President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women General President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told Latter-day Saints in Guam that "discipleship will be filled with adventure!"
She spoke to a gathering of youth and young single adults in Barrigada, Guam on Feb.12. This was a part of her 11-day ministry in Japan, Micronesia and Guam.
President Freeman, emphasizing the great potential of those who follow the Savior, quoted from the For the Strength of Youth Guide, "Jesus Christ can strengthen and help and comfort you in all areas of your life."
President Freeman gave answers to three questions in her remarks.
1. What does it look like to believe?
Using the Apostle Peter as an example, she said, "Peter probably saw himself as an ordinary fisherman, but that is not what Jesus Christ saw in him. The Lord saw something more. After an unsuccessful night of fishing, Peter overcame fatigue, doubts, and fears and reluctantly launched his boat 'out into the deep' as instructed by Jesus. This act of faith was rewarded with the great miracle of his nets being so filled with fish that they burst. Later, Peter walked on water with the Savior. Eventually, his faith grew to great heights, and he bore powerful testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ to his friends."
2. What does it look like to belong?
President Freeman used the parable from the Book of Luke, of the man who planned a great supper to which he invited guests, to explain her answer to this second question. In this parable, those who received the initial invitations to the supper made excuses and did not come. The host of the dinner, symbolizing God, then sent his servant to bring "the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" to the feast and to go out into "the highways and hedges and compel [people] to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14).
President Freeman explained that Heavenly Father has called people in His Church as His servants to go out and invite others to enjoy the happiness that comes from the Church of Jesus Christ.
"This is the Church of Jesus Christ, who invites us on adventures! This is the Church where people come to find belonging, a place that they can come to find people who will welcome them and show them that they belong,” President Freeman said.
3. What does it look like to become?
President Freeman referred to the For the Strength of Youth Guide, saying this inspired booklet will help the Church's youth "live in a high and holier way." She then challenged the youth to reflect and ask themselves if the booklet has helped them encounter Christ in a way they haven't before.
"That's what I like to think about every time I look at this book," she said.
"I liked the emphasis on seeing faith in Christ as an adventure,” said Reid Fillmore, a member of the Yigo congregation. “Faith is not just believing. It's about going out and doing!"
After her visit in Guam, President Freeman met with youth and young adults, attended a seminary class, and ministered to families and individuals on the islands of Pohnpei and Chuuk in the western Pacific. She also traveled by boat to meet with Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith on the small islands of Romanum and Tonoas.
Visit https://news-gu.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-freemans-ministry-in-guam-and-micronesia to read the whole story.