"Youth in the Church were reserved to come in this day. I am confident that never in the history of the human family have we had the choice, powerful spirits that the Lord has sent today." (Boyd K. Packer, ) As a youth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am very familiar with the feeling of having so much to do and so little power to do it; however, this feeling is not true. There is much we youth can do to press forward in the work of the Lord. We are called to serve our King, and He has given us the skills and abilities necessary to do His work. Prophet and president of the LDS Church said: "You, our youth of today, are among the most illustrious spirits to be born into mortality in any age of the world. Yours is a noble heritage and a wonderful opportunity. Dedicate your lives to a new resolve. Be guided to fulfill your highest destiny. Be prepared to become leaders in that glorious millenial day when Christ Himself will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords." (Emphasis added). I would urge every willing youth to put their trust in God to direct them in their missions on earth. Seek His wisdom, His spirit, His charity and His guidance through fervent prayer and serious scripture study, and I promise-- as one who has tested out this principle many times-- He will give it to you.
We have each been given unique and useful skills and talents, and we must develop those in order to be effective influences on the world; however, often the most influential things we can do are to listen to Heavenly Father, to love, to forgive and to serve. This is not just a trite sentiment on my part; all throughout the Bible and the Book of Mormon we have examples of great prophets and people who exhibited these Christ-like traits: first of all is the great Master Himself who devoted His life to healing, loving and serving. The whole purpose of His life was to prepare a way for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven. In the end, He suffered all our pains and bore all our sorrows so that He would know how to succor His people in their afflictions. He paid the price of sin on the cross so we would not have to bear the weight of our mistakes. Because of this great and eternal sacrifice, we are able to repent wholly and completely of our sins. We are able to come to our Heavenly Father in prayer and ask for blessings. Does this not sound like the greatest achievements of our Lord's mortal and immortal life were not worldly talents and skills, but rather acts of listening, loving, forgiving and serving? Another great example is Moses from the Old Testament. He considered all of the Hebrews to be his brethren, so when he saw an Egyptian smiting one of them he killed the Egyptian. Because of this, he had to flee Egypt to Midian, where he married Zipporah. As he was tending the flock of his father-in-law, God spoke to him out of the burning bush: "...Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:9-10) Moses listened to the Lord, and the Lord used him as an instrument in bringing the Hebrews out of Egypt. Because of his love for his brothers and his skill in listening to God, Moses was able to serve them by doing this important work. Alma, from the Book of Mormon, displayed great love and forgiveness during his time proselytizing to the people of Ammonihah. They reviled him and actually spit on him, finally casting him out of their city. Instead of being angry at the people for mistreating him, Alma was simply sorry that they were rejecting the word of God. Then, God told him to return to the city and preach repentance again! Alma completely forgave the people, as is evident by the diligent and cheerful way in which he went to work teaching them. God provided a way, and many people were brought to repentance and baptized. Alma's willingness to listen to Heavenly Father, to love the people, to serve them and to forgive them had a great impact on the eternal happiness of their souls. In a similar way to Christ, Moses and Alma, we have been called to do the Lord's work. Much of the work we will do revolves around missionary work. There is so much we can do! We have been blessed with techno skills, with Internet, Facebook, email and Twitter; we can call, and we can text. Transportation is much more available now than it has been in previous generations. What is stopping us from sharing the Word with our neighbors, our friends? What activities can we invite them to? We will become effective instruments in God's hands if we will listen to Him, forgive His people, love them and serve them. The power is in us to do this. We are the rising generation, and we can do this.
How do we learn what the Lord would have us individually do? In this world of political, physical and spiritual turmoil it is becoming increasingly difficult to find truth. The simple answer is to ask Him, for "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not." (James 1:5) Joseph Smith, Jr., was a simple farm boy of age 14 with the equivalent of about a third-grade education. In his time growing up in Palmyra, NY, there was a great excitement or turmoil over religion. Joseph did not know which church was true or which one the Lord would have Him join. He turned to the scriptures for enlightenment at this time and "happened" to come across James 1:5. He felt greatly impressed that he must follow James' counsel to ask of God. So, he did; Joseph went to a secluded area in a grove of trees to pray for guidance. As a result, he received The First Vision where he saw the Father and the Son, who told him to join non of the churches because all were false. Now, let me ask you: does God love Joseph Smith more than you? The answer is no. Both you and Joseph were held in reserve in heaven for this day. You are both Heavenly Father's spirit children. He has a purpose and a mission for each of His children, and He will be there to help them do it if they will look to Him. I learned this truth for myself by praying, reading the scriptures and seeking His guidance while I worked. A little while ago my guitar teacher asked me to do an ajudicated performance. This was the first time I had done anything like this, and you can bet I was nervous! I know from my patriarchal blessing that I am supposed to develop my musical abilities, so I felt that this was the right thing for me to do. At the same time that I was preparing for this performance, I was also working hard in school, practicing for a play and stressing over a looming test. Where would I find time to practice? I got into the habit of praying before each practice session; I asked Heavenly Father for help and enlightenment. The piece was difficult for me to play, and the performance was marching closer! Then, I started having inspiration on how to play the piece with more imagery and emotion. At the same time, I suddenly got better at performing it. My guitar teacher was pleased, and the judge was impressed. I know that the inspirations and the skill I received were direct answers to my prayers. I know that He cares about the little things I do when I'm trying to do what is right. I know that just like He answered Joseph Smith's heartfelt plea for truth, He will answer yours. He will help you sort through all the contradictory messages of today and guide you to truth. If you make Him the compass of your life, He will be your guide in all your important decisions.
Please, as you read through my humble blog and as you search in this world for truth, trust not in the arm of flesh but turn to God. He is "the author of truth." He does not chastise or upbraid the humble seeker. Christ said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." He loves you, He wants to come unto you, and He will guide you. I leave my testimony of this with you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
