In a video interview published Thursday, Oct. 16, President Dallin H. Oaks answered questions from journalist Jane Clayson Johnson about his new role as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church published the interview two days after President Oaks introduced President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson as his First Presidency first and second counselors, respectively.
In the interview, President Oaks spoke of the Savior as both the model for all to follow and the Savior of all who would rely on Him. He read from Mosiah 3:17.
“Jesus Christ is the way,” he said before reading King Benjamin’s teaching in Mosiah. “There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”
President Eyring added that following the Savior helps bring calm that many seek during challenging times and circumstances.
“Come and see. Come and be. And find the peace that you are finding such difficulty discovering in the world around you,” he said.
President Christofferson said Jesus Christ has the power to accomplish everything promised by prophets throughout time.
“For me, the fact of His Resurrection is the proof of His power to fulfill all of His promises,” President Christofferson said. “It is the proof of who He is. And just remember that He volunteered to be our Redeemer from a time before the earth even existed.”
The three spoke with Clayson Johnson about the increasing numbers of individuals being baptized as members of the Church. They also talked about messages of hope and direction for the youth and young adults in the Church today. They talked about the role of women in the Church. And they spoke directly to those who don’t currently feel welcome at church or who feel like they are on the outskirts of it.
Eternal family
President Oaks said he spoke in general conference about family because the Church “outlines the destiny of the children of God.”
“That destiny culminates in an eternal family — a Father in Heaven and also a Mother in Heaven, though we haven’t been given much information about her for reasons that God understands and we do not.”
Aside from those parts of the plan that are not completely spelled out yet, President Oaks said God’s purpose is clear.
“The whole purpose of mortal life is to prepare us for a heavenly destiny in a family organization,” he said. “And we are blessed when we take those as a given, as we said in ‘The Family Proclamation,’ not when we try to rewrite God’s plan but when we try to find where we fit within it.”
President Christofferson pointed back to the proclamation as well and said that the principles outlined in it are true to “a family of one or a dozen … and it outlines the path to happiness.”
Church growth
Referencing the numbers shared by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in his recent general conference message, Clayson Johnson asked what has driven nearly 900,000 individuals to join the Church in the past three years.
President Oaks said the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has a power that draws God’s children toward its truth.
“It is a gospel of happiness and growth and information about the purpose of life. And people who subscribe to its doctrine find that it makes their life more happy, more significant, more resistant to the difficulties we all experience in mortal life and more able to serve their fellow men and to raise their children.”
President Eyring added that more individuals will come to the Church as they look for a place that provides hope not found elsewhere.
“The growth of the Church will accelerate. When they find the gospel of Jesus Christ presented by missionaries, they see hope.”
President Christofferson said the late President Russell M. Nelson repeatedly taught about the gathering of Israel taking place on both sides of the veil.
“I see the Lord moving across the earth and His Spirit influencing people in their lives,” he said.
“I believe that is what we are seeing,” he added. “The Lord is bringing things to pass. We are able to help — maybe on the fringes — but He is moving in His power.”
To youth and young adults
As a foundational message to youth and young adults in the Church, President Oaks invited them to remember from whom they come.
“You have a Heavenly Father who loves you. He has provided a plan for you, and it is best explained in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where we have an explanation for the purpose of life, and challenges and activities that lead you along what we call the covenant path to a heavenly destiny. Trust in the Lord. Come and enjoy His blessings with us.”
President Eyring said he sees the future with optimism and invited youth and young adults to find that same optimism by trusting God and serving Him.
“We promise them a glorious future, and I think that it is already emerging,” he said. “They can be optimistic if they will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be His servants as much as they can be.”
President Christofferson said those who are considered Millennials and Gen Z need to rely on the Spirit and use technology for good in this “unique time.”
“There is no substitute for the Holy Ghost,” he said. “No technology, no other recourse or source can replace the Spirit. … Turn to the Lord, as President [Oaks] said. Jesus Christ is always the answer. He has been the answer from the beginning.”
He also invited the rising generation to master technology for the betterment of the Church and the furthering of God’s purposes.
“Use this tool that no other generation has had to be able to march forward more rapidly, to make more progress, to accomplish more of the Lord’s work with greater speed and velocity.”
Women in the Church
President Oaks has spoken previously about the role his mother and grandmother played in raising him. In this interview with Clayson Johnson, he said his mother taught him “that women can do almost anything that men can do — and often better.”
The Church has worked to create better practices and policies to maximize the gifts and contributions of women, he said.
“We have not always been wise in using the great qualifications and powers of the daughters of God,” he said.
Some of those adjustments have come from the highest levels of Church leadership and organization, including having leaders of the Church’s organizational presidencies sit on executive councils.
“We have work left to do,” President Oaks said, “but we are a lot better off than we were even a decade ago.”
President Eyring added that leadership in the Church is service.
“And women do that in a way that is just remarkable,” he said.
President Eyring also said the day this new First Presidency was announced was the second anniversary of his wife’s passing. He said he misses being with her and counseling with her because “she had a sense of what mattered.”
President Christofferson said counseling together means hearing and considering the perspectives of men and women as they participate together.
“[When] we bring both perspectives together, we get a better perspective. We get closer to the divine perspective,” he said.
President Oaks said that women are able as God’s spirit daughters to be blessed by Him throughout their life.
“You have a Heavenly Father who loves you, who has created you to return to live with heavenly parents, to enjoy the choicest blessings that God has for any of His children,” he said.
The Lord’s outstretched arms
Each member of the First Presidency invited those who have felt like there is not a place for them in the Church or who feel on the outskirts of it to focus on the Savior as they navigate life’s challenges.
“We are all children of God,” President Oaks said. “God loves them, and He has a plan for them wherever they are on the pathway toward that divine destiny.”
President Eyring described Christ’s arms as being outstretched in mercy and love regardless of individual choices that have taken them away from the Church and the covenant path.
“When anyone feels that they are on the margin, they cannot get far enough away from the Savior that He would ever not be reaching to them,” President Eyring said. “My encouragement to them is just pray, and you will have a feeling of being back from the margin and included.”
President Christofferson added another invitation to turn to Christ and join in service.
“Do not wait always to be invited off the sideline,” he said. “Come forward and contribute what you can to the body of Christ. Everyone is valuable. Every contribution is valuable.”
Follow the First Presidency
President Oaks and his new counselors published their first videos on social media as a First Presidency on Tuesday, Oct. 14. The three of them can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at the links below.
President Dallin H. Oaks
President Henry B. Eyring
President D. Todd Christofferson
