In 2023, Church President Russell M. Nelson sat at his desk in his office in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City and spoke to the young adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of his love.
“I think about you and pray for you often,” the Prophet said in a recorded message released globally.
He then issued a special invitation that he promised could be life-changing: Attend and participate in institute classes.
Attending institute, he promised, will help young adults solve problems in their lives, make decisions and find answers to their questions. It will also help them feel a sense of belonging, increase their faith in Jesus Christ, and find guidance and direction from the Holy Ghost in their lives.
“I promise you these blessings and express my love for you,” he concluded.
The Prophet’s personal invitation was one of many messages offered by senior Church leaders throughout the last year specifically to Latter-day Saint young adults. Below is a look back at some of the topics, counsel and promises geared toward the rising generation in 2023.
‘Know the truth and stand for it’
Almost exactly one year after President Nelson spoke in a devotional broadcast to Latter-day Saint young adults worldwide, his first counselor in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks, addressed the same audience and echoed the Prophet’s challenge to “know the truth and stand for it.”
In a devotional broadcast to 18- to 30-year-olds across the globe on Sunday, May 21, 2023, President Oaks and his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, offered loving counsel for young adults regarding marriage and dating.
President Oaks’ instruction also included counsel about how to stand fast with love while proclaiming truth, including on issues involving gender dysphoria and being romantically attracted to persons of the same sex.
President Oaks shared the promise found in 1 Nephi 10:19. “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
“I pray that all I love, and that includes all the children of God within the sounds of my voice, will act upon that invitation to find and know the truth,” President Oaks said.
‘Serve the Lord’
In honor of his 90th birthday on May 31, 2023, President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, sat down with the Church News and shared many of the lessons he’s learned throughout his life. During the interview, he recalled his own years as a young adult.
After graduating from the University of Utah with his undergraduate degree in physics, President Eyring left home for the first time when his Air Force commission took him to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Upon reporting to Sandia Base, he was given “a terribly difficult assignment,” President Eyring recalled, “way beyond my own abilities. I thought, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’”
A feeling soon came of “Well, serve the Lord.” Soon after, he was called to be a district missionary. Every day he would grapple with the demands of his Air Force assignment, and every night he would go out and do missionary work. “And it all worked out.”
A similar thing happened after he was accepted to Harvard Business School. “I was a physics student. I didn’t know anything about business,” President Eyring said.
But within a few weeks of arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, he was called to be a counselor in the district presidency. As other business students were studying on weekends or evenings, he was driving around New England on assignments for his calling. And somehow, “the Lord took care of it,” President Eyring recalled. He not only earned a Master of Business Administration but also a doctoral degree from Harvard University.
“Every time that I got a little nudge to do something the Lord would have me do, then He seemed to take care of everything that was over my capacity.”
‘Shine the brightness of your hope’
With his wife, Sister Patricia Holland, President Jeffrey R. Holland addressed the young adults of the Church — to whom current Church leaders will “pass the baton” — and encouraged them to look to “a future filled with hope” as they shine their light on a world faced with heavy challenges.
“Refuse to accept the world for what it appears to be,” said President Holland, now the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Shine the brightness of your hope on it and make it what it ought to be.”
In a Worldwide Devotional on Jan. 8, 2023, Elder Holland offered a powerful declaration that young people must never lose sight of hope or its sister virtues — faith and charity. Hope, he said, is essential to receive the inheritance God has prepared for His faithful children (Ether 12:32).
“To do that we must realize that hope is not just the message and the manner of the naturally optimistic; it is the privilege of everyone who believes,” he said.
Freedom, constraints and the art of becoming
With bright autumn leaves strewn across trees and walkways, Ensign College students and faculty filled the 900-seat Conference Center Theater in downtown Salt Lake City to hear words of counsel and encouragement from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023.
When the world speaks of freedom, it is often in the context of freedom from rules. In contrast, Elder Uchtdorf said, true freedom is not measured by what is prohibited. “It is measured by our choices that lead us to who we can and will become.”
When he chose to be a pilot, Elder Uchtdorf explained, he chose a long list of constraints. “To become the person I wanted to become, I knew that there would be many, many things I would have to do and an equally long list of things I would not allow myself to do.”
For example, he knew he would need to learn English, go to school, focus on his studies and give up hundreds of hours of entertainment for the work that would prepare him for his goal.
The first time he climbed into the cockpit of a jet fighter and took it up into the air, he knew that his efforts — and all the constraints — were worth it.
