Latter-day Saints should be concerned with teaching and emphasizing those great and powerful eternal truths that will help lead the way back to the presence of Heavenly Father, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve declared. Addressing the Saturday afternoon session, he spoke about several principles of knowledge, including:

- Relationship to God. Elder Oaks asked the question, "Who am I?" and then, answering, said, "I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. Establish in the mind of a young person the powerful idea that he or she is a child of God, and you have given self-respect and motivation to move against the problems of life."- Relationship to one another. "When we understand our relationship to God, we also understand our relationship to one another. All men and women on this earth are the offspring of God, spirit brothers and sisters. What a powerful idea!"

- Eternal progress. Mortal life has a purpose, and mortal death is not the end but only a transition to the next phase of an existence that is immortal, Elder Oaks declared.

- Work of salvation. "Not all problems are overcome and not all needed relationships are fixed in mortality. The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality."

- Prayer. "A powerful idea with immediate practical application is the reality that we can pray to our Heavenly Father, and He will hear our prayers and help us in the way that is best for us."

- Resurrection and Atonement. "Every follower of Jesus Christ knows that the most powerful ideas of the Christian faith are the resurrection and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we can be forgiven of our sins, and we will live again.

"Remember, our Savior, Jesus Christ, always builds us up and never tears us down. We should apply the power of that example in the ways we use our time, including our recreation and diversions."

After speaking of specific principles of knowledge, Elder Oaks related the story of a young woman who survived the Donner/Reed tragedy in the Sierra Nevada mountains in which pioneers perished from starvation and cold. The young woman's later advice to a cousin was "never take no cutofs and hury along as fast as you can." (West from Fort Bridger, p. 238.)

"That is powerful and true advice, especially for teenagers," Elder Oaks admonished. "Young people are surrounded by many beckoning paths and many persuasive promoters who offer advice and cutoffs as substitutes for the proven way."

In conclusion, Elder Oaks counseled: "Let us focus our teachings on those great and powerful ideas that have eternal significance in promoting righteousness, building up the children of God and helping each of us toward our destiny of eternal life."