Opportunities make us

25 years + ago I was so excited. I was 14 and was going to my first Youth Conference with our church. I had an amazing experience. Great classes that uplifted me, testimony meeting where I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly. I was glad I made the decision to be baptised. I was scared to go to the dance. I really didn't know anyone. But there was a Bishop there who took this opportunity to teach the young men of the stake how to make the girls feel special. It wasn't a date, or a marriage proposal. It was a simple dance. He had taught his leaders to encourage the youth to be kind to each other. I had a great time that night and met a lot of good friends I would later rely on when decisions in life got tougher as a teen.

Girls camp was also one of the high lights of my youth experience. Being a convert to the church I went to a lot of activities not expecting much. These kids had grown up together and knew each other well. But they were always very warm to everyone. The leaders encouraged kindness at church always. They expected us to be friends. And we were. The leaders weren't our friends. They were just that. LEADERS. They were there to show us the way.

I remember one year fellowshipping a girl who wasn't coming out to church. I met her for the first time one morning when our Laurel class went and woke her up and took her to breakfast. She was a great girl. We kept calling her and inviting her to activities. She finally came out and joined us a few times. We even sat together a few times at school for lunch. She graduated that year and I never saw her again. But that year I learned how to truly fellowship. The leaders encouraged us to really become her friend and care about her. She felt our concern and love for her and it was easier for her to come out and join us at church.

Today in a world where it is funny to call names and tease, I would hope that church would be a place away from all that. A place everyone was accepted and felt the spirit of the Lord. That is what being a Christian means. Acting as Christ would at all times and in all places.

The scriptures read "Thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better".

The writer of Proverbs said, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). I have witnessed in my short life that this includes good and bad behaviors and attitudes.

There is a saying that big gates move on small hinges. Sisters, your example in seemingly small things will make a big difference in the lives of our young people. The way you dress and groom yourselves, the way you talk, the way you pray, the way you testify, the way you live every day will make the difference. This includes which TV shows you watch, which music you prefer, and how you use the Internet. If you love to go to the temple, the young people who value your example will also love to go, and they will learn from you. I would also like to add that what you talk about at activities will get the youths attention and they will seek after those things. Talking about movies you have seen, books you have read, gossip about other people and what is going on in the neighborhood, etc. will be copied by the youth. These are the things they will hold onto.

I have been to great meetings that have left an impression on me 'til this day. I have met people who were such great example to me and have helped my testimony grow. I pray for such people in my children's lives. I pray that when I send them to church I can be confident that what goes on there is uplifting and helping build their testimony. That is what church meetings are for.

Ezra Taft Benson once said in a talk "Do not settle for mediocrity in this great incentive program for the young women of the Church."

The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman, ages 12 to 18, "come unto Christ" (Moroni 10:32) (taken from the Young Women website)