President Dallin H. Oaks, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, exit following the Sunday afternoon session of 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. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Amy Ortiz covers faith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Days before traveling to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to dedicate a new Latter-day Saint temple in the city, President Dallin H. Oaks celebrated his 94th birthday on Wednesday.
Set apart as the president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nine months ago on Oct. 14, President Oaks has addressed the global membership of the church, engaged in media interviews and spoken to students at Brigham Young University.
President Dallin H. Oaks gathers with family in Utah on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, to celebrate his 94th birthday on Aug. 12, 2026. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Here are a few of the topics he has spoken about as president of the church.
1. The Church of Jesus Christ is family-oriented
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a family-oriented church, and that doesn’t just mean that we pull together as a family in our life on earth, but we began as a family — spirit children of heavenly parents. …
“We are here to further our growth toward eternal beings as children of eternal heavenly parents.”
When asked to summarize his message to the church in his first media interview as prophet, President Oaks said “Jesus Christ is the way.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ is “a gospel of happiness and growth and information about the purpose of life. 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 Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen Oaks, share a moment after the First Presidency was interviewed in the Relief Society Building in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. | Cody Bell, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
3. Knowledge of the Resurrection changes perspective
The Resurrection is “a pillar of our faith. … The conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity changes the whole perspective of our mortal life. It affects how we look on the physical challenges of mortality. It gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love. (And) it signifies that mortal deficiencies are only temporary. …
“Our belief in the Resurrection also encourages us to fulfill our family responsibilities in mortality.”
President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring talk prior to the Sunday afternoon 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 Sunday, April 5, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News
4. Christ is the antidote to deception
“You live in a season where the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many. … I want to help all our members overcome present or future doubts. Whatever those doubts, the way to overcome them is to get closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. Again and again, he has taught us that he is the way.”
President Dallin H. Oaks looks up at BYU students after speaking during their weekly campus devotional at the J. Willard Marriott Center in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
“By all means, people should not be depressed because we are surrounded with challenges, whether they are economic or political or social. That is part of what we were put here to experience. … We are optimistic because we trust the Lord and know that he loves us and he set us up to succeed, not to fail.”
President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, stand outside the Burley Idaho Temple on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
“Truly, Jesus Christ is the way to peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come. He knows and loves each of us perfectly, and invites us to walk with him, abide in him, and follow his example of ministering to others one by one in charity and love.
“We have been reminded of the central role of marriage and families in our Heavenly Father’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. May we demonstrate the pure love of Christ in our families, in our communities, and in all of our interactions with God’s children.”
“We are grateful to know that there are two methods of gaining needed knowledge. One, the arm of flesh in the evolving disclosures of the scientific method and two, truths disclosed by the spiritual method, which begins with faith in God and relies on scriptures, inspired teaching and personal revelation.
“There is no ultimate conflict between knowledge gained by these different methods because God, our omnipotent Eternal Father, knows all truth and beckons us to learn by them both.”
President Dallin H. Oaks, center, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, laughs as he talks with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, left, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, left, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, before a special broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word” commemorating America250 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Sunday, July 5, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
8. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true
“When I say that I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, I’m talking about something I know as well as I know that I live, breathe and think and enjoy the blessings of God and the knowledge of his plan for his children. And making all that possible is our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.”
President Dallin H. Oaks talks with one of his great-grandchildren during a family reunion on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Joe's Valley, Utah. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
9. Life is a journey
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“Sometimes we consider the commandments of the Lord and experiences we could aspire to in this life as a checklist, and we check off different points. I think it is much more wholesome to think of our mortal journey as a journey from birth to a return to where our Heavenly Father wants us to be.”
President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, arrive for the Burley Idaho Temple dedication in Burley, Idaho, on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News
10. Forgo contention and ‘seek to be holy’
“My brothers and sisters, as followers of Christ, let us follow him by forgoing contention and by using the language and methods of peacemakers. In our families and other personal relationships, let us avoid what is harsh and hateful. Let us seek to be holy, like our Savior.”
The First Presidency, from left, President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor; President Dallin H. Oaks; and President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor, smile during the Sunday afternoon 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 Sunday, April 5, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rides in a vehicle in the Days of ’47 Parade in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 24, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, right, and President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, tour the Church’s new Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 22, 2026. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of the First Presidency and the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tour the celestial room of the Salt Lake Temple on Friday, May 8, 2026, in Salt Lake City. From left to right: Bishop L. Todd Budge, President Henry B. Eyring, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, President Dallin H. Oaks, Bishop Sean Douglas, and President D. Todd Christofferson. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Cosmo the Cougar congratulates President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the Utah Valley Chamber’s Pillar of the Valley event where President Oaks was honored at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Ut., April 14, 2026. | Tad Walsh, Deseret News
Church President Dallin H. Oaks speaks during the Sunday morning 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. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Dallin H. Oaks greets his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, at the start 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. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, right, speaks with Suriya Chindawongse, the ambassador of Thailand to the United States, in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 20, 2026. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Dallin H. Oaks, left, speaks with His Excellency Kristjan Prikk, ambassador of Estonia to the United States, during a visit with the First Presidency in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. | Cody Bell, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, leave the Burley Idaho Temple dedication in Burley, Idaho, on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. | Jeffrey D. Allred, for the Deseret News
President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, right, shares a laugh with President Jeffrey R. Holland, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, during a videotaped conversation about Brigham Young University that was released Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. | Screenshot from ChurchofJesusChrist.org
