Transcript

Hi, everyone. I'm Hannah. And I'm Andres. Welcome to our live Face to Face event featuring Lindsey Stirling. Right now we're in Provo, Utah, with all of our friends--all 150 of them. Say hi, everyone. Hey!

We would also like to welcome everyone from around the world who is joining us online tonight. We're so happy to have you guys. Tonight Lindsey will be giving us a Q&A, and she will also be performing a couple songs for us. That's right. And all of the questions tonight have come directly from you guys. So that means if you'd still like to ask another question, it's not too late. You can comment on the LDS Youth Facebook page or the Youth Activities site, or just #LDSyouthface2face on Twitter. Also hosting our event tonight will be Young Women general president Bonnie L. Oscarson and Young Men general president David L. Beck. Our special musical guests tonight will be Kendra Lowe and Lexi Walker. Well, we don't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. Performing her hit song "Crystallize," let's all welcome Lindsey Stirling. [MUSIC LINDSEY STIRLING, "CRYSTALLIZE"]

[APPLAUSE] Hi, guys. How are you doing? How are you? I'm wonderful. Good. We are so happy to have you here tonight. We have been looking forward to this evening for months, and it just seems wonderful to finally be here sitting with you. Well, good. And thank you to everybody who has joined us today, both here and both--everywhere, I guess. Yeah. We have youth listening in from all over the world who have sent questions in, too. So are you ready to begin answering some questions? Yes. Okay. Well, the first one is--as soon as I find it here--is from Leilani, who is from Australia. And she wants to know how old you were when you first started playing the violin and dancing. And when did you first start performing? So I started playing the violin when I was 6, and I started dancing along with it when I was about 18. I got this kind of fun idea where I wanted to dance and express myself. And that's about the time that I started to try to perform, was when I was about 18. 18. Great. Lindsey, we've got so many questions here. Have you got two weeks to answer these? Yes. We're skipping Thanksgiving. We're just going to--we're--I hope you're all okay with that. I mean, there are hundreds of questions coming in. Here's one from Justin in New Mexico: "Your music is amazing while still being very clean and uplifting. Where did the inspiration come from your compositions?" You know, I draw inspiration from a lot of my life. And honestly, a lot of my religious beliefs have stemmed into my music. And I say that because every time I go into a studio, before I go into the studio, I say a prayer and I really ask God for inspiration. I ask Him to help me and to be able to help the producer I'm working with. And when I started this last album that I released, this summer--when I started working on it, I was absolutely terrified with the thought of writing a new album, because the first album had done better than I ever expected it to do, and suddenly there was this huge audience waiting for the second album when no one knew who I was when I wrote the first one. And I remember just feeling almost suffocated by how afraid I was that I might fail. And I remember just praying before I went into the studio. And when I wrote the first song for the album, it ended up being the first track on the album, and I called it "Beyond the Veil." And when I wrote that song and I heard it back for the first time, I had this overwhelming feeling. And it was almost like I heard an audible voice say to me, "I didn't lead you this far to let you fall." And there in the studio, I almost started crying because I just realized that God has directed me. He's given me inspiration in the past, and He's never just going to leave us alone once He gets us to a certain point. And yeah. Beautiful. Well, here's a good follow-up question to that, maybe, too. This is from Paulo, who is from Brazil, a brother from Brazil. He said, "How do you balance your artistic endeavors with your Church service and other goals, like potentially having a family?" Ooh. Balance--that is a tough one. If I knew the perfect answer, then I would probably--well, I think life would be perfect. But I think the best way to balance my career with my Church calling is basically just trying to live the gospel in whatever I do and whatever I'm doing, because oftentimes it's really hard for me to hold a calling that's consistent, because I live oftentimes out of a suitcase, and I'm usually in a different country every week. And so yeah. It's by doing--it's by publicly, I guess, sharing who I am and not being preachy about it, not saying everything--hashtagging it with "Mormon" or anything like that, but just trying to live in a way that shows who I am and experience the gospel, whether I am going to church in France or whether I'm going to church in my home ward in L.A.

Beautiful. Yeah. So would you like to take a question from the audience here? Oh, you do? Yeah. Okay. Sarah? Got Sarah back here. Oh. Hey, Sarah. She's got a question for you. Hi. How have you managed to uphold your standards in an industry that makes it really hard to do so?

