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
- “Proved and Strengthened in Christ”
- President Henry B. Eyring | First counselor in the First Presidency
- Sunday morning session of October 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Trials are evidence that God loves His children enough to refine and strengthen them.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of President Eyring’s message here.
Outline
- As a college student, President Eyring felt overwhelmed while trying to learn physics and mathematics. He learned that his struggle was actually a gift from the Lord through which He was working to prove and strengthen him.
- To prove a piece of steel is to add heat, weight and pressure to make it stronger and more trustworthy. The Lord proves His children in much the same way; it does not come in times of ease or comfort.
- The scriptures emphasize that those who continue to have faith in Jesus Christ — even when it might feel impossible — become spiritually stronger. For example, Moroni’s faith was refined and strengthened as he lived his final years alone, and his testimony guides all generations to seek Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
- The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob was proved and strengthened in his childhood while facing afflictions and sorrow. His father, Lehi, taught him God would “consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2 Nephi 2:1–3).
- The Prophet Joseph Smith experienced proving and strengthening while in Liberty Jail. The Lord told Joseph his suffering would sanctify him as he endured it well (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
- The greatest example of proving and strengthening occurred through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of His Atonement, the Savior can strengthen all in times of trial.
- Proving and strengthening may come through the trials of family life, illness, disappointment, grief or loneliness. These moments are evidence the Lord loves His children enough to refine and strengthen them.
- The Lord will refine those who remain faithful. He will not forsake His children. If they trust Him, He will make their spiritual power equal to the trials they are called to bear.
Reflection questions
President Eyring explained that proving something makes it stronger. How have you seen this in your own life?
What helps you continue to have faith in Jesus Christ even when things feel impossible?
Aside from the stories of Moroni, Jacob and the Prophet Joseph Smith, when did the Lord prove and strengthen His people in the scriptures or Church history?
How can trials be evidence that the Lord loves you enough to refine and strengthen you?
In what ways did President Eyring’s talk change your perspective about life’s challenges?
Speaker quotes
- “The steel is not weakened by the proving. In fact, it becomes something that can be trusted, something strong enough to bear greater burdens. The Lord proves us in much the same way to strengthen us. That proving does not come in moments of ease or comfort. It comes in moments when we feel stretched beyond what we thought we could bear. The Lord teaches that we are to continue to grow and never tire in our efforts, that we never give up, that we keep trying.”
- “The greatest example of proving and strengthening occurred through the Savior’s Atonement. He took upon Him the sins of the world. He bore our pains and our sorrows. He drank the bitter cup. He proved faithful in every moment. Because of His glorious Atonement, Jesus Christ can strengthen us in our times of trial. He knows how to succor us because He has felt all the challenges that we will ever feel in mortality. ‘He will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people … that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities’ (Alma 7:11–12).”
- “Brothers and sisters, your proving and strengthening may not look like Moroni’s or Jacob’s or the Prophet Joseph’s. But it will come. It may come quietly, through the trials of family life. It may come through illness or disappointment or grief or loneliness. I bear witness that these moments are not evidence that the Lord has abandoned you. Rather, they are evidence that He loves you enough to refine and strengthen you. He is making you strong enough to carry the weight of eternal life.”
Reference scriptures
- “And behold, in thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren. Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain. Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.”
- “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.”
- “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
Invitations and promises
- “When we continue to have faith in Jesus Christ — even when things might feel impossible to us at the moment — we become spiritually stronger. The sacred scriptural records emphasize this truth.”
- “If we remain faithful in our service, the Lord will refine us. He will strengthen us. And one day we will look back and see that those very trials were evidence of His love. We will see that He was shaping us to be able to stand with Him in glory. As the Lord’s Apostle Paul stated at the end of his own life, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith’ (2 Timothy 4:7).”
- “I testify that God knows you. He knows the trials you face. He is with you. He will not forsake you. I testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is our strength, our Redeemer, our hope. If we trust Him, He will make our spiritual power equal to every trial we are called to bear.”
Stories
- As a college student, President Eyring felt overwhelmed while trying to learn physics and mathematics. He prayed and felt the Lord say, “I am proving you, but I am also with you.” President Eyring learned that his struggle was actually a gift from the Lord through which He was working to prove and strengthen him.
- The Book of Mormon prophet Moroni’s faith was refined and strengthened as he lived his final years alone. Moroni’s testimony guides all generations to seek Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see Moroni 10:1–5).
- The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob was proved and strengthened in his childhood while facing afflictions and sorrow. His father, Lehi, taught him God would “consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2 Nephi 2:1–3).
- The Prophet Joseph Smith experienced proving and strengthening while in Liberty Jail. The Lord told Joseph his suffering would sanctify him as he endured it well (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8).
- Jesus Christ took upon Him the sins of the world and bore the pains and sorrows of every individual. He even took on doubt and uncertainty (see Matthew 26:39). Because of His Atonement, the Savior can strengthen all in times of trial.
Additional resources
- Related image: “O My Father” by Simon Dewey
- Related video: “The Savior Suffers in Gethsemane”
- Related hymn: No. 1003, “It Is Well With My Soul”
Recent conference talks on adversity
- Elder Carlos A. Godoy: “Smiling Faces and Grateful Hearts” (October 2025)
- Bishop Gérald Caussé: “Compensating Blessings” (April 2025)
- Elder Mathias Held: “Opposition in All Things” (April 2024)
Who is President Eyring?
- President Henry B. Eyring was set apart as first counselor in the First Presidency on Oct. 14, 2025, to Church President Dallin H. Oaks. After his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1995, he also served as a counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley, President Thomas S. Monson and President Russell M. Nelson. He served as the 10th president of Ricks College — now BYU–Idaho — from 1971 to 1977.
