“Love to Learn, Love to Share,” For the Strength of Youth, July 2024.
Love to Learn, Love to Share
For Liam N. from Denmark, the gospel is part of a fun and fulfilling life.
Photographs by Ashlee Larsen
Serving others can look like lots of different things. One way Liam likes to serve is playing music for others.
School or hobbies? Work or fun? Maybe there’s a better question: Why settle for just one? When he can, 14-year-old Liam N. from Denmark tries to find a good balance.
“I love to play music,” he says. “I play guitar, drums, bass, piano, and ukulele. I think playing music is a nice way to express my feelings. I also like to play for others to make them happy.”
When he isn’t having fun with music, you might find Liam playing soccer, basketball, or chess with his friends. “I also like science and astronomy,” he says. “It’s cool to see how everything connects. God has created it all, and it’s wonderful.”
In addition to his hobbies, Liam finds time to work hard, whether that’s delivering newspapers around his neighborhood or studying for school.
Liam is learning to balance the things he needs and wants to do. He may be busy, but there’s one thing he makes time for every day—the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Liam lives on Denmark’s main peninsula with his parents and his two younger siblings, Filippa and Max.
A Five-Minute Goal
“I recently decided that I would read at least one chapter of the Book of Mormon—just one chapter—every single day,” Liam says. “It takes me maybe five minutes. But it gives me an extra boost, so I’m willing to take that challenge.”
Reading the scriptures every day has helped Liam more than he thought it would. “Sometimes when I have a bad day, reading something comforting can put me back on top again. But if it’s been a good day, it can also remind me to be grateful that things are going well. I’m glad I’ve been able to stick to my goal.”
Liam is busy with lots of hobbies and responsibilities. But making time every day to read the Book of Mormon has blessed his life.
“Who Doesn’t Want Joy?”
Liam is grateful for support as he tries to make time for the gospel. “My siblings and I are the only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at our school, so many of my best friends aren’t members. But I think there’s a really good community in the Church in Denmark. Everyone knows each other at least a little bit, and it’s nice when we all get together.”
Having friends with different standards can be hard sometimes. “Denmark is a country where a lot of youth drink alcohol from a young age,” Liam explains. “It can be hard as a teenager to say no to things like that.” But Liam tries to be open about what he believes so others can better understand his choices.
Serving others can look like lots of different things. One way Liam likes to serve is playing music for others.
“Sometimes at school when we have classes about Christianity, teachers or friends have asked me about my faith. I’ve tried to explain it as well as I can,” Liam says. “I also invited one of my best friends to my baptism. I gave him and his mom a Book of Mormon and talked with them about some of the things I believe. It’s up to them to decide what they do with it. I felt that I did the right thing to invite others to feel the same joy I do, because who doesn’t want joy?”
Liam and his siblings are the only Church members at their school. They have plenty of opportunities to be good examples of disciples of Christ.
Starting with Friendship
Liam knows that explaining what he believes or giving a friend a Book of Mormon isn’t the only way to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Sometimes inviting others to feel the joy of the gospel simply starts with genuine friendship and love.
“I really like the story of Ammon in the Book of Mormon,” Liam says. “I think it’s fascinating that he doesn’t go right up to King Lamoni and say, ‘You’re going to listen to what I believe,’ but that he quietly becomes friends with him to the point that the king basically asks Ammon, ‘How can you be this cool?’”
“We can build relationships with others too,” Liam says. “Maybe they’ll come to us and ask what it is that gives us our extra strength.”
A Blessing for Life
Liam really does feel like living the gospel has given him extra strength. It has blessed his life even more than chess, music, sports, or any of the other good things he spends time on.
“I’m grateful to have the gospel in my life because I don’t think I would be the same person without it,” he says. “I feel that the Lord knows me better than I know myself. I know that God and Christ live. They show us the way we should go and help us be better.”