You know, I think it's just by putting my standards first. And actually, when I first started to perform and I saw that it was actually starting to go somewhere, I actually remember making a promise to myself and a promise to God, that I would keep--you know, "This is where the line is, this is where I'm going to draw it, and that's where it's going to stay." And it's actually been amazingly protective, I guess. And sometimes--I'm not going to lie--I'm definitely not perfect, and there have been times when I've almost, like, looked upward to heaven and been like, "Oh, this is for You. Like, this is such a sacrifice right now"--you know, and almost slightly begrudgingly been like, "Okay, I'm going to do this, but it's all for You." And then in hindsight, it's amazing to think that these standards really have protected me; they've kept me safe; they've kept me sane in an industry and in my own life. Everything's changing constantly, and sometimes it's hard not to get the rug swept out from under you and forget who you are. But because my foundation is solid, I just keep having to remember that if I ever get that attitude of, like, "Oh, this is all for You," no, it's actually not. It's for me. And I can't help but say that I'm very happy as a result of the structure of the gospel standards. Thank you. Boy, what a great message. Yeah. It is. Right? You feel that happiness because you're true to yourself. M-hm. Yeah. Well, here's a question from Jesse M. from Canada, who asks--and this kind of has to do with what you were just talking about--"You always seem to have a clear idea of what you want from your work, and watching you bring your vision to life is incredible. Does your relationship with God have any affect on the strength of your vision"--there's a little bit more--"for your art and your work ethic? If so, how?" I mean, I think, definitely so. Kind of like I stated in the first question, I really feel like sometimes I'll write these songs, and I just think, you know, that couldn't have come from me alone. I believe that God inspires us. I believe that He gives us gifts and talents. And of course, it's up to us to develop them and choose what we do with them. But you know, He's given us talents and gifts to share them. And that's part of the reason that I love doing what I do, is, I feel like when I'm onstage and when I'm performing, or when--I think when anybody is developing their talents and sharing it, I think you glow. I really think you do, because I think you're representing the best side of yourself in the gifts that God has given you. And when I'm in that moment, I can almost feel the glow, and I can see it in other people when they're performing and doing what they love and doing it in a way that God would approve of it and He would be happy if it was His daughter or His son. Like, you can literally see the glow in other people or feel it in yourself. And that's, I think, the best way to share who you are and what you believe in. I think people see that in you and respond to that. Can I ask a follow-up question? Yeah. Cameron asks, "Which one of your songs means the most to you?" They're all like my little babies. They're like my children. I saw them born in the studio. But I would say, one of the most meaningful ones is probably "Shatter Me." It's one of the first times I ever wrote lyrics to a song. And you know, I wrote it based kind of on--and I'll talk about it a little bit later. I'm going to play "Shatter Me." But I wrote it based on one of the hardest things I've ever been through. And it means a lot when you get to share a piece of who you are through your music. Okay. Here's a great question. I think this is really an important issue. It's from Madison Marie in Georgia. She said, "School, work, sports, friends, and my own mind put a lot of pressure on me. How can I find self-worth in a world where I can never measure up and where I am never enough? If I am a consistent failure, how can I see that I have any worth at all?" You know, man, that's a hard-hitting question. I think that so many times we're so much harder on ourselves than anybody else is, and it's so easy to view experiences as a failure. For example, when I went onto America's Got Talent, I still in my mind view it as probably the most embarrassing failure of my life. However, I made it to the quarterfinals, and people sometimes remind me of that. They're like, "Linds, you made it to the quarterfinals." But it was--you know, in my mind it was such a failure just because of the way it ended and just because of the hurt and embarrassment I felt. It was like the most humiliating failure. But I also think that a lot of times, we feel--and I get drawn into this so much. I feel like it's the lesson I keep having to learn over and over again, is that worldly pursuits and acclaims and success and beauty--whatever it is--will never make you happy. And you know, that kind of happiness, it's like a parasite that constantly needs to be fed, and not just fed the same amount. In order to stay happy, it has to constantly be fed more and more, and it has to grow. Otherwise you're failing, or you're not succeeding, or you're unhappy. And it's just--it's unsustainable. And I've just learned this over and over again, as I have--and I just--I love a quote from one of my favorite movies. This might be before all of your time, but have any of you guys seen Cool Runnings? It's a great movie. If you haven't seen it, it's about a Jamaican bobsled team. And one of my favorite movie quotes ever comes from that movie, where the coach of this bobsled team, he had cheated when he was in the Olympics years before, and now he's coaching this team. And the team finds out about it. And one of the members of the team approaches the coach. And he says, "Coach, you had four gold medals. You'd won four gold medals. How could you possibly--like, why would you cheat to get a fifth one?" And this is the line that has always stuck with me. He said, "A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you will never be enough with it." And that is so true. The things that actually give true self-esteem--I love, in the Doctrine and Covenants--I can't remember the reference, but it says, "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; [and] then [will your] confidence wax strong." And when you were, like--you know, this learning process that I went through, that kind of, I wrote "Shatter Me" about, was about that. I was probably the skinniest I've ever been. I was doing well in school. I was everything that everyone probably thought would