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With joy and many expectations exceeded, the For The Strength of Youth Conference (FSY), organized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Caribbean Area, concluded with a musical program and a devotional with Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church closed the week-long event. The event was held virtually July 26-30.
More than 3,000 young people from 27 Caribbean countries, organized into companies, actively participated during these five days in each activity, which were broadcast in Spanish, English, and French. The event was aimed at giving young people between the ages of 14 and 17, members and non-members of the Church, opportunities to experience spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development.
Within the framework of the event, the participants were able to set goals, in addition to attending sessions on: “How to stay on the covenant path, develop Christlike attributes, share the gospel, build spiritual habits, self-discipline,” among others. Other teachings focused on the role of youth in Heavenly Father's plan, in addition to the importance of parents in the advancement of youth on earth.
At the end of the event, many participants could not hide their rejoicing and joy for the experience. Such was the case of Arianna Torres Lugo, a Puerto Rican, who stated that "everything I learned was impressive," and said she was grateful for the opportunity she had to participate in the musical program and for being able to see her sister in her first FSY.
Finlandia Larimar Fernández, a Dominican counselor, referring to the conference said: “It helped me to remember who I am, why I am here, and where I want to go after this life. I loved the spirit that I felt this week." Likewise, she valued the teamwork, the camaraderie, the eternal friendships created, and the love of the directing couple and the counselors.
Two activities that received many comments and were highlighted by the young participants were the musical program, where the young people exhibited their artistic talents with dances, songs, painting, testimonies and interpretations with various musical instruments, such as piano, violin, flute and guitar, and the special devotional by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles which closed the event.
The Special Devotional with Elder Ulisses Soares
Elder Ulisses Soares explained to the youth in the devotional near the end of his remarks that Church’s President Russell M. Nelson refers to youth as the noblest spirits and perhaps the best team reserved by God for this time, to precede the second coming of Jesus Christ. He also highlighted the example of Joseph Smith, who was a young man with little education when he was chosen to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ on earth.
He spoke of the importance of doing our personal homework to qualify to receive the promptings of the Spirit, and suggested that we learn to hear and follow the promptings of the Spirit, because personal revelation is one of the most important tasks in life.
Elder Soares made an illustrative analogy of the usefulness of the mobile phone today, with accessories such as the battery, the charging cable, and the power source are essential for their functionality. He indicated that the battery represents our faith, the source of energy is Jesus Christ, and the charging cord represents the application in our lives of the gospel teachings.
He explained that the second part of our task is to study the impressions carefully, then, with sincere prayer and with real intention, address the Lord and listen to Him, with the certainty that if it is well, we will obtain the assurance that only comes from the Holy Spirit.
“President Nelson taught that repeating this process regularly will help us grow in the principle of revelation,” Elder Soares pointed out.
Referring to Elder Soares's talk, Trinitie Leptune Augustin from Carrefour, Haiti, said: “It was a wonderful talk to end a beautiful activity.”
The musical program
An unforgettable moment enjoyed by the young people was the closing musical program, when they were able to express themselves through art or see friends and acquaintances from different countries participating in it.
The climax was when the North American singer-songwriter Nik Day, author of the songs on the youth album that the church prepares each year, performed some songs in Spanish together with several young talents from the Caribbean region, expressing to them his admiration for the Latin American music.
Nik Day said: “I would like music to reach everyone in the world. I hope that the music is good so that young people want to listen to it, but more than anything that young people listen to music and feel the Spirit and want to get closer to Christ”.
In the same way, the youth expressed how, by performing these songs, they can strengthen their own testimonies and help other people, which has been a spiritual experience that has totally changed them.
FSY open to members and non-members
Some young people who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ participated in the virtual For the Strength of Youth Conference (FSY), and had enriching experiences that show that there are no limitations or religious boundaries to follow the gospel. Such is the case of Frankely Solis and the young Leia Leray, both Dominican.
Frankely, a member of The Freeing Souls for Christ Church, said that many things inspired him to participate in the FSY musical. One of them was the love of singing to God and being able to do what he loves the most.
Frankely explained that, although he only signed up to sing in the musical, he was able to follow part of the broadcasts of the conference on Facebook and Instagram, and that what he saw was beautiful, making FSY one of the best events, which motivates the youth to seek Jesus Christ.
"What struck me the most was the unity and love that was felt for God's work and seeing the support of the greatest, since the youth are responsible for the future," said the young Dominican artist.
He affirmed that he would be encouraged to raise his voice again for our Lord Jesus Christ, motivated by the expectations that something more wonderful is coming and, above all, that younger people will be encouraged to be part of this great event.