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
- “A Peculiar Treasure”
- Elder Alan R. Walker | General Authority Seventy
- Sunday morning session of April 2026 general conference.
- Theme: By obeying the Savior’s voice and keeping His covenants, individuals can become His “peculiar treasure.”
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Walker’s message here.
Outline
- As a young boy, Elder Walker had great interest in stories and movies about treasure and explorers searching for lost riches. He and his brothers spent hours searching for shiny rocks at the base of the Andes Mountains in Argentina but never found any real treasure.
- The word “treasure” appears in scripture dozens of times. Among the frequent warnings about earthly treasure, there is one passage in which the Lord speaks of His people as His treasure (see Exodus 19:5).
- Heavenly Father designed the plan of salvation to bring His children home through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. As part of the Savior’s love, He invites all to come unto Him, to choose Him.
- The Lord established a pattern of application to those who desire to become His treasure, His covenant people: Obey His voice and keep covenants with Him. President Russell M. Nelson taught God will never tire in His efforts to help those who make covenants with Him.
- Covenant faithfulness identifies individuals as God’s people and empowers them to rise above limitations of this fallen world. President Dallin H. Oaks taught that obedience is essential to rising above life’s challenges.
- Individuals can know they are accepted of the Lord if they have honest and broken hearts, humble spirits and a willing readiness to keep their covenants. The Lord does not ask for perfection all at once.
- Becoming the Lord’s treasure and receiving His acceptance require effort, persistence and sacrifice. President D. Todd Christofferson taught that God gives continual blessings and divine power to those who are faithfully obedient to their covenants.
- Those who obey the Savior’s voice and keep their covenants each day will feel His love more deeply and receive His guidance more clearly.
Reflection questions
What does it mean to you to be the Lord’s “peculiar treasure”?
How can you better apply in your life the pattern the Lord established to those who desire to become His treasure?
In what ways has covenant faithfulness empowered you to rise above life’s challenges?
How can you know you are accepted of the Lord? When was the last time you felt His acceptance?
After reading President Christofferson’s quote about promised blessings to those who honor their covenants, what personal experiences come to mind? How have you seen these blessings in your life?
Speaker quotes
- “As we study the scriptures, we encounter the word ‘treasure’ dozens of times — most often as a warning not to set our hearts upon riches or upon the fleeting things of the world. Yet among all those warnings about earthly treasure, there is one passage that reveals something astonishing: the Lord Himself speaks of us as His treasure. I speak of the moment when the Lord addressed the prophet Moses upon Mount Sinai and declared that His people would be a ‘peculiar treasure’ unto Him if they would obey His voice and keep His covenant (Exodus 19:5).”
- “Above all loves, the love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, stands supreme — ‘greater love’ has no man (John 15:13). As a part of our Savior’s love, He invites us to come unto Him, to choose Him. The risen Lord is the same who spoke upon Mount Sinai. The living Christ still calls a covenant people today.”
- “The Lord does not ask for perfection all at once; rather, He asks for honest and broken hearts, humble spirits and a willing readiness to keep our covenants — even when it requires sacrifice.”
Reference scriptures
- “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.”
- “For behold, this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
- “Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice — yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command — they are accepted of me.”
Invitations and promises
- “In His benevolent teaching to Moses, the Lord established a pattern of application not only to the ancient children of Israel but to all those who desire to become His treasure — the Lord’s covenant people. That pattern includes two simple but powerful conditions: to obey His voice and to keep our covenants with Him. Then we will be a peculiar, or special, treasure; and as such we will be blessed, strengthened and favored through the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.”
- “Just as the treasures my brothers and I searched for were never found on the surface, becoming the Lord’s treasure and receiving His divine acceptance are not something casual or accidental. They require patient effort, faithful persistence and sacrifice. We must be willing to lay aside lesser things — habits, ambitions or comforts that distance our hearts from Him — so that we may offer ourselves wholly and without reservation. As we choose to follow prophetic counsel, even when it stretches us or feels inconvenient, we demonstrate our love for the Lord and show that we cherish Him above all worldly desires.”
- “I testify that as we obey the Savior’s voice and keep our covenants — even by small and quiet sacrifices each day — we will feel His love more deeply and receive His guidance more clearly. And because He lives, we can have the assurance that one day we will stand before Him and hear the words that matter most: that we are accepted of Him.”
Stories
- Elder Walker had great interest in treasure as a young boy. While visiting his grandparents who lived at the base of the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina, Elder Walker and his brothers spent hours searching for shiny rocks. They broke rocks open in hopes of discovering something special but never found any real treasure.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Sitting Outside the Temple”
- Related video: “Seek Jesus Christ: Our Greatest Treasure”
- Related hymn: No. 1053, “My Covenants”
Recent conference talks on covenants
- Elder Quentin L. Cook: “Keys, Covenants and Easter” (April 2026)
- Elder Thierry K. Mutombo: “The Joy of a Covenant Relationship With God” (April 2026)
- Elder Edward B. Rowe: “Choose Jesus Christ as Your Guide” (April 2026)
Who is Elder Walker?
- Elder Alan R. Walker was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 6, 2019. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he served in the Tennessee Nashville Mission as a young missionary and served as mission president in the México Monterrey East Mission. He worked in corporate banking and as an area controller for the Church’s Mexico Area.