make me happy. And I have never been so--I've never hated myself so much and I've never been so unhappy as this time. And it was because I was gaining happiness from everything else besides what was inside. And really, it's all about learning that we are daughters and sons of God. And if you take everything else away--if I took my violin away, if I took everything else away, that needs to be enough. And that's, I think, the constant pursuit that we all need to have. It's hard. And it's so hard not to let the numbers and everything else get in my head of "That's what's making me happy," because at the end of the day, they're not. So that's a journey you've been on. I mean, you've been through a time when you were struggling, just like many people have. Yeah. Well, and I think it's also important to realize that it's not like I've made it. It's not like every day, I wake up and look in the mirror and I'm like, "You've got it, girl. You rock." No. Everybody wakes up and has rough days. And some days are better than others. And it's a constant cycle that I just--and it's--but the amazing thing is, as I go through it over and over again, and every time, it gets quicker. I get quicker at learning the signals that I'm relying on the wrong things for happiness, and I'm able to bounce back quicker and be happy. You know, and rather than the first time I went through it, it took me about a year and half to get through that cycle. And every time I go through it, I come out quicker and better. Good. But you've been very open about some of the challenges that you have faced in your life. And here's a question that may address some of that that would be good to talk about. This young woman named Emmy, from Texas, says, "I've been trying to gain self-confidence, and the only way I feel I will be happy is if I'm thin. I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny either. It kills me to feel this way all the time. I want to be happy with myself, but how? How can you be proud of yourself when the world sees you as nothing?" You know, I think when "the world sees you as nothing," that's so subjective. And there are certain people and certain industries, or whatever, that will judge everybody and maybe think you're nothing. But in a large part, my favorite people on this planet--I don't like them because they're skinny. I don't like them because they're fashionable. I don't like them because they're popular. Like, think about the people that you love and the people that you just want to be around all the time, and they usually--those things, even if they have them, it doesn't matter. And I think, so many times I put that in my own head when I was struggling. I struggled with anorexia for years. And I didn't even realize that I had a problem until I got sucked in pretty deep and finally realized that I wanted to be happy again. And when I realized there was a problem, finally, I knew what to change. But it really is ironic that was the saddest I've ever been, was when I was--you know, I had achieved all of the things I wanted. I was so disgustingly thin, but I was so unhappy. And I remember training my brain to think positively. And it was--I had to practice. The same way I practice the violin and practice my scales and practice them slowly until the notes are right, and the same way I practiced dancing and would look in the mirror and see my form, that's the exact same thing I went through to kind of retrain my brain to think positively, because I was so negative. And every time I would look in the mirror, all I could see was the flaws. And I remember, I'd just say, "You're beautiful." Every day I'd wake up and look in the mirror and say it 20 times, even though tears would stream down my face because I didn't believe it and I knew it wasn't true. But just the process of retraining your brain and praying over my food and lying and saying I was grateful to eat it, and just step by step until I had trained my brain, and with the help of my family and my close ones and even going to some professional help--I went to counseling, and I went to group therapy--and through that, learning that there were people that love me. The world didn't see me as a failure. Maybe someone did, but the people around me that loved me, they thought I was everything but a failure. And they were there to remind me of it. And most importantly, my testimony and self-worth and individuality and individual worth got so strengthened. Hm. Great. That is such a great message for so many young women. Thank you for sharing that. That takes a lot of courage. So we've had a lot of questions. Are you ready for another song? Oh. Yes. So tell us about this song, because-- Yeah. I think this really ties into-- Yeah. --what you've been talking about. So this song is called "Shatter Me." And the reason I called it "Shatter Me" is because when I was writing my album, I had this vision in my head of this ballerina. She looks perfect, and she has flawless porcelain skin, and she holds this perfect position as she spins in this beautiful snow globe. And so it's her song in this music box, is what the song is. And she starts to realize that she wants to change. She doesn't want to stagnantly twirl in the same position. She wants to move. She wants to play. She wants to dance. But as she does so, she begins to crack because the movement is too much for her perfect porcelain skin to take. And at one point, she looks at herself and she sees all of these cracks. And she just gets absolutely terrified because she thinks, "If I break, will there be anything left of me, or will I shatter?" And that was the point I got to. I started to change and try to face my eating disorder and to confront it and to push it away. But it was like I had built this shell around myself, and that's all I could see. That's all I thought gave me value, was my looks, my weight, this image of being perfect. And as it started to chip away and I started to change, I was absolutely terrified because I thought, "There's not going to be anything left of value if I lose this." But I kept going in that. In the song, the ballerina shatters, and underneath is the real ballerina. And she's able to dance, and she's free. And she's not absolutely perfect, but she's free. And so that's the idea behind this song. It's called "Shatter Me," rather than shatter barriers or shatter--break free, or whatever. It's "Shatter Me" because I had to break through what I had thought was myself in order to find out who I actually was. And so this is the song of the ballerina in the music box. And play song.

