Introduction
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults
Sunday, February 18, 2024
My dear young adults from all over the world, it is a great blessing and a privilege for all of us to be with you in this worldwide CES young adult devotional. We are also delighted to have with us tonight Brother Chad Webb, who is accompanied by his dear wife, Kristi. Brother and Sister Webb are faithful disciples of Christ and wonderful examples of devotion and love in every aspect of their lives.
We are so thrilled for your presence today in this devotional. Your attendance shows much about your faith in God and in Jesus Christ and your desire to feel of Their love and follow Them. As you decide to follow and worship Them, your life can be filled with an extra measure of strength and spiritual resilience that are much needed in our journey as His disciples in our day. We love you all!
I bring all of you the enthusiastic and warm greetings and love of our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, from his counselors in the First Presidency, and the entire Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They truly love and care about you and pray for your well-being constantly. I hope that you will feel of their love and especially God’s and Christ’s love during our devotional today.
I really enjoyed the inspired song performed a minute ago. The inspired lyrics of this beloved hymn truly set the tone for our devotional tonight, and they provide an answer to one of the heart’s most poignant pleas: “Where can I turn for peace?”
“Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
“Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
“Who, who can understand?
“He, only One.”
“Constant he is and kind,
“Love without end.”1
In the lobby of the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, there is a beautiful painting of Jesus Christ with His arms outstretched among His disciples. The Savior spent His life on earth inviting people to come unto Him, and He compassionately assured them that once they came, they could “find rest for [their] souls.”2
Jesus Christ stands at the gates of our daily lives with open arms, and He beckons to us, saying, “I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.”3 Even if we are stumbling or staggering, we can fall into His open arms, feel of His perfect love, and know that the space between His arms has been consecrated through His loving, atoning sacrifice as a place for us.4 What a marvelous way to find peace in this very distressing world.
In the spirit of finding peace through the Savior, we invited institute students from all over the world to share their major concerns and questions with us. They recorded their questions in short video clips and sent them to us. We were deeply impressed and touched by the genuine goodness expressed through these questions. We could deeply feel of your desire to draw nearer to the Savior and become His devoted disciples.
We grouped these short videos by topic as follows: (1) Strengthening our testimony, (2) enduring trials, (3) following God’s plan for us, (4) preparing to enter and worship in the temple, and (5) focusing our lives on Jesus Christ.
We will show you selected videos of your questions to give you some context and as an introduction to each topic in our discussion tonight. Brother and Sister Webb will join us as we address some of these topics, sharing their wisdom and their outstanding testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thank you very much. We love all of you, and the questions you sent us tell us how much you love our Savior Jesus Christ.