SALT LAKE CITY — The doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “centers on the family,” President Dallin H. Oaks, acting as the presiding authority, said Sunday at the concluding session of the October 2025 general conference.
Oaks, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, devoted the bulk of his remarks to the importance of the family and temples, which he called “essential” to the church.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of our Heavenly Father for the benefit of His spirit children,” he said. “We are a family Church.”
He elaborated that the “gospel plan was first taught to us in the council of an eternal family, it is implemented through our mortal families, and its intended destiny is to exalt the children of God in eternal families.”
Oaks also tied the family to the church’s temple work, explaining that temple ordinances “enable us to return as eternal families to the presence of our Heavenly Father.”
Oaks, however, announced a temporary slowdown in new temple construction announcements, a move approved by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“With the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples,” he said.
He noted that the church would “move forward in providing the ordinances of the temple to members of the Church throughout the world, including when and where to announce the construction of new temples.”
The decision comes after the death of President Russell M. Nelson on Sept. 27, 2025. During his seven-and-a-half years as church president, Nelson announced the construction of 200 new temples.
Oaks reflected on Nelson’s enthusiasm for the building program. “He loved to announce new temples at the conclusion of each general conference, and we all rejoiced with him,” Oaks said.
He concluded by stressing that the “Savior Jesus Christ is our ultimate role model,” and that “following Christ and giving ourselves in service to one another is the best remedy for the selfishness and individualism that now seem to be so common.”
A public viewing for Nelson will be held Monday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and is open to visitors of all ages. Public funeral services will take place Tuesday at noon in the Conference Center on Temple Square. It will be broadcast on the Church’s media channels, plus locally on News Talk KVNU, 102.1FM/610AM, and streaming at kvnutalk.com and the KVNU mobile app.