Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2026 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Come Home”
- Elder Clark G. Gilbert | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Saturday morning session of April 2026 general conference.
- Theme: Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and the Repairer, and He invites all to come home.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Gilbert’s message here.
Outline
- Amid feelings of inadequacy and overwhelm, the grace of Jesus Christ makes up the difference.
- Elder Gilbert witnesses of Christ’s names of Redeemer and Repairer as he focuses on Christ’s invitation for all to come home.
- William Shakespeare said missed opportunities can bind one’s future. However, the Savior allows people to change when they lose their way spiritually.
God is calling us home
- While struggling to have more children after their first son was born, Elder Gilbert and his wife found hope in a painting of a pioneer mother beckoning others to follow.
- In Elder Gilbert’s assignments as a general authority, he has repeatedly witnessed people finding their way home.
- To those who feel they don’t belong: Sister Anglesey returned to the Church and received her endowment after leaving her faith 30 years earlier.
- To those who feel they don’t measure up: Brother Vargas learned that he didn’t have to be perfect to be baptized and agreed to join the Church. His family was later sealed in the temple.
- To those who doubt: Justin and Kenna Valdez overcame their concerns with the Church by learning to recognize the Holy Ghost. They made the changes necessary to come back and were eventually sealed in the temple.
- To those who are trapped in traditions: John Raass didn’t want to join the Church because he wanted to honor the faith traditions of his deceased parents. He learned that his parents now understood the Church and would honor his decision, so he chose to be baptized.
Conclusion
- Life’s deeper questions do not go away as societal pressures pull people away from their faith. Everyone must make their own choices to come home, and that journey starts by reanchoring on the Savior.
- During Church President Dallin H. Oaks’ address at Brigham Young University on Feb. 10, 2026, students in the Marriott Center turned on their phone flashlights to signal to late-arriving students that there were open seats.
- Christ is the Redeemer, and He repairs the breaches in one’s life. The Savior loves every individual and is tenderly calling for them to come home.
Reflection questions
What comes to mind when you think of the Savior as your Redeemer and Repairer?
How does it make you feel to know the Savior never tires in His efforts to help you return home?
Has there been a time in your life when you didn’t immediately answer the call to come home? What caused your heart to change?
What do you think Elder Gilbert is trying to teach when he says, “In the end, everyone must make their own choices to come home”?
How do you feel when you read or listen to the words of the hymn “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”?
Speaker quotes
- “Choices do have consequences, but we know in the gospel of Jesus Christ that when we lose our way spiritually, the Savior still allows us to change. As President Russell M. Nelson taught: ‘Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.’ And ‘should [we] stray, He will help [us] find [our] way back.’”
- “Feeling we don’t belong, struggling with doubts or being limited by traditions are just a few of the reasons we don’t immediately answer the call to come home. But even as societal pressures pull people away from their faith, life’s deeper questions do not go away. As President Nelson taught, ‘The truth is that it is much more exhausting to seek happiness where you can never find it!’”
- “President Oaks declared that the journey home starts by reanchoring on the Savior. Only Jesus Christ can fully restore that light and joy into your life.”
Reference scriptures
- “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.”
- “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
Invitations and promises
- “Today, I will specifically witness to the names of Redeemer and Repairer, as I focus on Christ’s invitation for all of us to come home.”
- “We all struggle. We need patience, service and love from others. To those who are trying to help those they love, hold on to the truth. Keep your covenants. Helping others requires you to stay in your covenants.”
- “To those who are struggling to come home, know that it is your Savior who’s the one calling you back. In the end, everyone must make their own choices to come home.”
Stories
- After leaving her faith 30 years earlier, Sister Anglesey returned to the Church and received her endowment. She had spent Sundays sitting alone in a church parking lot, but the Lord restored her to His light, love and joy.
- Brother Vargas, whose wife was an active Church member, learned about Christ’s grace and that he didn’t have to be perfect to be baptized. He agreed to join the Church, and his family was eventually sealed in the temple.
- Though Justin and Kenna Valdez left the Church, their 8-year-old son still wanted to be baptized. They overcame their concerns with the Church by learning to recognize the Holy Ghost, and they made the changes necessary to come back. The Valdez family was later sealed in the temple.
- Former BYU football star John Raass didn’t want to join the Church because he felt the need to honor the faith traditions of his deceased parents. After learning that his parents now understood the Church and would honor his decision, he chose to meet with the missionaries and get baptized. A year later his family was sealed in the temple.
- During President Dallin H. Oaks’ address at Brigham Young University on Feb. 10, 2026, students in the Marriott Center turned on their phone flashlights to signal to late-arriving students that there were open seats. It was as if they were saying, “Please come sit with me; we saved a seat just for you.”
From the footnotes
- 11. As more young adults in the U.S. disaffiliate from religion, they increasingly cite a lack of purpose. In a recent study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, nearly two-thirds of college-aged youth say they lack purpose and most “did not know what to do” with their lives. Ryan Burge, a social scientist who looks closely at religion in America, recently published on this same topic. He cites the Pew Religious Landscape Survey data that shows over two-thirds of Americans continue to think about the meaning and purpose of life despite growing percentages of religious disaffiliation. These studies show that people continue to think about spiritual questions even when they drift away from faith (see Ryan Burge, “Do People Think About Meaning and Purpose All the Time?” Graphs About Religion, March 2, 2026, graphsaboutreligion.com).
- 15. President Oaks has repeatedly taught that one of the defining characteristics of disciples in the latter days will be their ability to stand for truth with love. This can be seen in his worldwide devotional for young adults (see Dallin H. Oaks and Kristen M. Oaks, “Stand for Truth” [worldwide devotional for young adults, May 21, 2023], Gospel Library; see also Dallin H. Oaks and Clark G. Gilbert, “Stand Fast With Love in Proclaiming Truth”). To this point of standing for truth with love, President Oaks cites President Jeffrey R. Holland’s statement: “As near as I can tell, Christ never once withheld His love from anyone, but He also never once said to anyone, ‘Because I love you, you are exempt from keeping my commandments’” (“The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University” [BYU University Conference, Aug. 23, 2021], 4, speeches.byu.edu).
- 16. President Nelson taught that the best way to help others return to their covenants is to joyfully keep our own covenants (see “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Liahona, November 2016, pages 81—84). Sister Tamara W. Runia provides a beautiful discussion of the idea of staying in our covenants and living in truth when we beckon others to come back: “Don’t chase after your loved ones who feel lost. ‘You stay where you are and call them. You go to the tree, stay at the tree, keep eating the fruit and, with a smile on your face, continue to beckon to those you love and show by example that eating the fruit is a happy thing!’” (“Seeing God’s Family Through the Overview Lens,” Liahona, November 2023, page 67).
Additional resources
- Related image: “Shouting Hosannah” by Minerva Teichert
- Related video: “Migration: A Yearning for Home”
- Related hymn: No. 1020, “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”
Recent conference talks on activation
- Elder S. Mark Palmer: “Return Unto Me … That I May Heal You” (April 2025)
- Elder Patrick Kearon: “God’s Intent Is To Bring You Home” (April 2024)
- Elder Carlos A. Godoy: “For the Sake of Your Posterity” (October 2023)
Who is Elder Gilbert?
- Elder Clark G. Gilbert was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Feb. 12, 2026, filling a vacancy in the quorum after the death of President Jeffrey R. Holland. At the time of his call, Elder Gilbert was serving as a General Authority Seventy and as the commissioner of Church education.
