This past week marked the launch of Rexburg’s first Young Single Adult Conference, put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at BYU-Idaho. The whole conference theme was built on President Russell M. Nelson’s counsel for people to “think celestial,” and the classes and keynote devotionals represented that idea in a variety of ways.
All the keynote speakers for the conference had their own take on how best to frame the idea to “think celestial,” with each message shared offering a new perspective on the idea.
Brother Kory M. Kunz, a seminary and institute educator, says that turning to the scriptures with three specific questions in mind can help offer new insights into a person’s life.
“It’s what I learned from my boss, Brother Southwick, who said, ‘Use the Book of Mormon. Look for people there that are going through difficult times. What did they do? Would the Lord teach them? What did they learn? How are they better off afterwards?’ And the good thing is, in the Book of Mormon, there’s always a blessing. Afterwards they learn something. It turned out okay,” Brother Kunz said.
Elder Bradley S. Bateman, an Area Seventy for the Church of Jesus Christ, encourages young single adults who feel like they might not belong to find peace in Christ.
“If we recognize that I'm a child of God and I choose to follow Jesus Christ, then even amongst our peers, if we feel alone, we can still find peace in that. Christ has promised that, that all peace comes through Him. And so even though in the world we might be seen as something different or amongst our peers, we can always find peace through the Savior,” Elder Bateman said.
Elder Bateman says he and his wife have been through tough circumstances and have learned there are two important things they can do.
“There have been times when challenging things have come our way. Our first response is, ‘We need to pray.’ And then we go to the temple. I mean, in a lot of ways, that’s where we found our peace,” Elder Bateman said.
President Bonnie H. Cordon, president of Southern Virginia University, and a former Young Women General President for the Church advises YSAs to invest in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
“I think it’s really true that moving forward or having confidence in the Lord is brought from the quiet times. And if you want to invest in yourself, do. And that is going to take an investment of work. It’s like any relationship. If you want to have a good relationship with someone, you’ve got to spend time with them. And so, I would spend time with the Lord more than I would spend time with your social media,” she said.
President Cordon says the gifts and knowledge from God need to be received.
“What does it look like for me to receive knowledge? What does it look like for me to receive charity from someone else? What does it look like for me to receive forgiveness? What does it look like for me to receive? There’s a process in each one,” President Cordon said.
Sister Lynette Bowen says counting your blessings can really make a difference in how happy you are about your circumstances.
“Also, I think it’s so important to look for the blessings that you do have along the way rather than, ‘This didn’t fall into place like I hoped it would or that,’ because I think—I don’t know which prophet said it, but he said, ‘You’re only as happy as you are grateful.’ So I think you’ve got to look for that silver lining because even though there’s a lot of tough stuff going on, the survivors and the happy people are the ones that find things to be grateful for along the way, and that’s really helpful,” Sister Bowen said.
Elder Shayne M. Bowen, Emeritus General Authority Seventy, says that when we are faced with temptations or tough decisions, that if we are confident in who we are and where we’re going, we’ll have an easier time making those choices.
“I think if we will decide who we are, decide where we’re headed, establish ourself, what we believe, and then stick to it, that will make it a lot easier than making a decision every time somebody brings up something new,” Elder Bowen said.
Elder Steven R. Bangerter, General Authority Seventy of the Church, says it's important to be confident in the commotion of our day.
“This evening we looked at verses of scripture from Doctrine and Covenants, section 45, that spoke of the commotion of our times and the difficulty of this day. And at the end of those verses, Jesus, after describing the commotion of this time of our lives, says, ‘Be not troubled.’ How could He say that? He says, ‘Well, when all these things come about, you know that the promises which have been made by the Father will come to pass in your lives,’” Elder Bangerter said.
For general conference talks and other messages from some of these speakers, visit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints online here.