LIMA, Peru — Young adults who were gathered for a multiday conference learned from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to shine the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world.
How? Through integrity and discipleship and the power that comes from covenants made in the house of the Lord with God the Father and His Son.
“In this season of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, we need disciples who are consecrated and who live to follow the Savior,” Elder Bednar told the Seminario Sudamericano (or Latter-day Saint South American Seminar), organized by the Roble del Sur Foundation.
Young adult students and professionals gather for the yearly seminar to find ways to increase the presence of the values of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the public sphere and in society. This year around 50 came from 10 countries to meet in Lima from Aug. 24-27.
When speaking on Monday, Aug. 26, Elder Bednar outlined how this season is an unprecedented time in the Restoration of the Church — with more houses of the Lord being built and the power associated with the house of the Lord sweeping the earth.
“What a remarkable time to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
He invited the attendees to be known by their integrity, kindness and service.
“We have the responsibility to become the light that shines in a world that seems to be growing darker. We should be the happiest of all people because of what we know about who we are and why we are here,” he said.
Martina Marcelino from Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, said the attendees want to take the blessings they have in their lives from the gospel and share it with others.
To explain how she felt after hearing Elder Bednar speak, Marcelino used a Portuguese word: “emocionada,” meaning emotional.
“It was really special to me because he was talking about this season. We take so much for granted. We can stop and realize, ‘I am really living this moment. Not only this moment with Elder Bednar, but this moment in the history of the Restoration of the Church,’” she said.
She said she felt renewed to take what she learned at the conference into her life — and to share it with others.
After his remarks, Elder Bednar said that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles traveling all over the world, he has the opportunity to meet members of the Church from every station in life.
“To be with this people, to feel their collective faith in the Savior, to sense their eagerness to learn — they are hungering and thirsting after righteousness,” he said. “You cannot have anything but your heart filled with gratitude for such grateful people and the opportunity to be with them and to learn from them.”
