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 Unto Christ — Together”
- Elder Taniela B. Wakolo | General Authority Seventy
- Sunday afternoon session of April 2026 general conference.
- Theme: Those who come unto Jesus Christ with their families live eternally with them.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Wakolo’s message here.
Outline
- General conference is a gathering where prophets, seers and revelators testify of Jesus Christ and teach His doctrine so simply it cannot be misunderstood.
- God fulfills His purpose through Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, all can receive the gift of eternal life, which includes living in God’s presence eternally as families.
- President Dallin H. Oaks taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ centers on the family and its intended destiny is to exalt the children of God in eternal families.
- The Lord declared that marriage is ordained of God. Without the sealing authority, families could not be united forever.
- The temple is a symbol of hope. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a bridge to unite families forever.
- Every person is essential to God’s plan, whether or not they or their spouse is a member of the Church.
- Denny and Alex attended different churches, but after getting married, they didn’t know which church to attend. Denny, a Latter-day Saint, kept going to church, and two years later Alex chose baptism. They were later sealed in the temple.
- A 7-year-old boy asked his father to join the Church so he could baptize him. Though the father declined the invitation, love remains, and the invitation continues.
- Bob Hasenyager supported his wife, Marlene, in her faithful desire to attend the temple. He gained a testimony and chose to be baptized. After later being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Bob was sealed in the temple with Marlene just four months before his passing.
- Elder Wakolo’s wife waited eight years for him to join the Church. In her patriarchal blessing, she was promised that a day would come when her husband would take her to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity, if she remained true and faithful. Over eight years and 24 missionaries later, Elder Wakolo was baptized, and they were sealed in the temple.
- Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know each family. Conversion is personal, timing is individual, and agency is sacred.
- All are invited to come unto Christ. The Savior never forces; He invites, blesses and fulfills promises.
Reflection questions
How can you help others around you build their relationship with God?
What does it mean to you that God’s plan of happiness is centered on the family?
In what ways can you get closer to the Savior that will help your family?
How have you seen Jesus Christ’s guidance within your family relationships?
What action items can you take to strengthen relationships within your own family?
Speaker quotes
- “The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a wedge to divide families but a bridge to unite them eternally.”
- “Brothers and sisters, God keeps His promises — but in His timing.”
- “The Savior never forces. He invites. He blesses. He fulfills promises according to faith and faithfulness.”
Reference scriptures
- “For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.”
- “For behold, this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
- “And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man. Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation; And that it might be filled with the measure of man, according to his creation before the world was made.”
Invitations and promises
- “The Lord honors patient faith. And it is never too late for miracles.”
- “To all members of the Church — let’s continue to minister one by one and ensure that ‘no one sits alone.’”
- “I invite you to make a commitment and choose to come unto Christ — together.”
Stories
- In New Zealand, Denny and Alex attended different churches. After getting married, they struggled to decide which church to attend. Denny, who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, felt he could not continue living in a way that felt divided. He listened to his father’s counsel and kept going to church. Two years later, his wife chose to be baptized, and they were later sealed in the house of the Lord.
- A 7-year-old boy in Australia pleaded with his father to join the Church so his father could baptize him. While his father attended church for several years, he had not been baptized. Elder Wakolo met with the father and extended the invitation for him to accept his son’s request. He gently declined, but love remains, and the invitation still stands.
- In Fiji, Elder Wakolo’s wife waited eight years for Elder Wakolo to join the Church. She attended church alone while her husband remained uninterested and hesitant. She, however, continued in her faith and served faithfully. In her patriarchal blessing, she was promised that a day would come when her husband would take her to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity, if she remained true and faithful. Over eight years and 24 missionaries later, Elder Wakolo was baptized, and they were sealed in the temple.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Family Prayer”
- Related video: “Uniting Families for Eternity: Add What You Know”
- Related hymn: No. 300, “Families Can Be Together Forever”
Recent conference talks on eternal families
- President Dallin H. Oaks: “The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ” (October 2025)
- President Henry B. Eyring: “Simple Is the Doctrine of Jesus Christ” (October 2024)
- President M. Russell Ballard: “Remember What Matters Most” (April 2023)
Who is Elder Wakolo?
- Elder Taniela B. Wakolo was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in the April 2017 general conference. Elder Wakolo is the first Fijian to serve as an Area Seventy, mission president and General Authority Seventy.
