Messages from Church leaders this week covered a wide variety of inspiring topics. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf shared five messages every child of God needs to hear, the Young Men and Young Women presidencies gave a training on the Children and Youth program, and the Pacific Area Presidency directed our thoughts to personal preparation for temple attendance.
Read highlights of their messages below.
Elder Uchtdorf gives opening devotional at BYU Education Week
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s address on Tuesday, August 17, focused on the theme of this year’s Education Week at Brigham Young University which comes from Mosiah 18:21—“having their hearts knit together in unity and … love one towards another.”
Consequently, Elder Uchtdorf shared five messages that every child of God needs to hear:
1. “First, move toward the light”
2. “You are better than you think you are”
3. “Learn to love God and your neighbor”
4. “Conflict is inevitable. Contention is a choice”
5. “Our Heavenly Father is a God of new beginnings”
Click here to watch Elder Uchtdorf’s entire address.
► You may also like: Catch up on what Elder Uchtdorf saidat BYU Education Week with these fun graphics + read people’s reactions to his talk
Young Men and Young Women general presidencies train on Children and Youth Program at BYU Education Week
Members of the Young Women General Presidency and Young Men General Presidency spoke in a four-part series at this year’s BYU Education Week. The theme of their sessions was “Understanding and Implementing the Children and Youth Program.”
Young Men General President Steven J. Lund and Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon spoke on Tuesday, August 17, in a class titled “Noble Youth Called of God.”
“I hope that we are courageous enough not to inadvertently release them by taking over their call,” President Cordon said, as reported by Church News. “So many times as leaders, we know we can do it faster, cheaper, cuter . . . but I think what the Lord is asking is please, allow them to be part of the work.”
On Wednesday, Sister Michelle D. Craig, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, and Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt, First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, spoke at the second session of the series, with the theme of “Accomplishing the Work of Salvation and Exaltation.”
Church News wrote that Brother Corbitt explained how engaging quorum and class presidencies is one of the most important aspects of the Children and Youth program. He said, “Keep in mind, they’re not tomorrow’s leaders. They are today’s leaders. . . . To the extent we train them, we can help them to be effective and successful.”
Sister Craig added, “If you have a calling working with the youth, we know that it’s not always easy, and sometimes you’re tired,” she said. “But we bear witness that you are laying the foundation of a great work and that Jesus Christ, through His grace, we will be made equal to those things that we have been asked to do.”
In the third session on Thursday, August 19, called “The Tool We Call the Children and Youth Program,” Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, and Sister Rebecca Craven, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, got back to the basics of the Children and Youth Program and outlined what it is, what it isn’t, and what its purpose is. Church News reported that Sister Craven said, “This program is to help our youth and children learn to hear the voice of the Lord and live by revelation as they become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.”
As they each discussed the personal development aspect of the Children and Youth program, Brother Wilcox pointed out that it’s more than just learning how to set goals, it’s about helping them learn how to seek out and recognize personal revelation.
For more BYU Education Week coverage, visit Church News.
Pacific Area Presidency visits Auckland New Zealand Temple construction site
Last weekend, members of the Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Ian S. Ardern, Elder K. Brett Nattress, and Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita, visited the grounds of the Auckland New Zealand Temple. After their visit, Elder Ardern wrote a public message for members and friends of the Church about this temple and all the Church’s temples worldwide.
He referenced the dedicatory prayer that was offered at the temple's groundbreaking, in which the Lord was asked that “even while being constructed, this temple will bless the lives of all who live in the vicinity and pass by, by increasing their hope and peace through Christ.”
Elder Ardern continued,
“As we stood and watched workers bolting steel trusses into place, we felt that the Lord would honor the humble request and we would see hearts touched as the work of the Lord was being accomplished. “Of course, we need the hearts of the members of the Church touched as well, for this is our day of preparation. We must prepare for the day when the doors will open by ensuring we are ready and worthy to pass through them. “And we do not want to go alone, we will surely want to attend with friends and family and let us not forget that we will want to attend with the names of our family members who have passed beyond the veil without having received the necessary ordinances that can be received in the temple by proper priesthood authority. We invite you to be ready, as ancestors anxiously await us.”
Read the full message here.
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Lead image: ChurchofJesusChrist.org