[MUSIC LINDSEY STIRLING, "SHATTER ME"]

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you, Lindsey. Boy, that's beautiful. Aw, thank you. Absolutely beautiful. Great. So meaningful, too. Okay. Now we're going to do something else. We've got an Internet video question coming up. Ready for that? Oh. Yeah. Let's go.

Lindsey, I'm Michael. I'm a 17-year-old from St. Louis, Missouri. And I was just wondering why you incorporated electronic dance music to your work. Whew. You know, I was a classically trained violinist, from the time I was 6 years old up until I was 17--18. And in my own experience, I just started to get burnt out. And I wanted to kind of switch it up and just kind of reinvigorate my passion for it. And I didn't want to quit. I'd put way too much of my life and heart into it, but I thought, "Well, I love electronic music; I love rock music. I need to start playing the kind of music that I love." It was like this no-brainer finally clicked on in my head. I'm like, "Yeah." And so I started jamming to kind of whatever I could find. I just picked my favorite songs and jammed to them. And finally, when I was able to write my own music and I could produce it and afford to do that--I'd saved up my pennies--it was really fun to take all of these genres I had experimented with and just throw them all together. It's like all of my favorite things, like the fruitcake of my music. Yeah. Great. I have a question from Brandy, who lives in Utah. She says, "Our young women want to know how much pushback you get, when selecting costumes or wardrobe, to wear something immodest. How do you keep the Lord's standards?" You know, that's probably the thing I deal with the most on a regular basis, is just, you know, I'm always shooting videos, doing performances, going to awards shows. And you know, it's a lot of pressure to look nice and cool and trendy and fun at all of these events and shows and whatever it is. And I'm not going to lie--it's really, really--all of you ladies can admit, it's really hard to shop for modest--you know, especially like formal wear, or just anything. You know? It's very hard to find staging costumes that are modest and that I can move in and that are comfortable and I can change out of quickly. And you know, it is something I deal with so much. But it's amazing that as I'm design--I design my costumes, and sometimes I'm just out of ideas. I'm like, "What other kind of a costume can I make that covers me from here to here?" But I must say, the Lord always comes through. And He always either inspires me last--sometimes it's the very last second, when I'm just like, "I don't know what I'm going to wear. I don't know--I'm going to walk out there in my sweater and perform." But I've always been at least inspired. Sometimes the last minute was just almost too late, or I find a dress, or I find the right thing. But the thing is that my whole team is very supportive of it. And it's because when I was choosing management or choosing my publicist or whoever it is I work with, before I ever started working with them, laid the ground rules of "This is what I do, and would you support that?" And it was kind of a make-or-break for me. And so because of that, I was able to find people that 100 percent--you know, it's not their standards, but they 100 percent even, kind of, would back me up in ways of, like--sometimes they don't even present stuff to me because they're like, "Lindsey wouldn't even want to do that. She wouldn't want to hear it." And so it's kind of cool to have that backing around you. That's great. So here's something I'm sure we're all interested in. Makayla, from our audience, here--would you ask your question? She's over here. Here we go. Why did you decide to serve a mission? Oh. You know, it's funny. So I went on a mission back in the Dark Ages, when girls had to be 21. And the dress code was very different for sister missionaries back then. And you know, it's funny. When I was younger, when I was a teenager, I never had a desire to serve a mission. I remember even kind of thinking, "Man, you know, if I was asked to go, I would go." I was like, "But I'm glad that the young men are the ones that have to go on the mission." So it's kind of ironic that when I was about 20, all of a sudden, I worked at this camp that was for youth and troubled youth, and I got to see the gospel in action. And I got to bear my testimony to youth and see them reinvigorated. And I was like, "Wow, the gospel--it actually does. It changes people. It causes healing." And it's like I just kind of thought, "You know, maybe I'll go on a mission." And before I knew it--I don't even know what happened--I was in the MTC, just like, "Whoa, how did I get here?" because I just started preparing. And I kept thinking, "You know, this feels okay, and God will stop me if it's not right." And next thing I knew, I stepped--I had my name tag, and I was like, "Well, we're doing this. Let's go." Do people know where you served your mission? That would be interesting-- Oh. I served in New York City. I was in the New York New York North--New York New York North Mission. That is so cool. This is a question from Alicia, from Texas. She asks, "Do people ever make fun of you because you're LDS? If so, how do you deal with this?" You know, I've tried to surround myself with people--my inner circle, my team, they're all very supportive of me. However, there have been situations in interviews--sometimes live interviews--where they've poked fun at the fact. You know? And not so much like, "Ha ha, you're Mormon," but they'll bring up the standards of what I can and can't do. And it's sometimes very funny to them. And you know, "You want this? Oh, you can't drink." You know? And it's just kind of dealing with it in a way of, like, "Yeah, and I'm completely happy without drinking. I actually don't need it. I don't feel like I need it. I don't feel like I miss out." And just, it's one thing to try to bite back and get the upper hand. But usually just being positive and moving on is the best way that it actually just gets forgotten. And usually it just makes the other person look kind of tacky-- Good way to handle it. --if you will. So here's a good follow-up question to that idea of being positive. It's Lauren from North Dakota. She said, "How are you always so positive and confident in yourself?" I think it's going back to what I said. When I get asked this, I usually share that I didn't use to always be this way. I was when I was, like, a kid. I was just, like, outgoing, like a crazy little kid. But when I hit my teenage years, I was still there, but I started to lose all of my confidence and everything. And then it was when I kind of woke up, when I was in my early 20s, that I was like, "Oh, my gosh, I'm not happy anymore. I've lost sight of everything that made me me." And it was that practicing being positive, because our minds have automatic thought processes. You know, they just happen. It's not like you think about being negative. The negative thoughts sometimes just pop out first. And it's about trying to control your brain, saying "No, no, I'm going to stay positive." And I remember, my sister, recently, she was looking in the mirror. And she had no makeup on. And it was all, like, smudged under her face. And she caught herself in the mirror. And she said, "Look at that face." And I thought she was going to say, like, "Oh, I look terrible." But she goes, "That's a great face." And I just thought, "Oh, my gosh." And so now, whenever I look in the mirror, and if my thought is, "Oh, gosh, like, you look dead," I usually say, "Look at that face. That's a great face." And you know, just trying to train your brain to think in a positive way. It's an expression of gratitude, too. Don't you think? I mean, that's a standard and strength of youth, to have gratitude. And I think that fuels that positive outlook, that confidence you exude. Definitely. Yeah. I would say so. And I can think of times when I was--the difference. I've been to award shows before. And at these award shows, there's a lot of, sometimes, egos floating around. And everybody's trying to prove that they belong and that they deserve to win the award or whatever it is. And it can be overwhelming. And I remember I hated my first award show I went to. I just felt like I was invisible, and no one wanted to talk to me on the red carpet, and no one wanted to interview me. You know, and my feet hurt from the stupid high heels I was wearing. But I thought, "Okay." When it came time to go to another award show, I was like, "I'm not going to worry about winning my award or not. I'm not going to worry about who wants to interview me or who wants to talk to me. I'm going to be grateful that I'm here. And I'm going to just soak in this moment--like, this is kind of cool, like, this is exciting." And it was a completely different experience. I left the Billboard Awards so unhappy because of myself, you know, and then at this next--the Teen Choice Awards, I had such a great time just solely because of the way I was thinking. Great. Good. I love that positive attitude. That is such a great example. Can I go back to a question about your mission again? Yeah. Because we had several questions. This is from Ferris, from Italy, actually. He asked, "What was the hardest part of your mission? And what is your favorite scripture?" My favorite scripture--it was actually on my mission plaque--it's Proverbs 3:5 and 6. And it's "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he [will] direct [your path]." And that scripture got me through my mission. I kept relying on that--the fact that God is at the helm. He's directing us. And whatever we're going through--you know, sometimes we cannot see all of the fruits of our labors, and that is so true as a missionary. You spend most of your mission planting seeds for somebody else to come and harvest later. And I can remember, the hardest part of my mission was my first six months; I saw no success. And it was so frustrating because all of the companionships around us were finding people to teach and baptizing people. And my companion and I--I kept looking at myself and saying--like, I would just plead with God at night and be like, "What am I doing wrong? Just tell me. What am I doing wrong? And why can't I find someone to even teach a second lesson to, let alone"--you know? But finally I realized that I was asking the wrong question. It shouldn't be "What am I doing wrong?" I was trying my best. And it turned into "What more can I do that is right?" And as I did that, it's not like everything turned around. No. I still had a couple more months of the Great Drought, is what I called it. But I learned so much in that time of my mission. And it's amazing that right before I went home, I had these amazing tender mercies of hearing about some of the people that I had just contacted on the subway. I mean, what a tender mercy God was able to somehow allow me to hear about this guy that I had contacted on a subway, late at night, who changed his life and was baptized. And the little stories like that, just these tender mercies, just to say--you know, I think I needed to go through that time to refine myself and to learn. And it made me into not only the missionary that I was for the rest of my mission, but the person that I think I am today. And so I think it was just not comparing myself to the other missionaries. And just because they're baptizing someone doesn't mean they're a better missionary or more righteous than my companion and I were. But it's just about where you're at, what you need to learn, who's around you, and following the Lord. It's so important to understand that--following the Lord. In fact, Carter, we've got a question that we'd like you to ask. Yeah. What is the best advice you can give to an aspiring musician on how to keep the Spirit with you always? Huh.

