Editor’s note: To support elders quorum and Relief Society classes, the Church News is publishing lesson resources on messages from October 2024 general conference. These are meant to be a starting point and not a strict lesson plan.
About this talk
- “Focus on Jesus Christ and His Gospel”
- by Elder I. Raymond Egbo | General Authority Seventy
- Sunday afternoon session of October 2024 general conference.
- Theme: Focusing on Jesus Christ and His gospel brings joy.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Egbo’s message here.
Outline
- In 1996, the Nigerian men’s soccer team won gold at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Before the Games, this team faced numerous challenges. Without financial support, they competed without training venues, food and laundry services. With hard work and dogged determination, they ignored distractions and focused on winning. Nigerians christened them the “Dream Team.”
- When Latter-day Saints ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel, they are guaranteed success and can feel great joy. President Russell M. Nelson taught, “When the focus of our lives is on ... Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening — or not happening — in our lives.”
- Several accounts in the Book of Mormon describe individuals who turned their lives around by focusing on Christ and His gospel. Alma the Younger rebelled and fought against the Church. His father, Alma, prayed and fasted. An angel appeared, calling Alma the Younger to repentance. Mercy and joy came to Alma because he and his father focused on the Savior.
- Parents with children who have strayed, take heart. Instead of wondering why an angel does not come, know the Lord has placed a mortal angel in his or her path: the bishop, a Church leader or a ministering brother or sister. Keep fasting and praying; do not set a timetable or a deadline for God and trust that He is stretching forth His hand to help. Sooner or later, parents will find God touching the hearts of their children when they choose to listen. Christ is joy — Christ is hope.
- For Alma, joy in Christ began when he exercised faith in Him and cried for mercy. Then Alma exercised his faith by laboring to help others taste the same joy.
- Another group in the Book of Mormon who made Christ and His gospel the focus of their lives were those who founded the city Helam. This righteous people were enslaved and stripped of the right to exercise religion. This people endured their trials and suffering by focusing on Christ and His gospel. These Saints let their troubles and trials be swallowed up in the joy of Christ.
- As people focus on Christ and follow His prophet, they, too, will be led to Christ and the joy of His gospel. Elder Egbo related how his mother recently passed away. He and his family experienced both sorrow and joy. Because of Him, she is not dead — she lives.
- Christ lovingly invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Discussion questions
How can we ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel?
When have the Savior and His gospel helped you feel joy regardless of what was happening or not happening in your life?
How can we “take heart” in the account of Alma the Younger when those we love stray from the gospel?
How can sharing the gospel help us find the “exceedingly great joy” Alma felt?
How could we be a ministering angel to someone in need of Jesus Christ and His gospel?
Notable quotes
- “When we ignore the distractions of the world and focus on Christ and His gospel, we are guaranteed success beyond what we can fully imagine and can feel great joy.”
- “How did [the people of Alma] endure through their trials and suffering? By focusing on Christ and His gospel. Their troubles did not define them; rather, each of them turned to God, likely defining themselves as a child of God, a child of the covenant and a disciple of Jesus Christ. As they remembered who they were and called upon God, they received peace, strength and ultimately joy in Christ.”
- “I am learning that to ‘think celestial’ and ‘let God prevail’ includes focusing on the joy available in Christ.”
Key scriptures
- “From that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, [to] bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste. ... And ... the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors. ... And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind.”
- “The Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day.”
- “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Invitations and promises
- “For parents with children who have strayed, take heart. Instead of wondering why an angel does not come to help your child repent, know that the Lord has placed a mortal angel in his or her path: the bishop, another Church leader or a ministering brother or sister.”
- “If you keep fasting and praying, if you do not set a timetable or a deadline for God, and if you trust that He is stretching forth His hand to help, then — sooner or later — you find God touching the heart of your child when your child chooses to listen. This is so because Christ is joy — Christ is hope; He is the promise ‘of good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:11). So trust Jesus Christ with your child, for He is the strength of every parent and every child.”
- “As we focus on Christ and follow His prophet, we too will be led to Christ and the joy of His gospel.”
Stories
- In 1996, the Nigerian men’s soccer team won gold at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Jubilant crowds poured onto the streets in every city and town in Nigeria. There was infectious joy, happiness and excitement. Before the Olympics, the team had faced numerous challenges, including losing their financial support. At one point, they were minutes away from elimination but triumphed. This pivotal moment changed how they saw themselves. With newfound confidence, hard work and dogged determination, they unitedly ignored distractions and focused on winning. Once the team learned to ignore the distractions facing them and focused on their goal, they succeeded beyond what they thought possible and experienced joy.
- Alma the Younger rebelled and fought against the Church. Alma the Elder, his father, prayed and fasted. An angel called Alma the Younger to repentance. He suffered the “pains of a damned soul” (Alma 36:16). Alma remembered his father teaching that Christ would atone for the sins of the world. He pleaded with God for mercy. Joy was the result. Once he experienced joy in Christ, Alma lived with that joy through difficulty and trials. Alma exercised faith in Christ by laboring to help others taste the same joy.
- Those who founded the city of Helam in the Book of Mormon made Jesus Christ and His gospel the focus of their lives and found joy. These righteous people were enslaved by a marauding group and stripped of their right to exercise religion. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, but they endured through their trials and suffering by focusing on Christ and His gospel. These believers let their troubles, suffering and trials be swallowed up in the joy of Christ. In due time, He showed Alma, a prophet of God, the way for escape.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Christ Visits the New World” by Walter Rane
- Related video: “Center Your Life on Jesus Christ”
- Related hymn: No. 134, “I Believe in Christ”
Recent conference talks on joy in Christ
- Elder Neil L. Andersen: “The Triumph of Hope” (October 2024)
- Elder Jose L. Alonso: “Jesus Christ at the Center of Our Lives” (April 2024)
- President Russell M. Nelson: “Joy and Spiritual Survival” (October 2016)
Who is Elder Egbo?
- Elder I. Raymond Egbo was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 6, 2024. Formerly with Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, Elder Egbo was an institute director, coordinator, country director and area director.
