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I just had a question. When you were talking at the beginning, you had mentioned living in a way that you know when the Spirit leaves so maybe you can't get that personal revelation. Instead of worrying about when it comes. Yes. And I know that I've heard from youth and in my own life, kind of finding that balance of living in the world and not of the world. You watch a PG movie, and there's still that one part in it. You listen to that song, and there's still that one part in it. Or you get on social media, and you see things you don't want to see. I mean, what's a good thing to help the youth know, like, do I have to not listen? I can only listen to hymns, I can only watch The Restoration, I can't have social media--do you understand what I'm saying? If you seek out that kind of material, it is a sin. And it will drive--and you will withdraw yourself. And the Book of Mormon--it's not that the Holy Ghost leaves; it's that you withdraw yourself from the Holy Ghost. I suggest that is another evidence that we're in the flow, and we get out of the water. Instead of thinking that the Holy Ghost takes off, we get out of the flow. In the world in which we live, you cannot avoid that stuff. It's not a sin if you have not sought it out. You see it, you hear it, and then you do your best to cast it away. It's not a sin. So you just have to be anxiously engaged in making sure that if you see or hear or do something inadvertently that would cause you to withdraw yourself from the Holy Ghost, quit doing it, quit hearing it, quit looking at it. Does that respond to your question? Yes. You don't sound sure. I just--just if--I mean, if they didn't seek it out, but there is that little bit, should you just not watch that movie again or not listen to that song again? Do you know what I'm saying? It comes down to--it really is--there's a lot to find of good things without having those little parts in it. Does that make sense? Here is how I would think about that. If I'm in a movie and there's something in the movie, and I can tell that the Holy Ghost is not with me now, why would I stay in the movie? Yeah. If you're listening to a song, and all of the sudden you can tell the difference--"I don't think it's as good now as it was before"--why would you want to keep listening to that song? See, the focus is on being in the flow instead of the rare event when it comes every once in a while. I just think that perspective changes everything in how we think about this. I just had a--at the very beginning of your talk, or your presentation, it was talked about how as long as we're keeping the commandments, we're going to be OK. Doing our best. Yes, doing our best. And I just know that there are a lot of youth--there are a lot of people in general--who struggle with addiction and repetitive sin and the stubborn sins that have crept into their lives. And they are trying with all of their heart. But I find that the adversary's right there. As soon as they can be doing fairly well, then something happens, and the adversary's right there, trying to convince them that, "Oh well, it's too late. Maybe you're just not one of them." You know, these doubts that continuously come. So, I just wanted to--I was wondering if you could kind of tell us--this is how I feel; let me just put it that way. I feel that when we're dealing with somebody that is in that situation, that the Spirit--like you just said, we walk away from the Spirit. But as soon as they turn to Heavenly Father, He's going to be right there for them. And I feel like that needs to be talked about so much with this generation, that Heavenly Father understands where you're at. He understands the time you're living in, and He understands your struggle. And He's not turning His back ever. He's right there with His hand out. And I feel like a lot of them respond first to the feeling of shame that is natural to feel, and that because of that, they turn away. And I feel like we just need to speak so much about hope and that this will eventually pass as you continue to do those things. OK, thank you. I was just wondering what you were thinking about that. You're exactly right. We never give up on repeating that message. And if there's a way--this will sound abrupt, maybe even harsh--but what's the alternative? They say, "Oh, this is so hard." Yeah, so if you quit and you give up, what do you got? Now, that sounds like a guy thing.

But there's a way you can invite them to act where they kind of figure out, "Oh, I really don't have a choice, and there is hope." And so it's not because other people are trying to push them; it's because their desire is increasing. And we can help them in the same way.

An Evening with a General Authority—Doing Our Best

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Additional content from the February 2020 Evening with a General Authority event. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discusses how to encourage young people to do their best.
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