Devotional for the Youth

Thoughts on 130 days of quarantine.

Yesterday we had a special zoom devotional for the youth for the South America South Area with David Archuleta, Brother Wilcox, Sister Craig and Elder De Hoyos. Even though the devotional was targeted or the youth, anyone can gain from what they shared. 

Sister Craig talked about how the faith in Jesus Christ is action. It is a matter of doing. She told the story of Nephi building a ship even when he didn’t know how. Nephi had faith that with the Lord’s help he was going to build the ship. This pandemic is an example that we have been asked to do difficult things. Our Heavenly Father will never asked for us to do something we can’t. Sister Craig was not a popular girl, she was never asked to go to school dances and had very few friends but she had faith and that was all she needed to be happy. 

David read a scripture that has guided his life over the years. He said that sometimes it’s not easy to be different. When someone asked him, why he was a faithful member of the Church, he said that he likes to follow Jesus because he is he light. He likes the song “Did you Think to Pray” It is what he sang the most on his mission. He prays when he gets up every morning and when he goes to bed at night. He loves to share what he is learning as he is reading the Book of Mormon and all the things we ponder as we do Come Follow Me. He shared some thoughts on how to be strong and be a light to other friends. He also shared one night when a song came to his head like a dream and even though he was tired, he felt that he had to get up to write it or he would forget the next morning. 

Brother Wilcox expressed his love and concern for each one of us. He shared a message about this virus. He said how many have lost their jobs and it’s difficult to not be hanging out with friends but he said they are not alone. He said: we are where God wants us to be. He said, six months ago, everything was fantastic! The economy was great and no one wanted to talk about God or religion but all the sudden a virus that we can’t even see with our eyes changed everything. Now, people are wanting to know about God. He told us about the Titanic. This ship was supposed to never sink and people stayed inside the boat thinking that everything would be fine. They trusted what men had said about the boat and he compared the titanic to the world and the lifeguard small boats to the Church. He gave an example of how people who believe in God are more charitable than those who don’t. He said that the reason we need the Church is because we live in this world where we need norms, motivation, and deal with people. We should never feel embarrassed to be in the lifeguard boat and never worry that we are not in the bid boat that is sinking. The Internet is full of people who are turning away from Christ. We believe in the same Christ that many Christians believe in because He is found in the Bible but we have additional information. There is more of why we believe. We know that Joseph Smith saw Him. We have the Book of Mormon. We have a prophet today. We have access to the Holy Spirit that touches our hearts and it gives us an assurance that we can believe. He said: the titanic is sinking, stay in the lifeguard boat and do all you can to help the others find a way to survive. 

Elder De Hoyos talked about both themes of the young men and young women. The young men theme starts by saying: “I am a beloved son of God, and has a work for me to do.” And the Young Women theme starts: “I am a beloved Daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny.” He said that the kids need to keep that posted in their rooms like a banner. 

Those were my notes and hope we all can learn from their inspired thoughts. 

Con amor,

Vero