You know, it's the simplest answer, but praying all the time. And I need to be better at just remembering, because I think about when I was a missionary, and you pray constantly. And you literally have the Spirit so strong. And the veil is, I think, a lot thinner than we think it is. And there are influences of good and evil around us all the time on this earth. And when we ask for help, we will be surrounded by--Heavenly Father will always send help from the other side. And that's a pretty incredible thought, to think that we can have warriors from the other side with us, protecting us. And sometimes they'll come on their own. But if we ask for them, they will always come. And I have relied on that when I am nervous, when I'm feeling weak, when I am in so many different situations, because whether we ask for the bad or not, it's there. But when we ask for the good, it will always come. And so I would say, just living the simple Primary book answers gives so much strength. And it's powerful. It's real. And it's something I'm constantly trying to be better at. This question has something to do with that, and so maybe we can go a little further with that discussion. This is from Julia, from Instagram. And she asks, "How is it possible to do all of the amazing things that you do but still have time for church and personal scripture reading and stuff like that?" I think that's a question we all have as we get so busy. How do you fit it into your busy schedule? I actually had a time when I was thinking to myself, "Oh, man, I am so busy, and I'm on the road all the time, it's so hard to do all of this." You know, the scriptures, making it to church. I am on the road with a bunch of--with people that aren't members of the Church, and I often have to--well, I usually have to do all of this alone. And I was talking to one of my best friends, who is a mom, and she said, "Linds, it's hard for everybody." You know? She kind of--I mean, it was a great slap on the wrist for me. She said, "I have a two-year-old and a newborn, and they wake up before me every day. And I'm exhausted when I'm done putting them to bed." And I was like, "Yeah. It's hard for everybody." No matter how busy we are or how crazy our life is, we're not alone in this. And I think the answer is the same for everyone, that we have to continually remind ourselves, because I think we all just keep slipping. And it's so easy, once you start to slip, to just let it go and just say, "You know what? We'll worry about this later. You know, maybe that'll be my New Year's resolution or whatever." But just continuously getting back on the horse and saying, "No, I'm going to do this." As you start to slip, as soon as you realize you're starting to slip in your scripture study or in whatever it is you're struggling with, rather than getting down on yourself, just pick it up and practice making it a habit. Tie it to--when I wanted to switch my scripture study to the morning, I was like--I eat breakfast every single day of my life. I think I've probably missed twice. My whole life, breakfast. It's just, I love breakfast. And so I was like, "Okay, before I can eat breakfast, I have to read my scriptures." And by tying it to something that is constant in my life, it allows me to make it a constant in my life. A great idea. While you eat your cereal. Well, yes. Okay. We know about your cereal. They gave me a box of cereal before we started. I thought that was very sweet. That's a great idea. Okay. We've got a question from Argentina. Ooh? This is Liliana. And she asks, "How can we help other youth to develop their talents without compromising their values?" I think it's a big misconception of the world that in order to do what you love and aspire and achieve, you have to compromise your values. But you know, who's to say that you can't do your talents and be everything that you want to be and still be true to who you want to be? And of course it's a struggle. It's a little bit harder.

