PROVO, Utah — Earlier this year, the Artemis II space crew manned a spacecraft around the dark side of the moon.
The observations of the astronauts more than 250,000 miles from Earth “were very compelling to me,” Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson told religious educators throughout The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday, June 4.
With a view of the entirety of “magnificent planet Earth,” astronaut and pilot Victor Glover reminded individuals that they are special as well as of the blessing it is to get to exist together as fellow citizens of Earth and of the commandment to love, President Johnson noted.
At about the same time the Artemis crew was circling the moon, the Lord’s Prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks, was speaking to all the Earth’s inhabitants, reminding them of the Savior’s teachings to love God and to love their neighbor, even their adversaries, said President Johnson.
“As followers of Christ, let us follow Him by forgoing contention and by using the language and methods of peacemakers,” President Oaks counseled (“Alive in Christ,” April 2026 general conference).
President Johnson opened the third annual Church Educational System Religious Educators Conference with a keynote address on Thursday evening by emphasizing this “poignant and beautiful trio of teachings” — illustrated by the Artemis mission and taught by President Oaks — to love one’s neighbor, including adversaries; to avoid contention; and to make peace.
Standing in front of a screen displaying a vast expanse of stars and the entirety of planet Earth, President Johnson taught: “Loving even our adversaries changes our hearts. Avoiding contention sets the tone. And making peace will change the world.”
What is the Religious Educators Conference?
Hundreds of religious educators and their spouses gathered in the Concert Hall of the new Music Building on Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah, for President Johnson’s remarks, which were broadcast on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Within the entities that make up the Church Educational System — including Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, Brigham Young University, BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii, Ensign College and BYU–Pathway Worldwide — are tens of thousands of teachers from around the globe dedicated to helping more than a million youth and young adults deepen faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.
Of teachers’ efforts to help grow faith in the rising generation, Elder James R. Rasband, Church commissioner of education, told the Church News, “Their teaching and ministering to their students is a critical part of the mission of Church education to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church and their communities.”
In what could be considered a role reversal, once a year these educators are invited to become the student during the two-day conference as they listen to counsel and learn best practices from Church leaders and other veteran educators.
President Johnson kicked off this year’s Church Educational System Religious Educators Conference with a keynote address on Thursday, June 4.
The conference reconvened the next morning on Friday, June 5, with a keynote address by Elder Rasband as well as BYU President C. Shane Reese, followed by breakout sessions taught by various other religious educators and administrators.
Breakout sessions addressed a variety of topics and issues, such as teaching the symbols in Isaiah, teaching to large groups, designing experiences for neurodivergent students, addressing concerns in Church history and many more.
The keynote sessions were broadcast on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and will be added to the Gospel Library app and Media Library in coming days.
President Johnson thanked educators for their unfailing patience in teaching the youth and young adults of the Church the doctrine of Christ.
As the mother of three sons, President Johnson said she would often tell them, “You can’t have too many friends.”
“I feel the same way about Christlike role models in the lives of our young people,” President Johnson said. “They can’t have too many who are willing to listen, love and show them what discipleship of Jesus Christ looks like.”
Peacemakers know their divine identity
President Johnson shared two qualities she has observed in peacemakers who avoid contention and who love even their adversaries.
First, they know their divine identity. “When we know we are literal spirit children of God, it affects nearly every decision we make, including how we treat others,” she said.
Those who believe they are children of God are better able to make sense of their challenges. “We are more invested in a relationship with Jesus Christ. We set eternal priorities. And significantly — to loving our neighbor, avoiding contention and peacemaking — when we understand we are children of God, we treat others as children of God,” President Johnson taught.
She invited listeners “to prayerfully consider what experiences you can offer your students so that they come to understand deeply and personally their identity as children of God. We sing it. We say it. Do we have it imprinted upon our hearts?”
Peacemakers are kind
The second quality exhibited by peacemakers is kindness. “How we treat each other — especially those who are left out and alone — is how we treat Him,” said President Johnson, quoting Matthew 25:40: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Many students may feel lonely and isolated. “They need kindness to feel authentic belonging,” said President Johnson.
Latter-day Saints have been invited to stand out and be different from the world. “Let the Light of Christ shine in acts of kindness,” she encouraged.
The photographs from Artemis — and the observations of the crew — “are a beautiful parallel to prophetic teachings. With a view of the Earth unburdened by borders and boundaries, it is clear — we are all neighbors, we are children of God,” she declared.
Laser focus on the Savior
During his keynote address on Friday morning, Elder Rasband said in his meetings with missionaries as a general authority, he has frequently asked them to share a favorite scripture to teach someone about the Savior’s Atonement.
Among the lessons he’s learned from this exercise is that “the simple act of focusing on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice causes the Spirit to fill the room,” Elder Rasband noted.
This has been true in missionary settings as well as in less auspicious settings, such as when he has been assigned to minister in prisons, jails or juvenile corrections facilities.
“Despite the somber setting and the serious crimes committed by many of those who were incarcerated, I felt over and over again the presence of the Holy Ghost,” he recalled.
One possible reason for this: “They were focused like a laser on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice,” said Elder Rasband. “When they spoke, it was about their need for His Atonement. When they testified, it was in gratitude — or sometimes just in hope — that He had suffered for them and that He would heal, comfort and bless those whom they had harmed. The Atonement, for them, was not theoretical or abstract. They hungered and thirsted for it. And that sincere hunger and thirst allowed the Holy Ghost to testify.”