“The same applies to you,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “You also have the priceless blessing to choose who you wish to become. Just know that every choice brings with it its own set of constraints, restrictions and consequences.”
Press forward with faith
Speaking during an institute devotional on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, in Ephraim, Utah, Elder David A. Bednar and his wife, Sister Susan Bednar, promised students at Snow College that they can look forward with faith.
“I am a witness that God the Eternal Father, through the merits, mercy and grace of His Beloved Son and His atoning sacrifice, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, will bless you in remarkable ways,” said Elder Bednar. “I hope that begins tonight.”
Capacity crowds filled the Church’s institute building, located adjacent to the Snow College campus, for the devotional.
Elder Bednar did not mince words: Those who seek “first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) and “press forward on the covenant path” cannot “go amiss,” he said.
5 key concerns of young adults
In preparing to speak to young adults throughout the Church, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gathered input.
Starting with the campuses of the Church Educational System — Brigham Young University, BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii and Ensign College — and then expanding to BYU–Pathway Worldwide and institutes of religion around the world, leaders of these institutions helped glean questions that were of highest concern to Latter-day Saint young adults today.
“It was a wonderful process, and in the end the questions were amazing,” Elder Cook reported during the Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults broadcast on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023.
Elder Cook was joined at the devotional by his wife, Sister Mary Cook, as well as Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and commissioner of the Church Educational System, and his wife, Sister Christine Gilbert. The devotional was recorded in the Marriott Center on BYU’s campus in Provo, Utah.
Grouping the questions into categories, Elder and Sister Cook and Elder and Sister Gilbert addressed five topics:
- Facing life and faith challenges.
- Love and belonging.
- Life planning and life balance.
- Standing for truth.
- Receiving personal revelation and prophetic guidance.
‘Armed with righteousness’
In his two most-recent general conference addresses, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the doctrine of belonging and being one in Christ.
On Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, he further built on the topic of unity to include how young single adults can gather together in Christ by being armed with righteousness. His devotional was given in the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University and concluded the “Together in Christ” Utah Area YSA Conference.
“To me, ‘Together in Christ’ suggests that our individual commitment and loyalty to Christ quite naturally draw us together,” said Elder Christofferson. “... Being ‘armed with righteousness’ (1 Nephi 14:14), we want to gather others likewise ‘armed with righteousness’ and invite everyone who will to come together with us in Christ.”
6 ways to allow faith in Jesus Christ to grow
A little more than 50 years ago, Elder Neil L. Andersen returned to his family’s small dairy farm in Idaho after completing his mission to France.
“Milking the cows morning and night, I realized how much I needed to get an education,” Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recalled during a Brigham Young University devotional on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.
Young Elder Andersen borrowed money, found a job and started classes at BYU. About a year later, he met Kathy Williams. “We had hopes and dreams, and we made plans for our future together.”
A year after that, the two were married in the Salt Lake Temple, now almost 48 years ago.
In speaking to a packed arena in the Marriott Center on the Provo, Utah, campus, Elder Andersen asked students:
“What are your hopes and plans for your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in the next 50 years? Looking back 50 years later, will your faith in the Savior be the most powerful force that moved you forward? How will you withstand the temptations and pressures that seek to diminish your faith in Jesus Christ? If the Savior has not returned, how will you keep the flame of your faith burning brightly for the next five decades?”
Speaking from his own experience, the Apostle shared six ways individuals can strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ throughout their lives.
Building on the second great commandment
When Jesus Christ was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said the Savior didn’t end there. He gave the second commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Elder Stevenson expounded upon these two commandments — on which “hang all the law and the prophets” — to thousands of students and young adults at the Utah Valley Institute devotional on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.
“When Jesus said the first and the second commandments, He didn’t say one is more important than the other. He said, ‘and the second is like unto it,’” Elder Stevenson explained.
Heavenly Father’s children increase their love for Him and demonstrate that love by aligning their thoughts and actions with His word.
Stand and study
On Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles joined fellow Apostle Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Relief General President Camille N. Johnson during a devotional broadcast throughout Latin America.
The Church leaders addressed the importance of education and making it available to Latter-day Saints around the globe through BYU–Pathway Worldwide.
Elder Rasband focused his remarks on the BYU–Pathway classroom.
Ancient prophets and apostles foretold the challenges of this day — perilous times filled with rage and calamity, he said.
