Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
President D. Todd Christofferson · Second Counselor in the First Presidency · Saturday Afternoon Session
Recommended path
Mix and match to create one 25-minute interactive lesson. Swap any activity for an option below.
This class in one line
This class explores what it means to truly sustain Church leaders, not just raise a hand, but commit to support those God has called.
Skip reading the full lists of names aloud; mention they exist and point members to the Church website instead.
Before Sunday
Sunday: What does your raised hand actually mean?
This Sunday we'll discuss the sustaining of General Authorities and Church officers that took place in general conference. President Christofferson presented leaders for our sustaining vote, and also invited us to express gratitude for those being released. Before Sunday, think about a time you felt genuinely supported by someone in a calling. Ponder: when you raise your hand to sustain a leader, what are you committing to do?
Pick one opening
Think of a leader, in the Church or elsewhere, who you felt truly supported by people around them. What did that support actually look like in practice? And then flip it: think of a time someone was called to serve and felt alone in it. What was missing? Let's talk about what it means to really sustain someone.
Think of a leader, in the Church or elsewhere, who you felt truly supported by people around them. What did that support actually look like in practice? And then flip it: think of a time someone was called to serve and felt alone in it. What was missing? Let's talk about what it means to really sustain someone.
During the Saturday afternoon session, President Christofferson did something that doesn't get a lot of attention, he didn't just ask us to sustain new leaders, he paused and invited the whole congregation to raise their hands in gratitude for those being released. People who had given years, in some cases decades, of service. He gave us a moment to honor that. What does it mean that we mark both the beginning and the end of a calling with a raised hand?
Teach this first
When the congregation raises their hand, it is not a poll or a rubber stamp, it is an expression of support and a personal commitment. President Christofferson presented each group of leaders separately and asked for the congregation's sustaining vote on each one. He also made clear that those who oppose have a proper channel: contact your stake president. The vote is real, and so is what it asks of us.
President Christofferson invited members to 'express your support in the usual way', a phrase worth sitting with. What is the usual way we actually support those we sustain?
Ask the class
If time remains
Three separate times, President Christofferson invited the congregation to raise their hands not to approve, but to give thanks, for the General Authority Seventies, the Area Seventies, and the Primary General Presidency being released. Gratitude for service rendered is woven into the sustaining process itself.
Ask the class
Counsel together
Last 3–5 minutes
This week, find one person in your ward who holds a calling, a teacher, a clerk, a presidency member, and do something specific to sustain them: a text, a note, a word after church. Make your sustaining vote visible.
Your witness: Share what sustaining Church leaders has asked of you personally, and what it has given you.