It's hard for all of you guys. It's hard for girls to find modest prom dresses. It's hard to keep the standards of the Church in general. And I think that pursuing your talents doesn't make it any harder. It just kind of--sometimes it might put you in the spotlight a little bit more. But it's hard for everybody. And it's just all about--for me, I like to just try to focus on--it's about the talent. It's about my art. It's not about trying to sell it and package it in a way that I think the world will want it. It's about, "What do I want my art to be, and how do I want to present it?" rather than "How does everybody else think it should go?" Because if I was trying to be successful when I first started doing this, if my only thought was "I want to do something that everybody's going to love," I guarantee you I would not have been a dancing violinist, because I remember I got so many people just thinking it was so stupid. And it was more about, "What do I want to present? What do I want to do? I think this is fun. I think it could go somewhere." And doing art for that reason changes everything. That's great. We have an interesting question from a man from the United Kingdom. His name is Lyle, and he's not a member of our Church. He says, "How do your religion and beliefs help you through day-to-day life? I ask this because I am not of a religion. However, I am 27 now and have found myself looking for guidance. I see religious people every day, and it seems to me that having that belief, that discipline of praying and staying strong, makes people generally much happier and able to overcome through obstacles." What advice would you have for someone who's looking for that kind of faith in their life? Well, originally he was asking--what was the very first part of the question? How do I, or-- It is, "How do your religion and beliefs help you through day-to-day life?" Day-to-day. You know, I think it makes me happy. Like the gospel. It's amazing that the simple things of living the gospel makes you happy. And I feel like I have lived a life of happiness. And I've had--so when I'm looking back on it, I'm like, yeah, I've had some massive struggles and dips. But overall, I've lived a life of happiness in spite of them. And I think it's really amazing, the guys I tour with are all--none of them are LDS. And all of them will say, however, though, that "Lindsey's rules on tour." It has made us all happy. It's made for a drama-free tour. You know, we don't have alcohol on our buses. It's a dry tour, as they call it. Or in the green room. We don't perform on Sundays when we're on tour. And you know, there are just all of these little rules that we have. And they try not to swear around me. And they always really apologize and feel bad when they do it. And so it's just created this very healthy environment. And I think it's just been really cool for me to see the gospel envelop other people, because they've come to me and said, you know, "Linds"--they've been on multiple tours. They've toured for the last decade, some of them. And they have said that they've never felt--they even call it a peaceful tour. And we're all just very happy. We're like a little family. We get along. And I really think it's a testimony to the standards of the Church and that they're inspired and that they do provide a net of safety and happiness. Good. Wonderful. I'd like to ask a question if I can. Yeah. So in today's world, the Savior probably isn't appreciated like He should be and isn't understood--His mission and His teachings and particularly His Atonement. Could you just share with us your feelings about the Savior and His life and teachings and particularly His Atonement? Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah.