Referencing Doctrine and Covenants 45:32, Elder Rasband asked the congregation to “stand and study” in holy places — in their homes and in chapels.
“When you stand in them, when you study in them, you invite the Holy Ghost into your life,” he said.
He also spoke about temples. “Perhaps of all the holy places that we stand in, the house of the Lord is the most sacred and special place. The temple is an important part of Pathways and education. Remember it was the Lord who said, ‘the glory of God is intelligence.’”
Those who prepare themselves — even amid challenging times — “need not be troubled as they stand more frequently in holy places,” he said. “In BYU–Pathway, in Church education, we have the perfect opportunity to do this.”
Spiritual hyperopia, or farsightedness
To emphasize the importance of not overlooking easily accessible and seemingly routine blessings of a living prophet, the ordinance of the sacrament, the scriptures and the commandments of God, Elder Dale G. Renlund cautioned against “looking beyond the mark” and falling victim to spiritual hyperopia, or farsightedness.
Speaking at the Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, devotional at the Tempe Arizona Institute of Religion, at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, Elder Renlund told of Lord Carnarvon, a wealthy Englishman in the early 1900s, who hired well-known Egyptologist Howard Carter in an archaeology partnership.
Following five years of setting up base camp in the same location and unsuccessful searches throughout the Valley of the Kings, Carnarvon was set to end the endeavor. Carter pleaded for one final season, realizing the last remaining place they hadn’t searched was their base site. Within days, they found the first steps leading down to Tutankhamen’s tomb.
“This is a story about what can happen when we focus away from our immediate locale — distantly — and go chasing after those things,” said Elder Renlund, who then spoke of when one is hyperopic — farsighted. The common vision condition results in near things appearing blurry and out of focus.
“In our day,” Elder Renlund said, “we must also guard against spiritual hyperopia. We do not want to miss the treasures that God has placed within our reach because we are focused on other things in the distance.”
Becoming ‘our own best story’
For years, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has been intrigued by connections that transform the physical world.
During a BYU devotional held in the Marriott Center on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the Apostle invited his listeners to think about transformative technologies by joining a Saturday morning conversation the Gong family had about ChatGPT; learning about an adventure at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; finding out about a trip to the Panama Canal and discovering what an Art Attack is.
Each of these examples show how being connected physically, like through air travel or the Panama Canal, or digitally, like through ChatGPT, can transform an environment.
“Yet, however much our external physical environment may change, that which matters most spiritually does not change,” Elder Gong said. “… Of all the many things that beckon for our attention, that which ultimately matters most does not change: who we are (spiritual identity), whose we are (covenant belonging), and how we use our God-given agency to discover and become our own best story.”
Compassionate pattern
As the Savior finished His Sermon on the Mount, He extended a “generous invitation” to His disciples: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Speaking to BYU–Hawaii students gathered in the Cannon Activities Center on the Laie, Hawaii, campus on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the “compassionate pattern” set by the Savior in these verses that allows individuals to access information directly from heaven.
“Asking, seeking and knocking, so to speak, is one of the marvelous gifts the Lord offered us when we were sent to earth.”
In the spirit of this “compassionate pattern of asking, seeking and knocking set by the Savior,” students were invited months ago to submit a question to an Apostle. Elder Soares said he was “positively surprised” to receive hundreds of good, heartfelt questions.
With the help of his wife, Sister Rosana Soares, Elder Soares addressed some of the concerns conveyed in the students’ questions, which covered topics such as overcoming weakness and temptation, feeling God’s love even when unworthy, forgiving others, and increasing faith in Jesus Christ amid uncertainties, disappointments and doubt.
‘Put your hand in the hand of God’
In his first address as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — and just hours after the announcement was made of his call — Elder Patrick Kearon stood in front of BYU–Hawaii graduates and invited them to “put your hand into the hand of God.”
Elder Kearon was ordained on Thursday, Dec. 7, then flew with his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, to Hawaii for the commencement exercises on Friday, Dec. 8.
“I slept very little last night, as you can well imagine,” he told the graduates. “I realize now in the most extraordinary way that never have I actually prepared remarks for others that so perfectly fit a moment in my own life.”
He said he knows that God — who is over all and to whom the call came as no surprise — directed him to say what he had already prepared to say for the graduation.
“I am keenly aware that I will need to grow in every conceivable good way to become the servant the Savior needs me to be. My inadequacies, weaknesses and lack are painfully clear to me. But I have faith in the patience of my Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the tutoring of the Holy Ghost,” he said.
