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Oaks Centers Resurrection, Peacemaking and Civic Fairness in First Address as Church President

The appeal connects core beliefs to conduct in families, congregations, public life.

The First Presidency, from left, President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor; President Dallin H. Oaks; and President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor, give a sustaining vote during the solemn assembly as part of the Saturday morning session of the 196th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 4, 2026.
President Dallin H. Oaks, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the the 196th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 5, 2026.
Church President Dallin H. Oaks speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 196th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 5, 2026.

Overview

  • In his first general conference address as church president, Dallin H. Oaks urged believers to be peacemakers and to forgo harsh and hurtful words in all communications.
  • He linked that call to civic life with an appeal for “fairness for all” in a diverse democracy, framing love of adversaries as a Christian duty in public as well as private life.
  • Across the conference, senior apostles taught that eternal marriage is central to God’s plan and that temple sealing ordinances bind husbands, wives, and children beyond this life.
  • Speakers shared accounts of people who returned to church activity and later received temple sealings, stressing patient faith in families where one spouse joined or returned years later.
  • Analysts described Oaks as the church’s leading voice for a pluralist civic theology that seeks negotiation and mutual accommodation rather than the exclusivity associated with Christian nationalism.