PROVO, Utah – In a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1831, the Lord referred to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “the only true and living church on all the earth,” President Dallin H. Oaks said, citing Doctrine and Covenants 1:30.
“The fashionable opinion of our time is that all churches are true. If that were true, then all religious messages that reveal differences in religious doctrine, such as ours, would be irrelevant,” President Oaks told new mission leaders on Saturday, June 20. “That conclusion could cause us, and others, a significant loss of religious freedom.”
In his message for the 2026 New Missionary Leadership Seminar held at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, President Oaks explored the question, “What does it mean for the restored Church of Jesus Christ to be the one true church?”
President Oaks was joined by his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, who identified three overlapping characteristics of the “one true and living Church.” Together, they taught about Latter-day Saints’ unique testimony of Jesus Christ and what it assures members of the Church.
1. The Church of Jesus Christ has a complete doctrine.
President Oaks told a group of new mission leaders, including those who will serve in 55 new missions starting in July, that they are called to lead missionaries “at a historic time.” She noted that there are currently more than 87,000 full-time missionaries serving and a wave of 18-year-old sisters entering the service.
“In the coming weeks, we will have the largest number of full-time missionaries in the history of the Church,” President Oaks said. The primary responsibility of these missionaries is to bear witness to Jesus Christ “to a suffering world ignorant of His divine mission.”
President Oaks explained that many church denominations and philosophies today contain some level of gospel truth revealed by God in early times. Because so much had been lost through the apostasy, the Lord needed to restore the integrity of His doctrine, beginning with God’s plan for His children.
“Before we came to this earth, we lived as spirits,” President Oaks taught. “This earthly life has a purpose. Our highest destiny is to be like our heavenly parents.” God’s plan provided a Savior whose Atonement would save all of God’s children from death and sin.
President Oaks said The Church of Jesus Christ is rightly known as a family-centered church. “What is often not understood, however, is that our family-centeredness is not just a focus on earthly relationships; it is a fundamental theological issue.”
Under God’s plan, the mission of the restored Church of God is to help all people obtain exaltation in the celestial kingdom. “That can only be achieved through eternal marriage between a man and a woman,” President Oaks said.
“Knowing God’s plan gives Latter-day Saints a unique perspective on marriage and children,” he said. “We consider the bearing and raising of children to be part of God’s plan and a sacred duty of those authorized to participate in it.”
At a time when there is political, legal and social pressure for changes that redefine marriage, devalue its importance, conflate gender and homogenize the differences between men and women, “our eternal perspective opposes such changes,” President Oaks said.
“We believe that we must fight for the kind of families that provide the best conditions for the development and well-being of our children, all of God’s children.”
President Oaks described the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as “comprehensive, universal, merciful, and true.” He taught about the Resurrection in which all of God’s children will be resurrected and go to “a glorious kingdom greater than man can comprehend.”
“All of this happens because of God’s great love for His children, and it is made possible because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
2. The Church of Jesus Christ has priesthood authority.
President Oaks pointed out that the scriptures repeatedly teach the need for priesthood authority, citing examples from the Old and New Testaments.
“The office of the priesthood and its authority does not come from a desire to serve or from reading the scriptures,” President Oaks declared. “When priesthood authority was lost, it had to be restored by resurrected men who were sent to hold and bestow priesthood authority in this life. This occurred as part of the Restoration of the gospel.
“That priesthood authority, along with the keys necessary to direct its operations, resides in this restored church and not in any other church.”
President Oaks said all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can experience personal revelation through the Holy Ghost in their lives.
“The gifts of the Holy Spirit, activated through the weekly reception of the sacrament, entitle us to the continued companionship of the Spirit of the Lord throughout our lives and the accompanying blessings of personal revelation.”
3. The Church of Jesus Christ has a “unique testimony of Christ”
The Church of Jesus Christ contains the revealed truth about the nature of God and our relationship with God, President Oaks said.
“We have a unique and true testimony of Christ. This is the key to everything else. Our knowledge of the nature of God is what distinguishes us from the formal beliefs of other Christian denominations.”
Latter-day Saint belief in the nature of God and the “one and only witness of Christ” originates from Joseph Smith’s First Vision, in which he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus told Joseph that all the “creeds” of the church at that time “were detestable in his sight” (Joseph Smith History 1:19).
“The subsequent outpouring of modern revelation has given us the Book of Mormon, which reveals the importance of this fundamental truth, affirms the Bible’s prophecies and teachings about the nature and mission of Christ, and expands our understanding of the gospel of Christ,” President Oaks said.
These teachings explain Latter-day Saints’ testimony of Christ and the need for ordinances in the temple, the “house of the Lord,” he added.
“We are not grounded in world wisdom or human philosophy, no matter how traditional or respected,” Oakes said. “Our testimony of Jesus Christ is based on God’s revelations to His prophets and to us personally. This sets us apart from the teachings of many in the various Christian denominations and other philosophies, to a greater or lesser degree.”
Sister Oaks’ Testimony
President Oaks invited Sister Oaks, a convert to the Church and a returned missionary, to share her perspective on what the testimony of Jesus Christ assures Latter-day Saints.
Sister Oaks emphasized several truths, including that all people are loving children of God, created in God’s image, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who knows each person personally, that He ministers throughout the world as recorded in the Book of Mormon, and that He speaks to His prophets today. As individuals make and keep covenants, they progress toward becoming like God.
“Missionaries like you are the reason I am standing here today,” Sister Oaks told mission leaders. She credits the testimonies she received from her ministry with helping her survive difficult times as a single woman until her early 50s.
“We know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and loves each of us individually,” Sister Oaks testified. “I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Deliverer and has paid for our sins. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who, by the gift and power of God, translated the Book of Mormon and brought Jesus to earth in these latter days. I know that we have organized the Church of Christ, and that we are led today by a living prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks, and I can testify that he prays for and loves each of you.
President Oaks’ testimony
President Oaks concluded with a testimony of the Savior and His restored gospel: “I join Kristen in sharing my testimony of Jesus Christ and the gospel of His gospel that you missionaries and missionaries are called to preach. We solemnly affirm the truth: He is alive and his gospel is true. He is the light and life of the world. Jesus Christ is alive and his gospel is true. He is the way to immortality and eternal life.”
“The Holy Spirit has given me a testimony of that truth, and I am glad that I can spend my life preaching it.”
