Elder Kevin W. Pearson, President of the Utah Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the final keynote speaker for the 2024 Utah Area Young Single Adult Conference on Saturday, Aug. 3.
Elder Pearson asked young adults to remember sitting at his keynote address whenever they feel alone in their belief in the Savior. “You belong to a vast and a growing worldwide community of believers.”
Elder Pearson said many people in the world are suffering from tunnel vision. Rather than seeing all the good that members of the Church perform, people tend to focus only on perceived negative aspects of the Church and Church members.
The Savior used the phrase “eyes to see and ears to hear” eight times in the New Testament, Elder Pearson said. He reminded listeners that the Savior was not talking about physical impairments, but rather those who could not understand the lessons that He taught.
Elder Pearson then turned the question onto his audience. “Do you have the eyes and ears to see what’s really happening in the world today?” He noted that, in this dispensation, people have the greatest access to divine truth and sacred ordinances in the history of the world. “The knowledge of the Living Christ is filling the earth even as we speak here tonight.”
The potential for greatness
Elder Pearson said individuals can develop eyes to see and ears to hear the truth of the Savior through the Holy Ghost. However, developing an understanding of the Savior takes time and effort.
He quoted Church President Russell M. Nelson, stating that the young single adults of the Church “have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation.”
Elder Pearson recounted a story about one of his children who joined the track team. During the first track meet, his son threw up on the track in front of the other runners. However, his son stuck with track, pushing himself harder and harder until he managed to set a school record for the fastest 800 meter sprint.
“Hard work reveals capacity,” Elder Pearson said. “The more he ran, the more he could run. The more he ran, the more efficient and effective he was at running.”
Elder Pearson asked audience members if they were willing to put in the hard work to become the kind of people that President Nelson believes they can become.
“You matter. You have always mattered. You will always matter.”
— Elder Kevin W. Pearson, General Authority Seventy and Utah Area President
He also asked audience members to consider who they really are. Elder Pearson said identity impacts the values and beliefs a person holds. Those, in turn, impact the attitudes and behaviors of the individual, which impacts their actions.
“As soon as you begin to find out who you really are, everything changes,” Elder Pearson said.
He reminded listeners that they are children of God, and that the people around them have a divine identity, just as they do. As individuals better understand their divine identities, they can determine the plan that God has for them, Elder Pearson said.
“You are a beloved child of God,” he said. “You matter. You have always mattered. You will always matter.”
Find new ways to serve
Saturday morning kicked off with a keynote address by Sister Sharon Eubank, director of Latter-day Saint Charities and a former member of the Relief Society general presidency, as she encouraged young single adults to serve in their communities and deepen their covenant relationship with God.
She began by sharing the story of a man named Scott who went missing in a Kentucky forest. After 14 days of worry and prayer, he was finally found — and the first thing he asked for was a hug.
Sister Eubank said that, like Scott, “we all need a rescue.” She emphasized that the gospel is about rescuing each other: “We call it volunteer service. We call it humanitarian work. We call it ministering … but at its heart, it’s about helping somebody with their problem.”
So how can young single adults serve? Sister Eubank showed four videos of young single adults sharing their experiences serving those around them. From these examples, Sister Eubank highlighted several lessons such as, “You don’t need to wait to be generous,” and “If you trust in the Lord, He will guide you in the best way possible.”
Sister Eubank also asked everyone in the auditorium to answer a few survey questions about issues they’re concerned about in their communities. As over 2,000 answers rolled in, most revolved around mental health, societal division and loneliness. Other survey questions asked young single adults how they prefer to serve.
Sister Eubank then gave her first invitation to the young single adults: “Find a new way to serve and take somebody else with you.”
Her second invitation was for young single adults to be endowed with God’s power in the temple. “Marriage isn’t the passage into mature discipleship in this Church, … it’s the endowment,” she said.
She continued: “When we love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength, He invites us to His house, to the temple, where He gives us tools and He teaches us how to use them. If you work every day so those promises you made in the holy temple are kept, it’s going to transform your life, and it’s going to transform the society where you live.”
Sister Eubank said no one needs to worry about whether their life is meaningful or if they missed their chance. If they try to keep their covenants, “the Lord God, the whole universe, is going to take on the task of shaping your life and making it meaningful. He will open the doors that you need to walk through.”
