All hands on deck for the youth

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the April 2006 Conference.

In this General Conference session, both Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Rasband (who was still a member of the Seventy) talked about the youth. Elder Uchtdorf focused on how the Lord can help the young men "see the end from the beginning" as they look ahead in their lives, and Elder Rasband talked about adults' responsibilities toward the rising generation. Both talks struck me in ways they never could have before I had youth of my own! 

Everything Elder Uchtdorf said to the young men seemed a message for me in my own attempts to influence and guide my young men! Like this:

We don’t always know the details of our future. We do not know what lies ahead. We live in a time of uncertainty. We are surrounded by challenges on all sides. Occasionally discouragement may sneak into our day; frustration may invite itself into our thinking; doubt might enter about the value of our work. In these dark moments Satan whispers in our ears that we will never be able to succeed, that the price isn’t worth the effort, and that our small part will never make a difference. He, the father of all lies, will try to prevent us from seeing the end from the beginning.

It's just so funny to me that the very fear and uncertainty our youth feel, and which I fought through myself as a youth and thought I had mostly overcome by now—comes back now in the context of my uncertainty about them! Now those whispers from Satan sound like, "Your efforts [with your children] will never succeed, the price [of persisting with them] isn't worth the effort, your small part [with them] will never make a difference." It keeps surprising me again and again how everything I learned as a young person I am now re-learning now from the other side. And here's the promise Elder Uchtdorf gives to counteract the lies of Satan he talked about above:

As you [live the gospel], you will see beyond the moment, and you will see your bright and wonderful future with great opportunities and responsibilities. You will be willing to work hard and endure long, and you will have an optimistic outlook on life. …Your priorities in life will change to match the priorities given to us by the Savior. And God will bless you and open the eyes of your understanding so you can see the end from the beginning.

I need to believe this! Both for me and for my children! I also think it's kind of ironic that in my very worry and preoccupation with my own children, I have likely done less than I should have to help the other youth in my circles. I want so desperately to have other adults influencing my children, being examples to them, telling them the things they won't listen to from me. But I haven't thought of myself as someone who could do that for some other parent's youth. I'm more likely to grumpily think to myself how bad kids are these days, or to withdraw self-consciously, thinking "None of these teenagers want to talk to an uncool and boring middle-aged lady anyway." But Elder Rasband's words made me feel remorseful about those attitudes! First he quoted Elder Erying:

Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, however, provides us with a somber warning, speaking of the youth: “Many of them are remarkable in their spiritual maturity and in their faith. But even the best of them are sorely tested. And the testing will become more severe.”

Then Elder Rasband continues:

This warning that “the testing will become more severe” gets my attention. Our rising generation is worthy of our best efforts to support and strengthen them in their journey to adulthood. 

In these perilous times, as our youth are faced with this increased adversity, we can learn from others. In the armed forces, particularly in all the navies throughout the world, every seaman understands one phrase that is a clarion call for immediate help, no matter what he is doing or where he is on the ship. The call is “All hands on deck.” Many a battle at sea has been won or lost by the response to this call.

We—as members of the Church, leaders of youth, anxious fathers, and concerned grandfathers—all need to respond to the call for “all hands on deck” as it pertains to our youth and young single adults. We must all look for opportunities to bless the youth whether or not we are currently closely associated with them. We must continue to teach and fortify fathers and mothers in their divinely declared roles with their children in the home. We must ask ourselves constantly if that extra sporting event, that extra activity or errand outside of the home is more important than families being together at home.

Now is the time, brethren, when in every action we take, in every place we go, with every Latter-day Saint young person we meet, we need to have an increased awareness of the need for strengthening, nurturing, and being an influence for good in their lives.

I am duly chastened by this reminder, and have a new resolve to at least be aware and make an attempt to befriend and talk to to the youth and children I meet in my extended family and beyond! And I also want to be better at believing that as I do this, Heavenly Father will both strengthen and bring other people into the lives of my own children to bless them!

Other posts in this series:

Be Kind—by Nathaniel Givens

Warning—by Rozy