Much like the Savior who taught sermons and ministered to others on the streets of Jerusalem, President D. Todd Christofferson — second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — recently taught and ministered to a group of Latter-day Saint youth on the steps of the church’s three-acre replica of ancient Jerusalem in Goshen, Utah.
As he ministered, President Christofferson conversed with the youth, answering their questions and teaching them about what it means to walk with the Savior along the covenant path.
Walking the covenant path is “really trying to be like Jesus,” the 80-year-old apostle told the youth group. “He is the way. He is the path. He shows us the path… (and) it’s important that we study his life.”
President Christofferson’s conversation with the group of youth was recorded for the church’s worldwide youth broadcast, which was made available Sunday, Jan. 18, and focused on the 2026 Latter-day Saint youth theme, “Walk with Me.”
Separate segments featuring Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman and Young Men General President Timothy L. Farnes, as well as President Christofferson on his own, were also included in the broadcast.
“I want to remind all of us that our Heavenly Father and his son, our Savior, love us perfectly, and because they love us perfectly, they want us to become like them and experience the exquisite joy that they experience,” President Christofferson said.
“They know what it requires. They know how to help us achieve it…. I encourage each of you personally to learn more about the life of Jesus Christ and his example of walking with God the Father.”
‘Jesus Christ is the way’
Addressing youth worldwide, President Christofferson retold the ancient prophet Enoch’s story, upon which the 2026 youth theme is based.
Enoch was a relatively young prophet who felt inadequate to fulfill God’s command to preach the gospel and call others unto repentance, President Christofferson said. “In essence, (Enoch said to God), ‘I’m too young. I can’t speak very well, especially in public. Everybody hates me. Why do you want me?’”
To his doubts and fears, the Lord responded with a promise that he would give him the “ability to speak with power,” President Christofferson said. He also gave him the promise and invitation: “Thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”
Likewise, Jesus “invites us, no matter where we are at this moment, to walk with him,” President Christofferson said. “We don’t have to achieve some minimum level of ability or spirituality before he will take an interest in us. His invitation and his hand are extended right now, and all are included.”
The path the Savior offers to walk with his followers, however, is not whatever path they’re following, he said. The Savior invites his followers to “walk with him on his path.”
“Jesus Christ is the way,” President Christofferson said, pointing to an answer President Dallin H. Oaks gave in his first interview as church president.
To walk with the Lord, one must enter into covenants with him, strive to obey him each day, repent and always remember him, President Christofferson said. “No matter what successes, failures or challenges come to you, he is your answer for everything.”
What Latter-day Saints ‘really promise’ through covenants
Sitting beside a group of Latter-day Saint youth, President Christofferson taught that making covenants with God and following the Savior along the covenant path is really about “becoming like Christ,” learning of him and building a “deeper relationship with God.”
He answered one youth’s question about what Latter-day Saints “really promise” through covenants and said they primarily commit “to love and serve God.” This includes striving to keep his other commandments, being willing to take Christ’s name upon them by following the principles of his gospel, committing to be chaste, and consecrating “what we have, what we are… and what we may have in life to supporting and building Christ’s church upon the earth.”
Answering another youth’s question, President Christofferson also taught that striving to walk with the Savior amid life’s overwhelming challenges involves daily turning to him and accepting his timing.
He shared that at one point he faced a financial challenge and found himself praying for a miracle. “Frankly, the answer was, ‘No.’ God didn’t do it,” he said. “After a while, I figured out that what I really needed was to ask God for help each day.”
As he did, President Christofferson said he learned how to pray more and how to hear God’s answers.
“I came to know him better,” he said, adding that the fact God didn’t remove his challenge with the miracle he wanted, pushed him to “really learn how to walk with him.”
God’s promises to those who walk with him
President Christofferson acknowledged some might ask what God promises those who choose to walk with him.
“First of all, he promises that he’ll bless us for our obedience,” he said, “and he promises that he’ll send His Spirit to be with us.”
He also promises the help of a Savior, an endowment of “power from on high, angels to watch over us” and, in the end, a place in his celestial kingdom, President Christofferson said.
Later speaking of the sacrament, which Latter-day Saints partake of each week, President Christofferson taught about the ordinance’s blessings and those of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
“The atonement of Jesus Christ meets all of us wherever we are,” he said. And Christ tailors His mercy to what we need at that moment so our repentance can bring precisely the kind of healing and blessing and renewal and cleansing that is unique to us in that moment.”
What President Freeman taught youth about seeking the Lord
Also conversing with a group of youth at the church’s Jerusalem set in Goshen, President Freeman shared the story of King Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament and discussed his example of seeking the Lord.
She read from 2 Chronicles 20 and, with the youth, highlighted aspects of the king’s example that helped them learn how they may walk with the Savior through prayer.
When Jehoshaphat was told an army was coming against him and his people, he “set himself to seek the Lord,” President Freeman said, reading from the Old Testament. He proclaimed a fast throughout the land, gathered his people at the temple, prayed to God and received his answer to “be not afraid,” for the “battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Of his example, one young woman said: God’s “timing is perfect, and he knows everything. He knows the greater plan, and if we just be patient and wait, the time will come and our prayers will be answered.”
President Freeman closed their discussion with an invitation for them and all viewers worldwide to “set an intention to be better about our prayers every day” and consider how a “heartfelt prayer said with real intent” can help one walk with Christ.
What President Farnes taught youth about healing through Christ
Sitting with youth at the church’s representation of the stairs at the New Testament pool of Bethesda, President Farnes discussed with youth the story of a paralyzed man who was healed by Jesus at the steps of the pool.
This man was “healed from what physically ailed him,” President Farnes said. “But I think we can apply (his story) just as easily to being spiritually healed, and how oftentimes we look beyond the mark or beyond what can heal us … when we have Jesus Christ right before us.”
In the case of this man, he had waited 38 years at the steps of the pool, hoping to be healed by being the first in the water whenever an angel came to stir the waters, as dictated by tradition. Someone else always slipped in before him, President Farnes said, until one day, the Savior approached the man, asked if he would be “made whole” and then commanded him to take up his bed and walk.
Along with the youth, President Farnes highlighted the joy the Savior must have felt healing him, and how he equally feels joy whenever one repents. The youth then also shared ways they can practice daily repentance.
“Repentance is not the backup plan, it is the plan,” President Farnes taught. “We’re all gonna fall short, and one of the greatest blessings we receive by making covenants is a Savior….
“I hope this story will help you recognize the joy of repentance and that it can happen daily for you, if you’ll choose him time and time again.”
How to watch the broadcast
The church invites youth and local leaders to plan a gathering where they can view this broadcast together and then have “an opportunity to plan and share how they might ‘walk with’ the Savior throughout the year,” states an event notice on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Youth are encouraged to lead these discussions, and youth and their leaders are encouraged to gather and watch the broadcast at a time and location that best suits their needs and circumstances, the notice further states.
Latter-day Saint youth, their leaders and others interested in watching the broadcast can find it on the church’s Gospel Library app, broadcasts page and “Strive to Be” YouTube channel.
To find more information and resources about the church’s 2026 youth theme, click here or visit youth.churchofjesuschrist.org. To see a list of the upcoming year’s other churchwide events and broadcasts, click here.
