holy Ghost. He brings inspiration and guidance and helps to avoid evil influences and poor decisions.
- When one man’s membership was withdrawn due to transgression, he became comfortable in a lifestyle outside the Church. After some time, he began to miss God’s presence in his life, so he did what was needed to repent.
- Those who look to God can find peace, growing faith and strength in the face of opposition and isolation.
- Looking to God means He is the one highest priority. Jesus Christ invited, “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live” (3 Nephi 15:9).
Reflection questions
What does it mean to you to “look to God”?
How might looking to God make “all the difference in the character and quality of our mortal lives”?
When has the Holy Ghost given you guidance or helped you avoid poor decisions?
What blessings have you found by looking to God?
How will you make God your “one highest priority” this week?
Speaker quotes
- “The counsel ‘look to God and live’ (Alma 37:47) not only has meaning for us in eternity but also makes all the difference in the character and quality of our mortal lives.”
- “‘For the Strength of Youth’ speaks to several of God’s most urgent commandments and standards and teaches how to look to the Lord in making good decisions. It is a guide not only for youth but for all of us.”
- “Looking to God means that He is not just one of our priorities; it means, rather, that He is our one highest priority.”
Reference scriptures
- “And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.”
- “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”
- “Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.”
Invitations and promises
- “It is in the nature of a fallen world — where the devil rages and where everyone is imperfect — that there will be disappointments and offenses, suffering and sorrow, failure and loss, persecution and injustice. It is only by looking to God that individuals, families and even nations can flourish.”
- “All are imbued with the Light of Christ as they come into the world. In addition, some act to be baptized and receive the gift and added light of the Holy Ghost. He brings inspiration and guidance, enhances and refines one’s native gifts and abilities, and helps to avoid evil influences, poor decisions and dead ends.”
- “In looking to God, we can find peace in difficulty, and our faith can continue to grow even in times of doubt and spiritual challenge. We can receive strength in the face of opposition and isolation. We can reconcile the ideal with the present reality.”
Stories
- In June 2025, 15 people from the country of Lesotho died in a bus accident while branch members headed to a young women gathering. Despite feelings of anger, depression and guilt, the survivors, family members and friends have comforted one another and turned to God for solace. A 17-year-old survivor, Setso’ana Selebeli, testified, “Jesus Christ loves us and is with us, even though our hearts hurt.” A Young Women president from a neighboring branch urged, “Don’t look away, but look to Him.”
- When the ancient Israelites were afflicted by fiery serpents, the Lord told Moses to make a figure of a serpent and lift it on a pole. He promised Moses that “every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8). Alma later recorded that many looked and were healed, while those who would not look perished. (See Alma 33:19-21.) He connected this to belief in the Redeemer, inviting, “Cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God” (Alma 33:22).
- When one man’s Church membership was withdrawn due to transgression, he felt offended and judged. After a while, he became comfortable in a lifestyle outside the Church. This continued until he felt more keenly the absence of God’s presence in his life. He began to miss the comfort, guidance and confidence born of the Spirit, so he did what was needed to repent and qualify once more for baptism.
From the footnotes
- 9. Alma’s grandson Nephi, in bearing record of the Savior, added, “And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal” (Helaman 8:15).
- 13. We can see around us the fruits of looking to God and having His Spirit to be with us. For example, research has found that “spiritual development is associated with protection against depression and substance abuse, and with setting young adults up for healthier relationships, more purposeful work, and greater emotional resilience” (“The New Spiritual Leader on Campus,” by Cornelia Powers, Atlantic, May 18, 2025, theatlantic.com). Levels of chronic loneliness, emotional isolation and anxiety in the general population contrast with broadly healthier lifestyles, physical and mental vitality, higher levels of education and positive outlooks based in faith among Latter-day Saints. It’s not that we, as a people, never experience the challenges that commonly exist in the world. Rather, it is that in looking to Jesus Christ, we can prevail.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Moses and the Brass Serpent” by Judith Mehr
- Related video: “The Hope of God’s Light”
- Related hymn: No. 1032, “Look unto Christ”
Recent conference talks on healing
- Elder Neil L. Andersen: “The Atoning Love of Jesus Christ” (October 2025)
- President Camille N. Johnson: “Spiritually Whole in Him” (April 2025)
- Elder Brian K. Taylor: “Swallowed Up in the Joy of Christ” (April 2024)
Who is President Christofferson?
- President D. Todd Christofferson was set apart as second counselor in the First Presidency on Oct. 14, 2025, to Church President Dallin H. Oaks. He was called as a general authority in 1993 and sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 5, 2008. Prior to his calling as a general authority in 1993, President Christofferson was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corp. (now Bank of America).