I think it's amazing that we have someone that can understand what we're going through, no matter what we're going through. And I can remember relying on that so heavily in, especially, two key parts of my life. When I was trying to overcome and recover from my eating disorder and find out if I did have any worth, I remember feeling so alone. And like, in my mind, nobody had ever been through this and nobody could understand how I felt and the extreme depression that just sat in my heart. And then I remember when it just finally clicked. You know, you always know that the Savior is--we know this; we've been taught it from the time we were kids. But it's amazing when it sinks into your heart and you feel those arms wrap around you, of love, and you know that somebody understands exactly your pain and that He knows you can make it through it. And the Savior was rejected when He lived on this earth, and He's still rejected today. And I think that that is why it's such a beautiful thing that each one of us has the opportunity to shine and to share art, whether it's our talents or our testimony, or just live in a way that shows that we're proud of who we are and we love it and we're happy as a result of it, no matter what anybody else says--no matter if people make fun of us or they think we're uncool. You know, it is so cool to be able to stand as a witness of Christ and to be able to be proud of it and to be part of His army. And it's been really amazing. And it's given me so much joy as I do what I do, but also a lot of motivation to stay true to what I want to do, because at the end of the day, we all get to represent our Savior in everything we do. And when He's been rejected by so many, I think it's really awesome to know that we can be His friends and His allies in this. Beautiful. Thank you. And anybody can. Thank you for sharing that. That's a great testimony. Thank you. I have a question from Julia, from Washington. She says, "How do you think you will be able to balance being a famous artist when you get married and start having children?" That's the question. That is a great question. Yeah. It's funny. In different stages of life, you have to adapt to make it work. And I'm sure that when that time comes, who knows? I'm not sure. I'm like, "Will I be able to bring my family on the road with me, and we'll be like this little touring family on a bus?" I don't know. But it is. That's what I ultimately want. I want to be a mom. My sister just had her baby, and I was in New York yesterday with her and her little baby. And just looking at this baby and her and her husband and just seeing their family, I thought, "Ultimately, that's what I want. I want to have that in my life." And I know that the Lord will--when it's the right time, I know it will come. And I think it's just about following the path that I feel led down. And I have felt extremely directed, as I've been kind of just wandering through this, figuring out my career and my music. And it's been amazing where I've been led to. Sometimes you feel like you're taking steps just blindly. But looking back on it, I'm like, nope. Nope. There's no way this just happened by accident and that I've gotten here. And I'm sure He'll continue to direct me when it comes time for that stage of my life. Okay, Lindsey. Here's a question from Carl. This came in on the youth Facebook page. These are personal questions. I'll read it. See what you think. Uh-oh. "Can you share one experience when you felt the Holy Ghost really strong?" Yeah. I think the very first story I shared was one of the times, in the last couple of years, that I have felt the Spirit the strongest--was when I felt like I heard Heavenly Father tell me that He wasn't going to leave me alone and that He was going to help me. And I just felt the fear that was, like, almost suffocating me--I felt it dissipate. And I think the cool thing is that those feelings, they're not going to stay with you 100 percent, all the time. It's like, the next day I was again terrified and thinking, "I can't do this. I can't do it. I'm so scared. What if I fail?" But the thing is, I think it's so important to write about these moments in our journals and to have that, because we have these amazing moments of clarity, when everything feels right. And maybe it happens when you're at EFY and someone's speaking, and you feel the Spirit so strong, testifying that "yeah, this is real. This isn't just something that I go to church every--no. This is powerful. And I feel it right now." Write in your journal about it, because the you of the past is sometimes so smart, when you go back and reflect upon those. And I remember writing about that and other experiences when I've just felt the Spirit really strong, writing about it in my journal. And it's amazing to see the wisdom and the clarity in those words of just reminding myself that yeah, I do know this is true. If ever there is frustration or doubts about certain things or wondering if Heavenly Father was going to help me, all I had to do was go back to that journal entry and realize that. And it brought back a little taste of the feeling. And I think it's so important to not only trust in the promises and the feelings you feel right now, but trust in the Lord's promises from the past, because He's not going to forget you just because you don't feel it right now. Yeah. Great. Wow. What a great idea, to capture those moments and make sure they're preserved. We need that. It's great advice. This is a question that I think a lot of young women struggle with in today's world. This is from Elmira, in Mexico, from the Youth Activities site. And she asks, "What counsel would you give to young women who believe it is necessary to be in style to be recognized or popular?" I think everybody deserves to feel good in what they wear. I think it is important to be able to feel pretty. And however, like I said before, I don't love my friends because they're stylish. They don't love me because I have red hair. We love the people we love because of who they are. And the whole thing of just--when you put your self-esteem based on how you look, it means nothing. And like I said before, it constantly needs to be fueled by praise of other people. And it's like filling up a hot air balloon. You know, you prick it, and it's gone. Once those praises and once that esteem from your nice outfit--it never fills you with actual self-esteem. And actually, I saw a TED talk, this talk that was given by this supermodel, one of the most beautiful women, acclaimed in the world by multiple people, you know, tons of people. She's a top supermodel. And she said, "If you want to find a room of insecure women, walk into a room of models," because she says, "We've based our whole importance of our careers on their appearance and their facade and their look." And at the end of the day, that's not going to make anybody feel good about themselves, because you can nitpick yourself apart in so many ways. And when you're happy with who you are, it makes you so much more beautiful. And I can see it in pictures from when I felt so ugly. I can see that I feel ugly. And when I look at times when I was mentally healthy, there's life. There's beauty in our eyes when we feel good about who we are and when it comes from somewhere rather than just being fashionable. But at the same time, it's not to say you shouldn't want to look nice. There's nothing wrong with that. We all should feel like we can be our best selves. And I think you can do that in a modest and in an appropriate way and still feel great. What a great message for our young women. I really appreciate hearing that. Okay. We've got another Internet video. This one's from Guatemala, and it's in Spanish. Is that okay? Okay. As long as you're translating. We'll see how we do. I don't speak Spanish. Let's roll it. [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Okay. Here's my translation. Yeah. Did you get all of that? So here we go. So this young man said there are a lot of us that want to become professional musicians, but we see a lot of obstacles in our way for that to happen. And so he wants to know what counsel you'd give to those who really would like to become like Lindsey Stirling and be a professional musician. You know, I think my best advice--it goes out to--I mean, it could be a musician. It could be anybody that has a goal of any kind. And it's that perseverance is what ultimately makes someone rise to the top. And I just look at--it's amazing to see--you learn about so many people in history, like Abraham Lincoln. I was looking at a website, the other day, of all of his failures. And he had, like, three successes on that list, but it was like, failed, failed, failed, failed. Everything--he got kicked out, or he couldn't make it into law school. He ran for the Senate multiple, multiple times. And finally he became one of the greatest presidents our country's ever seen. And you see this happen over and over and over again. I think it was Albert Einstein or Edison--who invented the light bulb? Edison. Edison. Oh, my gosh. My mind. Woo! But he-- You're thinking Spanish, aren't you? That's-- Yeah. But he failed 100 times at inventing the light bulb. And then all it took was one time to get it right. And a reporter asked him, "How do you feel about failing 100 times?" And he said, "I didn't fail 100 times. It just was a hundred-step process to get it right." And I just look at the journey I've been through. And there have been so many ups and downs and failures that I've experienced along the way. However, they've made me a better person. They've taught me so much about this industry and especially teaching me what I don't want--you know, what I don't want to have. And I just--trusting in the Lord's plan. I remember when I was on America's Got Talent, wanting so badly, so badly to win that competition and thinking that that was my only shot; this was my make-or-break. But there is no such thing as a make-or-break. The greatest moment of your life is always going to be ahead of you. And thinking back on it, if I had won that competition, I would be in a very different place. You sign your life away, basically--these contracts. And I'm so much better off where I am. But at the time, all through this way, I remember I couldn't see where the Lord was directing me. But perseverance is the end of this story. A really long-winded answer. I'm sorry. I talk a lot. Sure. Great. No. That's a great answer. Good word, perseverance. So time's gone by real quickly. We're out of time. We're out. We're at the end. Oh. Can you believe that? Did I talk too much? No. It was beautiful. You've been great. Thank you so much for being here. You're an inspiration to all of us. Oh. Thank you. Thank you for having me here. This has been really cool. Best wishes to you. So can you sing one more number? Well, I will not be singing, but I will be playing the violin. And I want to introduce my friend. This is Lexi Walker. And she is going to be singing along with me as we play "I Know My Redeemer Lives." This is actually my favorite hymn. And the beautiful Ms. Kendra Lowe, who has been playing the piano tonight, will be joining us as well.

