Young Women Counseled to Stand for Truth and Righteousness

Young women were urged to “stand for truth and righteousness” and given the new Young Women Values, guidelines for living gospel-centered lives, at a worldwide satellite fireside for young women and their parents and leaders.

“Resolve to stand in all circumstances and in all conditions as those who are true to the faith,” President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency, counseled the thousands of girls, ages twelve to eighteen, gathered at more than one thousand locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Sunday evening fireside on November 10 was broadcast live via satellite from the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City in English, Spanish, and French.

Other speakers included Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Council of the Twelve and Sister Ardeth Kapp, general Young Women president. A special presentation of the seven Young Women Values included a videotaped presentation, choral readings by groups of young women in the Tabernacle, and “I Walk by Faith,” a new musical composition commissioned for the Young Women, sung by a 400-voice young women’s chorus from Taylorsville, Utah.

Calling the girls “the best generation in the history of the world,” President Hinckley said, “You are God’s supreme creation. You will not need to be reminded to be virtuous … if you will remember always that you are a daughter of God and that a portion of his divinity is within you.”

Never in the history of the world have so many opportunities been open to women, President Hinckley stated. He added that, although he hoped each girl would have the blessings of a happy marriage, marriage would not necessarily meet all of their needs and many would find it necessary to work to provide for themselves.

“Now is the season to train your minds and your hands for the work you wish to do,” he explained. “Education can prove to be the wisest and most profitable investment you will ever make. Get all the help and direction you can concerning your aptitudes and ambitions, and then get training to sharpen your skills and improve your opportunities.”

President Hinckley further counseled the young women to cultivate great companionships, including the companionship of good friends, of good books and music, of their parents, and of their Father in Heaven, who—judging by the love of earthly fathers for their daughters—may “feel a little extra sense of love in behalf of His delightful daughters,” he said.

Elder Nelson counseled young women to be “rooted in truth, reaching to teach and testify, preparing to bless others with fruits of the Spirit. This you can do as a maiden of truth, as an elect lady, as a daughter of Zion,” he added.

“Imminently, your influence and that of all young women of the Church, like a sleeping giant, will awaken, arise, and inspire the inhabitants of the earth as a mighty force for righteousness.”

He further urged young women to learn the relationship between their divine heritage and their eternal potential. “Knowing of your divine nature and favor, you as a daughter of Zion are well prepared to make personal decisions. … You have moral courage and integrity to stand for truth and righteousness.”

“We call upon the young women of the Church to awake, arise, and go forth!” proclaimed Sister Kapp, president of the 300,000-member Young Women organization. “We call upon you to take your place, as modern prophets and Apostles have forseen, to rise in power and glory and stand as lights and guides to the people in your own nation and especially your own families.”

President Kapp quoted Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Council of the Twelve, who stated, “You have been placed by God in this time and circumstance. And he knows you better than you know yourself, knows what you have the capacity to do. … He knows what you have the power to become!”

“Who will stand for truth and righteousness? Who will speak out for morality? Who will join with righteous young women all over the world … in defense of purity of spirit and body?” questioned President Kapp, urging young women to respond as did the Savior in the premortal council in heaven: “Here am I. Send me.”

“The power is within you,” she added. “You can be an influence to save others. … Your youthfulness is not a disadvantage to your strength. In fact, it may be a tremendous advantage.”

Sister Kapp introduced the Young Women Values, which are intended to serve as a guide to all young women in living the gospel and serving God. Those values are Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity.

Astrid Tuminez, a young convert from Manila, appeared in the video presentation introducing the values, and then led a choral reading in the Tabernacle with groups of young women from the Woods Cross Utah Region. During the presentation, large brightly colored banners bearing the values unfurled from the Tabernacle balcony.

Sister Maurine J. Turley, second counselor to President Kapp, urged the young women to learn to live by the 1986 theme: “We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us, and we love him. We will ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places’ as we strive to live the Young Women Values.” (See Mosiah 18:9.)

“We know you are not perfect, and neither are we,” said Sister Patricia T. Holland, first counselor in the general Young Women presidency, who also conducted the fireside. “We know you have hurts and fears. But we have been told, ‘Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now. …

“‘Fear not, little children, for ye are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me;

“‘And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.’” (D&C 50:40–42).

Immediately following the fireside, a special Young Women issue of the New Era was distributed by bishops to young women in their wards in hundreds of stake centers throughout the world. (Additional copies are available through the Salt Lake Distribution Center for $1.00 each; stock no. PFMA0859.)

The fireside concluded with a stirring performance by the chorus, joined in part by the congregation, singing a new hymn, “As Zion’s Youth in Latter Days,” with a medley of other inspiring hymns keyed to the youth. As they sang, more than two hundred girls from the Cottonwood Creek Region, dressed in white and carrying large multicolored banners, filled the aisles, marching in time with the music.

Flagbearers and audience alike showed support for values taught at the Young Women fireside. (Photography by Michael M. McConkie.)