"I Will Give Away All My Sins to Know Thee"
Welcome, brethren — come as you are. "The power is in us."
- Born December 22, 1970, in Taipei, Taiwan — the youngest of five children, raised in a non-Christian home where his mother took him to temples to worship many gods.
- At 10 his family moved to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. His sisters met the missionaries; despite the language barrier he felt the Spirit confirm truth and was baptized at 11. "I lost something to have better things in a better way of the Lord."
- Moved to Buenos Aires at 14, where he met Marcela Castellani in a seminary class. Served a Cantonese-speaking mission in Hong Kong; sealed to Marcela in the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple, 1995; three children.
- Ran the family grocery store for 12 years, earned business degrees while working, and has served the Church as an employee since 2007 — plus elders quorum president, bishop, stake president (8 years), and Chile Antofagasta mission president. Sustained a General Authority Seventy in April 2025.
From Many Gods to the Only True God ≈6 min
From the talk"The gospel of Jesus Christ changed my life for the better. It gave me an eternal purpose — to prepare to return to God's presence with my family."
- Elder Wu was raised in Taipei worshipping many gods; at 10, newly in Bolivia and barely speaking Spanish, he still recognized the Spirit when the missionaries taught — and was baptized at 11. Truth carries a witness that crosses language.
- John 17:3 defines eternal life as knowing God. The whole talk hangs on that one verb.
When did the gospel stop being someone else's religion and become your own way of knowing God?
ThinkerAn 11-year-old felt truth through a language he didn't yet speak. What does that suggest about how the Spirit actually communicates — and about the reasons we give for not hearing it?
"I Will Give Away All My Sins to Know Thee" ≈10 min
From the talk"What are we willing to give up or change to truly know God and be saved at the last day?"
- The old king — father of Lamoni, king over all the land — first offered Aaron half his kingdom (Alma 22:15). Then he learned the price wasn't his kingdom. It was his sins.
- Notice the trade the king names: not sins for rules — sins for knowing God. Repentance in this story is relational, not procedural.
- His prayer gives the talk its title: "I will give away all my sins to know thee" — all of them, not just the convenient ones.
Why is it often easier to offer God our "kingdom" — time, money, service — than one specific sin?
Without naming names: what have you watched someone trade for peace with God, and what happened next?
ThinkerThe king's prayer begins, "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God… wilt thou make thyself known unto me" (Alma 22:18). It starts with an if. How much certainty do you actually need before you can start?
"Come, Follow Me" — the Power Is in Us ≈7 min
Doctrine and Covenants 58:26–28 · Luke 18:22 · Hymns, no. 117, "Come unto Jesus"
From the talk"If we have a sincere desire, being meek and lowly in heart, we can come to know the true God the Father and gain eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ; for the power is in us, in choosing to believe and deciding to act accordingly."
- "Coming unto Christ is much more than just learning of Christ. It includes faith and works" — knowing about Him is study; knowing Him is discipleship.
- "Choosing to believe" — belief as a decision, not a feeling that happens to us. He echoes the Lord's own words: "the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves" (D&C 58:28).
- And the invitation itself: "The Savior loves us more than we can comprehend, and He pleads with us: 'Come, follow me.'" To the rich young ruler that came with a price — same pattern as the king: everything on the altar, then the following.
What would "leaving your nets" look like in your actual week — concretely, this week?
Where are you waiting to feel something before acting, when the gospel pattern might be act first, feel after?
ThinkerIf the power to know God "is in us," the thing we've been waiting for isn't more evidence — it's our own decision. Is there a decision in your life you've been calling a doubt?
"The only way we can come to know our Heavenly Father and gain eternal life is by coming unto Christ and following Him." — Consider inviting each brother to write privately in his notes one thing he is willing to "give away" this week to know God better, then bear your testimony of the Savior. (≈2 min)
Sources (Church-published only): Wan-Liang Wu, "I Will Give Away All My Sins to Know Thee," April 2026 general conference, churchofjesuschrist.org · "Who is Elder Wan-Liang Wu, new General Authority Seventy?" Church News, Sept. 20, 2025 · "Remember conference — Elder Wan-Liang Wu," Church News, June 1, 2026 · Hymns, no. 117, "Come unto Jesus." Related talks cited in sections above are all available at churchofjesuschrist.org.