[MUSIC "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES"]

(SINGING) I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, he lives, who once was dead. He lives, my ever-living Head. He lives to bless me with his love. He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed.

He lives to bless in time of need.

He lives, my kind, wise heav'nly Friend.

He lives and loves me to the end.

He lives, and while he lives, I'll sing. He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives to grant me daily breath. He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare.

He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives! All glory to his name! He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!" He lives! All glory to his name! He lives, my Savior, still the same.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know, I know, I know that my Redeemer lives!" Thank you so much, Lindsey, for coming tonight. It's been amazing. We've definitely all been inspired and uplifted. So thank you. Thank you. And thanks to Lexi for her amazing talent, and for Kendra as well. Yes. That was really an amazing performance. We would also like to thank our hosts, Sister Oscarson and Brother Beck, and our musical guests, Lexi Walker and Kendra Lowe, for the amazing music. If you guys would like to watch this video again, you can go to the youth Facebook page or go to lds.org/youth. We would really love to hear about your feedback about tonight. Yes. Like Andres said, we would love to hear what you guys thought about tonight. Tell us what you've learned or what your favorite part was. Just comment on the LDS Youth Facebook page, or go to lds.org/youth. You can also tell us who you would like to see on the next Face to Face event. Okay. Well, thanks, all. Thank you all again. And we'll see you guys next time. [MUSIC "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES"] [SIDE CONVERSATION]

Face to Face with Lindsey Stirling

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Participate in a live event featuring Lindsey Stirling, a returned missionary and world-famous entertainer.
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